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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

FY2019 Technology Integration Annual Progress Report

The 2019 Technology Integration Annual Progress Report covers 30 multi-year projects funded by the Vehicle Technologies Office. The report includes information on 23 competitively awarded projects, ranging from safety training and design for maintenance facilities housing gaseous fuel vehicles, to electric vehicle community partner programs, to truck platooning with advanced driver assistance systems. It also includes seven projects conducted by several of VTO’s National Laboratory partners, Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. These projects range from a Technical Assistance project for business, industry, government and individuals, to the EcoCar Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition, and the Fuel Economy Information Project.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Innovative SCR Materials and System for Low Temperature Aftertreatment

US automotive OEMs are required to meet the twin challenge of corporate average fleet fuel economy of 54.5 mpg and stringent Bin30/SULEV30 emissions standards for light duty vehicles by 2025. This creates a heavy burden on the R&D community to discover and develop the necessary enabling technologies by 2023 to integrate into powertrain systems intended for 2025. Further amplifying the emissions challenge is the reduction in engine exhaust energy resulting from more fuel-efficient powertrains and the regulatory requirement of 15-year system performance. This forces aftertreatment systems to continue to push their operational limits to increasingly lower temperatures. This CRADA will focus on a broad and very important area of critical relevance to DOE and Stellantis, i.e., development of low temperature aftertreatment approaches, while not sacrificing durability.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Fort Erie On-Demand Transit Case Study

Rural and smaller-sized communities in North America face unique mobility challenges due to their low population density, lower public transit spending per capita compared to major cities, and a high reliance on private vehicles. In recent years, communities such as Fort Erie, Ontario have restructured or advanced their public transit systems using on-demand services. Fort Erie is a relatively sparsely populated region of 32,901 residents, spread across a land area of 166 square kilometers (64 square miles), for an average population density of 193 residents per square kilometer (500 per square mile). In October 2021, the town implemented a mobility-on-demand system integrated with smartphone software to replace its fixed-route community bus system, which consisted of four buses with three routes, each with a roughly one-hour, one way loop. The new service utilizes a fleet of six minivans, two of which are retrofitted with wheelchair-accessible ramps. The system may require that a passenger requesting a standard van walk up to 400 meters (a quarter mile) to their pickup location to optimize vehicle routing while providing origin-to-destination service. The on-demand system proved effective in providing service, eclipsing pre-pandemic ridership by 40%, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions per ride by 63%, and decreasing the cost per ride to the town by 29%. This report documents both the previous system and the new system in terms of routes, ridership, costs, fuel, and other notable system parameters. This work is part of an ongoing series of case studies on providing small communities with on-demand, right-sized vehicle service coupled with a smartphone application.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development and Demonstration of Advanced Engine and Vehicle Technologies For Class 8 Heavy Duty Vehicle (Supertruck II)

The PACCAR SuperTruck II program has completed the planned technical work on the project. This work includes the planned vehicle demonstrator showing a greater than 100% improvement in vehicle freight efficiency (on a ton-mile-per-gallon basis) relative to a 2009 baseline, and an engine system demonstration achieving a greater than 55% engine brake thermal efficiency at a 65-mph cruise point on a dynamometer. Both program targets were exceeded by PACCAR with robust margins. Finally, PACCAR used technologies that have a possible route to production, with no specialty or unrealistic solutions proposed.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of an Energy Efficient and Cost Effective Autonomous Vehicle Research Platform

Commercialization of autonomous vehicle technology is a major goal of the automotive industry, thus research in this space is rapidly expanding across the world. However, despite this high level of research activity, literature detailing a straightforward and cost-effective approach to the development of an AV research platform is sparse. To address this need, we present the methodology and results regarding the AV instrumentation and controls of a 2019 Kia Niro which was developed for a local AV pilot program. This platform includes a drive-by-wire actuation kit, Aptiv electronically scanning radar, stereo camera, MobilEye computer vision system, LiDAR, inertial measurement unit, two global positioning system receivers to provide heading information, and an in-vehicle computer for driving environment perception and path planning. Robotic Operating System software is used as the system middleware between the instruments and the autonomous application algorithms. After selection, installation, and integration of these components, our results show successful utilization of all sensors, drive-by-wire functionality, a total additional power* consumption of 242.8 Watts (*Typical), and an overall cost of $118,189 USD, which is a significant saving compared to other commercially available systems with similar functionality. This vehicle continues to serve as our primary AV research and development platform.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stable Diacid Coordinated Quaternary Ammonium Polymers for 80-230 °C Fuel Cells

Current automotive fuel cells that use sulfonated polymer-based proton exchange membranes are challenging to operate at > 100 °C without humidification. In this project, we developed polymer electrolyte fuel cells that run at > 100 °C without humidification using a novel class of proton exchange membranes made from thermos-oxidatively stable acid-coordinated quaternary ammonium polymers. These fuel cells remove the external humidifiers/demisters and reduce the size of radiators, thus vastly simplifying fuel cell integration, which increases tolerance to impurities and improves electrode kinetics of catalysts. Operating fuel cells without hydration has a significant benefit on fuel cell cost and economic feasibility was investigated by comparing existing fuel cell systems. This project bridges the scale-up process to manufacture the fuel cell component through the U.S. DOE L’Innovator project sponsored by the U.S. DOE Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office (HFTO).

