Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Electrical and Electronics”

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 343 records · Page 19
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1982

A lightweight electronically commutated dc motor for electric passenger vehicles

A functional model breadboard converter and a rare-earth-cobalt, permanent magnet motor; as well as an engineering model converter and PM motor suitable for vehicle installations were developed and tested. The converter and motor achieved an 88% peak efficiency, a maximum output of 26 kW at 26,000 rpm, and a continuous rating of 15 kW. The system also generated power to the source during braking, with a demonstrated peak power available at the converter terminals of approximately 26 kW at 88% efficiency. Major conclusions include: (1) the SAE J227a(D) driving cycle efficiency for the converter/motor is 86% to 88% when energy available for recovery at the converter terminals is included; (2) the converter initial cost is approximately five times that of the permanent magnet motor, but can be reduced by means of LSI logic and integrated liquid cooled semiconductor packages; and (3) an electronically commutated motor with a liquid cooled converter will operate reliably without service or maintenance for the life of a passenger vehicle.

Echolds, E. F.↗
DOE OSTI2021

The rise of electric vehicles—2020 status and future expectations

Electric vehicles (EVs) are experiencing a rise in popularity over the past few years as the technology has matured and costs have declined, and support for clean transportation has promoted awareness, increased charging opportunities, and facilitated EV adoption. Suitably, a vast body of literature has been produced exploring various facets of EVs and their role in transportation and energy systems. This paper provides a timely and comprehensive review of scientific studies looking at various aspects of EVs, including: (a) an overview of the status of the light-duty-EV market and current projections for future adoption; (b) insights on market opportunities beyond light-duty EVs; (c) a review of cost and performance evolution for batteries, power electronics, and electric machines that are key components of EV success; (d) charging-infrastructure status with a focus on modeling and studies that are used to project charging-infrastructure requirements and the economics of public charging; (e) an overview of the impact of EV charging on power systems at multiple scales, ranging from bulk power systems to distribution networks; (f) insights into life-cycle cost and emissions studies focusing on EVs; and (g) future expectations and synergies between EVs and other emerging trends and technologies. The goal of this paper is to provide readers with a snapshot of the current state of the art and help navigate this vast literature by comparing studies critically and comprehensively and synthesizing general insights. This detailed review paints a positive picture for the future of EVs for on-road transportation, and the authors remain hopeful that remaining technology, regulatory, societal, behavioral, and business-model barriers can be addressed over time to support a transition toward cleaner, more efficient, and affordable transportation solutions for all.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Battery charging goes quantum

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries power consumer electronics and electric vehicles, making them an essential component of the modern economy. Although lithium-ion battery technology has improved continuously over the past decades, widespread adoption of electrified transportation requires charging in less than 15 min to be competitive with internal combustion engines. As a battery charges and discharges, lithium ions travel across the electrode-electrolyte interface. The rate at which lithium ions transfer is dictated by the structure and physical properties of electrolytes and lithium-storing electrodes. Yet, the exact chemical reaction mechanism underlying the insertion of lithium ions at the electrode-electrolyte interface remains elusive. On page 46 of this issue, Zhang et al. (1) report experimental evidence that shows that lithium-ion battery charge and discharge occur through a coupled ion-electron transfer mechanism. Furthermore, this could establish an experimental and theoretical platform to extract key parameters for optimizing charge transfer rates in lithium-ion batteries.

Warburton, Robert E. [Case Western Reserve Univers↗
NASA NTRS1972

Electron-beam-deposited thin polymer films - Electrical properties vs bombarding current.

Polymer films about 150 A thick, deposited on glass substrates by electron bombardment of tetramethyltetraphenyltrisiloxane, were studied, after being sandwiched between evaporated aluminum electrodes, the top one semitransparent. The capacitance, conductance, and photoconductance of the sandwiches were measured at room temperature as a function of the electron bombarding current which formed the polymer. The polymer thickness was obtained independently from Christy's (1960) empirical formula for the rate of formation. The obtained results indicate that, with increasing bombarding current, the polymer undergoes an increase in both crosslinking bonds and dangling bonds. Exposure to air drastically reduces the density of dangling bonds, but does not affect the crosslinking.

