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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 289 records · Page 16

EVs@Scale: NextGen Profiles EVSE Characterization 2025

As part of the U.S. DOE EVs@Scale consortium, the Next-Generation Profiles (NextGen Profiles [NGP]) project presents analysis and results from the characterization of high-power conductive and wireless charging infrastructure. High Power Charging equipment is capable of recharging electric vehicle traction batteries at power levels of 200KW and above. Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE) characterization involves testing over a wide range of DC charging currents and voltages during nominal and off-nominal conditions. This testing allows for a better understanding of the impact that high-power charging will have on the electric grid. A common set of standard test plans, procedures, and data requirements were applied to the characterization in this document with minor updates and improvements. This report covers all conductive characterization activities performed between October 2024 and September 2025 on the Delta Electronics 350KW Electric Vehicle Charging System, consisting of power cabinet model EIDN-U350KTA01 and dispenser model EIDD-U350SSUUAEG-350.Key Findings include: Output regulation, Efficiency and power factor, Load management, Grid Resilience, Smart Charge Management (SCM) performance, Thermal control system performance, Multi-port simultaneous charging performance, and Selected performance comparisons with other EVSEs characterized in the NextGen Profiles project. Hot and cold temperature testing was not conducted on the Delta 350KW due to laboratory limitations. Future research could include continued testing the Delta hardware under off-nominal temperature conditions including multi-port/multi-session simultaneous charge testing, in addition to collecting data on other high-power conductive chargers to augment.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Operational frequency stability of rubidium and cesium frequency standards

The frequency stabilities under operational conditions of several commercially available rubidium and cesium frequency standards were determined from experimental data for frequency averaging times from 10 to the 7th power s and are presented in table and graph form. For frequency averaging times between 10 to the 5th power and 10 to the 7th power s, the rubidium standards tested have a stability of between 10 to the minus 12th power and 5 x 10 to the minus 12th power, while the cesium standards have a stability of between 2 x 10 to the minus 13th power and 5 x 10 to the minus 13th power.

Lavery, J. E.↗

Behavior of surface and corner cracks subjected to tensile and bending loads in Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The behavior of part-through flaws with regard to failure under monotonic loading and their growth under fatigue loading was studied experimentally and analytically. Comparisons are made of experimental values of toughness obtained using surface and corner cracked specimens with those obtained using standard test specimens, and also experimental growth cycles were compared with numerical predictions using the NASA/FLAGRO computer program. Tests were conducted on various types of surface and corner cracks under tensile and bending loads. Room temperature lab air provided the test environment. The material used in this study was the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in the solution treated and aged (STA) and stress relieved condition. Detailed tabulation of the fracture toughness data and results of life prediction using the NASA/FLAGRO program are presented. Fatigue crack growth rates for the part-through cracked specimens are compared with a base curve fitted from the data obtained using standard specimens. The fatigue loading used in the crack growth testing was constant-amplitude sinusoidal type.

Forman, Royce G.↗

Behavior of surface and corner cracks subjected to tensile and bending loads in a Ti-6Al-4V alloy

The behavior of part-through flaws with regard to failure under monotonic loading and their growth under fatigue loading was investigated experimentally and analytically. The objective of this paper is to present comparisons of experimental values of toughness obtained using surface- and corner-cracked specimens with those obtained using standard test specimens, and also to compare experimental growth cycles with numerical predictions using the NASA/FLAGRO computer program. Tests were conducted on various types of surface and corner cracks under tensile and bending loads. Room temperature laboratory air provided the test environment. The material used in this investigation was the Ti-6Al-4V alloy in the solution treated and aged (STA) and stress-relieved condition. Detailed tabulation of the fracture toughness data and results of life prediction using the NASA/FLAGRO program are presented. Fatigue crack growth rates for the part-through-cracked specimens are compared with a base curve fitted from the data obtained using standard specimens. The fatigue loading used in the crack growth testing was of constant-amplitude sinusoidal type.

