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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 433 records · Page 24
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Initial Design and Experimental Results of a Novel Near-Isothermal Compressor for Heat Pump Applications

In efforts to increase the efficiency of residential and commercial air conditioners and heat pumps, it is found that the compressor has the highest electrical energy usage of the system. Therefore, it is appropriate to try to increase the efficiency of this component to reduce its energy usage. Another challenge with heat pump design is that some compressor types have drawbacks that make modulation difficult. To answer these challenges, we are developing an isothermal liquid compressor. The compressor uses propylene glycol to compress carbon dioxide. In the compression chamber the propylene glycol can enter either from the bottom to create a liquid piston for compression or it can enter through a spray nozzle at the top of the chamber. In the latter case, heat transfer from the gas to be compressed to the liquid droplets is high. This allows near isothermal operation of the compressor, which increases the efficiency by 17% to 30%, compared to adiabatic compression. In addition, the isothermal liquid compressor enables very efficient and simple part load modulation.Experimental results demonstrating the operation of the liquid compressor are presented. Initial data demonstrated a temperature rise of 7 K at pressure ratios of almost 4. For comparison at the same initial pressure, temperature, and pressure ratio, adiabatic compression would result in a temperature increase of approximately 70 K. Plotting data on a P-h diagram demonstrates that the compression started at superheated state and ended in supercritical state. Testing was later performed with repeated compressions in the superheated region of the P-h diagram at liquid flow rates of 2 x 10-3 m3/min and 2 x 10-3 m3/min to understand the limitations of the prototype for use with an actual heat pump system. This work demonstrated a novel cycle on a T-s diagram. Results from this work will be used to develop a second-generation prototype where more rapid cycling is possible.

Kowalski, Steve↗
NASA NTRS1933

Effect of orifice length-diameter ratio on fuel sprays for compression-ignition engines

Experimental results on the effect of the length-diameter ratio of the orifice on the spray characteristics, together with a brief analysis of the factors affecting these characteristics, are presented in this report. The length-diameter ratios tested ranged from 0.5 to 10; the orifice diameters from 0.008 to 0.040 inch; and the injection pressures from 2,000 to 8,000 pounds per square inch. The density of the air into which the fuel was discharged was varied from 0.38 to 1.35 pounds per cubic foot.

Gelalles, A G↗
NASA NTRS1993

Image and Video Compression with VLSI Neural Networks

An advanced motion-compensated predictive video compression system based on artificial neural networks has been developed to effectively eliminate the temporal and spatial redundancy of video image sequences and thus reduce the bandwidth and storage required for the transmission and recording of the video signal. The VLSI neuroprocessor for high-speed high-ratio image compression based upon a self-organization network and the conventional algorithm for vector quantization are compared. The proposed method is quite efficient and can achieve near-optimal results.

compression artificial neural networks VLSI↗
DOE OSTI2017

Feeding properties and behavior of hammer- and knife-milled pine

This work reports the rheological characterization of hammer and knife-milled lodgepole pine materials as a function of grind size and moisture content. Characterizations included particle size and shape distributions, bulk density, compressibility at 10 kPa uniaxial pressure, elastic recovery from 10 kPa uniaxial pressure, shear strength, effective angle of internal friction, arching in a custom hopper, and feeding performance in volumetric and gravimetric auger feeders. Particle analysis indicates that the width and length distributions of the 3 mm hammer-milled and the 6 mm knife-milled materials are quite similar, and that all the materials have relatively short aspect ratios (< 4). Compressibility and elastic recovery both increased with increasing moisture content with both values increasing more than 10% and the effect being most severe for the 3 mm grind. Adding 3 kPa of pressure increased the critical arching width for all hopper arching tests, except for the 25 mm grind material with 20% MC, for which the critical arching width actually decreased with increased pressure. Interestingly, for materials with smaller particle sizes, the volumetric feed rate tends to decrease as moisture increases even though the density of the material increases with moisture content and the auger speeds are the same. Time variability of volumetric feed rate increased dramatically with increasing particle size but the impact of moisture content was not as clear. For nearly all tests, gravimetric auger feeding resulted in better feeding control and substantially decreased time variability in the material feed rate. These tests show that material feed rate and volumetric auger feed rate variability are dependent upon material shear strength, bulk density, and particle size. Shear tests indicate that material strength generally decreased with increasing particle size, although the impact of moisture was not entirely consistent.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1943