Babcock, L. E.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Wireless Acoustic Measurement System

A prototype wireless acoustic measurement system (WAMS) is one of two main subsystems of the Acoustic Prediction/ Measurement Tool, which comprises software, acoustic instrumentation, and electronic hardware combined to afford integrated capabilities for predicting and measuring noise emitted by rocket and jet engines. The other main subsystem is described in the article on page 8. The WAMS includes analog acoustic measurement instrumentation and analog and digital electronic circuitry combined with computer wireless local-area networking to enable (1) measurement of sound-pressure levels at multiple locations in the sound field of an engine under test and (2) recording and processing of the measurement data. At each field location, the measurements are taken by a portable unit, denoted a field station. There are ten field stations, each of which can take two channels of measurements. Each field station is equipped with two instrumentation microphones, a micro- ATX computer, a wireless network adapter, an environmental enclosure, a directional radio antenna, and a battery power supply. The environmental enclosure shields the computer from weather and from extreme acoustically induced vibrations. The power supply is based on a marine-service lead-acid storage battery that has enough capacity to support operation for as long as 10 hours. A desktop computer serves as a control server for the WAMS. The server is connected to a wireless router for communication with the field stations via a wireless local-area network that complies with wireless-network standard 802.11b of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The router and the wireless network adapters are controlled by use of Linux-compatible driver software. The server runs custom Linux software for synchronizing the recording of measurement data in the field stations. The software includes a module that provides an intuitive graphical user interface through which an operator at the control server can control the operations of the field stations for calibration and for recording of measurement data. A test engineer positions and activates the WAMS. The WAMS automatically establishes the wireless network. Next, the engineer performs pretest calibrations. Then the engineer executes the test and measurement procedures. After the test, the raw measurement files are copied and transferred, through the wireless network, to a hard disk in the control server. Subsequently, the data are processed into 1.3-octave spectrograms.

Anderson, Paul D.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Wireless Acoustic Measurement System

A prototype wireless acoustic measurement system (WAMS) is one of two main subsystems of the Acoustic Prediction/Measurement Tool, which comprises software, acoustic instrumentation, and electronic hardware combined to afford integrated capabilities for predicting and measuring noise emitted by rocket and jet engines. The other main subsystem is described in "Predicting Rocket or Jet Noise in Real Time" (SSC-00215-1), which appears elsewhere in this issue of NASA Tech Briefs. The WAMS includes analog acoustic measurement instrumentation and analog and digital electronic circuitry combined with computer wireless local-area networking to enable (1) measurement of sound-pressure levels at multiple locations in the sound field of an engine under test and (2) recording and processing of the measurement data. At each field location, the measurements are taken by a portable unit, denoted a field station. There are ten field stations, each of which can take two channels of measurements. Each field station is equipped with two instrumentation microphones, a micro-ATX computer, a wireless network adapter, an environmental enclosure, a directional radio antenna, and a battery power supply. The environmental enclosure shields the computer from weather and from extreme acoustically induced vibrations. The power supply is based on a marine-service lead-acid storage battery that has enough capacity to support operation for as long as 10 hours. A desktop computer serves as a control server for the WAMS. The server is connected to a wireless router for communication with the field stations via a wireless local-area network that complies with wireless-network standard 802.11b of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The router and the wireless network adapters are controlled by use of Linux-compatible driver software. The server runs custom Linux software for synchronizing the recording of measurement data in the field stations. The software includes a module that provides an intuitive graphical user interface through which an operator at the control server can control the operations of the field stations for calibration and for recording of measurement data. A test engineer positions and activates the WAMS. The WAMS automatically establishes the wireless network. Next, the engineer performs pretest calibrations. Then the engineer executes the test and measurement procedures. After the test, the raw measurement files are copied and transferred, through the wireless network, to a hard disk in the control server. Subsequently, the data are processed into 1/3-octave spectrograms.

