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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 OSTI2026

Results of the second Ice Shelf–Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (ISOMIP+)

Ocean-driven basal melting of Antarctic ice shelves plays an important role in the mass loss of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Ice shelf cavity-resolving ocean models are a valuable tool for understanding ice shelf-ocean interactions and for simulating projections of ice shelf and ocean states under future climate. Designed to assess the current state of ice shelf–ocean modelling, the second Ice Shelf–Ocean Model Intercomparison Project, ISOMIP+, consists of 12 ocean model configurations submitted with a common, idealised experimental setup. Here, we focus on the experiments Ocean0–2 (Asay-Davis et al., 2016), which are ocean models with idealised, static ice shelf geometries, but where the ocean reaches a balance with prescribed far-field ocean conditions. Different thermal transfer coefficient values (ranging from 0.011 to 0.2) are used for each model in the melting parameterisation to achieve a common, tuned melt rate since the models cover a range of types of vertical coordinates, ice–ocean boundary layer treatments, and numerical schemes. These model differences lead to spread in the resultant ocean properties, circulation, boundary-layer structure and spatial distribution of melting. We also highlight similarities between models, such as a shared linear relationship across most models between melt rate and overturning and barotropic streamfunctions during the spin-up and spin-down, demonstrating a robust relationship between melt and circulation across models and forcing conditions. The ISOMIP+ results provide a systematic comparison of ice shelf cavity-capable ocean models. However, we also demonstrate the need for realistic ice shelf–ocean model intercomparison projects (some already underway) to assess model biases and inter-model variation against sparse observations. Further research is needed to understand the differences between models and further improve our modelled representations of the ice–ocean boundary layer and ice shelf cavity circulation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

On optimizing the sensor spacing for pressure measurements on wind turbine airfoils

This research article presents a robust approach to optimizing the layout of pressure sensors around an airfoil. A genetic algorithm and a sequential quadratic programming algorithm are employed to derive a sensor layout best suited to represent the expected pressure distribution and, thus, the lift force. The fact that both optimization routines converge to almost identical sensor layouts suggests that an optimum exists and is reached. By comparing against a cosine-spaced sensor layout, it is demonstrated that the underlying pressure distribution can be captured more accurately with the presented layout optimization approach. Conversely, a 39 %–55 % reduction in the number of sensors compared to cosine spacing is achievable without loss in lift prediction accuracy. Given these benefits, an optimized sensor layout improves the data quality, reduces unnecessary equipment and saves cost in experimental setups. While the optimization routine is demonstrated based on the generic example of the IEA 15 MW reference wind turbine, it is suitable for a wide range of applications requiring pressure measurements around airfoils.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

H2@Scale - Validating an Electrolysis System with High Output Pressure: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-18-00741

Electrolysis has been a commercially available product for a while and electrolyzers have been a proven capability to provide additional benefits (e.g. controllable load for grid services) in addition to production of hydrogen. The hydrogen output is typically compressed for storage and dispensing. Compression adds cost and decreases system reliability. Honda’s electrolyzer systems have been developed to include electrochemical compression to leverage the production system itself for at least partial compression. In this project, the team will evaluate Honda’s PEM based electrochemical compression system. The system is capable of compressing hydrogen up to 70 MPa electrochemically. Validation testing is the next step to accelerate this technology into the marketplace, as the validation will provide needed data under a variety of operation conditions and controls. These operating conditions and controls are based on over a decade of NLR research and development with low-temperature electrolysis. The validation testing will include preparing NLR’s site for third party evaluation, benchmark testing of Honda’s stack and system, and simulating operation connected to renewables or in a grid service profile. NLR’s Energy System Integration Lab will be the location for the electrolyzer validation research and integrated into the Hydrogen Infrastructure Test & Research Facility (HITRF). This will build into the existing retail style hydrogen fueling station for a fully integrated experimental setup.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2025

