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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2015

On The Development of Additive Construction Technologies for Application to Development of Lunar/Martian Surface Structures Using In-Situ Materials

For long-duration missions on other planetary bodies, the use of in-situ materials will become increasingly critical. As man's presence on these bodies expands, so must the breadth of the structures required to accommodate them including habitats, laboratories, berms, radiation shielding for natural radiation and surface reactors, garages, solar storm shelters, greenhouses, etc. Planetary surface structure manufacturing and assembly technologies that incorporate in-situ resources provide options for autonomous, affordable, pre-positioned environments with radiation shielding features and protection from micrometeorites, exhaust plume debris, and other hazards. This is important because gamma and particle radiation constitute a serious but reducible threat to long-term survival of human beings, electronics, and other materials in space environments. Also, it is anticipated that surface structures will constitute the primary mass element of lunar or Martian launch requirements. The ability to use in-situ materials to construct these structures will provide a benefit in the reduction of up-mass that would otherwise make long-term Moon or Mars structures cost prohibitive. The ability to fabricate structures in situ brings with it the ability to repair these structures, which allows for self-sufficiency necessary for long-duration habitation. Previously, under the auspices of the MSFC In Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) project and more recently, under the joint MSFC/KSC Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) project, the MSFC Surface Structures Group has been developing materials and construction technologies to support future planetary habitats with in situ resources. One such technology, known as Contour Crafting (additive construction), is shown in Figure 1, along with a typical structure fabricated using this technology. This paper will present the results to date of these efforts, including development of novel nozzle concepts for advanced layer deposition using the Contour Crafting process. This process, conceived initially for rapid development of cementitious structures on Earth, also lends itself exceptionally well to the automated fabrication of planetary surface structures using minimally processed regolith as aggregate, and imported binder material or binders developed from in situ materials. This process has been used successfully in the fabrication of construction elements using lunar regolith simulant and Mars regolith simulant, both with various binder materials. These binder materials have resulted from extensive evaluation and include both "imported" binder materials that might be launched from Earth as well as some binder materials that can theoretically also be derived from existing regolith materials. They were chosen to 1) reduce penetrating radiation as much as possible, primarily with hydrogen-bearing polymers, 2) attempt to provide an air-tight structure, 3) sufficiently mix and adsorb to regolith grains for strength, 4) maximize tolerance to day-night thermal cycling, 5) possibly increase electrical conductivity to dissipate any accumulated static charge, and 6) ease their application on planetary surfaces (specifically, the accommodation of reduced atmosphere and lack of heat sinks). Some of these materials have been tested with respect to radiation mitigation, micrometeorite resistance, and resistance to larger, slower-traveling pieces of regolith impinging on the surface, simulating nearby launch and landing activities. Conceptual designs for a Continuous Feedstock Delivery/Mixing System (CFDMS) will also be presented and future planned activities will be discussed as well.

Werkheiser, Niki↗
NASA NTRS2005

Status of Duct Liner Technology for Application to Aircraft Engine Nacelles

Grazing flows and high acoustic intensities impose unusual design requirements on acoustic liner treatments used in aircraft engine nacelles. Increased sound absorption efficiency (requiring increased accuracy of liner impedance specification) is particularly critical in the face of ever decreasing nacelle wall area available for liner treatments in modern, high-bypass ratio engines. This paper reviews the strategy developed at Langley Research Center for achieving a robust measurement technology that is crucial for validating impedance models for aircraft liners. Specifically, the paper describes the current status of computational and data acquisition technologies for reducing impedance in a flow duct. Comparisons of reduced impedances for a "validation liner" using 1980's and 2000's measurement technology are consistent, but show significant deviations (up to 0.5 c exclusive of liner anti-resonance region) from a first principles impedance prediction model as grazing flow centerline Mach numbers increase up to 0.5. The deviations, in part, are believed related to uncertainty in the choice of grazing flow parameters (e.g. cross-section averaged, core-flow averaged, or centerline Mach number?). Also, there may be an issue with incorporating the impedance discontinuities corresponding to the hard wall to liner interface (i.e. leading and trailing edge of test liner) within the discretized finite element model.

