SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “developing world”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 469 records · Page 26

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development and Implementation of A Small Satellite Systems Engineering Webinar Series: A Collaboration Between the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) in collaboration with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) established a webinar series on NASA systems engineering standards and practices for the purpose of sharing knowledge in this area. UNOOSA’s “Access to Space for All” initiative provides capacity-building opportunities in space science, technology, and space applications for United Nations member states. Due to the cooperation among established space actors, the United Nations, and emerging space entities, the initiative enables students from developing countries from all over the world to carry out projects using technologies and space applications. Through NASA’s Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute (S3VI), the four-part webinar series was designed to cover basic systems engineering and project management skills that are fundamental to planning, developing, and implementing an experiment or a space project and that serve as critical knowledge for those engaged in space activities, whether as a designer, builder, or manager of space infrastructure and services. The first series of webinars was convened over the course of November 2023 through February 2024.

Systems Engineering↗

DOE OSTI2021

The Development of Catalysts for Upgrading of Pyrolysis Vapor for Refinery Feedstocks and Intermediates: Cooperative Research and Development, CRADA Number CRD-12-00497 (Final Report)

Fast pyrolysis of biomass with vapor phase upgrading (VPU) can produce refinery feedstocks or intermediates that can meet the Department of Energy’s goal of cost-competitive hydrocarbon fuels by 2017. A key technical barrier for this technology is the lack of selective, cost effective catalysts that can produce high yields of fuel-appropriate hydrocarbons from the pyrolysis vapors. In overcoming this barrier, it will be important to engage leading catalyst development companies to devote their resources and expertise to the development of these materials. Thus, we propose a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a world leader in biomass pyrolysis research and Johnson Matthey (JM), a world leader in the production of advanced catalyst materials to develop and test novel catalysts for efficient VPU. Through its Intercat Inc. subsidiary in Savannah, Ga., Johnson Matthey is internationally recognized as a leader in zeolite-based vapor phase upgrading in refinery duties and an emerging developer of biomass conversion technologies. The research and development efforts described in the proposed work will build upon existing collaborations between NREL and JM and play to the strengths of both institutions. NREL will analyze the composition of pyrolysis vapors as an input to catalyst design, screen and test catalysts, characterize the resulting oil and conduct techno-economic analysis. Catalyst samples will be produced and funded by JM. JM will design and synthesize catalysts, characterize fresh and used catalysts and develop catalyst supports needed to achieve commercially meaningful lifetimes. The project will span catalyst development and testing from the fundamental stage using quantum mechanical modeling and chemical reaction analysis to catalyst screening to integrated pilot studies.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS1976

Atmospheric prediction model survey

As part of the SEASAT Satellite program of NASA, a survey of representative primitive equation atmospheric prediction models that exist in the world today was written for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Seventeen models developed by eleven different operational and research centers throughout the world are included in the survey. The surveys are tutorial in nature describing the features of the various models in a systematic manner.

Wellck, R. E.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Leveraging Real-World Driving Data for Design and Impact Evaluation of Energy Efficient Control Strategies

Modeling and simulation are crucial in the development of advanced energy efficient control strategies. Utilizing real-world driving data as the underlying basis for control design and simulation lends veracity to projected real-world energy savings. Standardized drive cycles are limited in their utility for evaluating advanced driving strategies that utilize connectivity and on-vehicle sensing, primarily because they are typically intended for evaluating emissions and fuel economy under controlled conditions. Real-world driving data, because of its scale, is a useful representation of various road types, driving styles, and driving environments. The scale of real-world data also presents challenges in effectively using it in simulations. A fast and efficient simulation methodology is necessary to handle the large number of simulations performed for design analysis and impact evaluation of control strategies. In this study, two methods are presented of leveraging real-world data in both design optimization of energy efficient control strategies and in evaluating the real-world impact of those control strategies upon large-scale deployment. Through these methodologies, strategies with highest impact on energy savings were selected to be implemented as control algorithms. The developed algorithms were incorporated into a vehicle dynamics and powertrain control architecture implemented on a Cadillac CT6 demonstration vehicle. The control algorithms were then exercised on real-world driving scenarios to determine their impact on collective energy savings. The methodology utilizes the large-scale driving data sets maintained by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to extract real-world driving scenarios and efficient simulation software tools. The insights obtained through this research help in guiding technology selection for energy efficient driving controls.

