Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “hard technologies”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Next-Generation MKIII Lightweight HUT/Hatch Assembly

The MK III (H-1) carbon-graphite/ epoxy Hard Upper Torso (HUT)/Hatch assembly was designed, fabricated, and tested in the early 1990s. The spacesuit represented an 8.3 psi (≈58 kPa) technology demonstrator model of a zero prebreathe suit. The basic torso shell, brief, and hip areas of the suit were composed of a carbon-graphite/epoxy composite lay-up. In its current configuration, the suit weighs approximately 120 lb (≈54 kg). However, since future planetary suits will be designed to operate at 0.26 bar (≈26 kPa), it was felt that the suit's re-designed weight could be reduced to 79 lb (≈35 kg) with the incorporation of lightweight structural materials. Many robust, lightweight structures based on the technologies of advanced honeycomb materials, revolutionary new composite laminates, metal matrix composites, and recent breakthroughs in fullerene fillers and nanotechnology lend themselves well to applications requiring materials that are both light and strong. The major problem involves the reduction in weight of the HUT/ Hatch assembly for use in lunar and/or planetary applications, while at the same time maintaining a robust structural design. The technical objective is to research, design, and develop manufacturing methods that support fa b rica - tion of a lightweight HUT/Hatch assembly using advanced material and geometric redesign as necessary. Additionally, the lightweight HUT/Hatch assembly will interface directly with current MK III hardware. Using the new operating pressure and current MK III (H-1) interfaces as a starting block, it is planned to maximize HUT/Hatch assembly weight reduction through material selection and geometric redesign. A hard upper torso shell structure with rear-entry closure and corresponding hatch will be fabricated. The lightweight HUT/Hatch assembly will retrofit and interface with existing MK III (H-1) hardware elements, providing NASA with immediate "plug-andplay" capability. NASA crewmembers will have a lightweight, robust, life-support system that will minimize fatigue during extraterrestrial surface sojourns. Its unique feature is the utilization of a new and innovative family of materials used by the aerospace industry, which at the time of this reporting has not been used for the proposed application.

McCarthy, Mike↗
NASA NTRS1997

Knowledge Management

The emergence of rapidly expanding technologies for distribution and dissemination of information and knowledge has brought to focus the opportunities for development of knowledge-based networks, knowledge dissemination and knowledge management technologies and their potential applications for enhancing productivity of knowledge work. The challenging and complex problems of the future can be best addressed by developing the knowledge management as a new discipline based on an integrative synthesis of hard and soft sciences. A knowledge management professional society can provide a framework for catalyzing the development of proposed synthesis as well as serve as a focal point for coordination of professional activities in the strategic areas of education, research and technology development. Preliminary concepts for the development of the knowledge management discipline and the professional society are explored. Within this context of knowledge management discipline and the professional society, potential opportunities for application of information technologies for more effectively delivering or transferring information and knowledge (i.e., resulting from the NASA's Mission to Planet Earth) for the development of policy options in critical areas of national and global importance (i.e., policy decisions in economic and environmental areas) can be explored, particularly for those policy areas where a global collaborative knowledge network is likely to be critical to the acceptance of the policies.

Shariq, Syed Z.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Exploration of Particle Size Engineering and Microencapsulation Technologies for Multifunctional Applications

There is a critical need for high performance materials for functional and space-based applications, including tires for exploratory rovers and external structures for landing vehicles. Novel ternary borides, such as iron aluminum boride (Fe2AlB2) and molybdenum aluminum boride (MoAlB), have emerged as potential materials for such application owing to their hardness, mechanical behavior and oxidation resistance. In this poster presentation, we will present different methods of fabricating these particles and engineering them for additive manufacturing and other related manufacturing practices. As an integral component of this study, we will demonstrate technologies to (a) synthesize these particles and (b) microencapsulate these particles with bioplastics like polylactic acid (PLA). The resulting particles will be evaluated for their processability as coatings on hydroxyapatite and Inconel particles using microstructural and flowability studies. It is expected that these particles can be used for 3D printing.

ceramics↗
DOE OSTI2023

Review of internal and external surface finishing technologies for additively manufactured metallic alloys components and new frontiers