Public Reference Data for Megawatt-Scale Hydrogen Electrolysis – Simulated Wind

The U.S. Department of Energy and the National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR) demonstrate hydrogen electrolysis, hydrogen compression and storage, and variable hydrogen fuel cell power production using megawatt-scale equipment at NLR’s Flatirons Campus as part of the Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) initiative. This dataset represents part of that effort and is intended for academic, national laboratory, industrial, and other stakeholders to plan, design, and validate models of megawatt-scale hydrogen technologies and diverse energy infrastructure nationwide. These data provide a baseline for how existing hydrogen electrolysis technologies perform when coupled with various energy technologies. Future datasets will demonstrate how existing hydrogen fuel cell technologies can provide controllable, dispatchable, and variable power output for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers and other variable loads. This dataset entry describes hydrogen production using a single, simulated wind turbine. The electrolyzer is a 1.25-MW proton exchange membrane type MC250 system manufactured by Nel Hydrogen . While the unit supports up to 2.5 MW of electrolysis, NLR only has a single 1.25-MW electrolysis stack. For the simulated wind energy profiles, NLR used OpenFAST to simulate a 3.4-MW International Energy Agency (IEA) reference wind turbine. The hour-long wind energy profiles varied over wind turbulence intensity (Class A or Class C) and average wind speed (5, 7, or 9 m/s). To match the power limits of the 1.25-MW electrolyzer and 3.4-MW IEA wind turbine most effectively and to maximize the efficiency of hydrogen production at a given average wind speed, the profiles were sometimes scaled by two times. This means that, in some cases, the experimental setup assumed two 1.25-MW electrolyzers were coupled with the wind turbine, representing a total maximum electrolysis load of 2.5 MW. Finally, NLR experimented with two settings for the electrolyzer power supply minimum and maximum current ramp rates (gain and slew): 200 and 400 amperes per second. The simulated profiles were translated from power (kilowatts) to current (amperes) using a curve fit with calibration data and sent to the electrolyzer power supply at 1-Hz frequency. These datasets report relevant hydrogen balance-of-plant and system data, all captured at 1 Hz, including hydrogen mass production measured with an Emerson Coriolis flow meter. Each .zip file represents a single wind turbine electrolysis experiment and is formatted as follows: {technology}-{average wind speed}-{turbulence class}_{number of 1.25 MW electrolyzers connected}-{electrolyzer ramp rate in amperes/second} For instance, “windIEA3.4-5ms-C_2-400.zip” represents the hour-long experiment using the IEA 3.4-MW turbine, subjected to an average wind speed of 5 m/s and Class C wind turbulence, and connected to two 1.25-MW electrolyzers with the power supply set to a maximum current ramp rate (gain and slew) of 400 A/s. Each .zip folder contains the following files: A .csv file containing raw data. An .xlsx file explaining all the fields in the raw data. A .png plot showing the time series of hydrogen production in kilograms per hour, electrolysis power consumption, and input wind turbine power. An experiment labeled “characterization_200.zip” demonstrates the MC250 electrolyzer steady-state response with 30 minute load steps for a total duration of 5 hours. Finally, a .csv file is provided with all simulated wind experiments combined into one dataset labeled "combined_wind_experiments.csv". NLR also built an AI/machine-learning predictive model based on these datasets. The model ingests the electrolyzer current command in amperes, as well as various pressures and temperatures across the system, and predicts hydrogen output in kilograms per hour. The complete model can be found at https://huggingface.co/NatLabRockies/ptmelt-hydrogen-electrolysis .

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS1971

Noise analysis of nucleate boiling

The techniques of noise analysis have been utilized to investigate nucleate pool boiling. A simple experimental setup has been developed for obtaining the power spectrum of a nucleate boiling system. These techniques were first used to study single bubbles, and a method of relating the two-dimensional projected size and the local velocity of the bubbles to the auto-correlation functions is presented. This method is much less time consuming than conventional methods of measurement and has no probes to disturb the system. These techniques can be used to determine the contribution of evaporation to total heat flux in nucleate boiling. Also, these techniques can be used to investigate the effect of various parameters upon the frequency response of nucleate boiling. The predominant frequencies of the power spectrum correspond to the frequencies of bubble generation. The effects of heat input, degree of subcooling, and liquid surface tension upon the power spectra of a boiling system are presented. It was found that the degree of subcooling has a more pronounced effect upon bubble size than does heat flux. Also the effect of lowering surface tension can be sufficient to reduce the effect of the degree of subcooling upon the size of the bubbles.

Mcknight, R. D.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Calibration of radiation detectors in the ultraviolet region between 972 and 2500 A

The development of experimental setups and procedures is considered for calibrating photosensitive devices in the spectral range 1022 to 2500 A for which no direct calibration techniques exist. An indirect technique that uses a sodium salicylate detector calibrated outside this range was developed for use as a secondary standard. The primary standard was a xenon-filled ionization chamber, which is an absolute standard over the wavelength interval 972 to 1022 A. Measurements made by this method were checked at 1470 A with a xenon lamp and at 2537 A with a mercury arc lamp and a 0.5 m blaze monochromator with a grating blazed at 2000 A. The overall accuracy of the measurements was + or - 40 percent or better.

Mcclenahan, J. O.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Absorption profile of a planetary atmosphere - A proposal for a scattering independent determination.

The use of scattering theory to infer atmospheric optical parameters requires the separation of absorption and scattering. It is demonstrated that a gradient flux relation exists that would provide the absorption (altitude) profile independently of scattering and irrespective of the state of polarization of the light field. The relation is derived for an atmosphere of plane-parallel or spherical geometry and for broad (continuum) and narrow (spectral line) frequency bands. The results are shown to hold, in particular, for the polarizations induced by both Rayleigh and Mie scattering in the field. Experimental setups are proposed for each of the cases considered of atmospheric geometry and frequency bandwidth.

