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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Clearing the Air: New Approaches to Life Support in Outer Space

This article reports on research into atmospheric revitalization systems for long-term space travel and the use ofCOMSOL Multiphysics to understand how structured sorbents can be used to improve the performance of adsorption processes via thermal management. We are developing the next generation of atmosphere revitalization systems, which will reach for new levels of resource conservation via a high percentage of loop closure. For example, a high percentage of carbon dioxide, exhaled by crew, can be converted via reaction to drinking water, closing the loop from human metabolic waste to supply. Adsorption processes play a lead role in these new/closed loop systems.

Knox, J.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Utilizing Solar Power Technologies for On-Orbit Propellant Production

The cost of access to space beyond low Earth orbit may be reduced if vehicles can refuel in orbit. The cost of access to low Earth orbit may also be reduced by launching oxygen and hydrogen propellants in the form of water. To achieve this reduction in costs of access to low Earth orbit and beyond, a propellant depot is considered that electrolyzes water in orbit, then condenses and stores cryogenic oxygen and hydrogen. Power requirements for such a depot require Solar Power Satellite technologies. A propellant depot utilizing solar power technologies is discussed in this paper. The depot will be deployed in a 400 km circular equatorial orbit. It receives tanks of water launched into a lower orbit from Earth, converts the water to liquid hydrogen and oxygen, and stores up to 500 metric tons of cryogenic propellants. This requires a power system that is comparable to a large Solar Power Satellite capable of several 100 kW of energy. Power is supplied by a pair of solar arrays mounted perpendicular to the orbital plane, which rotates once per orbit to track the Sun. The majority of the power is used to run the electrolysis system. Thermal control is maintained by body-mounted radiators; these also provide some shielding against orbital debris. The propellant stored in the depot can support transportation from low Earth orbit to geostationary Earth orbit, the Moon, LaGrange points, Mars, etc. Emphasis is placed on the Water-Ice to Cryogen propellant production facility. A very high power system is required for cracking (electrolyzing) the water and condensing and refrigerating the resulting oxygen and hydrogen. For a propellant production rate of 500 metric tons (1,100,000 pounds) per year, an average electrical power supply of 100 s of kW is required. To make the most efficient use of space solar power, electrolysis is performed only during the portion of the orbit that the Depot is in sunlight, so roughly twice this power level is needed for operations in sunlight (slightly over half of the time). This power level mandates large solar arrays, using advanced Space Solar Power technology. A significant amount of the power has to be dissipated as heat, through large radiators. This paper briefly describes the propellant production facility and the requirements for a high power system capability. The Solar Power technologies required for such an endeavor are discussed.

Fikes, John C.↗
NASA NTRS2022

Ultra-Pure, High Endurance Liquid Bladder with Volume Sensor for Space Applications

The NASA Portable Life Support System (PLSS) for the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) incorporates a Feedwater Supply Assembly (FSA) to store consumable cooling water. The FSA accepts pure water prior to each Extra-Vehicular Activity (EVA), then supplies this water to a membrane evaporator at ambient suit pressure during the eight hour EVA. The FSA must function reliably for hundreds of EVAs over 15 years of service without introducing contamination that may accumulate and foul the membrane. We present a unique design that combines the benefits of a flexible fluoropolymer bladder with the strength and convenience of a rigid tank, providing an ultra-pure, ambient-pressure reservoir with fill-drain cycle life exceeding 3000, internal pressure tolerance exceeding 100 psi, high volumetric efficiency, near-zero dead volume, optical transparency for visual inspection, simplified mounting, and very low mass. We also incorporate a novel volume sensor suitable for both microgravity and arbitrarily accelerated environments and capable of real-time monitoring with accuracy on the order of 2.5% full scale. Analytical predictions are supported by experimental test data from a mature subscale prototype.

PLSS Portable Life Support System FSA Feedwater Su↗
DOE OSTI2024

Basic Energy Sciences Roundtable: Foundational Science to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Innovation