ARPA-E↗

NASA NTRS1997

TRSkit: A Simple Digital Library Toolkit

This paper introduces TRSkit, a simple and effective toolkit for building digital libraries on the World Wide Web. The toolkit was developed for the creation of the Langley Technical Report Server and the NASA Technical Report Server, but is applicable to most simple distribution paradigms. TRSkit contains a handful of freely available software components designed to be run under the UNIX operating system and served via the World Wide Web. The intended customer is the person that must continuously and synchronously distribute anywhere from 100 - 100,000's of information units and does not have extensive resources to devote to the problem.

Nelson, Michael L.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Cooperation or Rivalry? Impact of alternative development pathways on India's long-term electricity generation and associated water demands

The world has witnessed a significant shift in the last decade in the way countries interact with each other. A cooperation based international paradigm is being challenged by countries engaging in rivalry with each other in the name of their national interests. What developmental pathway the world charts in the future is going to be path defining for global energy and emissions use. India, expected to play a critical role in the emissions mitigation debate, would contribute to and would be impacted by these pathways. In India specific literature, however, little attention has been paid to development pathways related uncertainties and their impact on energy futures. We seek to address this gap by modelling India's electricity futures and associated water demands under different development pathways. Our analysis shows that alternative development pathways would have significantly different implications for the energy access, electricity generation mix, associated water withdrawals, and carbon dioxide emissions in India. We conclude by arguing that energy, emissions and water policies should be conceived with an explicit understanding of uncertainties related to potential development pathways that the world and India can chart.

India, Electricity-Water Nexus, Development Pathwa↗

DOE OSTI2024

300_underground robot (final research report)

Recent advancements in mobile robotics have displayed impressive capabilities in traversing and accessing areas that are inaccessible to humans either due to the characteristics of the environment or potential hazards. Furthermore, these advancements within the field of mobile robotics, more specifically uncrewed ground vehicles (UGVs), give the ability to potentially survey, observe, and map these inaccessible areas for humans. However, one of the most challenging areas to implement this technology is underground environments. The main challenge with implementing this technology in underground environments is the dependence on either GPS or RF communication for UGVs to navigate properly. Therefore, in order to properly demonstrate the mapping capabilities of the UGV this challenge must be resolved. The overall goal of this study is to demonstrate the mapping capabilities of a UGV while addressing this challenge and documenting the implementation and testing phase of the robot. The proposed solution to this challenge is to implement a SLAM algorithm onto the main computational device of the UGV utilizing the Robot Operating System (ROS). The algorithm is the open-source software package Slam Toolbox developed by Steve Macenski. Furthermore, the sllidar_ros2 package from Slamtec will be used to gather the lidar data from an A3M1 2D lidar. A separate program will be created to gather odometry information for our UGV robot. All of these software packages will run together in a Docker environment. Through working on this project I have developed a better understanding of the world of robotics/autonomous systems, especially with applications such as navigation and mapping. Furthermore, through this project, I have been given exposure to how research is conducted within a DOE lab setting. As robotics/autonomous systems become more advanced it's important to pursue more avenues of research such as this project as it will ensure the development of our capabilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

SMR Current Status: Development Needs and Global Perspectives

Defined as nuclear reactors with a power output up to 300 megawatts electrical (MWe) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and targeted for multipurpose applications, small modular reactors (SMRs) have been recognized as a very promising, clean, affordable, and sustainable energy source by many countries. At present, more than 80 SMRs are under design, development, demonstration, deployment, and beyond (4D+) phases worldwide. This study focuses on the current world status of SMRs and focuses on the necessary developments to accelerate the process of adopting SMRs as a major energy source globally. SMRs are not a new concept, but they do represent a new vision for older concepts if the challenges inherent within them are mitigated with strategic and realistic solution approaches. The major challenges for SMRs 4D+ like any new reactors are: (a) qualifying the advanced fuel-to-reactor design; (b) supporting rapid scaled/prototypic experimentations; (c) maintaining local and global codes, standards, and licensing; (d) supply chain issues;(e) effective cradle-to-grave nuclear fuel cycle and fuel material transportation, and (f) mitigating financial and environmental risks. These upfront challenges can be mitigated with a synergistic solution approach among the various stakeholders: industry, academia, research, government, and international entities.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Presentation: SMR Current Status: Development Needs and Global Perspectives