Forman, Royce G.↗

Reliability Assessment of Solid-State Circuit Breakers (CRADA CRD-21-21469, Project 4 Final Report)

Growth in power requirements and the complexity of emerging distribution systems are creating the need for new solid-state products for many applications. The qualification requirements, testing standards and life-cycle management practices of solid-state devices used in protection applications is not established. The project will leverage newly developed accelerated testing capabilities design specifically for protection applications to generate large data sets that will enable advanced digital techniques for data analysis and embedded health monitoring.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

2024 Photovoltaic Inverter Reliability Workshop Summary Report & Proceedings

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) organized the 2024 Photovoltaic Inverter Reliability Workshop on April 11-12, 2024, hosted at NREL's South Table Mountain campus in Golden, Colorado. The workshop was organized around seven key topics, including the present state of inverter reliability; solutions for reliability challenges; life cycle cost and ownership issues; testing, standards, performance, and reliability metrics; data reporting, analytics, and sharing; and the future of PV inverter reliability research. Participants included inverter manufacturers, national laboratory researchers, academics, independent testing laboratories, and more. Over the course of the two-day workshop, attendees arrived at several key priorities and conclusions. This report summarizes these conclusions and then collects presentations from the workshop into a record of the workshop's proceedings.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Promoted Ignition and Burning Tests of Stainless Steel in Flowing and Nonflowing Oxygen

The Industry-Sponsored Metals Combustion Test Program 96-1 was coordinated through Wendell Hull & Associates, Inc. on behalf of several contributing companies, and all design and testing was performed at the NASA White Sands Test Facility. Phase I of this test program studied the threshold pressure for self-sustained burning of various types and sizes of stain less steel rods in nonflowing oxygen, as observed in Standard Test Method for Determining the Combustion Behavior of Metallic Materials in Oxygen-Enriched Atmospheres (ASTM G 124-95). Phase II studied the ignition and propagation of burning of 316L stainless steel rods and pipe in flowing gaseous oxygen. The test sample configurations were chosen to replicate previous promoted ignition and burning tests as well as to represent geometries and cross-sectional thicknesses common in industrial piping applications. The gas pressw'es and velocities for the test matrix were selected to generally compare with CGA G-4.4 guidelines for the use of stain less steel in oxygen service. This paper summarizes the results from the Phase I nonflowing oxygen tests and presents in detail the results of the Phase II flowing oxygen tests. The maximum sample burn-length is shown as a function of test pressure in Phase 1 and also as a function of gas velocity in Phase IT. These results indicate that flowing oxygen, under the given test conditions, significantly affects maximum sample burn length as compared to nonflowing oxygen. Supplementary flowing oxygen test data on stainless steel rods from a follow-up test program are consistent with these results and are presented herein.

Forsyth, Elliot T.↗

Europa Clipper Payload Verification and Validation: Test and Analysis Program Design

NASA’s Europa Clipper mission – which is planned to launch in the mid-2020s – is designed to investigate the habitability of the jovian moon Europa with a state-of-the-art suite of over 10 sensors and instruments. Now past its project critical design review, Europa Clipper is starting the execution of its verification and validation (V&V) program. The payload V&V function in particular is responsible for designing and coordinating a thorough test and analysis program that will confirm the proper functioning and performance of our payload instruments. Given the large number of instruments to manage, we have developed a suite of standardized tests and analyses that are designed to cover all of the common interfaces across instruments, while allowing for flexibility to support the unique needs of individual instruments. This suite of activities, coordinated and/or performed by the payload team, forms the bulk of our payload verification and validation campaign. This paper provides a detailed summary of the full set of V&V activities in that suite, covering the four categories of activities: analysis of lower-level evidence, analysis via simulation, testing in the system testbeds, and testing in assembly, test, and launch operations (ATLO). We will describe the purpose of each activity type, how the activities are developed, and the review process for each type of activity. We then define the complete list of activities written for each instrument and how subtleties specific to certain instruments are managed. The discussion will provide a comprehensive understanding of the activities in the payload V&V purview and how various interfaces with different levels of the project are managed. This paper also describes key metrics the payload team uses to track V&V progress and some insights into the teaming design and division of labor we use to ensure consistency and completeness across the entire payload suite. Finally, the paper will offer a snapshot of the status of the Payload V&V program prior to instrument delivery and offer insights into the upcoming phase of instrument delivery and the start of ATLO.

