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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 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1988

Effect of a uniform sea-level change on the earth's rotation and gravitational field

Global water redistriburtion between the oceans, atmosphere and continents causes changes in the earth's rotation and gravitational field. To conserve water mass, the effect of the small uniform change in sea-level must be considered. Explicit formulas are provided for these sea-level corrections to the gravitational Stokes coefficients, polar motion and length of day. In two recent publications, this sea-level correction term for polar motion was given incorrectly. These errors which arose from normalization conventions with the ocean function are corrected.

Chao, B. Fong↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Satellite-assisted Evaluation of Irrigation Application Efficiency for Lettuce in the Salinas Valley

The Salinas Valley region of California’s Central Coast is a majorU.S. vegetable producer. Lettuce is a leading commodity, grown on about 100,000 acres with annual value near $1.4B (2022 Monterey County Ag Report). Vegetables crops in the area aretypically well watered and fertilized in pursuit of commercial yield and quality standards. Information on irrigation application efficiency, meanwhile, can enhance waterresource sustainability and mitigate impacts of nitrate infiltrationon groundwater quality. The Crop Consumptive Use Fraction (CCUF), previously recommended by the California Department of Water Resources, is a metric that expresses evapotranspiration (ET) of applied water relative to total applied water. More recently under Assembly Bill 1668 addressing water conservation and drought planning, the metric can be used to help quantify application efficiency to support preparation of agricultural water management plans in the state. This study will report CCUF evaluations from several commercial lettuce plantings in the Salinas Valley during the 2022 dry season (late spring-early fall). The evaluations were derived from satellite-based observations of cropET from the OpenETcloud application, and applied water monitored by in-line flowmetersand supplemented by grower reports of irrigation system runtime. The study will also compare observed (satellite-based) ET with modeled ET from the CropManage irrigationand nutrient management decision-support system operated by Cooperative Extension. Additional study in cool-season vegetables is ongoing in 2023.

Satellite-assisted↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology for Water Treatment

There are approximately 500,000 water cooling towers in the United States, all of which must be kept clear of "scale" and corrosion and free of pollutants and bacteria. Electron Pure, Ltd. manufactures a hydro cooling tower conditioner as well as an automatic pool sanitizer. The pool sanitizer consists of two copper/silver electrodes placed in a chamber mounted in the pool's recirculation system. The tower conditioner combines the ionization system with a water conditioner, pump, centrifugal solids separator and timer. The system saves water, eliminates algae and operates maintenance and chemical free. The company has over 100 distributors in the U.S. as well as others in 20 foreign countries. The buildup of scale and corrosion is the most costly maintenance problem in cooling tower operation. Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully developed a non-chemical system that not only curbed scale and corrosion, but also offered advantages in water conservation, cost savings and the elimination of toxic chemical discharge. In the system, ozone is produced by an on-site generator and introduced to the cooling tower water. Organic impurities are oxidized, and the dissolved ozone removes bacteria and scale. National Water Management, a NASA licensee, has installed its ozone advantage systems at some 200 cooling towers. Customers have saved money and eliminated chemical storage and discharge.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

Technology for Water Treatment (National Water Management)

The buildup of scale and corrosion is the most costly maintenance problem in cooling tower operation. Jet Propulsion Laboratory successfully developed a non-chemical system that not only curbed scale and corrosion, but also offered advantages in water conservation, cost savings and the elimination of toxic chemical discharge. In the system, ozone is produced by an on-site generator and introduced to the cooling tower water. Organic impurities are oxidized, and the dissolved ozone removes bacteria and scale. National Water Management, a NASA licensee, has installed its ozone advantage systems at some 200 cooling towers. Customers have saved money and eliminated chemical storage and discharge.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2022

Evapotranspiration Based Irrigation Trials Examine Water Requirement, Nitrogen Use, and Yield of Romaine Lettuce in the Salinas Valley

Cool season vegetables require adequate soil moisture to assure that maximum yield and quality are achieved. On California’s central coast, where the majority of cool season vegetables are produced in the US, long-term overpumping of irrigation water has reduced groundwater levels and led to environmental degradation. Two evapotranspiration (ET) based irrigation field trials were performed near Salinas CA (USA) to determine if ET-based irrigation scheduling could conserve water while producing romaine lettuce (cv. Sun Valley) of commercially viable yield. Sprinklers were used for seed germination and crop establishment. Four drip irrigation treatments were then imposed using a randomized complete block design with six replications. The CropManage decision support model was used to estimate the full (100%) crop water requirement based mainly on ET replacement. Other treatments included 50% 75% and 150% of the full water requirement. The 100% treatment received 185 mm of water in 2015 and 247 mm in 2016, both of which were well below prior guidance and grower reports. Yields from the 100% and 150% treatments were not significantly different and were similar to industry average, while yields were significantly lower for the 50% and 75% treatments. The 100% treatment had the highest water use efficiency, and the 100% and 150% treatments together had the highest nitrogen recovery efficiency. Irrigation of romaine near the 100% ET replacement level can potentially reduce environmental impacts associated with nitrate leaching and surface runoff.