Surface finishing in additive manufacturing (AM) is a technological bottleneck. The field of surface finishing of AM parts is vast because it not only focuses on roughness reduction in the hard-to-access internal surfaces but also includes the scope of adding coatings and sensors. Even though metal AM component is reaching the density and bulk microstructure at par or even better than conventionally produced components, adverse impact of surface roughness and imperfections is becoming the major obstruction. It is observed that external and internal surface roughness of AM components is a high probability cause of many unavoidable issues such as corrosion, incorrect tolerance estimations during the build stage, and the fatigue failure of parts before the expected life cycle. At present, AM field mainly focuses on improving and enhancing the internal and external surface roughness to pass the stringent qualification requirements for actual applications. To address these challenges, researchers worldwide are conducting many experiments and developing different surface finishing techniques. This paper reviews the state-of-the-art knowledge and processes of different surface finishing technology that can be applied to AM metal components. This article mainly highlights several liquid-based surfaces finishing approaches to develop promising surface microstructures on interior and exterior surfaces as a micromachining tool. The future of making strong and self-monitoring AM component requires broadening of surface finishing field and including advanced topics such as coatings and adding sensor technology. We also discuss new frontiers and the scope of future work in the surface finishing field to bring attention to related concerns and possibilities associated with making smart and strong AM components for twenty-first-century integrated engineering systems.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Low Power, Radiation Resilient Synchronous Edge Processing for Remote Monitoring

Next-generation space remote sensing systems may be equipped with imaging arrays that sense data at a rate that outstrips the processing capability of any computing hardware that can operate within a satellite’s power budget. This project developed novel convolutional and recurrent neural networks to detect and estimate point-like events amid clutter, and investigated their efficient and accurate implementation on analog in-memory computing systems that are 10-1000× more energy-efficient than digital processors. This project leveraged two memory devices at different levels of technological maturity: a large-scale analog computing prototype using commercial SONOS charge-trap memory, and electrochemical memory (ECRAM) with intrinsic radiation hardness. We experimentally demonstrated end-to-end analog processing of our neural networks on SONOS and characterized the radiation response of both SONOS and ECRAM. We advanced the state-of-the-art in ECRAM precision and reliability, and developed co-design methods to enable accurate long-term operation of SONOS analog accelerators in space radiation environments.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Critical review of lithium recovery from geothermal brines with implications for Smackover Formation, USA

The rapidly growing demand for lithium, a critical element for energy storage and national security technologies, has intensified concerns over the long-term availability and environmental impact of conventional lithium sources, such as hard-rock mining. To meet future demand, it is vital to explore unconventional resources that can provide sustainable domestic supplies. Geothermal brines, produced as a byproduct of geothermal energy generation, offer a promising alternative for lithium recovery by leveraging existing infrastructure and renewable energy production. In particular, the Smackover Formation, an extensive reservoir of high-salinity brines spanning Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama in the U.S. Gulf Coast, holds significant untapped lithium reserves. Co-producing geothermal energy and lithium from these brines aligns with sustainable extraction objectives while addressing resource scarcity. This review synthesizes current knowledge of lithium occurrence in the Smackover Formation and geothermal resources in the region, while also exploring how emerging tools such as machine learning can enhance resource targeting and co-production efficiency. Finally, we discuss key technical challenges and outline future research directions needed to advance lithium extraction from geothermal brines and secure a resilient domestic supply chain.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Statistical characterization of experimental magnetized liner inertial fusion stagnation images using deep-learning-based fuel–background segmentation