Lee, Dennis↗

AWS Figure of Merit (FOM) Developed Parameters from Static, Transonic Model Tests

This paper provides an approach to answer the question of whether one can rely solely on static data taken during a transonic model test to provide the certainty needed that a new aircraft will or will not have Abrupt Wing Stall (AWS) events during its flight operations. By comparing traditional- and alternate-static-Figures of Merit (FOMs) with the Free-To-Roll (FTR) response data, a rational basis for assessing the merits of using standard testing techniques for the prediction of AWS events has been established. Using the FTR response data as a standard, since these results compare well with flight, the conclusion from this study is that neither traditional nor alternate FOMs can be trusted to provide an indication as to whether a configuration will or will not have AWS tendencies. Even though these FOMs may flag features which have a high degree of correlation with the FTR response data, there are as many or more of these FOM flagged features which do not correlate. Thus, one needs to use the FTR rig to assess AWS tendencies on new configurations.

Lamar, J. E.↗

IROS 2023 Workshop Report: Draft Guidelines on Manufacturing Procedures, Test Methods and Reporting for Soft Robotics

Soft roboticists are facing challenges with reproducibility, which prevents researchers from making holistic comparisons to prior work, impedes full understanding of results, and forces the need to “reinvent the wheel,” delaying fundamental advances. Reproducibility of results is key to advancing science as well as achieving technology transfer from research laboratories to industrial applications. Recently, a discussion-based workshop dedicated to the topic, “Developing Standard Testing and Reporting Guidelines for Soft Robotics,” was held at IROS 2023 in Detroit, MI. The purpose of this document is to record a set of recommendations and voluntary draft guidelines for soft roboticists concerning fabrication/manufacturing, test procedures, and reporting, which were collectively developed at the workshop. Together as a community, we hope to improve the reporting standards of soft robotics and drive the field as a whole toward more rigorous research practices.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Separator Materials Used in Secondary Alkaline Batteries Characterized and Evaluated

Nickel-cadmium (Ni/Cd) and nickel-hydrogen (Ni/H2) secondary alkaline batteries are vital to aerospace applications. Battery performance and cycle life are significantly affected by the type of separators used in those batteries. A team from NASA Lewis Research Center's Electrochemical Technology Branch developed standardized testing procedures to characterize and evaluate new and existing separator materials to improve performance and cycle life of secondary alkaline batteries. Battery separators must function as good electronic insulators and as efficient electrolyte reservoirs. At present, new types of organic and inorganic separator materials are being developed for Ni/Cd and Ni/H2 batteries. The separator material previously used in the NASA standard Ni/Cd was Pellon 2505, a 100-percent nylon-6 polymer that must be treated with zinc chloride (ZnCl2) to bond the fibers. Because of stricter Environmental Protection Agency regulation of ZnCl2 emissions, the battery community has been searching for new separators to replace Pellon 2505. As of today, two candidate separator materials have been identified; however, neither of the two materials have performed as well as Pellon 2505. The separator test procedures that were devised at Lewis are being implemented to expedite the search for new battery separators. The new test procedures, which are being carried out in the Separator Laboratory at Lewis, have been designed to guarantee accurate evaluations of the properties that are critical for sustaining proper battery operation. These properties include physical and chemical stability, chemical purity, gas permeability, electrolyte retention and distribution, uniformity, porosity, and area resistivity. A manual containing a detailed description of 12 separator test procedures has been drafted and will be used by the battery community to evaluate candidate separator materials for specific applications. These standardized procedures will allow for consistent, uniform, and reliable results that will ensure that separator materials have the desired properties for long life and good performance in secondary alkaline cells.

