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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 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

Domain specific software design for decision aiding

McDonnell Aircraft Company (MCAIR) is involved in many large multi-discipline design and development efforts of tactical aircraft. These involve a number of design disciplines that must be coordinated to produce an integrated design and a successful product. Our interpretation of a domain specific software design (DSSD) is that of a representation or framework that is specialized to support a limited problem domain. A DSSD is an abstract software design that is shaped by the problem characteristics. This parallels the theme of object-oriented analysis and design of letting the problem model directly drive the design. The DSSD concept extends the notion of software reusability to include representations or frameworks. It supports the entire software life cycle and specifically leads to improved prototyping capability, supports system integration, and promotes reuse of software designs and supporting frameworks. The example presented in this paper is the task network architecture or design which was developed for the MCAIR Pilot's Associate program. The task network concept supported both module development and system integration within the domain of operator decision aiding. It is presented as an instance where a software design exhibited many of the attributes associated with DSSD concept.

Keller, Kirby↗
NASA NTRS1993

Shape optimization of tibial prosthesis components

NASA technology and optimal design methodologies originally developed for the optimization of composite structures (engine blades) are adapted and applied to the optimization of orthopaedic knee implants. A method is developed enabling the shape tailoring of the tibial components of a total knee replacement implant for optimal interaction within the environment of the tibia. The shape of the implant components are optimized such that the stresses in the bone are favorably controlled to minimize bone degradation, to improve the mechanical integrity of the implant/interface/bone system, and to prevent failures of the implant components. A pilot tailoring system is developed and the feasibility of the concept is demonstrated and evaluated. The methodology and evolution of the existing aerospace technology from which this pilot optimization code was developed is also presented and discussed. Both symmetric and unsymmetric in-plane loading conditions are investigated. The results of the optimization process indicate a trend toward wider and tapered posts as well as thicker backing trays. Unique component geometries were obtained for the different load cases.

Saravanos, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Emotionality in response to aircraft noise: A report of development work

A literature search and pilot study conducted to investigate the topic of emotional response to aircraft noise are described. A Tell-A-Story Technique was developed for use in the pilot study which required respondents to make up stories for a series of aircraft-related and non-aircraft-related pictures. A content analysis of these stories was made. The major finding was that response patterns varied among three groups of respondents - those currently living near airports, those who had lived near airports in the past, and those who had never lived near airports. Negative emotional feelings toward aircraft were greatest among respondents who had lived near airports in the past but no longer did. A possible explanation offered for this finding was that people currently living near airports might adapt to the situation by denying some of their negative feelings, which they might feel more free to express after they had moved away from the situation. Other techniques used in the pilot study are also described, including group interviews and a word association task.

Klaus, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Developing and flight testing the HL-10 lifting body: A precursor to the Space Shuttle

The origins of the lifting-body idea are traced back to the mid-1950's, when the concept of a manned satellite reentering the Earth's atmosphere in the form of a wingless lifting body was first proposed. The advantages of low reentry deceleration loads, range capability, and horizontal landing of a lifting reentry vehicle (as compared with the high deceleration loads and parachute landing of a capsule) are presented. The evolution of the hypersonic HL-10 lifting body is reviewed from the theoretical design and development process to its selection as one of two low-speed flight vehicles for fabrication and piloted flight testing. The design, development, and flight testing of the low-speed, air-launched, rocket-powered HL-10 was part of an unprecedented NASA and contractor effort. NASA Langley Research Center conceived and developed the vehicle shape and conducted numerous theoretical, experimental, and wind-tunnel studies. NASA Flight Research Center (now NASA Dryden Flight Research Center) was responsible for final low-speed (Mach numbers less than 2.0) aerodynamic analysis, piloted simulation, control law development, and flight tests. The prime contractor, Northrop Corp., was responsible for hardware design, fabrication, and integration. Interesting and unusual events in the flight testing are presented with a review of significant problems encountered in the first flight and how they were solved. Impressions by the pilots who flew the HL-10 are included. The HL-10 completed a successful 37-flight program, achieved the highest Mach number and altitude of this class vehicle, and contributed to the technology base used to develop the space shuttle and future generations of lifting bodies.

Kempel, Robert W.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Research on the Thermophysics of Next-Generation Nuclear Reactors

The results of scientific research on the thermophysics of next-generation nuclear reactors conducted at the Leipunskii Institute of Physics and Power Engineering are presented: integrated experimental and computational-theoretical studies to validate design and engineering solutions as well as the safety of fast reactors with sodium and heavy liquid-metal coolant, increasing the efficiency and safety of currently operating and future NPP with water-cooled reactors, software development and certification, pilot research on innovative nuclear power facilities (fast reactors with supercritical water and high-temperature sodium coolant).