Parrott, Tony L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Development of Additive Construction Technologies for Application to Development of Lunar/Martian Surface Structures Using In-Situ Materials

For long-duration missions on other planetary bodies, the use of in situ materials will become increasingly critical. As human presence on these bodies expands, so must the breadth of the structures required to accommodate them including habitats, laboratories, berms, radiation shielding for natural radiation and surface reactors, garages, solar storm shelters, greenhouses, etc. Planetary surface structure manufacturing and assembly technologies that incorporate in situ resources provide options for autonomous, affordable, pre-positioned environments with radiation shielding features and protection from micrometeorites, exhaust plume debris, and other hazards. The ability to use in-situ materials to construct these structures will provide a benefit in the reduction of up-mass that would otherwise make long-term Moon or Mars structures cost prohibitive. The ability to fabricate structures in situ brings with it the ability to repair these structures, which allows for the self-sufficiency and sustainability necessary for long-duration habitation. Previously, under the auspices of the MSFC In-Situ Fabrication and Repair (ISFR) project and more recently, under the jointly-managed MSFC/KSC Additive Construction with Mobile Emplacement (ACME) project, the MSFC Surface Structures Group has been developing materials and construction technologies to support future planetary habitats with in-situ resources. One such additive construction technology is known as Contour Crafting. This paper presents the results to date of these efforts, including development of novel nozzle concepts for advanced layer deposition using this process. Conceived initially for rapid development of cementitious structures on Earth, it also lends itself exceptionally well to the automated fabrication of planetary surface structures using minimally processed regolith as aggregate, and binders developed from in situ materials as well. This process has been used successfully in the fabrication of construction elements using lunar regolith simulant and Mars regolith simulant, both with various binder materials. Future planned activities will be discussed as well.

Werkheiser, Niki J.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Satellite Networks: Architectures, Applications, and Technologies

Since global satellite networks are moving to the forefront in enhancing the national and global information infrastructures due to communication satellites' unique networking characteristics, a workshop was organized to assess the progress made to date and chart the future. This workshop provided the forum to assess the current state-of-the-art, identify key issues, and highlight the emerging trends in the next-generation architectures, data protocol development, communication interoperability, and applications. Presentations on overview, state-of-the-art in research, development, deployment and applications and future trends on satellite networks are assembled.

Bhasin, Kul↗
DOE OSTI2023

Wetting transition and fluid trapping in a microfluidic fracture

Immiscible fluid–fluid displacement in confined geometries is a fundamental process occurring in many natural phenomena and technological applications, from geological CO 2 sequestration to microfluidics. Due to the interactions between the fluids and the solid walls, fluid invasion undergoes a wetting transition from complete displacement at low displacement rates to leaving a film of the defending fluid on the confining surfaces at high displacement rates. While most real surfaces are rough, fundamental questions remain about the type of fluid–fluid displacement that can emerge in a confined, rough geometry. Here, we study immiscible displacement in a microfluidic device with a precisely controlled structured surface as an analogue for a rough fracture. We analyze the influence of the degree of surface roughness on the wetting transition and the formation of thin films of the defending liquid. We show experimentally, and rationalize theoretically, that roughness affects both the stability and dewetting dynamics of thin films, leading to distinct late-time morphologies of the undisplaced (trapped) fluid. Finally, we discuss the implications of our observations for geologic and technological applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2007

Overview of NASA Langley's Piezoelectric Ceramic Packaging Technology and Applications

Over the past decade, NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) has developed several actuator packaging concepts designed to enhance the performance of commercial electroactive ceramics. NASA LaRC focused on properly designed actuator and sensor packaging for the following reasons, increased durability, protect the working material from the environment, allow for proper mechanical and electrical contact, afford "ready to use" mechanisms that are scalable, and develop fabrication methodology applicable to any active material of the same physical class. It is more cost effective to enhance or tailor the performance of existing systems, through innovative packaging, than to develop, test and manufacture new materials. This approach led to the development of several solid state actuators that include THUNDER, the Macrofiber Composite or (MFC) and the Radial Field Diaphragm or (RFD). All these actuators are fabricated using standard materials and processes derived from earlier concepts. NASA s fabrication and packaging technology as yielded, piezoelectric actuators and sensors that are easy to implement, reliable, consistent in properties, and of lower cost to manufacture in quantity, than their predecessors (as evidenced by their continued commercial availability.) These piezoelectric actuators have helped foster new research and development in areas involving computational modeling, actuator specific refinements, and engineering system redesign which led to new applications for piezo-based devices that replace traditional systems currently in use.

Bryant, Robert G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Defect-Engineered High-Entropy Spinel Oxide@Onion-Like Carbon Catalysts for High-Areal-Energy Rechargeable Zinc–Air Batteries