Fymat, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Contributions to the problem of piezoelectric accelerometer calibration

After discussing the principal calibration methods for piezoelectric accelerometers, an experimental setup for accelerometer calibration by the reciprocity method is described It is shown how the use of a lock-in voltmeter eliminates errors due to viscous damping and electrical loading.

Jakab, I.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Observations on some acoustic methods used in studying the elastic properties of metals

An experimental setup is reported that permits very accurate measurements of the resonance frequencies of long cylindrical beams fixed in the middle and whose size can vary within wide limits. It also permits measurement of the width of the resonance curve. It is shown that the Poisson effect can be brought to light for relatively long beams and for relatively short beams. Poisson ratio, values obtained with this method argue in favor of using the low frequency region for determining elastic constants of solids.

Velceanu, C. I.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Microbial detection method based on sensing molecular hydrogen

An approach involving the measurement of hydrogen evolution by test organisms was used to detect and enumerate various members of the Enterobacteriaceae group. The experimental setup for measuring hydrogen evolution consisted of a test tube containing two electrodes plus broth and organisms. The test tube was kept in a water bath at a temperature of 35 C. It is pointed out that the hydrogen-sensing method, coupled with the pressure transducer technique reported by Wilkins (1974) could be used in various experiments in which gas production by microorganisms is being measured.

Wilkins, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Soft X-ray detection with the Fairchild 100 by 100 CCD

The soft X-ray sensitivity of the Fairchild 100 x 100 element CCD is studied for possible use as a detector in plasma physics research. The experimental setup and laboratory results are reported including data on slow scan operation of the CCD and performance when cooled. Results from digital computer processing of the data to correct for element-to-element nonuniformities are also discussed.

Renda, G.↗
NASA NTRS1976

A computer program for the localization of small areas in roentgenological images

A method and associated algorithm are presented which allow a simple and accurate determination to be made of the location of small symmetric areas presented in roentgenological images. The method utilizes an operator to visually spot object positions but eliminates the need for critical positioning accuracy on the operator's part. The rapidity of measurement allows results to be evaluated on-line. Parameters associated with the algorithm have been analyzed, and methods to facilitate an optimum choice for any particular experimental setup are presented.

Keller, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Measurements on wave propagation characteristics of spiraling electron beams

Dispersion characteristics of cyclotron-harmonic waves propagating on a neutralized spiraling electron beam immersed in a uniform axial magnetic field are studied experimentally. The experimental setup consisted of a vacuum system, an electron-gun corkscrew assembly which produces a 110-eV beam with the desired delta-function velocity distribution, a measurement region where a microwave signal is injected onto the beam to measure wavelengths, and a velocity analyzer for measuring the axial electron velocity. Results of wavelength measurements made at beam currents of 0.15, 1.0, and 2.0 mA are compared with calculated values, and undesirable effects produced by increasing the beam current are discussed. It is concluded that a suitable electron beam for studies of cyclotron-harmonic waves can be generated by the corkscrew device.

Singh, A.↗
NASA NTRS1979

High-sampling-rate pressure transducer has in situ calibration

High-data-rate pressure sensor module can be calibrated after it is attached to an experimental setup. Electrically multiplexed sensor is designed for use in wind-tunnels and other applications requiring accurate measurement of many pressures in a short period of time.

Gross, C.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Multichannel electrochemical microbial detection unit

The paper describes the design and capabilities of a compact multichannel electrochemical unit devised to detect and automatically indicate detection time length of bacteria. By connecting this unit to a strip-chart recorder, a permanent record is obtained of the end points and growth curves for each of eight channels. The experimental setup utilizing the multichannel unit consists of a test tube (25 by 150 mm) containing a combination redox electrode plus 18 ml of lauryl tryptose broth and positioned in a 35-C water bath. Leads from the electrodes are connected to the multichannel unit, which in turn is connected to a strip-chart recorder. After addition of 2.0 ml of inoculum to the test tubes, depression of the push-button starter activates the electronics, timer, and indicator light for each channel. The multichannel unit is employed to test tenfold dilutions of various members of the Enterobacteriaceae group, and a typical dose-response curve is presented.

Wilkins, J. R.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Fresnel drag effect in fiber optic gyroscope

Consideration is given to the development of a low-noise fiber-optic ring interferometer gyroscope. A technique for measuring the Fresnel drag coefficient of optical fibers is described, and the accuracy of the technique is considered. An experiment is performed which allows verification of the Einstein velocity addition theorem to the first nonlinear term. An experimental setup for measuring Fresnel drag is described: it consists of a Sagnac interferometer and a Fresnel drag measurement configuration.

Vali, V.↗