Anderson, Paul D.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Review of Technical Requirements for Inverter-Based Resources in Chile

This document compares the technical requirements in the grid code of Chile (NTSyCS) against the EirGrid (Ireland transmission system operator) and National Grid Electricity System Operator (NESO) grid codes and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 2800-2022 standard for conventional inverter technology at the transmission and subtransmission levels in the process of being adopted by system operators in the U.S. The document is intended to be a guide and reference for future updates of the NTSyCS, considering the local system requirements and present improvements in inverter-based resource (IBR) technology. In light of the findings of the aforementioned comparative review, this document proposes and describes the requirements for conventional IBRs that could be incorporated and updated into the Chilean grid code. The document is structured around the main grid challenges posed by the transition to an IBR-dominated grid and conventional IBRs capabilities to help address them. This document does not provide guidance on how this specification should be implemented (e.g., through a mandate or market solution).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Enhanced dielectric insulation of biaxially oriented high temperature polyester films for capacitive energy storage

Biaxially oriented polypropylene (BOPP) films are widely used in dielectric capacitors due to their ultralow loss, high breakdown strength, and long lifetime. However, their poor temperature tolerance limits applications in emerging high-temperature environments such as wide-band-gap power electronics in electric vehicles. Here, we report significantly enhanced dielectric insulation properties of biaxially oriented poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalate) (BOPEN) films compared to biaxially oriented poly(ethylene terephthalate) (BOPET) films, despite their similar semicrystalline morphologies. BOPEN exhibits higher DC and AC breakdown strengths and markedly extended lifetimes at elevated temperatures. For instance, at 120 °C, the DC Weibull lifetime of BOPEN exceeded that of BOPET by over two orders of magnitude and even surpassed that of BOPP. Through comprehensive analyses—leakage current, electric displacement-electric field loops, and thermally stimulated depolarization current—we attribute this superior performance to suppressed homocharge injection and conduction losses, enabled by the rigid naphthalene-based backbone in BOPEN that reduces dipole mobility and chain polarity. These findings underscore the potential of BOPEN as a next-generation polymer dielectric for high-temperature capacitor applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

In-situ tunable giant electrical anisotropy in a grating gated AlGaN/GaN two-dimensional electron gas.

Materials with in-plane electrical anisotropy have great potential for designing artificial synaptic devices. However, natural materials with strong intrinsic in-plane electrical anisotropy are rare. We introduce a simple strategy to produce extremely large electrical anisotropy via grating gating of a semiconductor two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) of AlGaN/GaN. We show that periodically modulated electric potential in the 2DEG induces in-plane electrical anisotropy, which is significantly enhanced in a magnetic field, leading to an ultra large electrical anisotropy. This is induced by a giant positive magnetoresistance and a giant negative magnetoresistance under two orthogonally oriented in-plane current flows, respectively. This giant electrical anisotropy is in situ tunable by tailoring both the grating gate voltage and the magnetic field. Our semiconductor device with controllable giant electrical anisotropy will stimulate new device applications, such as multi-terminal memtransistors and bionic synapses.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tracking the Influence of Thermal Expansion and Oxygen Vacancies on the Thermal Stability of Ni-Rich Layered Cathode Materials

The ever-growing demand for high-energy lithium-ion batteries in portable electronics and electric vehicles has triggered intensive research efforts over the past decade. An efficient strategy to boost the energy and power density of lithium-ion batteries is to increase the Ni content in the cathode materials. However, a higher Ni content in the cathode materials gives rise to safety issues. Herein, thermal expansion and oxygen vacancies are proposed as new critical factors that affect the thermal stability of charged Ni-rich cathode materials based on a systematic synchrotron-based X-ray study of Li 0.33 Ni 0.5+x Co 0.2 Mn 0.3-x O 2 (x = 0, 0.1, 0.2) cathode materials during a heating process. Charged cathode materials with higher Ni contents show larger thermal expansion, which accelerates transition metal migration to the Li layers. Oxygen vacancies are formed and accumulate mainly around Ni ions until the layered-to-spinel phase transition begins. The oxygen vacancies also facilitate transition metal migration to the Li layers. Thermal expansion and the presence of oxygen vacancies decrease the energy barrier for cation migration and facilitate the phase transitions in charged cathode materials during the heating process. These results provide valuable guidance for developing new cathode materials with improved safety characteristics.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Polymers in Lithium‐Ion and Lithium Metal Batteries