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hydrogen for Maritime Applications

The maritime industry is investigating a number of fuel options for reducing emissions, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), biofuels, and electrical drive systems powered by batteries and/or hydrogen-fueled fuel cells. Hydrogen-fueled ships offer the potential to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, regulated and unregulated pollutants in maritime applications. Argonne National Laboratory conducted preliminary comparisons of the total cost of ownership (TCO) of several classes of ships to determine how fuel cell technology compares to the current diesel technology, what advancements are needed for hydrogen fuel cell technology to be competitive in the future, and what applications may be appropriate for introducing fuel cells into the maritime industry. These studies included feeder container ships, harbor tugboats, river pushboats, and auto/passenger ferries. For this study, TCO was defined to include the cost of fuel, propulsion system, and fuel storage system, the levelized cost of propulsion/auxiliary engines, and the cost of annual maintenance and consumables. It did not include the cost of the vessel frame or other components, aside from the propulsion system, that the fuel cell and diesel ships have in common. A 10% internal rate of return (IRR) was applied to the initial capital investment and an installation cost factor of 20% was applied to the capital cost. The capital cost of each component (e.g., engine, fuel tank, motor, etc.) was amortized over a period of 20 years, except for the fuel cell system, which was amortized over 6 or 10 years depending on ship class. The initial comparisons for container ships indicate that fuel costs are by far the dominant contributor to the TCO. With the current low cost of low-sulfur marine gasoil (LSMGO) and relatively high cost of hydrogen, it is difficult for hydrogen to compete with LSMGO in container ship applications. The large energy demand for container ships also favors the use of the higher volumetric energy density LSMGO fuel, especially for longer voyages. The space required to store enough hydrogen for the same journey is larger than that needed to store diesel fuels and can reduce the available cargo carrying and revenue generating space available on the ship.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Orange County Transportation Authority Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report (Feb-Jul 2020) [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Southern California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019, and were placed in service on February 9, 2020. The data period covers February 2020 through July 2020. NREL collects data on ten 2016 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at OCTA.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multi-injection investigation of a high-volatility diesel in advanced compression ignition combustion for NO x control

Traditional selective catalytic reduction aftertreatment technologies used to reduce [Formula: see text] are very limited at exhaust temperatures below [Formula: see text]. Therefore, under these low engine load conditions, having effective in-cylinder control of [Formula: see text] emissions is important. Previous work by the authors explored the effect of fuel physical properties on the ability to control [Formula: see text] in-cylinder. That work was limited to one direct injection near top dead center. Modern diesel high-pressure fuel systems have the capability of five or more injections in one engine cycle. A higher-volatility diesel fuel and high amounts of exhaust gas recirculation to delay ignition could provide an opportunity for reduction in engine-out [Formula: see text] through an increased level of fuel premixing. By appropriately timing multiple short injections, a more optimal distribution of fuel in-cylinder may be achieved, which could reduce [Formula: see text] while maintaining an efficient combustion phasing. A computational fluid dynamics model previously validated against experimental data was used to explore several injection strategies with increased levels of fuel premixing to assess the potential trade-offs between [Formula: see text] and CO/unburned hydrocarbon (UHC) emissions and thus reduce reliance on the aftertreatment system for [Formula: see text] control. The results show that the devised injection strategies resulted in an increased level of fuel premixing. However, none of the attempted injection strategies resulted in significant [Formula: see text] reductions, and all strategies showed a significant increase in CO and UHC emissions.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Threat Model of High-Power Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

While electric vehicle powertrains have inherent efficiencies over their conventional counterparts, recharge time remains a significant concern. High power charging (HPC) alleviates the concerns by delivering greater power to speed charging. HPC requires communication among the vehicle, charging infrastructure, and electric supply to facilitate charging. Consequently, the transformation extends the reach and heightens the risks posed by cyberattacks, as an incident may threaten both the power grid and transportation systems. In this paper, a novel consequence-centric methodology is used to formulate an HPC infrastructure threat model. By linking threats to electricity and transportation impacts, a broad understanding of consequences is acquired.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