Energy security, availability, and reliability are among the greatest challenges facing the nation and the planet. An abundant potential source of energy resides in the fundamental atomic building blocks of the universe in the form of nuclear fission and fusion reactions. In fact, energy from nuclear fission currently provides the majority of the world’s zero-carbon electricity, and future fusion energy systems offer great promise; carbon-free nuclear energy technologies can be key to the world’s decarbonized energy future. Although contemporary fission systems use well-established technologies to supply safe and efficient baseload power, they could be more fuel efficient and less costly. Moving beyond massive light-water fission reactors to a variety of advanced nuclear systems—which will vary in size and operate in extremes of temperature, corrosivity, and other parameters—will place stringent conditions on materials and chemical systems. New demands will be placed on the coolants and solvents, the materials, and the monitoring tools used in these reactors. Fusion-based nuclear energy will require superior materials to withstand extremely high temperatures, plasma exposure, radiation damage, and implanted gases. The advantages associated with these new fission and fusion technologies will be realized only through continued advancements in the fundamental science underpinning our knowledge of the physics and chemistry of nuclear systems gained via improved experimental and computational methods. In July 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences—in coordination with the Offices of Nuclear Energy, Fusion Energy Sciences, and Advanced Scientific Computing Research—held a virtual roundtable titled “Foundational Science to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Innovation” to discuss the scientific and technical barriers for advanced nuclear energy systems. Five priority research opportunities were identified to address these scientific and technical challenges and to accelerate progress toward the realization of next-generation fusion and fission energy systems. The foundational science gaps inhibiting the advancement of nuclear energy technologies are identified and tackled in five priority research opportunities. These opportunities pave the way to accelerate the development and ultimately the adoption of new nuclear energy systems. They include the fundamental aspects of ion-electron interactions; novel properties of next-generation coolants and solvents; interfacial dynamics, not only in solids, but in other aspects of nuclear reactors; novel operando and in situ monitoring and sensing; and artificial intelligence to accelerate condensed phases discovery. Building on the foundation established by previous Basic Energy Sciences workshops, these opportunities encompass recent advances in fundamental knowledge and focus on the experimental and computational methods needed to resolve major technical challenges for nuclear energy technologies. Through developing fundamental scientific insight as well as pushing the frontiers of modeling complex systems and probing the operation of materials and chemical systems in extreme environments, research motivated by the priorities identified here will further develop the promise, potential, and utilization of nuclear energy for a clean energy future.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Developing Renewable Energy Applications for Water Treatment Technologies and Transmission

The need for smaller treatment facilities for more isolated or rural municipal entities and industrial water treatment facilities continues to grow. From environmental justice and energy needs in remote communities that have never been serviced by larger scale utilities to smaller onsite treatment requirements to meet discharge regulations, energy efficient treatment systems that can leverage renewable energy sources can be an important asset to owners. Climate change and population dynamics have changed the needs for distributed water treatment systems and the manner in which they function. New treatment technologies that can operate under dynamic conditions and leverage variable energy sources (e.g., renewable energy, RE) can provide substantial efficiencies and cost savings. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is embarking on research projects that will perform multi-scale studies to investigate treatment technologies on varying source water quality that can operate under unsteady state flow conditions (timing) in response to energy availability, supply, and demand. A pilot-scale system will be built to assess modularity and scaling of treatment system operating conditions and performance. Modeling will also be used to determine feasibility and integration into grid emulation platforms to understand the use and value of operation with RE. Optimization will be completed for the treatment and distribution systems to document strengths and weaknesses of using RE power sources. Results of this effort will advance dynamic water treatment understanding under variable conditions and integration of RE sources to power these systems. This will lead to further decarbonization of municipal and private treatment facilities while supporting a paradigm shift in water treatment process operation and system design to achieve net-zero goals and move toward energy-sensitive resilient water treatment systems.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Aggregation in bottom-up vulnerability assessments and equity implications: The case of Jordanian households’ water supply

Bottom-up methods for water resources modeling rely on acceptability thresholds to find, through a response surface, which deeply uncertain futures lead to system failure. They commonly treat water users as aggregate actors, which may preclude analysis of the equity impacts of interventions. This paper explores how aggregation choices for large groups of water users lead to different policy recommendations in response surface assessments. Herein, two aggregation methods with varying parameters are considered: percentile satisfaction targets and generalized mean. A 2-dimensional stress-test assessment across groundwater availability and population is applied to household water supply in Jordan. The study compares six different policies covering supply enhancement and rebalancing, using a country-wide multi-agent model that characterizes households across socioeconomic strata. For different aggregation levels, policies are ordered by their associated robustness index. Results show that aggregation choices may modify response surfaces as much as policy changes and strongly determine policy preference. Modifying allocation rules can substantially reduce the disparity in household vulnerability. Preferences defined by aggregation intervals provide a finer understanding of trade-offs among water users and may improve deliberation over equity under deep uncertainty.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2007

Compact Fuel-Cell System Would Consume Neat Methanol

In a proposed direct methanol fuel-cell electric-power-generating system, the fuel cells would consume neat methanol, in contradistinction to the dilute aqueous methanol solutions consumed in prior direct methanol fuel-cell systems. The design concept of the proposed fuel-cell system takes advantage of (1) electro-osmotic drag and diffusion processes to manage the flows of hydrogen and water between the anode and the cathode and (2) evaporative cooling for regulating temperature. The design concept provides for supplying enough water to the anodes to enable the use of neat methanol while ensuring conservation of water for the whole fuel-cell system.

