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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Reports from the Frontier: Understanding Voltage Losses in Anion Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers

With the growth of renewable energy sources, hydrogen is attracting significant attention worldwide as an effective medium for energy storage. “Green hydrogen” is currently produced primarily by water electrolysis in which water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using power from low-carbon energy sources such as wind, solar, and nuclear. Among the low temperature water electrolysis technologies, anion exchange membrane water electrolyzers (AEMWEs) have recently emerged as a promising competitor to traditional alkaline water electrolyzers (AWEs) and proton exchange membrane electrolyzers (PEMELs) due to their potential stack cost reduction in various cell components. In conclusion, favorable aspects of AEMWEs include the use of PGM-free electrocatalysts as well as low-cost membranes, bipolar plates (BPs), and porous transport layers while offering high voltage efficiency and durability.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Production and Performance of High Sulfur Concentration Waste Glasses (FY21)

In FY21 Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) was tasked to investigate the practical aspects of low activity waste (LAW) glass production with high sulfur loading for the Office of River Protection (ORP). Relationships between sulfur solubility, retention, and melter resonance need to be evaluated to refine waste loading limits and the super saturated melting (triple melt, grind, and wash) methodology. The impact of high sulfur concentration on durability and phase stability (crystallization and liquid-liquid immiscibility) during slow cooling also needs to be further evaluated. To accomplish this, SRNL proposed scaled melter testing using simulants with matched physicochemical properties to melter feed, as opposed to laboratory reagents. This type of testing is expected to validate applicability to design parameters and functional criteria expected during unit operations. This work was expected to commence in FY21, with the first melter tests being performed near the end of the FY. However, reduced access to Savannah River Site and personnel availability during the COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced the amount of time and resources available to perform the task. This report documents the experimental plan and progress towards this task. The following is a summarized list of scheduled testing that will be performed on feed, condensate, cold cap and glass: 1) Melter runs; 2) Product consistency test (PCT); 3) Inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES); and 4) Optical (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Abstract for CRADA among NETL, Ohio University, and MetalKraft Technologies, LLC

The electrical grid faces challenges for meeting accelerated electricity demand arising from the electrification of building and transportation sectors. According to the DOE Grid Development Office, 70% of transmission lines are approaching the end of their lifecycle. The aging grid and insufficient transmission capacity necessitate the development of new technologies to improve overall grid performance. The conventional conductors used for electrical transmission lines suffer from substantial energy losses, high costs and low durability. These inefficiencies result in higher operational costs, increased energy waste, and difficulties in managing power flow. Improving the grid will require metals and composites with higher electrical conductivity and strength than the materials currently used. This CRADA will develop technologies to improve the grid by fabricating carbon metal composites with improved electrical, structural, and mechanical properties in comparison to metals that do not contain carbon additives. The composites will be made by incorporating carbon materials (graphite, graphene) into aluminum, copper, and other metals. The work will focus primarily on improving material properties that enhance the performance of these materials in electrical conductor applications.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

A Coupled Theoretical and Experimental Approach to Elucidating the Mechanisms of Methyl Esters

The goal of this project was to probe fundamental kinetics questions regarding the gas phase reactive behavior of oxygenates. In order to succeed, our program necessitated both the development of new experimental tools and the development of theory based kinetic models to explain the chemistry of oxygenate fuels. By using advanced hybrid additive manufacturing/ traditional manufacturing techniques to create specialized ceramic micro-reactors, the team was able to simulate extreme high-temperature environments with much greater precision and durability than was previously possible. These tiny, high-tech tubes allow researchers to capture and identify "fleeting" chemical species—molecules that exist for only a fraction of a millisecond—using sophisticated light sources and mass spectrometry. Additionally, the team supported the development of a tabletop VUV laser system for isomer detection without a synchrotron. Through this work, we have successfully mapped out the specific chemical pathways of various oxygen-rich fuels, solving long-standing mysteries about how these substances break down kinetically. Ultimately, this research provides the fundamental knowledge needed to design next-generation engines and fuels that are better for the environment.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Dioxin-Linked Covalent Organic Framework-Supported Palladium Complex for Rapid Room-Temperature Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling Reaction