Requirements for Auxiliary Stiffeners Attached to Panels Under Combined Compression and Shear

Panels of aluminum alloy sheets, framed by side and end stiffeners, were subjected to combined loading by means of offset knife edges applying loads to top and bottom end plates with reacting forces against the end plates supplied by laterally acting rollers. The test specimens were 17S-T aluminum alloy shoots 0.040 inch thick in panels of 10-inch width and three different lengths (approximately 10, 26, and 30 inch). Data were obtained for the bowing of transverse and longitudinal ribs of rectangular cross section and varying depths mounted on one side of the sheet only, for several ratios of compression to shear loads. Limiting values of the moments of inertia were calculated from these measurements. The experimental values exceed the theoretical values given by Timoshenko for the case of simply supported sheets with uniformly distributed boundary stresses. The work reported includes measurements of the effective shear moduli of the nine test panels with and without ribs. These data are compared with values published by Lahdo and Wagner.

ALUMINUM ALLOYS, SHEET - ALCOA 17ST - STRENGTH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Toward continuum gyrokinetic study of high-field mirrors

High-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnetic mirrors under development exploit strong fields with high mirror ratio to compress loss cones and enhance confinement and may offer cheaper, more compact fusion power plant candidates. This new class of devices could exhibit largely unexplored interchange and gradient-driven modes. Such instabilities, and methods to stabilize them, can be studied with gyrokinetics, given the strong magnetization and prevalence of kinetic effects. Our focus here is to (a) determine if oft-used gyrokinetic models for open field lines produce the electron-confining (Pastukhov) electrostatic potential and (b) examine and address challenges faced by gyrokinetic codes in studying HTS mirrors. Here, we show that a one-dimensional limit of said models self-consistently develops a potential qualitatively approaching the analytical Pastukhov level. Additionally, we describe the computational challenges of studying high mirror ratios with open field line gyrokinetic solvers and offer a force softening method to mitigate small time steps needed for time integration in colossal magnetic field gradients produced by HTS coils, providing a 19X speedup.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

MechElastic: A Python library for analysis of mechanical and elastic properties of bulk and 2D materials

We report the MechElastic Python package evaluates the mechanical and elastic properties of bulk and 2D materials using the elastic coefficient matrix ( C ij ) obtained from any ab-initio density-functional theory (DFT) code. The current version of this package reads the output of VASP, ABINIT, and Quantum Espresso codes (but it can be easily generalized to any other DFT code) and performs the appropriate post-processing of elastic constants as per the requirement of the user. This program can also detect the input structure's crystal symmetry and test the mechanical stability of all crystal classes using the Born-Huang criteria. Various useful material-specific properties such as elastic moduli, longitudinal and transverse elastic wave velocities, Debye temperature, elastic anisotropy, 2D layer modulus, hardness, Pugh's ratio, Cauchy's pressure, Kleinman's parameter, and Lame's coefficients, can be estimated using this program. Another existing feature of this program is to employ the ELATE package (2016) [29] and plot the spatial variation of several elastic properties such as Poisson's ratio, linear compressibility, shear modulus, and Young's modulus in three dimensions. Further, the MechElastic package can plot the equation of state (EOS) curves for energy and pressure for a variety of EOS models such as Murnaghan, Birch, Birch-Murnaghan, and Vinet, by reading the inputted energy/pressure versus volume data obtained via numerical calculations or experiments. This package is particularly useful for the high-throughput analysis of elastic and mechanical properties of materials.