Narayanan, Sekharipuram↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gambusia holbrooki Survive Shear Stress, Pressurization and Avoid Blade Strike in a Simulated Pumped Hydroelectric Scheme

Pumped hydroelectric energy storage (PHES) projects are being considered worldwide as a means of achieving political renewable energy targets in a way that stabilises baseload energy supply from often intermittent renewable energy sources. Unlike a conventional hydroelectric system that only pass water in a downstream direction, a feature of PHES is that it relies on the bi-directional flow of water. In some cases this flow can be across different waterbodies or catchments, posing a risk of inadvertently expanding the range of aquatic animals like fish. The risk of this happening depends on the likelihood of survival of individuals, which remains poorly understood for turbines that are pumping rather than generating. This study quantified the survival of a globally widespread and invasive poeciliid fish, Eastern gambusia (Gambusia holbrooki) when exposed hydraulic stresses characteristic of what would be experienced through a PHES during the pumping phase. A shear flume and hyperbaric chamber were used to expose fish to different strain rates and rapid and sustained pressurisation. A blade strike model was also used to predict survival of fish passing through a Francis dual turbine / pump. The ranges simulated were based on design and operational conditions provided for a PHES scheme being proposed in south-eastern Australia. All gambusia tested survived extremely high (up to 7600 kPa gauge pressure) pressurisation, high levels of shear stress (up to 1853 s -1 ), and the majority (> 93 %) were unlikely to be struck by a turbine blade. Given their tolerance to these extreme simulated stresses, we conclude that gambusia will likely survive passage through a PHES scheme. Therefore, where a new PHES poses the risk of inadvertently expanding the range of gambusia or similar poeciliid species, measures to minimise their spread or mitigate their ecosystem impacts should be considered.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

GCAM–GLORY v1.0: representing global reservoir water storage in a multi-sector human–Earth system model

Abstract. Reservoirs play a significant role in modifying the spatiotemporal availability of surface water to meet multi-sector human demands, despite representing a relatively small fraction of the global water budget. Yet the integrated modeling frameworks that explore the interactions among climate, land, energy, water, and socioeconomic systems at a global scale often contain limited representations of water storage dynamics that incorporate feedbacks from other systems. In this study, we implement a representation of water storage in the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to enable the exploration of the future role (e.g., expansion) of reservoir water storage globally in meeting demands for, and evolving in response to interactions with, the climate, land, and energy systems. GCAM represents 235 global water basins, operates at 5-year time steps, and uses supply curves to capture economic competition among renewable water (now including reservoirs), non-renewable groundwater, and desalination. Our approach consists of developing the GLObal Reservoir Yield (GLORY) model, which uses a linear programming (LP)-based optimization algorithm and dynamically linking GLORY with GCAM. The new coupled GCAM–GLORY approach improves the representation of reservoir water storage in GCAM in several ways. First, the GLORY model identifies the cost of supplying increasing levels of water supply from reservoir storage by considering regional physical and economic factors, such as evolving monthly reservoir inflows and demands, and the leveled cost of constructing additional reservoir storage capacity. Second, by passing those costs to GCAM, GLORY enables the exploration of future regional reservoir expansion pathways and their response to climate and socioeconomic drivers. To guide the model toward reasonable reservoir expansion pathways, GLORY applies a diverse array of feasibility constraints related to protected land, population, water sources, and cropland. Finally, the GLORY–GCAM feedback loop allows evolving water demands from GCAM to inform GLORY, resulting in an updated supply curve at each time step, thus enabling GCAM to establish a more meaningful economic value of water. This study improves our understanding of the sensitivity of reservoir water supply to multiple physical and economic dimensions, such as sub-annual variations in climate conditions and human water demands, especially for basins experiencing socioeconomic droughts.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1981

Solar space-heating system--Yosemite National Park, California

A 12 months performance of Visitors Center installation suffered from low insolation, high energy dissipation, and equipment breakdown. System has 980 square feet of liquid flat-plate collectors, water energy storage, 4-mode control, heat exchangers, pumps, and plumbing. Design expected system to supply over 50 percent of annual heating demand, but only 109 million Btu were conserved.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2011

Assessment of RFID Read Accuracy for ISS Water Kit

The Space Life Sciences Directorate/Medical Informatics and Health Care Systems Branch (SD4) is assessing the benefits Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology for tracking items flown onboard the International Space Station (ISS). As an initial study, the Avionic Systems Division Electromagnetic Systems Branch (EV4) is collaborating with SD4 to affix RFID tags to a water kit supplied by SD4 and studying the read success rate of the tagged items. The tagged water kit inside a Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB) was inventoried using three different RFID technologies, including the Johnson Space Center Building 14 Wireless Habitat Test Bed RFID portal, an RFID hand-held reader being targeted for use on board the ISS, and an RFID enclosure designed and prototyped by EV4.