Source record↗

Towards modelling AR Sco: generalized particle dynamics and strong radiation-reaction regimes

Numerical simulations of relativistic plasmas have become more feasible, popular, and crucial for various astrophysical sources with the availability of computational resources. The necessity for high-accuracy particle dynamics is especially highlighted in pulsar modelling due to the extreme associated electromagnetic fields and particle Lorentz factors. Including the radiation-reaction force in the particle dynamics adds even more complexity to the problem, but is crucial for such extreme astrophysical sources. We have also realized the need for such modelling concerning magnetic mirroring and particle injection models proposed for AR Sco, the first white dwarf pulsar. This paper demonstrates the benefits of using higher-order explicit numerical integrators with adaptive time-step methods to solve the full particle dynamics with radiation-reaction forces included. We show that for standard test scenarios, namely various combinations of uniform E- and B-fields and a static dipole B-field, the schemes we use are equivalent to and in extreme field cases outperform standard symplectic integrators in accuracy. We show that the higher-order schemes have massive computational time improvements due to the adaptive time-steps we implement, especially in non-uniform field scenarios and included radiation reaction where the particle gyro-radius rapidly changes. When balancing accuracy and computational time, we identified the adaptive Dormand–Prince eighth-order scheme to be ideal for our use cases. The schemes we use maintain accuracy and stability in describing the particle dynamics and we indicate how a charged particle enters radiation-reaction equilibrium and conforms to the analytical Aristotelian Electrodynamics expectations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Size Effects on Laser Powder Bed Fusion and Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition GRCop-42 Alloy

Additive manufacturing (AM) plays a significant role in the fabrication of regeneratively cooled rocket engine combustion chambers, where internal channels are used to transport high pressure propellants to keep the engine from overheating. Cooling channels are designed with thin walls between the cooling and combustion sides, experiencing high thermal and mechanical stresses from large temperature gradients and internal pressures. Hence, selecting materials suited for this environment and maintaining a high-quality processing for this critical application is of utmost importance. GRCop-alloys (Cu-Cr-Nb) were developed as an ideal material for combustion chambers due to its high conductivity and high strength at temperature, being employed as a structural member for the hotwall with excellent heat transfer capabilities. GRCop-42 (Cu, 4 at% Cr, 2 at% Nb) has significantly matured using the Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process through microstructure, mechanical and thermophysical properties and evaluations using hot-fire testing. Additionally, Laser Powder Directed Energy Deposition (LP-DED) has demonstrated successful deposition and geometry samples using GRCop-42. While the maturation in properties has focused on bulk material properties from standard test specimens, these cannot be extrapolated to be used in thin walls, as different features (i.e., microstructure, porosity, and surface texture) have a greater effect on thin walls, especially on AM structures built using L-PBF and LP-DED. This presentation provides an overview of the effects introduced by reducing the thickness on the fabrication, microstructure, surface metrology and subsequent mechanical properties of GRCop-42 using L-PBF and LP-DED as well as future work planned for this research.

Gabriel Demeneghi↗

Testing for hydrogen environment embrittlement - Experimental variables

Hydrogen embrittlement is classified into three types: internal reversible hydrogen embrittlement, hydrogen reaction embrittlement, and hydrogen environment embrittlement. Characteristics of and materials embrittled by these types of hydrogen embrittlement are discussed. Hydrogen environment embrittlement is reviewed in detail. Factors involved in standardizing test methods for detecting the occurrence of and evaluating the severity of hydrogen environment embrittlement are considered. The effects of test technique, hydrogen pressure, gas purity, strain rate, stress concentration factor, and test temperature are discussed.

