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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 325 records · Page 18

Determining the Optimum Post Spacing of LIDAR-Derived Elevation Data in Varying Terrain for Flood Hazard Mapping Purposes in North Carolina and Texas

The major flood events in the United States in the past few years have made it apparent that many floodplain maps being used by State governments are outdated and inaccurate. In response, many Stated have begun to update their Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps. Accurate topographic data is one of the most critical inputs for floodplain analysis and delineation. Light detection and ranging (LIDAR) altimetry is one of the primary remote sensing technologies that can be used to obtain high-resolution and high-accuracy digital elevation data suitable for hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) modeling, in part because of its ability to "penetrate" various cover types and to record geospatial data from the Earth's surface. However, the posting density or spacing at which LIDAR collects the data will affect the resulting accuracies of the derived bare Earth surface, depending on terrain type and land cover type. For example, flat areas are thought to require higher or denser postings than hilly areas to capture subtle changes in the topography that could have a significant effect on flooding extent. Likewise, if an area has dense understory and overstory, it may be difficult to receive LIDAR returns from the Earth's surface, which would affect the accuracy of that bare Earth surface and thus would affect flood model results. For these reasons, NASA and FEMA have partnered with the State of North Carolina and with the U.S./Mexico Foundation in Texas to assess the effect of LIDAR point density on the characterization of topographic variation and on H&H modeling results for improved floodplain mapping. Research for this project is being conducted in two areas of North Carolina and in the City of Brownsville, Texas, each with a different type of terrain and varying land cover/land use. Because of various project constraints, LIDAR data were acquired once at a high posting density and then decimated to coarser postings or densities. Quality assurance/quality control analyses were performed on each dataset. Cross sections extracted form the high density and then the decimated datasets were individually input into an H&H model to determine the model's sensitivity to topographic variation and the effect of that variation on the resulting water profiles. Additional analysis was performed on the Brownsville, Texas, LIDAR data to determine the percentage of returns that "penetrated" various types of canopy or vegetative cover. It is hoped that the results of these studies will benefit state and local communities as they consider the post spacing at which to acquire LIDAR data (which affects cost) and will benefit FEMA as the Agency assesses the use of different technologies for updating National Flood Insurance Program and related products.

Berglund, Judith↗

Comparing Eyewitness-Derived Trajectories of Bright Meteors to Ground Truth Data

The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office is a US government agency tasked with analyzing meteors of public interest. When queried about a meteor observed over the United States, the MEO must respond with a characterization of the trajectory, orbit, and size within a few hours. If the event is outside meteor network coverage and there is no imagery recorded by the public, a timely assessment can be difficult if not impossible. In this situation, visual reports made by eyewitnesses may be the only resource available. This has led to the development of a tool to quickly calculate crude meteor trajectories from eyewitness reports made to the American Meteor Society. A description of the tool, example case studies, and a comparison to ground truth data observed by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network are presented.

Moser, D. E.↗

Comparing Eyewitness-Derived Trajectories of Bright Meteors to Ground Truth Data

The NASA Meteoroid Environment Office (MEO) is the only US government agency tasked with analyzing meteors of public interest. When queried about a meteor observed over the United States, the MEO must respond with a characterization of the trajectory, orbit, and size within a few hours. Using observations from meteor networks like the NASA All Sky Fireball Network or the Southern Ontario Meteor Network, such a characterization is often easy. If found, casual recordings from the public and stationary web cameras can be used to roughly analyze a meteor if the camera's location can be identified and its imagery calibrated. This technique was used with great success in the analysis of the Chelyabinsk meteorite fall. But if the event is outside meteor network coverage, if an insufficient number of videos are found, or if the imagery cannot be geolocated or calibrated, a timely assessment can be difficult if not impossible. In this situation, visual reports made by eyewitnesses may be the only resource available. This has led to the development of a tool to quickly calculate crude meteor trajectories from eyewitness reports made to the American Meteor Society. The output is illustrated in Figure 1. A description of the tool, example case studies, and a comparison to ground truth data observed by the NASA All Sky Fireball Network will be presented.