Covalent organic framework (COF)-supported palladium catalysts have garnered enormous attention for cross-coupling reactions. However, the limited linkage types in COF hosts and their suboptimal catalytic performance have hindered their widespread implementation. Herein, we present the first study immobilizing palladium acetate onto a dioxin-linked COF (Pd/COF-318) through a facile solution impregnation approach. By virtue of its permanent porosity, accessible Pd sites arranged in periodic skeletons, and framework robustness, the resultant Pd/COF-318 exhibits exceptionally high activity and broad substrate scope for the Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction between aryl bromides and arylboronic acids at room temperature within an hour, rendering it among the most effective Pd/COF catalysts for Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions to date. Moreover, Pd/COF-318 demonstrates excellent recyclability, retaining high activity over five cycles without significant deactivation. The leaching test confirms the heterogeneity of the catalyst. This work uncovers the vast potential of dioxin-linked COFs as catalyst supports for highly active, selective, and durable organometallic catalysis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1980

Development of a preprototype sabatier CO2 reduction subsystem

A preoprototype Sabatier CO2 Reduction Subsystem was successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The lightweight, quick starting reactor utilizes a highly active and physically durable methanation catalyst composed of ruthenium on alumina. The use of this improved catalyst permits a single straight through plug flow design with an average lean component H2/CO2 conversion efficiency of over 99% over a range of H2/CO2 molar ratios of 1.8 to 5 while operating with flows equivalent to a crew size of one person steadystate to 3 persons cyclical (equivalent to 5 persons steady state). The reactor requires no heater operation after start-up even during simulated 55 minute lightside/39 minute darkside orbital operation over the above range of molar ratios and crew loadings. The subsystem's operation and performance is controlled by a microprocessor and displayed on a nineteen inch multi-colored cathode ray tube.

Kleiner, G. N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development of a preprototype Sabatier CO2 reduction subsystem

A lightweight, quick starting reactor utilizes a highly active and physically durable methanation catalyst composed of ruthenium on alumina. The use of this improved catalyst permits a single straight through plug flow design with an average lean component H2/CO2 conversion efficiency of over 99% over a range of H2/CO2 molar ratios of 1.8 to 5 while operating with flows equivalent to a crew size of one person steadystate to 3 persons cyclical. The reactor requires no heater operation after start-up even during simulated 55 minute lightside/39 minute darkside orbital operation over the above range of molar ratios and crew loadings. Subsystem performance was proven by parametric testing and endurance testing over a wide range of crew sizes and metabolic loadings. The subsystem's operation and performance is controlled by a microprocessor and displayed on a nineteen inch multi-colored cathode ray tube.

Kleiner, G. N.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development of an advanced Sabatier CO2 reduction subsystem

A preprototype Sabatier CO2 reduction subsystem was successfully designed, fabricated and tested. The lightweight, quick starting (less than 5 minutes) reactor utlizes a highly active and physically durable methanation catalyst composed of ruthenium on alumina. The use of this improved catalyst permits a simple, passively controlled reactor design with an average lean component H2/CO2 conversion efficiency of over 99% over a range of H2/CO2 molar ratios of 1.8 to 5 while operating with process flows equivalent to a crew size of up to five persons. The subsystem requires no heater operation after start-up even during simulated 55 minute lightside/39 minute darkside orbital operation.

Kleiner, G. N.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Energy efficient engine combustor test hardware detailed design report

The combustor for the Energy Efficient Engine is an annular, two-zone component. As designed, it either meets or exceeds all program goals for performance, safety, durability, and emissions, with the exception of oxides of nitrogen. When compared to the configuration investigated under the NASA-sponsored Experimental Clean Combustor Program, which was used as a basis for design, the Energy Efficient Engine combustor component has several technology advancements. The prediffuser section is designed with short, strutless, curved-walls to provide a uniform inlet airflow profile. Emissions control is achieved by a two-zone combustor that utilizes two types of fuel injectors to improve fuel atomization for more complete combustion. The combustor liners are a segmented configuration to meet the durability requirements at the high combustor operating pressures and temperatures. Liner cooling is accomplished with a counter-parallel FINWALL technique, which provides more effective heat transfer with less coolant.