2D materials↗
DOE OSTI2022

Molecular insights into the structure-property relationships of 3D printed polyamide reverse-osmosis membrane for desalination

3D-printing is an emerging method for manufacturing polyamide (PA) reserve osmosis (RO) membranes for water treatment and desalination, which can precisely control membrane structural properties, such as thickness, roughness, and resolution. However, the synthesis-structure (i.e., degree of cross-linking (DC), m-phenylenediamine/trimesoyl chloride (MPD/TMC) ratio, and membrane thickness) to property (permeability and water-salt selectivity) relationships for these membranes has not been well understood. At the same time, a microscopic understanding of the physical mechanism of water and salt transport is needed to guide the design of high-performance 3D-printed membranes and improve the printing efficiency. Furthermore, the atomic-scale transport features and energetics of water and salt ions are studied at high pressure for the 3D-printed PA RO membranes with the different DCs and MPD/TMC ratios through non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations. Factoring in membrane structure properties, rejection ratio of salt ions and pressure-dependent water flux, 3D-printed PA membranes having an MPD/TMC ratio of 3.0:2.0 and a DC between 80%~90% attains ideal performance: high water flux, high rejection of salt ions, and excellent structural integrity. Mechanistically, water permeability for highly cross-linked PA RO membranes depends on the temporary on-and-off channels that allow water molecules to jump from one cavity to another at high pressure. In addition, higher pressures cause rapid compaction of PA membranes’ free volume and membrane thickness. Membrane failure at high pressure is determined by the DC and MPD/TMC ratios-dependent compressive yield strength. In short, these findings provide physical insights for optimizing existing PA membranes and designing next-generation desalination membranes at the molecular level.

3D-printed PA RO membrane↗
DOE OSTI2025

X-ray diffraction strains in laser-ablated aluminum, nickel, sodium, and invar: Pressures to 475 GPa

Dynamically compressed materials in longitudinal waves are described by two physical models: hydrostatic pressure, with equal, normal, principal stresses or material uniaxially strained in the wave propagation direction. These models are disparate, so experimental comparisons and evaluations are important. Polycrystalline material in a state of hydrostatic pressure will have no eccentricity of x-ray-diffracted Debye–Scherrer rings. A general three-dimensional solution of Bragg diffracted x rays based on principal crystallographic strains in the compression wave was found. The distortion of x-ray diffraction beams has been used for strain measurements; the analysis developed incorporates a strained reciprocal lattice and the incident x-ray beam. Strain-distorted Polanyi surfaces form an annulus of compression with an ellipsoid of revolution in reciprocal space, which is intersected by Ewald's sphere for Bragg diffraction. The in situ measurements for strain describe nanosecond diffraction evaluated using two planes, (hkl) and (h′k′l′), both in the same crystallographic phase. Diffraction from Al, Ni, Na, and Invar quantifies the compression axial strains in these materials: The compression axial ratios are 0.65, 1.05, 0.88, and 1.58 at pressures of 291, 402, 409, and 367 GPa for the respective materials. Crystal structure transformations with homogeneous pressurized stresses, mandating equal normal strains, should not be anticipated to agree with heterogeneous, uniaxially strained, and sheared crystalline phases. Measurements support in-plane strains increasing with pressure, p , in fcc and hcp aluminum as ε 22 = −0.21 p /TPa.