Moser, D. E.↗

Accelerating the Deployment of Space-Based Quantum Sensors

The Space Science and Technology Partnership Forum (S&T Forum), comprised of an interagency team from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the United States Space Force, presents findings and recommendations from a study on the state of quantum sensors for space applications, enabling component technologies, facilities, and developers across government, industry, and academia. The following five areas of quantum sensing technology (listed in alphabetical order) were identified as being of near-term interest to all three S&T Forum agencies: atomic clocks, atom interferometers, quantum magnetometers, Rydberg sensors, and single photon detectors. This paper focuses on two recommendations: 1) increased collaboration between the S&T Forum, industry, and academia on the development of enabling components for the five quantum sensing technology areas, and 2) challenges and future opportunities to take quantum sensors from the laboratory to space. Through this study, the S&T Forum found a diverse and broad community of quantum sensing developers in the United States that are leading efforts in research, testing, manufacturing, and qualification of quantum sensors and their enabling component technologies. There are common needs across quantum sensing technology areas. To address the common needs, the S&T Forum agencies are encouraged to utilize existing models and mechanisms to enable co-development of enabling component technologies and to explore new avenues for engagement with the quantum sensing community.

Grace C Ray↗

Accelerating the Deployment of Space-Based Quantum Sensors

The Space Science and Technology Partnership Forum (S&T Forum), comprised of an interagency team from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the National Reconnaissance Office, and the United States Space Force, presents findings and recommendations from a study on the state of quantum sensors for space applications, enabling component technologies, facilities, and developers across government, industry, and academia. The following five areas of quantum sensing technology (listed in alphabetical order) were identified as being of near-term interest to all three S&T Forum agencies: atomic clocks, atom interferometers, quantum magnetometers, Rydberg sensors, and single photon detectors. This paper focuses on two recommendations: 1) increased collaboration between the S&T Forum, industry, and academia on the development of enabling components for the five quantum sensing technology areas, and 2) challenges and future opportunities to take quantum sensors from the laboratory to space. Through this study, the S&T Forum found a diverse and broad community of quantum sensing developers in the United States that are leading efforts in research, testing, manufacturing, and qualification of quantum sensors and their enabling component technologies. There are common needs across quantum sensing technology areas. To address the common needs, the S&T Forum agencies are encouraged to utilize existing models and mechanisms to enable co-development of enabling component technologies and to explore new avenues for engagement with the quantum sensing community.

Grace C Ray↗

Offshore Oil and Gas Infrastructure Reuse for CCS: Opportunities and Challenges in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

The United States Gulf of Mexico has historically been a significant oil and gas producing region and continues to produce hydrocarbons today. As such, significant investments have been made to install oil and gas infrastructure such as pipelines, platforms, and wells. As these assets reach the end of their useful life or production associated with the assets is curtailed, the assets become a liability for both the owner/operators and the U.S. and state governments responsible for regulating the assets. There are costs and risks associated with safely decommissioning the assets, and in some cases, the assets may be abandoned (e.g., the owner is no longer a going concern). In parallel, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology has developed in the United States and interest and incentives for CCS projects have accelerated in recent years, with many public announcements of CCS projects in development in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region. The region is particularly well-suited to CCS due to the high density of industry on the coastline (i.e., CO 2 sources) and favorable geology in the near-offshore region. CCS also requires the use of many of the same assets required for oil and gas production (pipelines, platforms, wells) and the oil and gas industry has direct experience with CO 2 transport and injection (i.e., EOR). Therefore, the combination of existing infrastructure in close proximity to potential CCS project sites appears to provide a potential “win-win” solution for re-use of existing oil and gas assets. This paper presents a high-level evaluation of oil and gas infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico with the goals of identifying the scale of the opportunity (e.g., how much existing infrastructure is realistically re-usable), identifying gaps in knowledge/policy/information required to evaluate existing infrastructure for re-use, and proposing key actions that could be pursued to further the assessment of existing infrastructure re-use for CCS.