HOLISTIC ENERGY EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF ELECTRIFIED OFF-HIGHWAY MATERIAL HANDLER: FROM DRIVE CYCLE CHARACTERIZATION TO POWERTRAIN, HYDRAULIC, AND THERMAL SYSTEM PERFORMANCE

Three complexities surrounding the operation and testing of hybrid electric, heavy-duty nonroad machines have been addressed experimentally and using 1D simulation. Their resolutions have been intertwined with the development of a prototype machine that was proven to reduce fuel consumption in excess of 20%. A real-world drive cycle that leveraged hydraulic cylinder position was developed and utilized to ensure accurate reproduction of hydraulic work between the baseline and hybrid machines, while simultaneously maintaining less than 5% RMS error in position for main load handling functions. The newly developed, machine-specific drive cycle also contributed towards making equivalent comparisons in energy consumption between machine types through composite performance metrics that were extrapolated over a typical shift duration. Lastly, this work addressed thermal management energy consumption, a topic of increasing popularity when discussing electrified vehicles, by proposing a 1.4% energy savings through special mechanization and control of cooling system components.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dilute Combustion Control Using Spiking Neural Networks

Dilute combustion with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) in spark-ignition engines presents a cost-effective method for achieving higher levels of engine efficiency. At high levels of EGR, however, cycle-to-cycle variability (CCV) of the combustion process is exacerbated by sporadic occurrences of misfires and partial burns. Previous studies have shown that temporal deterministic patterns emerge at such conditions and certain combustion cycles have a significant influence over future events. Due to the complexity of the combustion process and the nature of CCV, harnessing all the deterministic information for control purposes has remained challenging even with physics based 0-D, 1-D, and high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models. In this study, we present a data-driven approach to optimize the combustion process by controlling CCV adjusting the cycle-to-cycle fuel injection quantity. Readily available data from in-cylinder pressure was used to train a spiking neural network (SNN) which learns the optimal way to manage fuel injection in order to reduce CCV while maintaining acceptable levels of fuel consumption. SNNs are particularly well suited for powertrain control applications due to their ability to be deployed on FPGA-based neuromorphic hardware which are small, inexpensive, and have a low power demand. The high-performance computing (HPC) resources of Oak Ridge National Laboratory were used to run an evolutionary-based training approach for choosing the best SNN configuration that minimizes the size of the network while achieving the desired goal. The neuromorphic hardware with the optimized SNN deployed was connected to the rapid prototyping engine control system for real-time control implementation and tested on a single cylinder version of a GM LNF 4-cylinder engine. The results show a significant reduction of CCV with a small percentage of additional fuel used to stabilize the charge.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

AC Transit Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report (Data Period Focus: Jan. 2020 through Dec. 2020) [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Alameda Contra-Costa Transit (AC Transit) in the east bay area of California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019. The data period covers January 2020 through July 2020. NREL collects data on two different baseline bus fleets for comparison: five 2017 model year diesel buses and five 2016 model year diesel hybrid buses.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2025

An experimental and numerical investigation of HD diesel engine DOC efficiency in oxidizing NO to NO 2

Reducing pollutant emissions from heavy-duty (HD) diesel engines is critical due to their significant environmental impact, particularly concerning NOx emissions. Understanding and optimizing modern diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) performance is essential for improving exhaust aftertreatment (EAT) system efficiency to meet stringent emissions regulations. The oxidation of nitric oxide (NO) to nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) in DOC plays a key role in improving SCR efficiency in reducing NO x . This study investigates the DOC performance in oxidizing NO to NO2 and its impact on the SCR efficiency of a 2021 MY Navistar E39 HD diesel engine. The influence of engine speed, load, exhaust gas temperature, and composition on DOC efficiency is experimentally investigated. The relationships between DOC inlet temperature, oxygen availability and NO 2 /NO x ratio at the DOC inlet are examined to better understand their effects on the overall DOC efficiency. The results indicate that DOC NO oxidation efficiency is highly dependent on exhaust temperature, with optimal oxidation occurring within a specific temperature range (275-350°C). Below this threshold, the chemical reactions are kinetically limited, while at higher temperatures, thermodynamic constraints reduce the efficiency of DOC in oxidizing NO to NO 2 . The experimental data further reveal that the NO 2 /NO x ratio peaks at medium loads before declining at higher loads due to reduced residence time and mass transfer effects. Additionally, the SCR NO x conversion efficiency is significantly influenced by the NO 2 /NO x ratio, achieving peak performance when the NO 2 /NO x ratio approaches 0.5. A DOC chemistry model was developed and validated against the experimental data to predict DOC oxidation behavior under various operating conditions. The findings of this study provide insights into the interdependencies between DOC and SCR performance, contributing to the optimization of SCR systems for optimized NOx reduction.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cybersecurity for Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