Alloys↗
DOE OSTI2018

High-Efficiency VCR Engine with Variable Valve Actuation and New Supercharging Technology

Higher efficiency engines are needed for full size pickup trucks, utility vans and medium duty trucks. The primary objective of the program was to demonstrate the potential for improving the fuel economy of a full-size pickup truck by 40 percent while producing at least 281 horsepower. Commercialization requirements include: 1. High torque values at low vehicle speeds: This capability is needed for accelerating a heavy vehicle from a standstill, accelerating uphill, towing or any combination of these factors. 2. High power output: This capability is needed for accelerating onto a highway or passing at higher speeds. The vehicle may be carrying a heavy load, going uphill and/or towing. 3. Compliance with tailpipe emission regulations: This requirement must be met, and is difficult or costly to attain with diesel engine technology. 4. Low fuel consumption: This capability is needed both for reducing operating costs and to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) vehicle emissions. The capability is also essential for complying with fuel economy standards. 5. Affordability: The powertrain cost must be consistent with mass market pricing. 6. Engine size and weight: The engine must fit in the existing engine bays. Engine weight must also be minimized. 7. Favorable noise vibration and harshness (NVH): The VCR must not present unique NVH challenges. The current program was successful. The efficiency target was achieved and the engine produced 300 horsepower.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cost-Optimized Cold Climate Heat Pump Development and Field Test

Cold climate heat pumps (CCHPs) expand the heat pump market to climates where heating demand is dominant. They can achieve more than 70% energy savings compared with electric resistance heating and operate at lower cost than using tank-stored propane to fuel a furnace. A high-efficiency heat pump with a heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF)—as defined by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI 2008)—greater than 10.0 would be more efficient than gas heating in terms of source energy. However, developing a cost-effective CCHP involves some challenges. A typical single-speed, air-source heat pump (ASHP) with an HSPF of 7.7 Btu/Wh does not work well under cold outdoor temperature conditions typical of cold climate locations for four major reasons: 1. Discharge temperature is too high—The low suction pressure and high compression pressure ratio at low ambient temperatures causes high compressor discharge temperatures in excess of the maximum limit for many of the compressors on the market. Furthermore, system charge of a heat pump is usually optimized in the cooling mode, which leads to overcharge conditions in the heating mode, further increasing the discharge temperature. 2. Heating capacity is insufficient if sized to meet the building design cooling load— Heating capacity of a single-speed heat pump decreases with ambient temperature. The heating capacity at -13°F (-25°C) typically decreases to 20%–40% of the rated heating capacity at 47°F (8.3°C) (~equivalent to the rated cooling capacity at 95°F [35°C]). Therefore, a single-speed heat pump, typically sized to match the building design cooling load, cannot provide adequate heating capacity to match the building heating load at low ambient temperatures. The capacity deficit is filled by inefficient resistance heat, thus lowering the system efficiency and significantly increasing power demand. 3. Cyclic loss is significant if sized to meet the building design heating load—If a single-speed heat pump is sized to meet the heating load, it will be significantly oversized relative to the cooling load in many cold climates. This will cause excessive on/off cyclic loss during the cooling and heating operations at moderately low ambient temperatures. Thus, capacity modulation capability (e.g., using a variable-speed or multi-stage compressor) is necessary for a CCHP, which uses its full capacity to meet the peak heating load and partial capacity to meet the cooling and part-load heating loads. 4. Coefficient of performance (COP) is low—Heating COP degrades significantly at low ambient temperatures owing to the large temperature difference between the heat source and sink. A target CCHP should be sized to meet the building design heating load while minimizing the cyclic loss for the cooling and heating operations at moderate ambient temperatures.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Direct-Action Safety Valve with Elastic Regulator

The dynamics of a direct-action safety valve with a toroidal elastic regulator is considered. The elastic characteristics of the regulator correspond to the pressure of the working liquid in the hydraulic drives of industrial machines.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Controlling the Plastic Anisotropy of Magnesium Alloy by Tailoring the Grain Size and Yttrium Content

