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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 271 records · Page 15
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Worldwide benchmarking of cost-effective radiometers for direct and diffuse irradiance

Solar energy projects can benefit from direct normal irradiance (DNI) and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI) measurements during all project phases. Several commercial measurement systems for DNI and DHI are available. Sun trackers with pyranometers and pyrheliometers can provide highly accurate measurements but are often impractical in solar energy applications. For less expensive and more robust sensors, it is often unclear which accuracy can be expected under a project site's specific atmospheric conditions. We address this challenge through our dedicated experimental comparison of relevant sensor systems (rotating shadowband irradiometer [short RSI], Delta-T SPN1, EKO MS-90, PyranoCam, Sunto CaptPro, Kipp & Zonen CSD3) at up to six sites worldwide. The RSI systems (rRMSD 3 to 8.6%, DNI; 4.8 to 7.6%, DHI) and PyranoCam (rRMSD 2.6 to 5.2%, DNI; 4.4 to 5.8%, DHI) exhibit similar error metrics and are the most accurate systems in the test. Delta-T SPN1 and EKO MS-90 (rRMSD 6.8 to 15%, DNI; 10.6 to 20.1%, DHI) but especially Kipp & Zonen CSD3 and Sunto CaptPro show significant deviations (rRMSD 17.7 to 20%, DNI; 33 to 58%, DHI). We evaluate the influence of relevant atmospheric parameters on the sensors' accuracies by a rather unique measurement setup. MS-90's DNI errors depend on DNI itself, with overestimations for low reference DNI. The deviations of SPN1's DHI and DNI measurements increase sharply in situations with high circumsolar irradiance. Also CaptPro and CSD3's increased measurement errors are related to circumsolar irradiance. For RSI and PyranoCam, only moderate influences on the measurements are identified, indicating a general applicability of these instruments.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Measurements of Quasar Proximity Zones with the Lyα Forest of DESI Y1 Quasars

Abstract The intergalactic medium (IGM) around a quasar is shaped by its dense environment and by its excess ionizing radiation, which form a “quasar proximity zone” whose size and anisotropy depend on the quasar’s halo mass, luminosity, age, and radiation geometry. Using over 10,000 quasar pairs from the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument (DESI) Year 1 data, with projected comoving separations r ⊥ < 2 h −1 Mpc, we investigate how the proximity zone of foreground quasars at z ∼ 2–3.5 affects Lyα absorption in their background quasars. The large DESI sample enables unprecedented precision in measuring this “transverse proximity” effect, allowing a detailed investigation of the signal’s dependence on the projected separation of quasar pairs and the luminosity of the foreground quasar. We find that enhanced gas clustering near quasars dominates over their ionizing effect, leading to stronger absorption on neighboring sightlines. Under the assumption that quasar ionizing luminosity is isotropic and steady, we infer the IGM overdensity profile in the vicinity of quasars, finding overdensities as high as Δ ∼ 10 at comoving distance ∼1 h −1 Mpc from the most luminous systems. Surprisingly, however, we find no significant dependence of the proximity profile on the luminosity of the foreground quasar. This lack of luminosity dependence could reflect a cancellation between higher ionizing flux and higher gas overdensity, or it could indicate that quasar emission is highly time-variable or anisotropic, so that the observed luminosity does not trace the ionizing flux on nearby sightlines.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Developing safe, effective, and orally available treatments for heavy metal poisoning (CRADA Final Report)

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, HOPO Therapeutics investigated the technical capabilities of heavy metal chelating agents for the sequestration, (re)distribution, delivery, and removal of metal ions, and their applications in the health, environment, and energy sectors. The project team researched chelating agents for use in the removal of heavy metals, and evaluated their potential benefits for a range of therapeutic, environmental, and energy applications.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Optimization Methodology of Polar Direct-Drive Illumination for the National Ignition Facility

Improved laser illumination uniformity drives shocks and implosions to create more extreme high energy density environments. Predominantly, the geometry of experiments that can be performed is dictated by the layout of beams at laser facilities, limiting inter-facility and multiscale investigations. This Letter presents the first automated, algorithmic approach for generating illumination configurations for high energy density experiments. The method is demonstrated in comparison to a polar direct drive solid target experiment at the National Ignition Facility. The new illumination configuration is simulated to create greater than ×3 higher peak pressure and almost ×2 higher density by maintaining better shock uniformity. Furthermore, the optimization process is performed with reduced computational expense and isotropic plasma profiles, while accounting for the impact of cross-beam energy transfer.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrically enhanced thermochemical cycles for hydrogen generation