Significant variety is observed in spherical crystal x-ray imager (SCXI) data for the stagnated fuel–liner system created in Magnetized Liner Inertial Fusion (MagLIF) experiments conducted at the Sandia National Laboratories Z-facility. As a result, image analysis tasks involving, e.g., region-of-interest selection (i.e. segmentation), background subtraction and image registration have generally required tedious manual treatment leading to increased risk of irreproducibility, lack of uncertainty quantification and smaller-scale studies using only a fraction of available data. We present a convolutional neural network (CNN)-based pipeline to automate much of the image processing workflow. This tool enabled batch preprocessing of an ensemble of N scans = 139 SCXI images across N exp = 67 different experiments for subsequent study. The pipeline begins by segmenting images into the stagnated fuel and background using a CNN trained on synthetic images generated from a geometric model of a physical three-dimensional plasma. The resulting segmentation allows for a rules-based registration. Our approach flexibly handles rarely occurring artifacts through minimal user input and avoids the need for extensive hand labelling and augmentation of our experimental dataset that would be needed to train an end-to-end pipeline. Here we also fit background pixels using low-degree polynomials, and perform a statistical assessment of the background and noise properties over the entire image database. Our results provide a guide for choices made in statistical inference models using stagnation image data and can be applied in the generation of synthetic datasets with realistic choices of noise statistics and background models used for machine learning tasks in MagLIF data analysis. We anticipate that the method may be readily extended to automate other MagLIF stagnation imaging applications.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Revealing Mesoscale Ionomer Membrane Structure by Tender Resonant X-ray Scattering

Nafion, a perfluorosulfonic acid ionomer, has been well-studied for decades due to its key role as an ion-conductive membrane in electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications. When hydrated, this membrane phase separates into a complex hierarchical nanostructure with hydrophilic domains that facilitate ion transport. Hard X-ray scattering has been a powerful technique in understanding Nafion due to its capabilities in capturing the ionomer’s nanophase separated structure, which gives rise to contrast between polymer and water domains. More recently, resonant X-ray scattering, which tunes to elemental absorption edges to provide specificity on constituent elements, has been explored to highlight key interactions related to the sulfonic acid groups within its structure. Here, in this work, we study the Nafion nanostructure by combining hard X-ray scattering and tender resonant X-ray scattering (TReXS) at the sulfur K-edge to reveal a mesoscopic feature corresponding to a correlation length of approximately 40 nm that has been challenging to resolve with hard X-ray studies. Additionally, we study the effect of the dispersion solvent composition that plays a key role in the formation of this mesoscale feature. Notably, TReXS can attain high contrast to decipher this mesoscale morphology even for dry polymer membranes under a vacuum, which typically have reduced contrast for hard X-rays. We find that the correlation length of this mesoscale feature decreases with increasing water fraction in the dispersion, which is the opposite trend exhibited by the smaller intercrystalline feature in the same membranes. This study showcases the utility of TReXS to uncover multiscale morphological details in functional polymers that are not always revealed by other methods like hard X-ray scattering. We illustrate this with Nafion, which is a relevant ion-conducting polymer for electrochemical technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Observation of D 2 molecule line emission after massive D 2 injection into runaway electron plateaus in DIII-D

Molecular deuterium line emission is observed in both the visible and ultraviolet (UV) wavelength ranges after massive (> 100 Torr-L) injection of D 2 gas into post-disruption runaway electron (RE) dominated plasmas in the DIII-D tokamak. D 2 UV line emission is found to be the dominant source of radiated power, surpassing D Lyα. Interpretive modeling with a collisional-radiative model (CRM) indicates that D 2 radiation surpasses D radiation because Lyα is strongly trapped, while D 2 UV lines are mostly untrapped. The CRM also indicates that the D 2 line emission is completely dominated by RE impact (rather than thermal electron impact), so the D 2 line emission can serve as a good diagnostic for the spatial localization of REs. Analysis of D 2 visible lines indicates that the D 2 molecules in the plasma are thermally equilibrated with the background plasma, with vibrational, rotational, and kinetic temperatures all near 0.3 eV. D 2 spectroscopy therefore serves as a convenient diagnostic of background plasma temperature. As a result, measurement of D 2 radiated power also appears to serve as a useful diagnostic for constraining neutral transport modeling.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Analysis of humidity sensitivity of silicon strip sensors for ATLAS upgrade tracker, pre- and post-irradiation