Hexagonal close-packed (HCP) magnesium alloys are widely used in automotive and aerospace industries due to their low density and high specific-strength. Their applicability is mainly restricted due to poor formability and pronounced plastic anisotropy. The formability is usually improved by altering the chemistry (adding rare-earth elements like Y) or modulating the microstructure (e.g., grain refinement). However, grain refinement alone cannot yield the desired ductility, and the scarcity of rare-earth elements also limits the extent to which the alloying strategy can be used. To overcome these issues, in this work, it is proposed that the formability of Mg alloys can be improved by combining the grain refinement and alloying approaches. To quantitively explore this possibility, a crystal-plasticity-based constitutive model, which is sensitive to both alloying concentration and grain sizes, is developed. To demonstrate, the model is applied to study the combined effect of Y content and grain size on the mechanical responses of Mg alloy. The calculations are used to build maps of plastic anisotropy measures, such as tension–compression asymmetry ratio and Lankford coefficients, for a wide range of Y content and grain sizes. From these maps, the grain size that would yield the desired performance of Mg alloy for a fixed Y content can be identified. This work provides an accelerated pathway to optimize both the microstructure and chemistry simultaneously to achieve formability and to reduce the dependence on alloying.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1973

Engineering studies related to geodetic and oceanographic remote sensing using short pulse techniques

For the Skylab S-193 radar altimeter, data processing flow charts and identification of calibration requirements and problem areas for defined S-193 altimeter experiments are presented. An analysis and simulation of the relationship between one particular S-193 measurement and the parameter of interest for determining the sea surface scattering cross-section are considered. For the GEOS-C radar altimeter, results are presented for system analyses pertaining to signal-to-noise ratio, pulse compression threshold behavior, altimeter measurement variance characteristics, desirability of onboard averaging, tracker bandwidth considerations, and statistical character of the altimeter data in relation to harmonic analysis properties of the geodetic signal.

Miller, L. S.↗
NASA NTRS1981

AGT-102 automotive gas turbine

Development of a gas turbine powertrain with a 30% fuel economy improvement over a comparable S1 reciprocating engine, operation within 0.41 HC, 3.4 CO, and 0.40 NOx grams per mile emissions levels, and ability to use a variety of alternate fuels is summarized. The powertrain concept consists of a single-shaft engine with a ceramic inner shell for containment of hot gasses and support of twin regenerators. It uses a fixed-geometry, lean, premixed, prevaporized combustor, and a ceramic radial turbine rotor supported by an air-lubricated journal bearing. The engine is coupled to the vehicle through a widerange continuously variable transmission, which utilizes gearing and a variable-ratio metal compression belt. A response assist flywheel is used to achieve acceptable levels of engine response. The package offers a 100 lb weight advantage in a Chrysler K Car front-wheel-drive installation. Initial layout studies, preliminary transient thermal analysis, ceramic inner housing structural analysis, and detailed performance analysis were carried out for the basic engine.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1985

Computer program for calculating flow parameters and power requirements for cryogenic wind tunnels

A computer program has been written that performs the flow parameter calculations for cryogenic wind tunnels which use nitrogen as a test gas. The flow parameters calculated include static pressure, static temperature, compressibility factor, ratio of specific heats, dynamic viscosity, total and static density, velocity, dynamic pressure, mass-flow rate, and Reynolds number. Simplifying assumptions have been made so that the calculations of Reynolds number, as well as the other flow parameters can be made on relatively small desktop digital computers. The program, which also includes various power calculations, has been developed to the point where it has become a very useful tool for the users and possible future designers of fan-driven continuous-flow cryogenic wind tunnels.

Dress, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Low Aspect Ratio Wings at High Angles of Attack

A comprehensive evaluation is made of experimental data compiled to date for the flowfields and aerodynamic forces that occur at high angles of attack for low aspect ratio wings with delta, rectangular, clipped delta, and strake/wing planform geometries. Attention is given to wing leading edge-generated vortex breakdown, aspect ratio and compressibility effects, and strake vortex effects on main wing areas. Although the nonlinear effects created by a wing-body combination significantly alter wing-alone aerodynamics, the wing-alone data presented are vital to the development of prediction methodologies for large angle of attack aerodynamics.

R L Stallings Jr.↗