CropManage decision support system↗
NASA NTRS1975

CARETS: A prototype regional environmental information system. Volume 11: Potential usefulness of CARETS data for environmental impact assessment

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 requires that Federal agencies prepare environmental impact statements (EIS) for all proposed actions that significantly affect the quality of the environment. The EIS builds a predictive model of beneficial or adverse changes resulting from an action. Environmental impact statement preparation requires identification of environmental, social, and economic conditions likely to change and also requires prediction of intensity and spatial dimensions of changes. The Central Atlantic Regional Ecological Test Site (CARETS) project has produced land use data that can be of value for such assessment. To ascertain the types of proposed actions requiring EIS's, all EIS's prepared for proposed actions in the test site between January 1970 and June 1974 were reviewed. The actions were divided into seven categories: (1) construction of transportation and communication facilities; (2) construction of power plant, powerline, and fuel line facilities; (3) urban renewal, new town development projects, and multistory building construction; (4) construction of facilities for watershed protection and development;, (5) construction of waste treatment and disposal facilities (6) maintenance dredging, navigation improvements, and beach erosion control and replenishment projects; and (7) establishing or enhancing land and water conservation areas. Examples of actions from each category were selected for more detailed study. In view of the types of projects being proposed, an approach to environmental impact assessment using land use and water data as central inputs was recommended. The viability of such an approach as well as other approaches depends upon the availability of quantitative data such as those produced by the CARETS project.

Environmental impact assessment↗
NASA NTRS1972

Study of water recovery and solid waste processing for aerospace and domestic applications. Volume 2: Final report

The manner in which current and advanced technology can be applied to develop practical solutions to existing and emerging water supply and waste disposal problems is evaluated. An overview of water resource factors as they affect new community planning, and requirements imposed on residential waste treatment systems are presented. The results of equipment surveys contain information describing: commercially available devices and appliances designed to conserve water; devices and techniques for monitoring water quality and controlling back contamination; and advanced water and waste processing equipment. System concepts are developed and compared on the basis of current and projected costs. Economic evaluations are based on community populations of from 2,000 to 250,000. The most promising system concept is defined in sufficient depth to initiate detailed design.

Guarneri, C. A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Surviving and Thriving in Space and on Earth's Oceans - Human Logistics and Sustainability Comparisons and Considerations

The human species has a yearning for exploration as evidenced by the extensive historical ocean voyages and expeditions which have led to a massive advancement in the scientific and geodetic knowledge about planet Earth. These global explorations via the oceans have also had strategic, economic, cultural and religious implications and impacts, which have drastically changed the state of humanity and its condition. The transportation network created by ships traveling across the oceans has been supplemented by other transportation networks on land and in the air, creating a global economy that, in general, has improved the human condition leading to better health, longer lives, lower child mortality, better education, political freedom, higher gross national product (GNP) and improved hygiene. The logical extension of this societal trend is to extend the transportation network and human civilization into outer space, beyond the cradle of planet Earth. Our solar system contains vast amounts of natural resources which can be harnessed and used to bootstrap a space economy and related infrastructure by using advanced technologies. Sailing journeys from hundreds of years ago required large vessels and large crews, (in comparison with today’s space capsules). Modern sailors of today are able to complete large voyages, in small vessels, with a minimal crew, comparable in magnitude to modern space travel. This paper will use a systems engineering approach (e.g. using the NASA Human Integration Design Handbook (HIDH), NASA-SP-2010-3407, 2010 and the “Advanced Life Support Baseline Values and Assumptions Document, (BVAD)” NASA-CR-2004-208941, 2004.), to examine and compare the logistics and sustainability aspects of a small crew traveling on Earth's oceans in sailing vessels versus humans traveling in space. The “Mālama Honua Worldwide Voyage” of the Hokule’a, a replica of an ancient Hawaiian double hulled sailing canoe, will be used as a case study. This is the best comparison case since the Polynesian exploration of the vast (and virtually empty) Pacific Ocean is the closest analogue to modern space travel. “"Both are voyages of exploration.” –Shuttle astronaut Lacy Veach. Minimizing waste and maximizing re-use and re-cycling will lead to more efficient logistics and sustainability. In addition, In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) strategies, based on successful Earth based strategies used for many years by sailors will be considered and evaluated for their usefulness. For example, human logistics for a typical space mission are shown in Table 1 and Table 2 (Lopez et al, 2015). Studies show that typical human water consumption in space is projected to be 3.2 kg/day per crew member as shown in Table 2. Data from human sailing voyages around the globe will be examined. Anecdotal evidence indicates that knowledgeable and well-equipped modern sailors, who conserve water, can comfortably live using 1.5 to 5 kg/day per person. This paper will investigate key logistics and sustainability aspects of living in space and compare them quantitatively to similar aspects of living on ocean faring sailing vessels on Earth. Mutually beneficial observations, advanced technologies and modern considerations will be applied within confines of a remote sailing environment, which could be of immense value to both the space faring community and the ocean sailing community.