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

ToF-SIMS spectral analysis of pristine and neutron irradiated single crystal tungsten

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) has many promising features in studying materials including high spatial resolution and high mass accuracy of elements, molecules, and isotopes. Its ability to resolve isotopes is especially attractive in studying transmutation products of single crystal tungsten (SCW) post neutron irradiation. Tungsten (W) is a contender of plasma facing materials (PFMs) due to its high thermal and radiological stability. PFMs to be used in the construction of fusion vessels are subject to high temperature and neutron irradiation, resulting in changes to materials including transmutation, which ultimately impact material mechanical and thermal properties. We used IONTOF TOF.SIMS V instrument equipped with a 30 keV Bi 3 + primary ion beam to study pristine SCW and irradiated SCW speciemens. Scanning electron microscope coupled with focused ion beam (SEM-FIB) was used to reduce the dosage of neutron irradiated tungsten and prepare for specimens for SIMS analysis. Static ToF-SIMS spectra were obtained, and transmutation product peak identification was presented in this work. Identified molecules and molecular fragments were compared against isotope theoretical mass to charge ratios of tungsten, rhenium, osmium, and other relevant products. Our results show that ToF-SIMS provides a viable means to study transmutation products of W post neutron irradiation. Such applications are suitable to investigate transmutation effects on materials that are being considered and developed for fusion pilot plants.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Adsorption Thermodynamics for Process Simulation

Adsorption has rapidly evolved in recent decades and is an established separation technology extensively practiced in gas separation industries and others. However, rigorous thermodynamic modeling of multicomponent adsorption equilibrium remains elusive, and industrial practitioners rely heavily on expensive and time-consuming trial-and-error pilot studies to develop adsorption units. Here, this article highlights the need for rigorous adsorption thermodynamic models and the limitations and deficiencies of existing models such as the extended Langmuir isotherm, dual-process Langmuir isotherm, and adsorbed solution theory. It further presents a series of recent advances in the generalization of the classical Langmuir isotherm of single-component adsorption by deriving an activity coefficient model to account for the adsorbed phase adsorbate–adsorbent interactions, substituting adsorbed phase adsorbate and vacant site concentrations with activities, and extending to multicomponent competitive adsorption equilibrium, both monolayer and multilayer. Requiring a minimum set of physically meaningful model parameters, the generalized Langmuir isotherm for monolayer adsorption and the generalized Brunauer–Emmett–Teller isotherm for multilayer adsorption address various thermodynamic modeling challenges including adsorbent surface heterogeneity, isosteric enthalpies of adsorption, BET surface areas, adsorbed phase nonideality, adsorption azeotrope formation, and multilayer adsorption. Also discussed is the importance of quality adsorption data that cover sufficient temperature, pressure, and composition ranges for reliable determination of the model parameters to support adsorption process simulation, design, and optimization.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fusion Fuel Cycle Inventory Reduction Studies Using a Processing-Time–Based Discrete-Time Interval Model

Developing a Fusion Pilot Plant (FPP) design that minimizes risks due to tritium in-process inventory (IPI) is an important concern for the operation of commercial devices. This becomes even more of concern since an FPP will be breeding more tritium than is burned in the reactor for sustainability. The IPI is the tritium moving through the system that is not in the storage and delivery subsystem. Here a process model that solves time-dependent differential equations based on processing times was used to investigate the reduction of the IPI of a potential fuel cycle design. The impact of new and more efficient technologies such as direct internal recycling (DIR), metal foil pumps, continuous pumping, improved isotope separation, and hydrogen separating continuous pumps on IPI was investigated by adjusting subsystem processing times and material flow streams. It was shown that any of the insertions of DIR studied in this paper caused a reduction in the total IPI of the system and proved to be the optimal way to reduce the IPI in the system. Fuel cycle modifications near the torus, such as a coupled DIR and improved pumping systems, produced the largest reductions in tritium inventory.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Water quality data collected from the Muskegon River (MI, USA) using AquaBOT June-July 2024.