Rechargeable zinc-air batteries (ReZAB) have emerged as the next-generation batteries with several advantages over the conventional lithium-ion battery. In this work, single nanocrystals of inverse-type high-entropy spinel oxides (HESOx, particle size of 10−12 nm) confined in highly curved defective onion-like carbons (HESOx/OLC AT ) as efficient electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER), oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), and ReZAB, have been synthesized. The HESOx materials were thoroughly characterized using several analytical techniques, including X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), Raman, and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). HESOx/OLC AT catalyst was tested for ReZAB using literature-recommended parameters that would allow for real technological application. These parameters include a current loading of 10 mA cm −2 and a discharge areal energy density of 35 mWh cm geometric −2 , which maps a Li-ion battery pack-level specific energy of 120 Wh kg pack −1 . HESOx/OLC AT electrocatalysts allowed for continuous discharging and charging at a current loading of 10 mA cm −2 with discharge areal energy densities between 37 and 74 mWh cm geometric −2 , thus outperforming the recommended threshold of 35 mWh cm geometric −2 . Considering that most studies (>90%) hardly meet the recommended threshold for technological application of ReZAB, the present work represents one of the top-performing electrocatalysts for ReZAB. The excellent electrocatalytic properties of defect-rich HESOx/OLC AT toward ORR/OER and ReZAB are governed by the strong electronic modulation arising from d-π hybridization, the availability of multiple catalytic sites for intermediates, and weakened d-band centers of the rate-determining intermediates (i.e., *O adsorption for ORR and *OOH formation for OER) compared to the pristine HESOx. This work introduces an effective approach for the design and synthesis of single nanocrystals of high-entropy electrocatalysts for the development of low-cost, robust, and technologically relevant rechargeable zinc−air batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Using diglycolamides to improve rare-earth element separation

The family of 17 elements known as the “rare earth elements” are difficult to produce economically. Despite this, they are described as “critical raw materials” because of their unique properties and their various technological applications. This means their use is accelerating globally. Separation of these elements is a fundamental challenge, but this does not daunt Dr Santa Jansone-Popova and her team at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. In recovering praseodymium from neodymium using a variety of ligands known as diglycolamides, she has been demonstrating potentially game-changing advances in liquid-liquid separations that could realise more of these in-demand materials.

Jansone-Popova, Santa↗
DOE OSTI2022

Geometric transformation and three-dimensional hopping of Hopf solitons

Arising in many branches of physics, Hopf solitons are three-dimensional particle-like field distortions with nontrivial topology described by the Hopf map. Despite their recent discovery in colloids and liquid crystals, the requirement of applied fields or confinement for stability impedes their utility in technological applications. Here we demonstrate stable Hopf solitons in a liquid crystal material without these requirements as a result of enhanced stability by tuning anisotropy of parameters that describe energetic costs of different gradient components in the molecular alignment field. Nevertheless, electric fields allow for inter-transformation of Hopf solitons between different geometric embodiments, as well as for their three-dimensional hopping-like dynamics in response to electric pulses. Numerical modelling reproduces both the equilibrium structure and topology-preserving out-of-equilibrium evolution of the soliton during switching and motions. Our findings may enable myriads of solitonic condensed matter phases and active matter systems, as well as their technological applications.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
NASA NTRS1978

Archeological Surveys

NASA remote sensing technology is being employed in archeological studies of the Anasazi Indians, who lived in New Mexico one thousand years ago. Under contract with the National Park Service, NASA's Technology Applications Center at the University of New Mexico is interpreting multispectral scanner data and demonstrating how aerospace scanning techniques can uncover features of prehistoric ruins not visible in conventional aerial photographs. The Center's initial study focused on Chaco Canyon, a pre-Columbia Anasazi site in northeastern New Mexico. Chaco Canyon is a national monument and it has been well explored on the ground and by aerial photography. But the National Park Service was interested in the potential of multispectral scanning for producing evidence of prehistoric roads, field patterns and dwelling areas not discernible in aerial photographs. The multispectral scanner produces imaging data in the invisible as well as the visible portions of the spectrum. This data is converted to pictures which bring out features not visible to the naked eye or to cameras. The Technology Applications Center joined forces with Bendix Aerospace Systems Division, Ann Arbor, Michigan, which provided a scanner-equipped airplane for mapping the Chaco Canyon area. The NASA group processed the scanner images and employed computerized image enhancement techniques to bring out additional detail.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2024

Beyond Ion Migration in Metal Halide Perovskites: Toward a Broader Photoelectrochemistry Perspective

Ion migration is a broad term used to account for the degradation of halide perovskite materials and devices. However, ion mobility is only one piece of the full picture-mobile ions/defects are first created, then transported, and eventually annihilated or immobilized. In this Perspective, we summarize emerging work that shows how tractable photochemical and Faradaic reactions provide a continuous source of ions to migrate. Furthermore, we discuss strategies to fundamentally manipulate ion migration by targeting specific electrochemical and reduction/oxidation mechanisms. This highlights the important role of defect photoelectrochemistry, as well as the soft nature of the perovskite lattice, in ion migration and self-healing. We conclude that distinguishing more detailed processes involved in “ion migration”, with an emerging focus on the reactions that form mobile ionic defects, is necessary to greatly improve the stability of devices and open up more technological applications.