Infrastructure, reuse, re-purpose, oil and gas, pi↗

Electronic manufacturing and packaging in Japan

This report summarizes the status of electronic manufacturing and packaging technology in Japan in comparison to that in the United States, and its impact on competition in electronic manufacturing in general. In addition to electronic manufacturing technologies, the report covers technology and manufacturing infrastructure, electronics manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry, and successful product realization strategies. The panel found that Japan leads the United States in almost every electronics packaging technology. Japan clearly has achieved a strategic advantage in electronics production and process technologies. Panel members believe that Japanese competitors could be leading U.S. firms by as much as a decade in some electronics process technologies. Japan has established this marked competitive advantage in electronics as a consequence of developing low-cost, high-volume consumer products. Japan's infrastructure, and the remarkable cohesiveness of vision and purpose in government and industry, are key factors in the success of Japan's electronics industry. Although Japan will continue to dominate consumer electronics in the foreseeable future, opportunities exist for the United States and other industrial countries to capture an increasingly large part of the market. The JTEC panel has identified no insurmountable barriers that would prevent the United States from regaining a significant share of the consumer electronics market; in fact, there is ample evidence that the United States needs to aggressively pursue high-volume, low-cost electronic assembly, because it is a critical path leading to high-performance electronic systems.

Kelly, Michael J.↗

Lahaina Wildfire Study: Impacts of Post-Disaster Housing Programs on Maui’s Economy

In August 2023, wildfires destroyed more than 4,000 housing units in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, primarily in the town of Lahaina. One hundred and two people were killed, making it the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.1 The fire displaced 13,000 people; 5,000 found new housing without government assistance, and 8,000 applied for assistance.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Solar proton event forecasts

The United States operates a space weather service to provide information on space hazards including solar proton events to Federal government agencies and other users who operate systems that are affected by disturbances in the upper atmosphere and interplanetary environment. The observation and prediction of solar proton events has been continuous through solar cycle 21 (1976 to 1986), establishing a base of experience that can be used in providing similar support to space operations in the 1990's. The observations, indices, alerts, and forecasts used in the service are described. Also provided is a short summary of the experience obtained from making proton event predictions in solar cycle 21 including the years 1976 to 1986.

Heckman, G. R.↗

Commercial investigation results for the generic bioprocessing apparatus flown on United States Microgravity Laboratory-1

The Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus (BPA) payload was developed by BioServe to support the commercial flight development needs of our specialized consortia comprised of business, academic, and government entities. The consortia have commitments to explore commercial opportunities in bioprocessing, biomedical models, and closed agricultural systems. In addition, some members of BioServe have interests in the development and/or qualification of enabling flight hardware used in life sciences space flight testing. Some business and academic entities have interests in more than one of these consortia. To aid in payload development, flight, and analysis, each consortium member contributes resources ranging from proprietary expertise and materials, to hardware and cash. Professionals from business, academia, and government often interact with each other via graduate research assistants who do much of the 'hands-on' payload preparation and subsequent data analyses. The GBA supported research, testing, and development activities for each different BioServe consortium. It produced an environment in which professionals from diverse backgrounds came together with a single focus. And, it provided a truly novel learning environment for a youthful new cadre of space professionals committed to the exploration of commercial opportunities presented by space. Since the GBA supported a large number of different experiments, this paper briefly describes the payload characteristics and the essential operations of the payload. A summary of the experiments is presented. Finally, a few of the experiments are described in detail highlighting some novel effects of space flight on life science systems. Portions of the reported work have or will appear in appropriate archival journals as cited in the bibliography. In several instances, data collected from USML-1 have been supplemented with related data collected on more recent STS missions.