As the U.S. electrifies the transportation sector, cyberattacks targeting vehicle charging could impact several critical infrastructure sectors including power systems, manufacturing, medical services, and agriculture. This is a growing area of concern as charging stations increase power delivery capabilities and must communicate to authorize charging, sequence the charging process, and manage load (grid operators, vehicles, OEM vendors, charging network operators, etc.). The research challenges are numerous and complicated because there are many end users, stakeholders, and software and equipment vendors interests involved. Poorly implemented electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), electric vehicle (EV), or grid operator communication systems could be a significant risk to EV adoption because the political, social, and financial impact of cyberattacks — or public perception of such — would ripple across the industry and produce lasting effects. Unfortunately, there is currently no comprehensive EVSE cybersecurity approach and limited best practices have been adopted by the EV/EVSE industry. There is an incomplete industry understanding of the attack surface, interconnected assets, and unsecured inter faces. Comprehensive cybersecurity recommendations founded on sound research are necessary to secure EV charging infrastructure. This project provided the power, security, and automotive industry with a strong technical basis for securing this infrastructure by developing threat models, determining technology gaps, and identifying or developing effective countermeasures. Specifically, the team created a cybersecurity threat model and performed a technical risk assessment of EVSE assets across multiple manufacturers and vendors, so that automotive, charging, and utility stakeholders could better protect customers, vehicles, and power systems in the face of new cyber threats.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Orange County Transportation Authority Fuel Cell Electric Bus Progress Report - Data Period Focus: Feb. 2020 through Jul. 2021 [Slides]

This report presents early results from a deployment of fuel cell electric buses (FCEBs) operated by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in Southern California. The ten FCEBs, produced by New Flyer, feature an electric drive propulsion system powered by a Ballard fuel cell system. The project team is collaborating with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the buses in revenue service. The goal of this evaluation is to compare the FCEB performance to that of conventional technology and to track progress over time toward meeting the technical targets set by DOE and the Department of Transportation (DOT). The FCEBs were delivered beginning in late-2019, and were placed in service on February 9, 2020. The data period covers February 2020 through July 2021. NREL collects data on ten 2016 model year compressed natural gas (CNG) buses as a baseline comparison at OCTA.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of an Integrated Electro-Hydraulic Machine to Electrify Off-highway Vehicles

Electrification of off-highway vehicles is notoriously challenging due to extreme power density requirements. This paper proposes and develops an axial flux machine integrated with a hydraulic pump to realize a single modular, electro-hydraulic machine to electrify off-highway vehicle implements. This integrated machine eliminates redundant bearings, couplings, and shaft seals, re-uses surfaces, and enables direct cooling of the electric machine with the hydraulic fluid, to significantly increase power density. Three popular axial flux machine variants are first compared using an FEA-based design optimization approach. The single rotor, single stator variant is identified to be the most promising for integration with the hydraulic pump. Next, a multi-physics framework of the complete integrated hydraulic pump and axial flux machine is developed to characterize the design space. The results indicate promising potential for this concept to realize efficiency over 85% and power density over 5kW/kg for the complete machine (electric machine, hydraulic pump, and thermal management system), while utilizing conventional materials (thin gauge silicon steel, N45 magnets, and enamelled copper wire). Furthermore, a prototype axial flux machine has been experimentally characterized and integrated with a hydraulic pump to demonstrate the integrated electro-hydraulic machine concept.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Inaugural Technologist in Communities Scanning Tour: Automated and Electrified On-Demand Mobility (Follow-On Summary Report: April 24-25, 2023) [Slides]

In 2023, the Technologist in Communities (TIC) program hosted its inaugural scanning tour across the American Southwest, with a goal of investigating the region's leading public mobility systems and their integration with on-demand public mobility services. The scanning tour concept was inspired by and named after a U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration practice of hosting "scanning tours," both domestically and abroad, to explore innovative transportation practices throughout the 1990s and early 2000s. Guided by the idea that "seeing is believing," scanning tours created opportunities for government and industry representatives to collectively experience new technologies and best practices firsthand. In 2023, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) followed suit by leading the inaugural TIC scanning tour. TIC, part of the Technology Integration program within the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Vehicle Technologies Office, supports positive energy and mobility outcomes in communities across rural to urban contexts. TIC enables technical experts to work directly with leaders and stakeholders in communities and assist them in implementing promising new technologies. This first TIC scanning tour invited NREL, DOE, and industry experts to survey innovative public mobility practices and their integration into public transit systems across the Southwest. The tour's goals included examining the state of innovation in public mobility in cities, communities, and airports; facilitating collaboration between entities; and sparking potential new partnerships. The following report summarizes key findings from the scanning tour.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