Chu, Andrew↗
DOE OSTI2021

Efficiency, Power Loss, and Power Factor Measurement of Quadrupole Magnet Power Supplies at the Spallation Neutron Source

The linear accelerator (LINAC) quadrupole magnets are powered by 42 silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) based power supplies at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) facility of Oak Ridge National Laboratory. These 35V, 525A power supplies are bulky, inefficient and require both air and water cooling. The reliability of the SNS facility is impacted due to water leaks internal to power supplies and current readback issues associated with their unique control system interface, resulting in multiple downtime events. Hence, an alternate solution is necessary for the continued reliable operation of the SNS. To mitigate the above-mentioned problems, this paper proposes the use of off-the-shelf Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS) rated for 20V, 500A with serial control interface. These SMPS are air-cooled, more efficient and more compact owing to their switching speeds of approximately 160 kHz. The performance enhancements of the SMPS in comparison with the existing SCR power supply are discussed in detail in this paper. The features of the SMPS, along with experimental results for both power supplies, like efficiency, power losses and stability, are presented. Ongoing work is also discussed.

Harave, Sudarshan↗
NASA NTRS1990

Environmental Control and Life Support System

Viewgraphs on the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) for the space station are presented. The ECLSS is divided into six subsystems: temperature and humidity control (THC), atmosphere control and supply (ACS), atmosphere revitalization (AR), fire detection and suppression (FDS), water recovery management (WRM), and waste management (WM). Topics covered include: ECLSS subsystem functions; ECLSS distributed system; ECLSS functional distribution; CO2 removal; CO2 reduction; oxygen generation; urine processor; and potable water recovery.

Ray, Charles↗
DOE OSTI2022

Water and Climate Impacts on ERCOT Long-Term Systems Assessment

Water and climate change pose many potential challenges to the electric power system. Substantial water is withdrawn every day to support thermoelectric power generating unit operations, and changes to water supply have the potential to affect generation dispatch. Climate change can accelerate growing demand for electricity, which can necessitate additional generating capacity, often in locations with limited water supply. Drought conditions also threaten thermoelectric power plant operations due to streamflow and reservoir levels dropping below intake structures, or water temperatures exceeding a power plants' permitted operating conditions. Here we explore how future climate change might influence decisions related to electricity capacity expansion planning in Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) using a multi-model framework. Specifically, water resource modeling is used to simulate climate impacts on the future water supply for thermoelectric and hydropower generation for four future climate projections. Separately, temperature impacts on electricity load are evaluated for these scenarios. These climate impacts are applied to five alternative electricity futures in an electricity capacity expansion model that projects future generation and transmission capacity additions in ERCOT. Results indicate that climate has a measurable influence on future generation and transmission capacity needs, with temperature-driven increases in peak and average load resulting in 5-15 GW additional generating capacity and up to 1 GW additional transmission capacity. Additional capacity is a diverse mix of PV, natural gas, and wind, depending on the makeup of economic, policy and technology assumptions. Climate impacts increase total system costs 2-5%, while the marginal cost of energy and emissions are not affected substantially by climate change effects.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sequim Campus Master Plan