Gray, H. R.↗

Pre-Flight Testing of Spaceborne GPS Receivers Using a GPS Constellation Simulator

The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Global Positioning System (GPS) test facility has been established within the GSFC Guidance Navigation and Control Center. The GPS test facility is currently housing the STR2760 GPS satellite 40-channel attitude simulator and an STR4760 12-channel navigation simulator. The facility also contains a few other Goddard resources such as an atomic time standard test bed, a rooftop antenna platform and a radome. It provides a new capability of high dynamics GPS simulations for space flight that is unique within the aerospace community. The GPS facility gives a significant advantage in the development and support of GPS based technologies for position, attitude and precise time determination on-board a spacecraft, sounding rocket or balloon. The GPS simulator system is configured in a transportable rack and is available for GPS applications' component development as well as for spacecraft subsystem and system level testing at spacecraft integration and test sites. The GPS facility has been operational since early 1996 and has been already utilized by a few successful flight projects carrying GPS experiments, such as USA Seastar satellite and the first Argentine satellite SAC-A. The experience in the SAC-A pre-flight testing using the STR2760 simulator is summarized as well as the comparison with preliminary analysis of the GPS data from SAC-A telemetry.

Kizhner, Semion↗

Verifying Data Integrity of Electronically Scanned Pressure Systems at the NASA Glenn Research Center

The proper operation of the Electronically Scanned Pressure (ESP) System critical to accomplish the following goals: acquisition of highly accurate pressure data for the development of aerospace and commercial aviation systems and continuous confirmation of data quality to avoid costly, unplanned, repeat wind tunnel or turbine testing. Standard automated setup and checkout routines are necessary to accomplish these goals. Data verification and integrity checks occur at three distinct stages, pretest pressure tubing and system checkouts, daily system validation and in-test confirmation of critical system parameters. This paper will give an overview of the existing hardware, software and methods used to validate data integrity.

Panek, Joseph W.↗

Influence of Processing Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Borosilicate Particulate Reinforced Polymer Composites

Emerging composite materials are expanding the potential of additive manufacturing and enabling applications previously restricted by traditional manufacturing methods. The multi-phase nature of these composite materials combined with the complex in-ternal geometry of additively manufactured parts have enabled unique behavior, and potentially new applications. Additionally, these materials can be pyrolyzed to create dense metal, ceramic, and glass parts with geometries typically not achievable by tra-ditional processes. Additive manufacturing of borosilicate glass-based systems can open new applications in nuclear engineering, astronomy, and bone regrowth therapy. To elucidate the process-parameter relationship of borosilicate-polylactic acid (PLA) composites, mechanical testing was conducted and compared with a pure polylactic acid polymer baseline. Test specimens were fabricated by fused-filament fabrication with minimal post-processing. Yield strength, ultimate strength, and elastic modulus were calculated from stress-strain curves. Optical and scanning electron microscopy were conducted to observe the specimen microstructure before and after testing. The highest compressive yield strength for the composite was 28.22 MPa, and the highest compressive yield strength for PLA was 49.30 MPa. Print orientation was found to benefit the composite material but have a detrimental effect on the pure matrix material. An elastic modulus of 2.66 GPa was recorded for the borosilicate-PLA composite at 100% infill, 1 shell wall, and layer lines parallel to compression axis. Microscopy revealed that lower modulus composite specimens had the particulates re-distributed within the matrix. Tensile testing was done according to a polymer testing standard, which caused difficulties obtaining consistent fracture within the gauge length.

mechanical testing↗

Report on Lightning Simulation Standards and Facilities

Lightning strikes pose a significant threat to various forms of infrastructure and electrical equipment. Aircraft and high explosives are of particular interest due to the massive ramifications of the device being compromised due to exposure to lightning damage. However, due to lightning being a varying weather phenomenon, testing a device’s vulnerability to lightning is generally not as simple as simply exposing it to real world lightning. To consistently test a device’s ability to survive the worst-case scenario of lightning exposure, the effects of the most severe lightning strikes must be able to be reproduced consistently and measurably. One such facility for this purpose is the Sandia Lightning Simulator (SLS), which is designed to simulate the current waveform of a severe lightning flash. However, the SLS’s design and age lead to difficulties in its operation and inconsistencies in its output. The methodology used in other lightning simulation facilities may offer information on how to improve the SLS’s operation, or at the very least, expose the SLS’s hidden strengths. This report explores lightning simulation, lightning testing standards, and lightning simulation facilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