Space↗
NASA NTRS2015

High-Capacity Spacesuit Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR)

Future human space exploration missions will require advanced life support technology that can operate across a wide range of applications and environments. Thermal control systems for space suits and spacecraft will need to meet critical requirements for water conservation and multifunctional operation. This paper describes a Space Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR) that has been designed to meet performance requirements for future life support systems. A SEAR system comprises a lithium chloride absorber radiator (LCAR) for heat rejection coupled with a space water membrane evaporator (SWME) for heat acquisition. SEAR systems provide heat pumping to minimize radiator size, thermal storage to accommodate variable environmental conditions, and water absorption to minimize use of expendables. We have built and tested a flight-like, high-capacity LCAR, demonstrated its performance in thermal vacuum tests, and explored the feasibility of an ISS demonstration test of a SEAR system. The new LCAR design provides the same cooling capability as prior LCAR prototypes while enabling over 30% more heat absorbing capacity. Studies show that it should be feasible to demonstrate SEAR operation in flight by coupling with an existing EMU on the space station.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2014

High-Capacity Spacesuit Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR)

Future human space exploration missions will require advanced life support technology that can operate across a wide range of applications and environments. Thermal control systems for space suits and spacecraft will need to meet critical requirements for water conservation and adaptability to highly variable thermal environments. This paper describes a Space Evaporator Absorber Radiator (SEAR) that has been designed to meet performance requirements for future life support systems. A SEAR system comprises a lithium chloride absorber radiator (LCAR) for heat rejection coupled with a space water membrane evaporator (SWME) for heat acquisition. SEAR systems provide heat pumping to minimize radiator size, thermal storage to accommodate variable environmental conditions, and water absorption to minimize use of expendables. We have built and tested a flightlike, high-capacity LCAR, demonstrated its performance in thermal vacuum tests, and explored the feasibility of an ISS demonstration test of a SEAR system. The new LCAR design provides the same cooling capability as prior LCAR prototypes while enabling over 30% more heat absorbing capacity. Studies show that it should be feasible to demonstrate SEAR operation in flight by coupling with an existing EMU on the space station.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Using Science Skills to Understand Ecophysiology and Manage Resources

Presentation will be for a general audience and focus on plant science and ecosystem science in NASA. Examples from the projects involving the presenter will be used to illustrate. Specifically, the California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta project. This collaboration supports the goals of the Delta Plan in developing science-based, adaptive-management strategies. The mission is to improve reliability of water supply and restore a healthy Delta ecosystem while enhancing agriculture and recreation. NASA can contribute gap-filling science understanding of overall functions in the Delta ecosystem and assess and help develop management plans for specific issues. Airborne and satellite remote-sensing, ecosystem modeling, and biological studies provide underlying data needed by Delta stakeholders to assess and address water, ecosystem restoration, and environmental and economic impacts of potential actions in the Delta. The California Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the hub for California's water supply, supports important ecosystem services for fisheries, supplies drinking water for millions, and distributes water from Northern California to agriculture and urban communities to the south; millions of people and businesses depend on Delta water. Decades of competing demands for Delta resources and year-to-year variability in precipitation has resulted in diminished overall health of the Delta. Declines in fish populations, threatened ecosystems, endangered species, invasive plants and animals, cuts in agricultural exports, and increased water conservation is the result. NASA and the USDA, building on previous collaborations, aide local Delta stakeholders in assessing and developing an invasive weed management approach. Aquatic, terrestrial, and riparian invasive weeds threaten aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem restoration efforts. Aquatic weeds are currently detrimental economically, environmentally, and sociologically in the Delta. They negatively impact the redistribution of water and disrupt the ecology of the Bay Delta food web. Filling current science gaps in the Delta Plan and improving management practices within the Delta are important to achieving the mission of improved Delta health. Methods developed can become routine land and water management tools. New high-resolution NASA sensor systems could be used to provide data packages specifically designed for water system The presenter will also speak about his personal experience and the role Delaware Valley College played in preparation for a professional career science.