Stodieck, Louis S.↗

Offshore Wind Technology Data Update (2019) [Slides]

The 2019 Offshore Wind Technology Data Update compiles information from peer-reviewed literature, market reports, press releases, industry news reports, manufacturer specification sheets, and offshore wind project announcements to provide a comprehensive snapshot of the state of the global wind industry in 2019. These data, including capacity projections, project characteristics, technology trends, and cost estimates, are categorized, tabulated, and plotted to provide easily recognizable and understandable summaries. A particular focus is given to the United States offshore wind project pipeline, including project announcements, state procurements, deployment timelines, infrastructure investments, grid interconnections, and other related developments. The update is intended to be used as a reference document by researchers, analysts, industry practitioners, and government officials.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Role of ion acoustic instability in magnetic reconnection

We report on a first-principles numerical study of magnetic reconnection in plasmas with different initial ion-to-electron temperature ratios. In cases where this ratio is significantly below unity, we observe intense wave activity in the diffusion region, driven by the ion-acoustic instability. Our analysis shows that the dominant macroscopic effect of this instability is to drive substantial ion heating. In contrast to earlier studies reporting significant anomalous resistivity, we find that anomalous contributions due to the ion-acoustic instability are minimal. These results shed light on the dynamical impact of this instability on reconnection processes, offering new insights into the fundamental physics governing collisionless reconnection.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Dynamic Behavior of Bound Interlayer Excitons in Interlayer-Doped Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 Vacancy-Ordered Perovskite

Interlayer doping of the vacancy-ordered 2D perovskite Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 (CBB) enables the formation of bound interlayer excitons (BIEs), a unique charge-transfer excited state within the layered solid. BIEs previously reported with silver (Ag + ) as an interlayer dopant exhibited bright broadband photoluminescence (PL) with prolonged lifetime at room temperature, offering potential applications in efficient white light emission, photocatalysis, and optoelectronics. However, the dynamic behavior of radiation and excited carriers remains poorly understood due to the limitations of ensemble spectroscopic measurements. Here, we investigate the temperature-dependent dynamics of Ag-doped Cs 3 Bi 2 Br 9 (Ag-CBB) using single-particle time-resolved PL spectroscopy and ultrafast transient absorption imaging. Single-particle PL measurements reveal three distinct emission regimes across temperature: (i) BIE-dominant emission at high temperatures, (ii) a mixture of radiation from BIEs and self-trapped excitons (STEs) at intermediate temperatures, and (iii) STE-dominant emission below 100 K. Rapid transient absorption mapping using Parallel Rapid Imaging with Spectroscopic Mapping (PRISM) reveals subpicosecond STE formation in pristine CBB and long-lived photoinduced absorption by BIEs, consistent with electron–hole separation and suppressed STE transfer. The spatial uniformity of these signals confirms homogeneous Ag doping across single crystals. These findings highlight the role of Ag interlayer dopants in governing the BIE dynamics.

bound interlayer exciton↗

Three-dimensional nature of anomalous Hall conductivity in YMn 6 Sn 6−x Ga x , x ≈ 0.55

The unique geometry of kagome lattices leads to topological features such as flat bands and Dirac cones. When paired with ferromagnetism and a Fermi level near Dirac points, they offer a platform for realizing topological Chern magnetotransport. This prospect recently drew interest in the ferrimagnetic kagome metal TbMn 6 Sn 6 . However, density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that its 2D Chern gap lies well above the Fermi energy, raising questions about its role in anomalous Hall conductivity. Here, we study YMn 6 Sn 5.45 Ga 0.55 , a structurally and electronically similar material, and find that its intrinsic anomalous Hall effect is three-dimensional. This demonstrates that the Hall response in such compounds does not originate from 2D Chern gaps. Additionally, we confirm that the newly proposed empirical scaling relation for extrinsic Hall conductivity is universally governed by spin fluctuations.