In two-step metal-oxide (MO) solar thermochemical cycles, high temperature solar thermal energy is first converted to chemical energy in the form of a reduced MO. The reduced MO is then reoxidized in a second step with steam (or carbon dioxide) to produce hydrogen (or carbon monoxide) at a lower temperature. Solar thermochemical cycles of this type circumvent heat-to-electrical conversion required for electrochemical water splitting and promise high efficiencies. However, significant challenges remain to implementation. Ultra-high temperatures and efficiency-sapping low per-cycle conversion stand out as particularly difficult hurdles. Hybrid approaches utilizing both thermal and electrical energy provide some of the advantages of each, and can facilitate lower temperature operation and offer better per-pass utilization than thermochemical alone. However, early concepts for implementing the thermo-electrochemical approach introduced substantial new challenges including difficult separations, corrosive environments, and energy losses from large temperature swings and phase changes. We are currently investigating two different options for implementation. In the first, a MO that reduces at lower temperature is selected. As the reduced MO lacks the full thermodynamic driving force to effectively split water, the reaction is driven forward by an electrically-assisted proton-conducting membrane that separates and recovers hydrogen as it is produced. This approach produces a pure hydrogen stream, is mechanically simple, and has unique thermodynamic advantages. The second option seeks to more directly couple the electrical boost to the solid MO to drive either the reduction or oxidation step, or both, through the utilization of layered MO materials and advanced reactors. This approach could be applied to both water and carbon dioxide splitting. The results of process modeling and optimization will be presented, and progress towards demonstrating the concepts at the laboratory scale will be discussed.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2022

Agile Research and Technology Transitions (ARTT)

The Energy and Environment Directorate (EED) supports an extensive portfolio of strategic Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) research through its SEED, strategic, Agile and Initiative programs. Of paramount importance is the relevance of these investments to the long-term objectives of our various Department of Energy (DOE) programmatic sponsors. This LDRD project seeks to maximize impact to our sponsors by providing an agile funding approach to develop/enhance DOE relevant technologies in an accelerated and responsive manner to emerging and adjacent technical challenges. Staff will propose small development activities to be carried out under the overall Agile Research and Technology Transitions project.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Investigation of 31 P levels near the proton threshold with nuclear resonance fluorescence and the impact on the 30 Si (𝑝,𝛾)⁢ 31 P thermonuclear rate

We investigated the nuclear structure of 31 P near the proton threshold using nuclear resonance fluorescence (NRF) to refine the properties of key resonances in the 30 Si (𝑝,𝛾)⁢ 31 P reaction, which is critical for nucleosynthesis in stellar environments. Excitation energies and spin-parities were determined for several states, including two unobserved resonances at 𝐸 𝑟 = 18.7keV and 𝐸 𝑟 = 50.5keV. The angular correlation analysis enabled the first unambiguous determination of the orbital angular momentum transfer for these states. These results provide a significant update to the 30 Si (𝑝,𝛾)⁢ 31 P thermonuclear reaction rate, with direct implications for models of nucleosynthesis in globular clusters and other astrophysical sites. The revised rate is substantially lower than previous estimates at temperatures below 200 MK, affecting predictions for silicon isotopic abundances in stellar environments. Furthermore, our work demonstrates the power of NRF in constraining nuclear properties, and provides a framework for future studies of low-energy resonances relevant to astrophysical reaction rates.

20 ≤ A ≤ 38↗
NASA NTRS1984

The Single Event Upset (SEU) response to 590 MeV protons

The presence of high-energy protons in cosmic rays, solar flares, and trapped radiation belts around Jupiter poses a threat to the Galileo project. Results of a test of 10 device types (including 1K RAM, 4-bit microP sequencer, 4-bit slice, 9-bit data register, 4-bit shift register, octal flip-flop, and 4-bit counter) exposed to 590 MeV protons at the Swiss Institute of Nuclear Research are presented to clarify the picture of SEU response to the high-energy proton environment of Jupiter. It is concluded that the data obtained should remove the concern that nuclear reaction products generated by protons external to the device can cause significant alteration in the device SEU response. The data also show only modest increases in SEU cross section as proton energies are increased up to the upper limits of energy for both the terrestrial and Jovian trapped proton belts.