Abstract Lithium‐ion batteries play a significant role in modern electronics and electric vehicles. However, current Li‐ion battery chemistries are unable to satisfy the increasingly heightened expectations regarding energy demand and reliability. To boost the overall energy density while ensuring the safety of Li batteries, researchers have focused on alternative battery materials, such as silicon, sulfur, and Li metal. These represent promising avenues, although numerous obstacles (e.g., Si cracking, polysulfide shuttling, Li dendrites, etc.) must be tackled before batteries based on these materials can enter mass production and penetrate the mainstream market. Polymers are a class of materials that are widely used in current battery systems; however, many novel polymer chemistries may offer better performance and reliability than the current ones, and even overcome the issues of the above‐mentioned new battery materials. In this review, selected polymeric materials for solving these issues are categorized into four parts: polymer electrolytes, polymer artificial solid‐electrolyte interphases, binders, and separators. Both the current progress and the characterization methods are included. Potential future directions of energy materials research are pointed out as well.

Li, Junheng↗
DOE OSTI2022

Manufacturing Processes for Permanent Magnets: Part II—Bonding and Emerging Methods

Abstract Permanent magnets produce magnetic fields and maintain the field even in the presence of an opposing magnetic field. They are widely used in electric machines, electronics, and medical devices. Part I reviews the conventional manufacturing processes for commercial magnets, including Nd-Fe-B, Sm-Co, alnico, and ferrite in cast and sintered forms. In Part II, bonding, emerging advanced manufacturing processes, as well as magnet recycling methods are briefly reviewed for their current status, challenges, and future directions.

Cui, Jun (ORCID:0000000179118172)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Massively parallel axisymmetric fluid model for streamer discharges

A highly parallelizable fluid plasma simulation tool based upon the first-order drift-diffusion equations is discussed. Atmospheric pressure plasmas have densities and gradients that require small element sizes in order to accurately simulate the plasm resulting in computational meshes on the order of millions to tens of millions of elements for realistic size plasma reactors. To enable simulations of this nature, parallel computing is required and must be optimized for the particular problem. Here, a finite-volume, electrostatic drift-diffusion implementation for low-temperature plasma is discussed. The implementation is built upon the Message Passing Interface (MPI) library in C++ using Object Oriented Programming. The underlying numerical method is outlined in detail and benchmarked against simple streamer formation from other streamer codes. Electron densities, electric field, and propagation speeds are compared with the reference case and show good agreement. Convergence studies are also performed showing a minimal space step of approximately 4 μm required to reduce relative error to below 1% during early streamer simulation times and even finer space steps are required for longer times. Additionally, strong and weak scaling of the implementation are studied and demonstrate the excellent performance behavior of the implementation up to 100 million elements on 1024 processors. Lastly, different advection schemes are compared for the simple streamer problem to analyze the influence of numerical diffusion on the resulting quantities of interest.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A decision support tool for e-waste recycling operations using the hen-and-chicks bio-inspired optimization metaheuristic