defects↗
NASA NTRS2010

Deployment of a Curved Truss

Structures capable of deployment into complex, three-dimensional trusses have well known space technology applications such as the support of spacecraft payloads, communications antennas, radar reflectors, and solar concentrators. Such deployable trusses could also be useful in terrestrial applications such as the rapid establishment of structures in military and emergency service situations, in particular with regard to the deployment of enclosures for habitat or storage. To minimize the time required to deploy such an enclosure, a single arch-shaped truss is preferable to multiple straight trusses arranged vertically and horizontally. To further minimize the time required to deploy such an enclosure, a synchronous deployment with a single degree of freedom is also preferable. One method of synchronizing deployment of a truss is the use of a series of gears; this makes the deployment sequence predictable and testable, allows the truss to have a minimal stowage volume, and the deployed structure exhibits the excellent stiffness-to-mass and strength-to-mass ratios characteristic of a truss. A concept for using gears with varying ratios to deploy a truss into a curved shape has been developed and appears to be compatible with both space technology applications as well as potential use in terrestrial applications such as enclosure deployment. As is the case with other deployable trusses, this truss is formed using rigid elements (e.g., composite tubes) along the edges, one set of diagonal elements composed of either cables or folding/hinged rigid members, and the other set of diagonal elements formed by a continuous cable that is tightened by a motor or hand crank in order to deploy the truss. Gears of varying ratios are used to constrain the deployment to a single degree of freedom, making the deployment synchronous, predictable, and repeatable. The relative sizes of the gears and the relative dimensions of the diagonal elements determine the deployed geometry (e.g. curvature) of the truss.

Giersch, Louis R.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Rethinking the magnetic properties of lepidocrocite: A density functional theory and cluster expansion study

The iron oxyhydroxide lepidocrocite (g-FeOOH) is an abundant mineral critical to a number of chemical and technological applications. Of particular interest is the ground state and nite temperature magnetic order, and the subsequent impact this has upon crystal properties. The magnetic properties, investigated in this work are governed primarily through superexchange interactions, and have been calculated using density functional theory and cluster expansion methods. Quantication of these exchange terms has facilitated the determination of the ground state magneto-crystalline structure and subsequent calculation of its lattice constants, elastic moduli, cohesive enthalpy, and electronic density of states. Further, using a collinear magnetic conguration model, the magnetic heat capacity versus temperature has been studied and the Neel temperature obtained.

Pope, Daniel J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Facile diamond synthesis from lower diamondoids

Carbon-based nanomaterials have exceptional properties that make them attractive for a variety of technological applications. Here, we report on the use of diamondoids (diamond-like, saturated hydrocarbons) as promising precursors for laser-induced high-pressure, high-temperature diamond synthesis. The lowest pressure and temperature $(P-T)$ conditions that yielded diamond were 12 GPa (at ~2000 K) and 900 K (at ~20 GPa), respectively. This represents a substantially reduced transformation barrier compared with diamond synthesis from conventional (hydro)carbon allotropes, owing to the similarities in the structure and full sp 3 hybridization of diamondoids and bulk diamond. At 20 GPa, diamondoid-to-diamond conversion occurs rapidly within <19 μs. Molecular dynamics simulations indicate that once dehydrogenated, the remaining diamondoid carbon cages reconstruct themselves into diamond-like structures at high $P-T$. This study is the first successful mapping of the $P-T$ conditions and onset timing of the diamondoid-to-diamond conversion and elucidates the physical and chemical factors that facilitate diamond synthesis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1995

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference and Exhibition: World Congress on Superconductivity, volume 1

The papers presented at the 4th International Conference Exhibition: World Congress on Superconductivity held at the Marriott Orlando World Center, Orlando, Florida, are contained in this document and encompass the research, technology, applications, funding, political, and social aspects of superconductivity. Specifically, the areas covered included: high-temperature materials; thin films; C-60 based superconductors; persistent magnetic fields and shielding; fabrication methodology; space applications; physical applications; performance characterization; device applications; weak link effects and flux motion; accelerator technology; superconductivity energy; storage; future research and development directions; medical applications; granular superconductors; wire fabrication technology; computer applications; technical and commercial challenges, and power and energy applications.

Krishen, Kumar↗
NASA NTRS1995

Proceedings of the 4th International Conference and Exhibition: World Congress on Superconductivity, Volume 2

This document contains papers presented at the 4th International Conference Exhibition: World Congress on Superconductivity held June 27-July 1, 1994 in Orlando, Florida. These documents encompass research, technology, applications, funding, political, and social aspects of superconductivity. The areas covered included: high-temperature materials; thin films; C-60 based superconductors; persistent magnetic fields and shielding; fabrication methodology; space applications; physical applications; performance characterization; device applications; weak link effects and flux motion; accelerator technology; superconductivity energy; storage; future research and development directions; medical applications; granular superconductors; wire fabrication technology; computer applications; technical and commercial challenges; and power and energy applications.

Krishen, Kumar↗