Nichols, D. K.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Modeling the Ecosystem Services Provided by Trees in Urban Ecosystems: Using Biome-BGC to Improve i-Tree Eco

As the world becomes increasingly urban, the need to quantify the effect of trees in urban environments on energy usage, air pollution, local climate and nutrient run-off has increased. By identifying, quantifying and valuing the ecological activity that provides services in urban areas, stronger policies and improved quality of life for urban residents can be obtained. Here we focus on two radically different models that can be used to characterize urban forests. The i-Tree Eco model (formerly UFORE model) quantifies ecosystem services (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage) and values derived from urban trees based on field measurements of trees and local ancillary data sets. Biome-BGC (Biome BioGeoChemistry) is used to simulate the fluxes and storage of carbon, water, and nitrogen in natural environments. This paper compares i-Tree Eco's methods to those of Biome-BGC, which estimates the fluxes and storage of energy, carbon, water and nitrogen for vegetation and soil components of the ecosystem. We describe the two models and their differences in the way they calculate similar properties, with a focus on carbon and nitrogen. Finally, we discuss the implications of further integration of these two communities for land managers such as those in Maryland.

Brown, Molly E.↗
NASA NTRS2013

Study of the Effects of the Electric Field on Charging Measurements on Individual Micron-size Dust Grains by Secondary Electron Emissions

The dust charging by electron impact is an important dust charging process in Astrophysical, Planetary, and the Lunar environments. Low energy electrons are reflected or stick to the grains charging the dust grains negatively. At sufficiently high energies electrons penetrate the grain leading to excitation and emission of electrons referred to as secondary electron emission (SEE). Available theoretical models for the calculation of SEE yield applicable for neutral, planar or bulk surfaces are generally based on Sternglass Equation. However, viable models for charging of individual dust grains do not exist at the present time. Therefore, the SEE yields have to be obtained by some experimental methods at the present time. We have conducted experimental studies on charging of individual micron size dust grains in simulated space environments using an electrodynamic balance (EDB) facility at NASA-MSFC. The results of our extensive laboratory study of charging of individual micron-size dust grains by low energy electron impact indicate that the SEE by electron impact is a very complex process expected to be substantially different from the bulk materials. It was found that the incident electrons may lead to positive or negative charging of dust grains depending upon the grain size, surface potential, electron energy, electron flux, grain composition, and configuration. In this paper we give a more elaborate discussion about the possible effects of the AC field in the EDB on dust charging measurements by comparing the secondary electron emission time-period (tau (sub em) (s/e)) with the time-period (tau (sub ac) (ms)) of the AC field cycle in the EDB that we have briefly addressed in our previous publication.

Tankosic, D.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Summary of Environmental Monitoring Recommendations for Marine Energy Development That Considers Life Cycle Sustainability

Recommendations derived from papers documenting the Triton Field Trials (TFiT) study of marine energy environmental monitoring technology and methods under the Triton Initiative (Triton), as reported in this Special Issue, are summarized here. Additionally, a brief synopsis describes how to apply the TFiT recommendations to establish an environmental monitoring campaign, and provides an overview describing the importance of identifying the optimal time to perform such campaigns. The approaches for tracking and measuring the effectiveness of recommendations produced from large environmental monitoring campaigns among the stakeholder community are discussed. The discussion extends beyond the initial scope of TFiT to encourage discussion regarding marine energy sustainability that includes life cycle assessment and other life cycle sustainability methodologies. The goal is to inspire stakeholder collaboration across topics associated with the marine energy industry, including diversity and inclusion, energy equity, and how Triton’s work connects within the context of the three pillars of energy sustainability: environment, economy, and society.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Chandra X-Ray Observatory Radiation Environment Model