Zeisser, M. H.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Carbon/Carbon Panels Cooled By Heat Pipes

Durable and reusable high-temperature carbon/carbon heat-pipe structure operates at temperatures above 3,000 degree F (1,649 degree C) in vacuum or inert environment and up to 2,800 degree F (1,537 degree C) in oxidizing environment. New concept combines high-temperature heat-pipe and carbon/carbon technologies to extend both thermal structural capabilities of refractory-metal heat pipes and maximum heat-flux capability of carbon/carbon structures. Uses refractory-metal heat pipes embedded within carbon/carbon structure. Walls of heat pipes thin and contain working fluid (lithium or sodium) of heat pipe. Carbon/carbon acts as primary load-carrying part of structure. Heat pipes help to eliminate local hotspots and associated thermal gradients and stresses and to reduce peak surface temperatures of carbon/carbon to levels within capability of oxidation-resisting system.

Camarda, Charles J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Magma Electrolysis: An update

Electrolytic extraction of O2 from molten lunar soil is conceptually simple and thus a candidate process for producing O2 on the Moon. Possible container and electrode materials are being tested for durability in corrosive high-temperature silicate melts and looking for complications that might increase energy requirements. Gaseous oxygen is being produced by electrolysis of 1-2 gram quantities of silicate melts in spinel (MgAl2O4) crucibles; in these melts, spinel is a stable phase. The concentration of FeO was kept low because FeO decrease O2 production efficiency. Platinum electrodes were placed about 0.5 cm apart in the melt. The spinel crucible was still intact after 40 minutes of electrolysis, when the experiment was halted for examination. The Pt anode was also intact; its Pt was maintained in a dynamci state in which the anode was continuously oxidized but quickly reduced again by the silicate melt, inhibiting migration of Pt away from the anode. In melts with low concentrations of Al2O3 + SiO2 (2 wt percent), the energy of resistance heating was only approximately equal to 10 to 20 percent of the theoretical amount required to produce O2. In melts substantially more concentrated in Al2O3 + SiO2, higher melt viscosity resulted in frothing that, in the worst case, caused high enough melt resistivities to raise the energy requirements to nearly 10 times theoretical. Both Fe and Si are produced at the cathode; in iron-rich melts, a- and c-iron and molten ferrosilicon were observed. Production was also observed at the cathode of a previously unrecognized gas; which is not yet identified. The solubility of metallic species was measured in silicate melts. They are too low to reduce significantly the efficiency of O2 production.

Colson, Russell O.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Design and construction of a tensile tester for the testing of simple composites

The following is a design for a tensile tester which will be used to test the tensile strength and anisotropic properties of simple composites. These simple composites are suspected to be anisotropic primarily in a single plane. When the composites undergo a tensile force, they will undergo deformation, causing movement either to the left or right. The composites are suspect due to their method of construction. Each sample has a single layer of unidirectional continuous fibers embedded in a rubbery resin. It has been well established that a serious limitation of unidirectional fiber composites is the very large in-plane anisotropy. The design presented here incorporates a single degree of freedom such that distortion (to the left or right) due to anisotropic tendencies may be measured. The device will spend the vast majority of its time in an undergraduate materials lab. As a result, ease of use and durability are valued more highly than research grade accuracy. Additional concerns focus on the fact that this machine will be built as a student project. Issues which are dealt with during this design include: specimen configuration or shape; a method of applying consistent, linear tension force; a method of gripping specimen without affecting its overall properties; a method of collecting data; repeatability of data; ease of use; ease of construction; and cost. After the device has been constructed, it will be used to test the simple composites which were fabricated in house. A comparison will be made between composites manufactured using aluminum screening as the strengthening fibers and those manufactured using fiberglass screening.