This dataset contains processed output from AquaBOT, which combines 30-second interval measurements of GPS location and YSI water quality parameters (temperature (degrees Celsius), dissolved oxygen (mg/l), specific conductance(microSiemens/cm at 25 degrees Celsius), and turbidity (NTU)), for 3 sections of the Muskegon River in Michigan, USA. The file aquabot2024_MuskegonRiver.csv has information on locations, dates and times, and observations. The data were processed by removing observations recorded before and after AquaBOT was in the water and observations where no data values were recorded. No other QA/QC was done. This research was performed as part of the DOE Research Development and Partnership Pilot award “Expanding Collaborative Capacity to Address Climate Resiliency in the Great Lakes Region”, which aims to expand collaborations between researchers at Central Michigan University and U.S. Department of Energy labs and projects focused on enhancing climate resilience in Great Lakes communities and ecosystems.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

High temperature high velocity direct power extraction using an open-cycle oxy-combustion system

The implementation of oxy-fuel technology in fossil-fuel power plants may contribute to increased system efficiencies and a reduction of pollutant emissions. One technology that has potential to utilize the temperature of undiluted oxy-combustion flames is open-cycle magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generators. These systems can be configured as a topping cycle and provide high enthalpy, electrically conductive flows for direct conversion of electricity. This report presents the design and modeling strategies of a MHD combustor operating at temperatures exceeding 3000 K. Throughout the study, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models were extensively used as a design and optimization tool. A lab-scale 60 kWth model was designed, manufactured and tested as part of this project. A fully-coupled numerical method was developed in ANSYS FLUENT to characterize the heat transfer in the system. This study revealed that nozzle heat transfer may be predicted through a 40% reduction of the semi-empirical Bartz correlation. Experimental results showed good agreement with the numerical evaluation, with the combustor exhibiting a favorable performance when tested during extended time periods. A transient numerical method was employed to analyze fuel injector geometries for the 60-kW combustor. The ANSYS FLUENT study revealed that counter-swirl inlets achieve a uniform pressure and velocity ratio when the ports of the injector length to diameter ratio (L/D) is 4. An angle of 115 degrees was found to increase distribution efficiency. The findings show that this oxy-combustion concept is capable of providing a high-enthalpy environment for seeding, in order to render the flow to be conductive. Based on previous findings, temperatures in the range of 2800-3000 K may enable magnetohydrodynamic power extraction. The heat loss fraction in this oxy-combustion system, based on CFD and analytical calculations, at optimal operating conditions, was estimated to be less than 10 percent. Furthermore, the heat transfer design removed approximately 7 MW/m2. The results observed in the lab-scale system were employed to develop a 1-MW scaled prototype. Scaling methods were based on critical design criteria found in similar systems, aimed at replicating combustion flow fields and reducing possible instabilities. A numerical simulation of the combustor wall was developed for a combined thermal steady model and static structural model. This combined model was developed predict combined stress parameters within the wall during testing conditions. Both models were developed within ANSYS FEA software package. The relative accuracy presented as well major performance parameters are discussed to assess the design's validity and ensure safety. The scaled prototype was manufactured through selective laser melting (SLM)-based additive manufacturing to reduce lead times and increase geometrical complexity. Additional CFD models were developed to optimize coolant manifold system parameters and perform a parametric study on channel geometry. An investigation on coolant manifold geometry demonstrated improvements in channel flow distribution when enlarging manifold lengths and increasing the number of tubes feeding into the flow. A three-dimensional model based on a single channel was developed to capture the effect of variable properties and thermal stratification. All cases in the simulation exhibited higher wall temperatures and lower convective coefficients than those determined through 1-D analytical equations. This implies that pressure and velocity safety factors must be implemented during system operation. Overall, the findings made in this investigation are thought to be of value to researchers and industrial practitioners when designing oxy-fuel direct power extraction systems operating at temperatures exceeding 3000 K. In addition to this, the implementation of the developed technology at pilot and commercial scales could result in a significant improvement in the efficiencies of heritage and next-generation power cycles.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Assessing the Geomechanical Response of CO 2 Disposal in Flood Basalt Reservoirs