CRMFLX (Chandra Radiation Model of ion FluX) is an environmental risk mitigation tool for use as a decision aid in planning the operations times for Chandra's Advanced CCD Imaging Spectrometer (ACIS) detector. The accurate prediction of the proton flux environment with energies of 100 - 200 keV is needed in order to protect the ACIS detector against proton degradation. Unfortunately, protons of this energy are abundant in the region of space Chandra must operate, and the on-board Electron, Proton, and Helium Instrument (EPHIN) does not measure proton flux levels of the required energy range. In addition to the concerns arising from the radiation belts, substorm injections of plasma from the magnetotail may increase the protons flux by orders of magnitude in this energy range. The Earth's magnetosphere is a dynamic entity, with the size and location of the magnetopause driven by the highly variable solar wind parameters (number density, velocity, and magnetic field components). Operational times for the telescope must be made weeks in advance, decisions which are complicated by the variability of the environment. CRMFLX is an engineering model developed to address these problems and provides proton flux and fluence statistics for the terrestrial outer magnetosphere, magnetosheath, and solar wind for use in scheduling ACIS operations. CRMFLX implements a number of standard models to predict the bow shock, magnetopause, and plasma sheet boundaries based on the sampling of historical solar wind data sets. Measurements from the GEOTAIL and POLAR spacecraft are used to create the proton flux database. This paper describes the recently released CRMFLX v2 implementation that includes an algorithm that propagates flux from an observation location to other regions of the magnetosphere based on convective ExB and VB-curvature particle drift motions in electric and magnetic fields. This technique has the advantage of more completely filling out the database and makes maximum use of limited data obtained during high Kp periods or in areas of the magnetosphere with poor satellite coverage.

Blackwell, W. C.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Artificial Intelligence–Enabled Digital Twin for U.S. Cities

Over 50 participants—including national laboratory researchers, academic scholars, industry representatives, and stakeholders from the City of Chicago—convened in person and online to assess the readiness and potential of an Artificial Intelligence–Enabled Digital Twin (AIDT) for urban systems, with the Greater Chicago area serving as the benchmark location. The workshop underscored that the Chicago Urban Integrated Field Laboratory provides an unparalleled testbed for developing and validating urban DTs—combining dense, multiscale observations, advanced physics-based and AI modeling capabilities, and strong stakeholder and industry engagement. Discussions highlighted available datasets, AI architectures for high resolution, multipurpose urban DTs, key applications, and near- and long-term priorities for scaling this framework within Chicago and to other U.S. and global cities.

AIDT↗
NASA NTRS1999

A Study of Mars Dust Environment Simulation at NASA Johnson Space Center Energy Systems Test Area Resource Conversion Test Facility

The dust environment on Mars is planned to be simulated in a 20 foot thermal-vacuum chamber at the Johnson Space Center, Energy Systems Test Area Resource Conversion Test Facility in Houston, Texas. This vacuum chamber will be used to perform tests and study the interactions between the dust in Martian air and ISPP hardware. This project is to research, theorize, quantify, and document the Mars dust/wind environment needed for the 20 foot simulation chamber. This simulation work is to support the safety, endurance, and cost reduction of the hardware for the future missions. The Martian dust environment conditions is discussed. Two issues of Martian dust, (1) Dust Contamination related hazards, and (2) Dust Charging caused electrical hazards, are of our interest. The different methods of dust particles measurement are given. The design trade off and feasibility were studied. A glass bell jar system is used to evaluate various concepts for the Mars dust/wind environment simulation. It was observed that the external dust source injection is the best method to introduce the dust into the simulation system. The dust concentration of 30 Mg/M3 should be employed for preparing for the worst possible Martian atmosphere condition in the future. Two approaches thermal-panel shroud for the hardware conditioning are discussed. It is suggested the wind tunnel approach be used to study the dust charging characteristics then to be apply to the close-system cyclone approach. For the operation cost reduction purpose, a dehumidified ambient air could be used to replace the expensive CO2 mixture for some tests.

Chen, Yuan-Liang Albert↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tracing the Evolution of the Cool Gas in CGM and IGM Environments through Mg II Absorption from Redshift z = 0.75 to z = 1.65 Using DESI-Y1 Data

We present a measurement of the mean absorption of cool gas traced by Mg II (λλ2796, 2803) around emission line galaxies (ELGs), spanning spatial scales from 20 kpc to 10 Mpc. The measurement is based on crossmatching the positions ELGs at z = 0.75–1.65 and the metal absorption in the spectra of background quasars with data provided by the Year 1 sample of the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument. The ELGs are divided into two redshift intervals: 0.75 < z < 1.0 and 1.0 < z < 1.65. We find that the composite quasar spectra constructed by stacking the ELG-QSO pairs evolve with redshift, with z > 1 having a systematically higher signal of Mg II absorption. Within 1 Mpc, the covering fraction of the cool gas at z > 1 is higher than that of z < 1. The enhancement becomes less apparent especially if the projected distance r p > 1 Mpc. ELGs with higher stellar mass and star formation rate (SFR) yield higher clustering of Mg ii absorbers at z < 1. For z > 1, the covering fractions with different SFRs show little difference. The higher Mg II absorption at higher redshift supports the observations of higher star formation at cosmic noon. Converting the Mg II absorbers to unsaturated Si II , our estimate indicates that the metal abundance of Si II ranges from 0.7 to 1.2 × 10 −6 from z = 0.9 to 1.3. The growth of low-ionization metal abundance strongly suggests a metal-enriched circumgalactic medium and an increased presence of cool gas in the intergalactic medium toward higher redshifts.