During the prototyping phase of the new ATLAS Inner-Tracker (ITk) strip sensors, a degradation of the device breakdown voltage at high humidity was observed. Although the degradation was temporary, showing a fast recovery in dry conditions, the study of the influence of humidity on the sensor performance was critical to establish counter-measures and handling protocols during production testing in order to ensure the proper performance of the upgraded detector. The work presented here has the objective to study for the first time the breakdown voltage deterioration in presence of ambient humidity of ATLAS ITk production-layout strip sensors with different surface properties, before and after proton, neutron and gamma irradiations. A study of the humidity sensitivity of miniature ATLAS ITk strip sensors, before and after proton irradiations, is also presented to compare the sensitivity of devices with different sizes. The sensors were also exposed for several days to high humidity with the aim to recreate and evaluate the influence of the detector integration environment expected during the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) Long Shutdown 3 (LS3) in 2026, where the sensors will be exposed to ambient humidity for prolonged times.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Magnetism in metastable and annealed compositionally complex alloys

Compositionally complex materials (CCMs) present a potential paradigm shift in the design of magnetic materials. These alloys exhibit long-range structural order coupled with limited or no chemical order. As a result, extreme local environments exist with a large variations in the magnetic energy terms, which can manifest large changes in the magnetic behavior. In the current work, the magnetic properties of (Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni) alloys are presented. These materials were prepared by room-temperature combinatorial sputtering, resulting in a range of compositions with a single bcc structural phase and no chemical ordering. The combinatorial growth technique allows CCMs to be prepared outside of their thermodynamically stable phase, enabling the exploration of otherwise inaccessible order. The mixed ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic interactions in these alloys causes frustrated magnetic behavior, which results in an extremely low coercivity (<1mT), which increases rapidly at 50 K. At low temperatures, the coercivity achieves values of nearly 500 mT, which is comparable to some high-anisotropy magnetic materials. Further, commensurate with the divergent coercivity is an atypical drop in the temperature dependent magnetization. These effects are explained by a mixed magnetic phase model, consisting of ferro-, antiferro-, and frustrated magnetic regions, and are rationalized by simulations. A machine-learning algorithm is employed to visualize the parameter space and inform the development of subsequent compositions. Annealing the samples at 600 °C orders the sample, more-than doubling the Curie temperature and increasing the saturation magnetization by as much as 5×. Simultaneously, the large coercivities are suppressed, resulting in magnetic behavior that is largely temperature independent over a range of 350 K. The ability to transform from a hard magnet to a soft magnet over a narrow temperature range makes these materials promising for heat-assisted recording technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Confinement And Focusing

Iron-dominated room-temperature magnets remain the primary tool for steering and focusing beams of high energy particles. This article covers the electromagnetic and mechanical design of such magnets. It is a contribution to the third edition of the "Handbook of Accelerator Physics and Engineering" and a revision of FERMILAB-TM-2080.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2024

RePED 250: Manufacturing and Market Analysis of High-Temperature Alternators

The novel repetitive pulsed electric drill 250 (RePED 250) has the potential to greatly lower the costs and drilling times of geothermal projects. This tool discharges electric pulses through hard rock formations, shattering the rock in tension and allowing it to be quickly removed. One hurdle in bringing this technology to market is the RePED 250 downhole alternator. This component is essential for supplying power to the electronic drilling tool. There are currently no downhole tools on the market that meet the RePED 250 alternator's high temperature and power requirements. This report focuses on the path to commercialization for this novel alternator technology being developed as part of the RePED 250 project. One aim of this work is to identify the geothermal market size for the RePED 250 alternator, as well as other potential markets for this technology outside of geothermal. The geothermal market is very small, with only approximately 13 wells drilled in the United States each year. The worldwide market is several times this size and growing each year. The ability of the RePED 250 technology to drastically reduce the cost of geothermal projects may also lead to an increase in this market size. Technology developed for the high-temperature, high-power RePED 250 alternator can also be used to create high-temperature and high-power motors. These motors and alternators will have potential applications in oil and gas drilling, a $300 billion dollar industry in the United States alone, as well as in more distant industries such as aircraft, weapon systems, space exploration, and electric vehicles. Other aspects of the RePED 250 alternator's path to commercialization are also analyzed, including the supply chain for production materials and potential manufacturing methods. The supply chain and manufacturing practices for low-temperature motors and alternators are well established and require relatively minor changes for the high-temperature and high-power RePED 250 alternator. Sourcing for high-temperature materials has been identified, as well as potential supply chain risks. These most notably include electrical steel and high-temperature samarium cobalt (SmCo) magnets. Overall, these risks are not expected to be significant at the likely manufacturing scale required for the RePED 250.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1982