In this work, we complete a multi-scale investigation of the physical processes governing geologic CO 2 sequestration in basalt reservoirs. This work integrates (i) laboratory measurements of relative permeability in a basalt fracture, (ii) theoretical modeling to understand how relative permeability uncertainty affects geomechanical performance attributes of basalt reservoirs, (iii) outcrop-scale simulation to identify the characteristics of vertical CO 2 flow in a basalt fracture network, and (iv) regional-scale assessment of permeability architecture in the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG). These individual studies are combined into a site-scale stochastic model of geologic CO 2 sequestration in the Columbia River Plateau, which shows how bulk and relative permeability variability affects geomechanical reservoir integrity and storage capacity of flood basalt reservoirs. This project resulted in a novel laboratory technique that combines X-ray CT and micro-PET scanning to calculate the relative permeability curves for a horizontal fracture in basalt. We also discovered that permeability on the Columbia River Plateau exhibits directionally-dependent spatial correlation, which our analysis suggests is a result of loading-induced subsidence. This analysis further discovered that permeability in the CRBG may increase at depth due to bending moment stresses. In the context of CO 2 sequestration, this result implies that storage capacity and injectivity may actually increase at depths beyond ~1 km. Our outcrop-scale investigation found that buoyant, free-phase CO 2 tends to accumulate at fracture intersections, which inhibits vertical flow over 10+ year timescales and may facilitate both physical and chemical trapping as fluid mobility decreases. At the site-scale, we find that in flood basalt reservoirs the spatial configuration of reservoir permeability exhibits substantial control on CO 2 injectivity. We utilized known borehole geology from the Wallula Basalt Sequestration Pilot Project to develop 50 equally probable permeability configurations and found that a single injection well operating at 95% of the borehole breakout pressure can deliver 0.12 to 2.0 million metric tons of CO 2 per year (MMT CO 2 per year). This maximum injection rate can support a 1,000 MW gas-fired power plant with a single injection well.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Army Re-tuning™ Implementation Guides

The Army is a large, geographically dispersed organization with 156 installations and over 980 million square feet of building space to operate and maintain. The building stock spans a wide range of vintages and missions, with many serving cross-cutting functions and purposes. To meet Federal mandates and reduction goals organizationally, in recent years the Army has aggressively pursued policy and energy efficiency projects and programs resulting in a 9.6% reduction in energy use intensity (EUI) from fiscal year (FY) 2015 to FY2017. Despite these successes, the Army remains the largest consumer of electricity in the Federal government and spent approximately $1.1 billion in energy-related costs in FY2017 The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), in support of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment) (ASA (IE&E)), was tasked with a multi-year study and pilot demonstration to develop a business case for the potential energy and cost reduction benefits from re-tuning™ efforts for the Army. Re tuning is a systematic process aimed at minimizing building energy consumption by identifying and correcting operational problems that plague buildings. The methodology was developed by PNNL research staff in an effort to improve building operational efficiency at no- or low-cost, primarily through building automation system (BAS) controls. The methodology is based on two basic principles: If the equipment is not needed, turn it off; and if the equipment is not needed at full power, turn it down. Implementation of identified low-cost/no-cost operational improvements through the re-tuning process results in increased building energy efficiency, reduced operating costs, and improvement to occupant comfort.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Highlights and Lessons Learned from Army Re-tuning™ Pilot Demonstrations

The Army has aggressively pursued policy and energy efficiency projects and programs in recent years to meet Federal mandates and reduction goals organizationally (EISA 2007, AR 420-1, 42 U.S.C. § 8253), resulting in a 9.6% reduction in energy use intensity (EUI) from FY2015 to FY2017. Despite these successes, the Army remains the largest consumer of electricity in the Federal government and spent approximately $1.1 billion in energy-related costs in FY2017. Many of the low-cost/no-cost conservation measures have been deployed, so finding additional savings and projects that either (a) are cost effective or (b) can be bundled with more costly capital improvement projects to improve life cycle cost effectiveness, is imperative for the Army. Leveraging building control systems (BCS) and optimizing building performance through re-tuning represents a great opportunity for the Army. In 2016, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), in support of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations, Energy and Environment), i.e. ASA (IEE), was tasked in 2016 with a multi-year study and pilot demonstration to develop a business case for the potential energy and cost reduction benefits from re-tuning efforts for the Army.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

An Integrated Flame Spray Process for Low Cost Production of Battery Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries and Beyond

The overall objective of this project was to develop an advanced manufacturing technology for Li-ion battery materials production at low cost and in a green chemical process using glycerol as solvent to replace water. It was aimed at developing a prototype pilot production line to reduce production cost by at least 25% to the baseline. During the course of this project, research was conducted to understand spray drying and combustion of eutectic solvent precursors of glycerol and metal salts (acetates) in the formation of mixed metal oxide powders. Reactor design and optimization were done to facilitate spray drying and combustion in powder formation and processing. Various cathode materials powders were produced, including lithium nickel-cobalt-manganese oxide (NCM) and lithium nickel-cobalt-aluminum oxide (NCA). These cathode materials powders were tested in half coin cells for their performances, with materials performances of 160 mAh/g for NCM111 and 200 mAh/g for NCA. NCA powders were also produced using a slurry spray-drying process and tested in full pouch cells. A pilot scale flame assisted spray drying reactor was constructed and demonstrated for its production rate exceeding the target of production rate of four metric tons per year. The work performed in this project has been documented in 9 peer reviewed journal publications, 8 conference presentations, and two IP disclosures/patent applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