Bhandari, Hari [University of Notre Dame, IN (Unit↗

Whistler–Alfvén Turbulence in a Nonneutral Ultrarelativistic Pair Plasma

The large-scale dynamics of most conventional space and astrophysical plasmas are predominantly governed by Alfvén modes, which are low-frequency magnetohydrodynamic modes existing in magnetized media. At scales smaller than the ion gyroscale or frequencies exceeding the ion cyclotron frequency, the Alfvén modes transform into kinetic-Alfvén or whistler modes that significantly contribute to plasma dynamics. However, this scenario reverses in nonneutral pair plasmas, such as those found in the magnetospheres of pulsars and magnetars, around rotating black holes, and in their relativistic jets, as well as in certain laboratory plasmas. In these systems, the large-scale dynamics are governed by hybrid whistler–Alfvén modes, which transform into pure Alfvén modes at smaller scales. We derive the nonlinear equations that describe the dynamics of whistler–Alfvén modes in ultrarelativistic nonneutral magnetically dominated pair plasma and discuss the spectrum of turbulence governed by these equations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Solar Resource Measurements in Eugene, OR: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-07-00252

Site-specific, long-term, continuous, and high-resolution measurements of solar irradiance are important for developing renewable resource data. These data are used for several research and development activities consistent with the NLR mission: establish a national 3-year climatological database of measured solar irradiances; provide high quality ground-truth data for satellite remote sensing validation; support development of radiative transfer models for estimating solar irradiance from available meteorological observations; provide solar resource information needed for technology deployment and operations. Data acquired under this agreement will be available to the public through NLR's Measurement & Instrumentation Data Center – MIDC (http://www.nlr.gov/midc) Or the Renewable Resource Data Center - RReDC (http://rredc.nlr.gov). The MIDC offers a variety of standard data display, access, and analysis tools designed to address the needs of a wide user audience (e.g., industry, academia, and government interests).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Electric Vehicle Charging for Residential and Commercial Energy Codes: Technical Brief

Numerous studies show that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have grown consistently over recent years in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated 3 million EVs were on the road in 2022, and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) forecasts a total of 26.4 million EVs on the road by 2030. Based on this forecast, EEI projects the need for an additional 12.9 million EV charge ports by 2030. If EV charging infrastructure fails to keep pace with sales of EVs it could result in consumers stranded without options to power their vehicles. EVs are capable of providing substantial benefits to the consumers. EVs are less expensive to operate than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, have lower maintenance costs, and have the convenience of fueling (charging) at home or work. Studies conducted in California show that costs associated with installing EV charging infrastructure can be substantially more expensive for retrofit scenarios compared to new construction, making inclusion of EV infrastructure in new construction codes a cost-effective policy option to increase infrastructure to meet growing demands. PNNL tracks adoption of mandatory EV provisions across the U.S. As of December 20, 2024, 12 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont) and 53 local governments have added EV provisions to their building codes, local ordinances and zoning requirements. Originally published in 2022, this tech brief has been revised to align with recent model energy code committee discussions and published EV infrastructure code language. This technical brief summarizes market trends, costs and benefits, and provides sample code language for EV charging infrastructure for consideration to be included in model codes, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, as well as directly by states and local governments in their building codes. The technical brief summarizes related efforts undertaken by states and local governments, and builds upon language considered during the 2021 and 2024 IECC development cycles.

2021 IECC↗

United States Space Station technical and programmatic interfaces

This paper describes the design of the U.S. Space Station and explains the control factors used for internal and external interfaces among the various government and contractor participants. It discusses the documentation of the U.S. Space Station Program including the Program Approval Document (PAD), the Program Plans (PPs), the Program Requirements Document (PRD), the Program Definition and Requirements Document (PDRD), the Level III project plans, and the Level III project design requirements documents. It discusses the relationship of Space Station documentation to the international Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and the Joint PP, PRD, and PDRD, the interrelationship of the Architectural Control Documents (ACDs), the Baseline Control Document (BCD), and the Interface Requirement Documents (IRDs) and Interface Control Documents (ICDs). Also included are the controlling functions of the various NASA and contractor participants and the international partners.

Carlisle, Richard F.↗