Water↗
NASA NTRS2016

Kennedy Space Center Five Year Sustainability Plan

The Federal Government is committed to following sustainable principles. At its heart, sustainability integrates environmental, societal and economic solutions for present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Building upon its pledge towards environmental stewardship, the Administration generated a vision of sustainability spanning ten goals mandated within Executive Order (EO) 13693, Planning for Federal Sustainability in the Next Decade. In November 2015, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) responded to this EO by incorporating it into a new release of the NASA Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP). The SSPP recognizes the importance of aligning environmental practices in a manner that preserves, enhances and strengthens NASA's ability to perform its mission indefinitely. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) is following suit with KSC's Sustainability Plan (SP) by promoting, maintaining and pioneering green practices in all aspects of our mission. KSC's SP recognizes that the best sustainable solutions use an interdisciplinary, collaborative approach spanning civil servant and contractor personnel from across the Center. This approach relies on the participation of all employees to develop and implement sustainability endeavors connected with the following ten goals: Reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Design, build and maintain sustainable buildings, facilities and infrastructure. Leverage clean and renewable energy. Increase water conservation. Improve fleet and vehicle efficiency and management. Purchase sustainable products and services. Minimize waste and prevent pollution. Implement performance contracts for Federal buildings. Manage electronic equipment and data centers responsibly. Pursue climate change resilience. The KSC SP details the strategies and actions that address the following objectives: Reduce Center costs. center dot Increase energy and water efficiencies. Promote smart buying practices. Increase reuse and recycling while decreasing waste. Benefit the community. Meet or exceed the EO and NASA SSPP sustainability goals.

Sustainability↗
NASA NTRS2020

Spectral Range Within Global aCDOM(440) Algorithms for Oceanic, Coastal, and Inland Waters with Application to Airborne Measurements

The optically active component of dissolved organic material in aquatic ecosystems, or colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM), is represented by the coefficient of absorption due to the dissolved aquatic constituents at 440 nm, aCDOM(440). Remote sensing of aCDOM(440) enables characterization of ecosystem processes and aids in retrieval of chlorophyll a, a proxy for phytoplankton biomass. Spectrally adjacent band-ratio domains, e.g., blue to green, have previously been applied for remote sensing of aCDOM(440) in coastal and oceanic waters with similar results compared to more complex semi-analytical algorithms. Estimation of aCDOM(440) from ratios of the most spectrally separated ocean color wavebands (end members), e.g., ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared (NIR), termed end-member analysis (EMA), has previously been shown to increase the accuracy of global aCDOM(440) retrievals from in-water observations of diffuse attenuation and to enable a unified algorithmic perspective without requiring regional adjustment of internal bio-optical parameters. EMA of above-water observations is evaluated herein, with a focus on coastal and inland waters in which increasing optical complexity and likelihood of bottom reflectance challenge the oceanic algorithms developed for deep and optically simple (case-1) waters. Analysis herein of three independent, in situ, bio-optical datasets indicates significant correlation between aCDOM(440) and end-member band ratios (next-generation 320 and 780 nm or legacy 412 and 670 nm ratios) with a coefficient of determination, R2, of 0.87 (log-scale) or higher based on a dataset spanning the dynamic range of global, conservative water bodies. For applicable wavelengths, EMA algorithms are shown to agree with case-1 relationships and to produce consistent log-scale uncertainties across more than three orders of magnitude in aCDOM(440) values (0.001–2.305 m􀀀1). EMA using UV and NIR wavelengths (320 and 780 nm) is applied to low-altitude airborne observations and satisfies 25% uncertainty based on unbiased percent differences (UPDs) within each of three dissimilar match-up sites ranging in aCDOM(440) from 0.02–0.57 m􀀀1. Results demonstrate that EMA is a useful and robust approach for the remote sensing of aCDOM(440) in coastal and inland waters, which are generally shallower, contain more optically complex environments, and span a greater range in aCDOM(440) than oceanic waters.