RePOWERD: Restoration of Power Outage from Wide-area Severe Weather Disruptions

The purpose of the RePOWERD project is to develop a probabilistic and a simulation based power restoration forecasting model for tropical storms based on geographic utility service areas, impacts to energy infrastructures and transportation networks, time-varying customer outage number, crew information (i.e., crew size, crew staging requirements), and utility restoration plans. Energy infrastructure is a critical lifeline essential for the United States’ national and economic security. Like other critical infrastructures, this infrastructure is aging and is at a high risk of damages from extreme weather events. Based on the number of reported outages in EAGLE-I during 2020 and 2021, it is evident that the current energy infrastructure is not equipped to handle extreme event impacts and will contribute to significant outages. From a resilience perspective, it is essential to forecast restoration time in the event of a severe weather induced power outage to assist the US Department of Energy, emergency managers, and first responders with resource planning. This project contributes to this crucial need. This report details the models, that were developed in this pilot study, to determine the rate of restoration and estimated time of restoration (ETR) during tropical storm events within counties and utility service areas based on damage to energy infrastructures and total number of customers experiencing outages.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Fuel Fabrication Capability Assessment in Support of Advanced Reactor Deployments

More than 30 U.S. companies are designing a variety of advanced reactor concepts, and several companies are planning to demonstrate their reactor designs in the mid-2020s to late 2030s time frame. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a series of awards under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP) to accelerate the successful deployment of 10 of these reactors under three pathways. TerraPower and X-energy were awarded grants under the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program to deploy their respective Natrium reactor and Xe-100 reactor designs in the next 7–10 years. These demonstrations are in addition to several parallel programs, including the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) interest in the development of microreactors, and interest of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in space nuclear power and propulsion. The National Reactor Innovation Center’s (NRIC’s) mission is to accelerate the demonstration and deployment of advanced reactors; NRIC is partnering with several reactor developers and harnessing the world-class capabilities of the U.S. National Laboratory system to deliver on its mission. Several of these reactor designs will require advanced fuel forms that are not commercially available today, including metal fuel, molten salt fuel, TRi-structural ISOtropic (TRISO) particle fuel, and uranium nitride fuel. Recognizing that there may be potential gaps in the laboratory-scale process development and pilot-scale first-of-a-kind (FOAK) production of these fuel forms leading to delivery of the FOAK cores, NRIC commissioned this study to look at the challenges that need to be overcome for successful deliveries, including the evaluation of existing facilities and the potential need for a new fuel fabrication facility.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Use of High-Throughput Automated Microbioreactor System for Production of Model IgG1 in CHO Cells

Automated microscale bioreactors (15 mL) can be a useful tool for cell culture engineers. They facilitate the simultaneous execution of a wide variety of experimental conditions while minimizing potential process variability. Applications of this approach include: clone screening, temperature and pH shifts, media and supplement optimization. Furthermore, the small reactor volumes are conducive to large Design of Experiments that investigate a wide range of conditions. This allows upstream processes to be significantly optimized before scale-up where experimentation is more limited in scope due to time and economic constraints. Automated microscale bioreactor systems offer various advantages over traditional small scale cell culture units, such as shake flasks or spinner flasks. However, during pilot scale process development significant care must be taken to ensure that these advantages are realized. When run with care, the system can enable high level automation, can be programmed to run DOE's with a higher number of variables and can reduce sampling time when integrated with a nutrient analyzer or cell counter. Integration of the expert-derived heuristics presented here, with current automated microscale bioreactor experiments can minimize common pitfalls that hinder meaningful results. In the extreme, failure to adhere to the principles laid out here can lead to equipment damage that requires expensive repairs. Furthermore, the microbioreactor systems have small culture volumes making characterization of cell culture conditions difficult. The number and amount of samples taken in-process in batch mode culture is limited as operating volumes cannot fall below 10 mL. This method will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of microscale bioreactor systems.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1975

A pilot rating scale for vortex hazard evaluation

A pilot rating scale is developed for subjective assessment of hazard resulting from wake vortex encounter upsets. The development of the rating scale is based on a survey of 48 pilots regarding the semantic properties of various phrases and a choice of formats for the rating scale. The rating scale can be used to define a hazard/nonhazard boundary as well as to determine a measure of the hazard.

Hoh, R. H.↗