Defined as nuclear reactors with a power output up to 300 megawatts electrical (MWe) by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and targeted for multipurpose applications, small modular reactors (SMRs) have been recognized as a very promising, clean, affordable, and sustainable energy source by many countries. At present, more than 80 SMRs are under design, development, demonstration, deployment, and beyond (4D+) phases worldwide. This paper focuses on the current world status of SMRs and focuses on the necessary developments to accelerate the process of adopting SMRs as a major energy source globally. SMRs are not a new concept, but they do represent a new vision for older concepts if the challenges inherent within them are mitigated with strategic and realistic solution approaches. The major challenges for SMRs 4D+ like any new reactors are: (a) qualifying the advanced fuel-to-reactor design; (b) supporting rapid scaled/prototypic experimentations; (c) maintaining local and global codes, standards, and licensing; (d) supply chain issues; (e) effective cradle-to-grave nuclear fuel cycle and fuel material transportation, and (f) mitigating financial and environmental risks. These upfront challenges can be mitigated with a synergistic solution approach among the various stakeholders: industry, academia, research, government, and international entities.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2024

SMR Current Status: Development Needs and Global Perspectives

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS1929

Technical details in the structural development of Rohrbach seaplanes

The recent trial flights and acceptance tests of the Rohrbach "Romar," the largest seaplane in the world, have yielded results fully confirming the principles followed in its development. Its take-off weight of 19,000 kg, its beating the world record for raising the greatest useful load to 2000 m by almost 2500 kg and its remarkable showing in the seaworthiness tests are the results of intelligent researches, the guiding principles of which are briefly set forth in this article.

SEAPLANES - ROHRBACH (GERMAN)↗

NASA NTRS1990

Building an intelligent tutoring system for procedural domains

Jobs that require complex skills that are too expensive or dangerous to develop often use simulators in training. The strength of a simulator is its ability to mimic the 'real world', allowing students to explore and experiment. A good simulation helps the student develop a 'mental model' of the real world. The closer the simulation is to 'real life', the less difficulties there are transferring skills and mental models developed on the simulator to the real job. As graphics workstations increase in power and become more affordable they become attractive candidates for developing computer-based simulations for use in training. Computer based simulations can make training more interesting and accessible to the student.

Warinner, Andrew↗

NASA NTRS1995

WISE: Automated support for software project management and measurement

One important aspect of software development and IV&V is measurement. Unless a software development effort is measured in some way, it is difficult to judge the effectiveness of current efforts and predict future performances. Collection of metrics and adherence to a process are difficult tasks in a software project. Change activity is a powerful indicator of project status. Automated systems that can handle change requests, issues, and other process documents provide an excellent platform for tracking the status of the project. A World Wide Web based architecture is developed for (a) making metrics collection an implicit part of the software process, (b) providing metric analysis dynamically, (c) supporting automated tools that can complement current practices of in-process improvement, and (d) overcoming geographical barrier. An operational system (WISE) instantiates this architecture allowing for the improvement of software process in a realistic environment. The tool tracks issues in software development process, provides informal communication between the users with different roles, supports to-do lists (TDL), and helps in software process improvement. WISE minimizes the time devoted to metrics collection, analysis, and captures software change data. Automated tools like WISE focus on understanding and managing the software process. The goal is improvement through measurement.

Ramakrishnan, Sudhakar↗

NASA NTRS2002

A Regional Monitoring and Visualization System for Decision Support and Disaster Management Applications for the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor and Beyond

The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC)-a network of managed and protected areas extending from Mexico to Columbia-is a crucial initiative for the Mesoamerican region, with a central development concept of integrating conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity within the framework of sustainable economic development. The MBC is of particular importance to the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), which is comprised of the environmental ministers from the seven Central American countries. Responsible for determining priority areas for action in the corridor, CCAD decision makers require current and accurate information, and access to the dynamic knowledge of the changes in the MBC such as deforestation hotspots, fires, and the effects of natural disasters. Currently this information is not integrated and in disparate locations throughout the region and the world. Leveraging NASA technology, satellite data, and capability, we propose to team with the World Bank and the CCAD to develop a regional monitoring and visualization system-with central nodes at the NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center and at CCAD headquarters. This system will assimilate NASA spatial datasets (e.g. MODIS, Landsat, etc.), spatial data from other sources (commercial and public-domain), and ancillary data developed in each of the seven Central American countries (soils, transportation networks, biodiversity indicator maps, etc.). The system will function as a "virtual dashboard" for monitoring the MBC and provide the critical decision support tools for CCAD decision makers. The CCAD central node will also serve as a high-tech showcase for the corridor among the international community, other decision-makers, the media, and students.