Borst, Mark A.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Long-term hygrothermal effects on damage tolerance of hybrid composite sandwich panels

A sandwich construction, composed of hybrid carbon-glass fiber-reinforced plastic skins and a syntactic foam core, was selected as the design concept for a wind tunnel compressor blade application, where high damage tolerance and durability are of major importance. Beam specimens were prepared from open-edge and encapsulated sandwich panels which had previously been immersed in water at different temperatures for periods of up to about two years in the extreme case. Moisture absorption and strength characteristics, as related to time of exposure to hygrothermal conditions, were evaluated for the sandwich specimens and their constituents (skins and foam). After different exposure periods, low-velocity impact damage was inflicted on most sandwich specimens and damage characteristics were related to impact energy. Eventually, the residual compressive strengths of the damaged (and undamaged) beams were determined flexurally. Test results show that exposure to hygrothermal conditions leads to significant strength reductions for foam specimens and open-edge sandwich panels, compared with reference specimens stored at room temperature. In the case of skin specimens and for beams prepared from encapsulated sanwich panels that had previously been exposed to hygrothermal conditions, moisture absorption was found to improve strength as related to the reference case. The beneficial effect of moisture on skin performance was, however, limited to moisture contents below 1% (at 50 C and lower temperatures). Above this moisture level and at higher temperatures, strength degradation of the skin seems to prevail.

Ishai, Ori↗
NASA NTRS2002

Sputtering Erosion Measurement on Boron Nitride as a Hall Thruster Material

The durability of a high-powered Hall thruster may be limited by the sputter erosion resistance of its components. During normal operation, a small fraction of the accelerated ions will impact the interior of the main discharge channel, causing its gradual erosion. A laboratory experiment was conducted to simulate the sputter erosion of a Hall thruster. Tests of sputter etch rate were carried out using 300 to 1000 eV Xenon ions impinging on boron nitride substrates with angles of attack ranging from 30 to 75 degrees from horizontal. The erosion rates varied from 3.41 to 14.37 Angstroms/[sec(mA/sq cm)] and were found to depend on the ion energy and angle of attack, which is consistent with the behavior of other materials.

Britton, Melissa↗
NASA NTRS2003

Advanced Environmental Barrier Coatings Developed for SiC/SiC Composite Vanes

Ceramic components exhibit superior high-temperature strength and durability over conventional component materials in use today, signifying the potential to revolutionize gas turbine engine component technology. Silicon-carbide fiber-reinforced silicon carbide ceramic matrix composites (SiC/SiC CMCs) are prime candidates for the ceramic hotsection components of next-generation gas turbine engines. A key barrier to the realization of SiC/SiC CMC hot-section components is the environmental degradation of SiC/SiC CMCs in combustion environments. This is in the form of surface recession due to the volatilization of silica scale by water vapor. An external environmental barrier coating (EBC) is a logical approach to achieve protection and long-term durability.

Lee, Kang N.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Electron Beam Exposure of Thermal Control Paints on Carbon-Carbon and Carbon-Polyimide Composites

Carbon-carbon and carbon-polyimide composites are being considered for use as radiator face sheets or fins for space radiator applications. Several traditional white thermal control paints are being considered for the surface of the composite face sheets or fins. One threat to radiator performance is high energy electrons. The durability of the thermal control paints applied to the carbon-carbon and carbon-polyimide composites was evaluated after extended exposure to 4.5 MeV electrons. Electron exposure was conducted under argon utilizing a Mylar(TradeMark) bag enclosure. Solar absorptance and infrared emittance was evaluated before and after exposure to identify optical properties degradation. Adhesion of the paints to the carbon-carbon and carbon-polyimide composite substrates was also of interest. Adhesion was evaluated on pristine and electron beam exposed coupons using a variation of the ASTM D-3359 tape test. Results of the optical properties evaluation and the adhesion tape tests are summarized.

Jaworske, Donald A.↗
NASA NTRS2012

James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Mirror Coatings

James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Optical Telescope Element (OTE) mirror coating program has been completed. The science goals of the JWST mission require a uniform, low stress, durable optical coating with high reflectivity over the JWST spectral region. The coating has to be environmentally stable, radiation resistant and compatible with the cryogenic operating environment. The large size, 1.52 m point to point, light weight, beryllium primary mirror (PM) segments and flawless coating process during the flight mirror coating program that consisted coating of 21 flight mirrors were among many technical challenges. This paper provides an overview of the JWST telescope mirror coating program. The paper summarizes the coating development program and performance of the flight mirrors.

Keski-Kuha, Ritva A.↗