Component technology for space power systems

Progress made by NASA toward implementation of equipment for the conversion, management, and distribution of voltage power in space applications are reviewed. Work has been carried forward on components such as bipolar transistors, deep impurity semiconductors, conductors, dielectrics, magnetic devices, and rotary power transfer. Specific programs for the high voltage systems have included research on lightweight, low-cost conductors featuring graphite fibers containing electron donor materials for wires and cables with reduced mass and the conductivity of copper. Attention has also been given p-n junction technology for high-speed, high-current, high-voltage materials and diamond-like dielectric films which are hard, have high dielectric strength, and can operate up to 300 C. A transistor has been fabricated with a voltage of 1200 V at 100 A, with a gain of 10 and a 0.5 microsec rise/fall time. A 25 kW transformer has also been built which performs at 20 kHz with an efficiency of 99.2%.

Finke, R. C.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Sputtering as a Technique for Applying Tribological Coatings

Friction and wear induced mechanical failures may be controlled to extend the life of tribological components through the interposition of selected solid materials between contacting surfaces. Thin solid films of soft and hard materials are appropriate to lower friction and enhance the wear resistance of precision tribo-elements. Thin film coating technologies that have been developed may be used to interpose thin solid layers between contacting surfaces to reduce friction or to extend wear life. Film deposition technologies developed include chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and physical vapor deposition (PVD). Sputter coating is a PVD process for thin film deposition. It allows close control of coating thickness and composition and is well-suited for the deposition of tribological coatings. In this paper, the utility of magnetron sputtering for the deposition of tribological coatings is examined. Experimental results obtained when coated bodies are tested under a number of tribological operating conditions are presented. It is shown that when film adhesion problems are resolved, sputtering can be an effective means of depositing tribological coatings.

S Ramalingam↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microstructure, hardness and cavitation erosion resistance of different cold spray coatings on stainless steel 316 for hydropower applications

There is an urgent need for repair of hydropower components that have undergone damage due to cavitation. Conventional repair methods involve melting of materials and can deteriorate material properties and cause distortion. This study investigated the relevant properties of different materials using solid phase processing—cold spray technology. Stainless steel (SS) 316, Inconel 625 and CrC-NiCr materials were cold spray deposited onto base metal SS 316, respectively. Cold spray achieved dense uniform deposits with low level porosity, and intimate contact between the deposit and the base metal was observed. Severe plastic deformation imparted during the cold spray process resulted in significant grain size refinement, nanostructured regions were observed in the deposits across the interfacial area. Cold sprayed deposits exhibited elevated hardness in contrast to that of the base metal SS 316. The cavitation erosion resistance of the deposits was evaluated with a cavitation erosion jet adhering to ASTM G134. Both SS 316 and Inconel 625 achieved better cavitation erosion resistance when compared to that of the SS 316 base metal, with the former exhibiting close to a 4 times improvement.

Jiang, Xiujuan↗
NASA NTRS1981

RAD hard PROM design study

The results of a preliminary study on the design of a radiation hardened fusible link programmable read-only memory (PROM) are presented. Various fuse technologies and the effects of radiation on MOS integrated circuits are surveyed. A set of design rules allowing the fabrication of a radiation hardened PROM using a Si-gate CMOS process is defined. A preliminary cell layout was completed and the programming concept defined. A block diagram is used to describe the circuit components required for a 4 K design. A design goal data sheet giving target values for the AC, DC, and radiation parameters of the circuit is presented.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1987

Space Technology for Deepwater Divers

Can-Dive Services Ltd.'s Newtsuit offers several features that the Canadian company feels will attract divers and their employers. Although it is a hard shell armored suit, it is a relatively light 400 pounds made of aluminum. Future Newtsuits may be made of carbon fiber composite material that is lighter, yet stronger than steel. It has a constant pressure of one atmosphere meaning the pressure all the way down to the suits 1,000 feet limit will be the same as on the surface. Newtsuit, like a spacesuit, has a self contained backpack breathing system with a duration of 48 hours. It employs a series of patented low friction fluidic joints designed to make underwater motion easier and permit 75 percent; normal human mobility.

Source record↗