E-waste from end-of-life electrical and electronic devices is one of the fastest growing waste streams from households and businesses. E-waste recycling yields environmental sustainability and economic benefits. Due to continuous changes in e-waste types and compositions, recycling businesses face challenges to optimize their operational configuration to achieve better economic and environmental performance. To help e-waste recyclers mitigate this problem, we have developed a modular decision support tool called the Comprehensive Manufacturing Assessment Tool (CMAT) that can simulate both e-waste recycling operations and economics. This tool can give valuable insights regarding the profitability of the entire operation and different e-waste types. In addition, a new bio-inspired metaheuristic optimization algorithm, hen-and-chicks optimization (HACO), was developed to assign manpower to different workstations to maximize operational efficiencies. According to the results of our case study, laptops, desktops, and computer peripherals are the three electronic waste products that produce the most profit. Our examination of the sensitivity of material prices shows that the price of steel has the most significant influence on total profit, because it is the most widely used material in the majority of electronic devices. We have released the decision support tool as open-source software under a general public license. It could be customized for other recycling industries beyond e-waste to achieve business sustainability by making their operations more efficient.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Progress in direct recycling of spent lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC) cathodes

With the widespread use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) in portable electronics and electric vehicles (EVs), the end-of-life (EOL) LIBs are projected to reach 1336 GWh by 2040 under the sustainable development scenario. Proper recycling is urgently needed to minimize the release of hazardous waste and reduce mining activities by reintroducing critical minerals into the supply chain. Lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (LiNi x Mn y Co z O 2 , NMCs) cathodes have become dominant in the LIB market, especially with the increasing production of EVs, which are also the most valuable components in EOL LIBs. Unlike pyrometallurgical and/or hydrometallurgical methods, which convert spent NMCs into metals or metal compounds, direct recycling technologies aim to maximize the value of spent cathodes by restoring their degraded structure and composition. Furthermore, this review summarizes direct recycling methods for NMC cathodes published in the last decade and provides insights into the challenges and future development of direct recycling techniques.

Cathode↗
DOE OSTI2023

Urban mining from biomass, brine, sewage sludge, phosphogypsum and e-waste for reducing the environmental pollution: Current status of availability, potential, and technologies with a focus on LCA and TEA

We discuss how rapid industrialization, improved standards of living, growing economies and ever-increasing population has led to the unprecedented exploitation of the finite and non-renewable resources of minerals in past years. It was observed that out of 100 BMT of raw materials processed annually only 10% is recycled back. This has resulted in a strenuous burden on natural or primary resources of minerals (such as ores) having limited availability. Moreover, severe environmental concerns have been raised by the huge piles of waste generated at landfill sites. To resolve these issues, ‘Urban Mining’ from waste or secondary resources in a Circular Economy’ concept is the only sustainable solution. The objective of this review is to critically examine the availability, elemental composition, and the market potential of the selected secondary resources such as lignocellulosic/algal biomass, desalination water, sewage sludge, phosphogypsum, and e-waste for minerals sequestration. This review showed that, secondary resources have potential to partially replace the minerals required in different sectors such as macro and microelements in agriculture, rare earth elements (REEs) in electrical and electronics industry, metals in manufacturing sector and precious elements such as gold and platinum in ornamental industry. Further, inputs from the selected life cycle analysis (LCA) & techno economic analysis (TEA) were discussed which showed that although, urban mining has a potential to reduce the greenhouse gaseous (GHG) emissions in a sustainable manner however, process improvements through innovative, novel and cost-effective pathways are essentially required for its large-scale deployment at industrial scale in future.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Review of the first charged-particle transport coefficient comparison workshop

We present the results of the first Charged-Particle Transport Coefficient Code Comparison Workshop, which was held in Albuquerque, NM October 4–6, 2016. In this first workshop, scientists from eight institutions and four countries gathered to compare calculations of transport coefficients including thermal and electrical conduction, electron–ion coupling, inter-ion diffusion, ion viscosity, and charged particle stopping powers. In this paper, we give general background on Coulomb coupling and computational expense, review where some transport coefficients appear in hydrodynamic equations, and present the submitted data. Large variations are found when either the relevant Coulomb coupling parameter is large or computational expense causes difficulties. Understanding the general accuracy and uncertainty associated with such transport coefficients is important for quantifying errors in hydrodynamic simulations of inertial confinement fusion and high-energy density experiments.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