CDOM↗
NASA NTRS1973

Development of a household waste treatment subsystem, volume 1

The domestic waste treatment subsystem was developed to process the daily liquid and non-metallic solid wastes provided by a family of four people. The subsystem was designed to be connected to the sewer line of a household which contained water conservation features. The system consisted of an evaporation technique to separate liquids from solids, an incineration technique for solids reduction, and a catalytic oxidizer for eliminating noxious gases from evaporation and incineration processes. All wastes were passed through a grinder which masticated the solids and deposited them in a settling tank. The liquids were transferred through a cleanable filter into a holding tank. From here the liquids were sprayed into an evaporator and a spray chamber where evaporation occurred. The resulting vapors were processed by catalytic oxidation. Water and latent energy were recovered in a combination evaporator/condenser heat exchanger. The solids were conveyed into an incinerator and reduced to ash while the incineration gases were passed through the catalytic oxidizer along with the processed water vapor.

Gresko, T. M.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Isotopic Evidence for the Source and Fate of Phosphorus in Everglades Wetland Ecosystems

Phosphorus has historically been a limiting nutrient in the Florida Everglades. Increased P loading to the Everglades over the past several decades has led to significant changes in water quality and plant communities. Stormwater runoff that drains agricultural lands and enters the Water Conservation Areas (WCAs) are known to contain elevated levels of P, but the exact source of this P has not been fully determined. Here the results of an O isotope study of dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) in both polluted and relatively pristine (or reference) areas of the Everglades are reported. The data reveal spatial and temporal variations in the delta 18O signature of DIP, reflecting the source and the degree of cycling of P. The delta 18O values of DIP collected from the Everglades National Park were close or equal to the predicted delta 18O values of DIP formed in situ in equilibrium with ambient water, indicating that P is quickly cycled in the water column in oligotrophic ecosystems with very low P concentrations. However, most DIP samples collected from areas impacted by agricultural runoff yielded delta 18O values that deviated from the predicted equilibrium DIP delta 18O values based on the delta 18O of water and water temperature, suggesting that biological cycling of P was not rapid enough to remove the fertilizer ?18O signature in the DIP pool from areas receiving high P loading. The delta 18O signature of DIP in impacted areas reflects a mixing of fertilizer P and biologically cycled P, where the relative proportions of biologically cycled vs. fertilizer DIP are controlled by both biological (microbial activities and plant uptake) and hydrologic factors (loading rate and residence time). Using a two-end-member (i.e., fertilizer P and biologically cycled P) mixing model, fertilizers were estimated to contribute about 15 100% of the DIP pool in the highly impacted areas of the northern Everglades, whereas the DIP pool in the reference (i.e., relatively pristine) wetlands in the Everglades National Park was dominated by biologically cycled P. The study shows that O isotopic measurements of dissolved PO(exp 3-, sub 4) can be a useful tool for tracing the fertilizer P inputs to freshwater ecosystems.

Li, Xin↗
NASA NTRS1962

Advanced Environmental Systems

Atmosphere controls for advanced manned space vehicles will in some cases require techniques different from those selected as optimum for the Mercury environmental control system (ECS). Water conservation will be rigorous for vehicles which use a solar or nuclear auxiliary power unit (APU). For missions longer than a few hundred hours, CO2 will be removed in a regenerable process. Several promising regenerable CO2 removal systems are presented, including freeze-out. Regeneration of oxygen from C02 is discussed as the next step in atmosphere control advancement. Test work on CO2 hydrogenation by the Sabatier process is cited. The recommended makeup of ECS elements is presented as a function of mission duration.

Manned spacecraft↗
NASA NTRS1973

Utilization of remotely-sensed data in the management of inland wetlands

ERTS data and aerial photography are shown to represent valuable tools for the inventory and management of inland wetlands. The two discussed examples of the application of remotely-sensed data to specific wetland management needs and requirements are the Great Dismal Swamp of Virginia-North Carolina and the Water Conservation District of southern Florida.

Carter, V.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Renal effects of continuous negative pressure breathing

Continuous negative pressure breathing (CNPB) was utilized to simulate the thoracic vascular distension of zero G in 11 anesthetized rats. The animals underwent renal clearance and micropuncture renal nephron studies before, during, and after CNPB. Four rats were pretreated with a high salt diet and I-M desoxycorticosterone (DOCA) in excess. None of these rats diuresed with CNPB. In contrast, five of the seven remaining rats increased the fraction of the filtered sodium excreted and their urinary flow rate. Potassium excretion increased. End proximal tubular fluid specimen's TF/P inulin ratios were unchanged. Whole kidney and single nephron glomerular filtration rates fell 10%. CNPB, a mechanism for atrial distension, appears to cause in the rat a decrease in distal tubular sodium and water reabsorption. Exogenous mineral-corticoid prevents the diuresis, saluresis, and kaluresis. The adequacy of other nonatrial volume control mechanisms in regulating renal salt and water conservation in opposition to the studied atrial-renal (Henry-Gauer) reflex of thoracic vascular distension is confirmed.

Kinney, M. J.↗