circumgalactic medium↗
DOE OSTI2020

High Resolution Ocean Surface Wave Hindcast (US Wave) Data

The development of this dataset was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, Water Power Technologies Office to improve our understanding of the U.S. wave energy resource and to provide critical information for wave energy project development and wave energy converter design. This high resolution publicly available long-term wave hindcast dataset will - when complete - cover the entire U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Available data includes the Hawaiian Islands, West and Atlantic Coasts, with future additions including the Alaskan coasts, Gulf of Mexico and the Freely associated States. The data can be used to investigate the historical record of wave statistics at any U.S. site. As such, the dataset could also be of value to any entity with marine operations inside the U.S. EEZ. These data are available for download without login credentials through the free and publicly accessible Open Energy Data Initiative (OEDI) data viewer which allows users to browse and download individual or groups of files.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Transport and confinement physics: Chapter 2 of the special issue: on the path to tokamak burning plasma operation

Progress in physics understanding and theoretical model development of plasma transport and confinement (TC) in the ITPA TC Topical Group since the publication of the ITER Physics Basis (IPB) document (Doyle et al 2007 Nucl. Fusion 47 S18) was summarized focusing on the contributions to ITER and burning plasma prediction and control. This paper provides a general and streamlined overview on the advances that were mainly led by the ITPA TC joint experiments and joint activities for the last 15 years (see JEX/JA table in appendix). This paper starts with the scientific strategy and scope of the ITPA TC Topical group and overall picture of the major progress, followed by the progress of each research field: particle transport, impurity transport, ion and electron thermal turbulent transport, momentum transport, impact of 3D magnetic fields on transport, confinement mode transitions, global confinement, and reduced transport modeling. Cross references with other Topical Groups are given in order to highlight overlapped topics, such as the 3D effect on the plasma transport in the edge and L-H transition physics. The increasing overlap between the topical groups is a reflection of the progress on integrating the known physics into comprehensive models that are better and better able to reproduce the plasma transport. In recent years, such integration has become increasingly prevalent when considering transport from the SOL, through the edge pedestal, and into the plasma core. In the near future, increased collaboration also with the magneto-hydrodynamic and energetic particles community will be important as we approach burning plasma conditions in next-step fusion devices. A summary of remaining challenges and next steps for each research field is given in the Summary section.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Supplementary Data for "Evaluation of the Economic Implications of Varied Pressure Drawdown Strategies Generated Using a Real-time, Rapid Predictive, Multi-fidelity Model for Unconventional Oil and Gas Wells" by Bello, K., Vikara, D., Sheriff, A., Viswanathan, H., Carr, T., Sweeney, M., O'Malley, D., Marquis, M., Vactor, R.T., and Cunha, L.

The Bello et al. study evaluates the impact of contrasting pressure drawdown on gas productivity and the resulting economics of a well in the Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin. This research applies a techno-economic analysis approach to help identify potential ways pressure management strategies can be used to improve cumulative recovery of hydraulically fractured horizontal wells while maintaining project profitability. Gas production forecast outlook scenarios of the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory Laboratory's MIP-3H well were generated under varying pressure drawdowns using two approaches: 1) a novel physics-informed machine learning (PIML) workflow and 2) via traditional reservoir simulation in Computer Modeling Group’s (CMG) GEM Compositional & Unconventional Simulator. Cash flow and other economic metrics of interest were compiled on the production outlook using the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) Unconventional Shale Well Economic Model (UShWEM).The sheets within this Microsoft ExcelTM workbook provide the economic metric outputs for the baseline condition and the one-at-a-time (OAT) sensitivity analysis of UShWEM's input parameters for each of the production scenarios evaluated.

Fracture Network Model↗