Based in Richland, Washington, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is one of ten U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) national laboratories. PNNL is DOE’s premier chemistry, earth sciences, and data analytics laboratory, delivering vital mission impacts in energy resiliency and national security. PNNL has 19 core capabilities, each a powerful combination of world-class staff, state-of-the- art equipment, and mission-ready facilities. These capabilities represent a collective set of skills and a body of world-leading scientific and engineering work that provides exceptional value and mission delivery to DOE, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other federal agencies and industry through strategic partnership projects on a not-to-interfere basis. Currently operated by Battelle Memorial Institute, PNNL occupies more than 2.3 million gross square feet (GSF) of buildings and employs approximately 4,700 staff members. PNNL has implemented a rolling 10-year campus strategy, initiated in fiscal year 2013, designed to deliver the foundation for the multidisciplinary science and engineering expertise, equipment, instrumentation, facilities, and infrastructure required to continue providing exceptional value and mission delivery. This strategy is incorporated into PNNL’s annual Laboratory Plan, which serves as DOE-SC’s equivalent of the Five- Year Site Plan required by DOE Order 430.1C Chg. 1, Real Property Asset Management. The PNNL Sequim Campus is located in Clallam County, just outside of Sequim, Washington. PNNL Sequim builds upon a rich history of research related to marine and coastal resources, environmental chemistry, water resources modeling, ecotoxicology, biotechnology, and national security. Facilities at the PNNL Sequim Campus were designed to take advantage of two unique locational assets: the pristine coastal ocean water in Sequim Bay and the region’s exceptionally clean air. Research facilities on the waterfront are supplied with up to 200 gallons per minute (gpm) of seawater and/or groundwater that enables research on aquatic systems ranging from fully seawater to fresh water, with an onsite water treatment system that removes all biological and hazardous chemical residues prior to discharge. Multiple large seawater tanks outside the waterfront laboratories, along with a boat ramp, pier, and floating dock, enable lab-to-field research. The uplands facility takes advantage of the amazing air quality and is built and operated to enable ultratrace chemical/radiological analytical chemistry. This combination of capabilities is not available at any other marine laboratory in the nation.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Venous Gas Embolism: Review to Quantify a Safe Volume of Air in Intravenous Fluids Bags for Spaceflight Applications

INTRODUCTION: The ability to create intravenous fluids (IVF) in-situ from the potable water supply of a spaceflight vehicle or habitat is a desired capability for an exploration medical system. In order to define an acceptable volume of air in IVF bags, an understanding of the volume of venous gas embolism as it relates to negative outcomes is needed. The purpose of this study is to review the literature to determine if there is a known volume of gas that contributes to mortality and/or morbidity that could be used to define requirements for rapid IVF infusion in microgravity. METHODS: A literature review was conducted of the PubMed database using the syntax: (Venous) AND (Gas OR Air) AND (Embolism) AND (Morbidity) AND (Mortality) AND (Volume) as well as manual review of references from relevant articles. 151 articles were screened excluding partial text and pediatric articles. Studies were reviewed for identification of volume of venous gas embolism associated with morbidity and/or mortality, which identified 27 articles. RESULTS: Reviewed literature included animal studies, case reports, and review articles. A high variation of proposed volumes contributing to mortality was reported. The limited human data values ranged from 20 ml to 200 ml of infused air with mortality estimated to be 48 – 80%. No studies evaluated human morbidity in any capacity. DISCUSSION: The lack of consensus on the safe volume of infused air has potential ramifications for IVF use in spaceflight as current technologies to create IVF from potable water may introduce air in IVF bags. While current microgravity infusion protocols call for the use of inline air removal filters, commercially available options have flow rate limitations that preclude rapid infusion in a resuscitation scenario. Such filters may be used in parallel to increase flow rate, but the time required to set up such a system may exclude its use during a medical emergency. Additionally, these consumable filters drive up the overall mass and volume of the medical system. Identification of a safe volume of air in IVF would allow for guidelines for the in-situ production of IVF in future spaceflight vehicles/habitats.

Christopher R Woodard↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

ISRU Potential Water Mine Sites; Preliminary Evaluation for NASA Artemis Campaign

The NASA Artemis Campaign aims to return to the Moon to maintain a sustainable presence [1], and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU)is a key part of sustainability. The regions of interest for the Artemis campaign, as outlined in [1] and shown in Fig 1, are at Lunar the South Pole where water ice has been identified. The potential use of this water, and oxygen/hydrogen, for NASA and commercial applications such as refueling vehicles and power systems, and supplying life support consumables is one of the considerations the NASA Artemis team is using to evaluate these regions. As such, analyses are underway to evaluate the ISRU ice mining potential of these regions of interest. To do so, a set of ground rules for ISRU sites have been developed to align with current assumptions for customer needs, hardware capabilities, initially limited infrastructure, and lunar environments/terrain. The customer could be a lander, habitat, or other asset that makes use of ISRU product within the Artemis architecture. At this time, four of the regions of influence (the ‘western’ cluster in Fig. 1) have undergone preliminary ISRU evaluation. It should be noted that variety of other efforts have done similar evaluations of this nature with different assumptions or viewpoints, such as the most recent[2]. However, most evaluations focus on large permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) and craters due to orbital data resolution limitations, whereas early ice mining operations will likely occur in much smaller PSRs

In situ resource utilization↗