Irwin, Daniel↗

DOE OSTI2026

The NREL Sensor Laboratory Detection of Hydrogen Emissions

The development of a functional hydrogen detection system is a multifaceted process that integrates hardware, deployments strategies, and analytics which can be supported by the NREL Sensor Laboratory: 1. Support of the design, validation and optimization of sensing prototypes; 2. Guide optimized sensing element development, including control electronics; 3. Laboratory testing to validate/optimize metrological performance (measurement range, detection limit, etc.); 4. Provide test sites for field deployments representative of real-world scenarios with controlled hydrogen releases; 5. Develop sensor placement and operation guidance; 6. Provide guidance on electronics to accommodate facility integration; 7. Electrical safety designs to allow for operation within restricted zones; 8. Integration into facility monitoring and control systems; 9. Guide incorporation of cyber security elements to protect facilities from malicious attacks; 10. Modeling and application of advanced analytics to detect and quantify emissions; 11. Higher Order dispersion models to guide sensor placement for reliable detection; 12. Advanced analytics for improved metrological performances, and to inform inverse modeling; 13. Market support and commercialization (national and international markets); 14. Commercial deployments in H2@SCALE markets (e.g., HUBs and other large-scale hydrogen markets); and 15. Leverage off international collaborations/partnerships (e.g., NREL is on the advisory board for the European initiative "pre-Normative Research on Hydrogen Releases Assessment"-NHyRA).

08 HYDROGEN↗

NASA NTRS1988

High-aspect-ratio wings

High-aspect-ratio aircraft include most transport aircraft such as commercial and military transports, business aircraft, and cargo aircraft. Generally, these types of aircraft are designed to cruise over a narrow range of lift coefficients and Mach numbers in the performance of their mission. Emphasis is therefore placed on the cruise performance of transport aircraft and every effort is made to obtain accurate wind-tunnel data to use as a basis for prediction of full-scale cruise performance. However, off-cruise performance is also important and methods were developed for extrapolating wind-tunnel data on buffet and flutter at transonic speed. Transport-type aircraft were tested extensively in various wind tunnels around the world and many different test techniques were developed to simulate higher Reynolds numbers. Methods developed for one tunnel may not be applicable to another tunnel because of differences in size, Reynolds number capability, running time, and test objectives. Many of the methods of boundary-layer control developed in two-dimensional airfoil testing can be applied in tests of transport configurations, but sometimes the three-dimensional flow fields that develop on tranpsort aircraft can make application of the two-dimensional methods difficult or impossible. The discussion is intended to be a representative, but not exhaustive, survey of the various methods of high Reynolds number simulation in the testing of high-aspect-ratio aircraft.

Peterson, John B., Jr.↗

DOE OSTI2022

The impact of agricultural trade approaches on global economic modeling

Future socioeconomic and climate scenarios have been explored using integrated assessment models (IAMs) to understand interactions between human development and global environmental change in the long run. However, differences in trade modeling approaches are an important source of uncertainty in the assessments, particularly for regional projections. Here, we explore the critical role of trade modeling in assessing the potential future of global agroeconomics and terrestrial carbon emissions with a well-established IAM, the Global Change Assessment Model (GCAM). We update the crop trade modeling framework in GCAM from a Heckscher-Ohlin-Vanek (HOV) structure with integrated world markets (IWM) to a newly developed logit-based Armington approach with segmented regional markets (SRM). The updates make it possible to study the sensitivity of model projections of future agroeconomics and terrestrial carbon emissions to assumptions of the state and magnitude of global market integration. Our results demonstrate that assuming full global market integration, represented by homogeneous product modeling, neglecting economic geography, and excluding margins and tariffs, could lead to lower cropland use (i.e., by 115 million hectares globally) and terrestrial carbon fluxes (i.e., by 25%) by the end of the century. However, the results are highly heterogeneous across regions with more pronounced regional trade responses driven by global market integration. Our study highlights the critical role of trade modeling around product differentiation, economic geography, and regional trade parameterization in global economic or integrated assessment modeling. The results also imply that further reconciliations in trade model approaches could improve the convergence of regional results among models in model intercomparison studies.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Developing Radiation Protection Garments with Additive Manufacturing

The RadWorks Wearable Technology team is dedicated to developing protective garments to ameliorate the effects of radiation caused by Solar Particle Events (SPEs). This work requires that we remain open to new avenues for processing hydrogen-rich materials that may be useful in the development of these protective garments. The purpose of this research was to identify new ways of processing polyolefin polymers (polypropylene, more specifically) with additive manufacturing techniques. First, we conducted a literature review to identify known problems with processing polypropylene using additive manufacturing. Then, we looked toward finding ways to manage these difficulties within the additive manufacturing process. The primary goal was to develop techniques for processing polypropylene in a way that would generate a product amenable to inclusion in a worn garment (e.g., flexible, strong, and with ample radiation protection). In the end, we were able to generate designs which addressed polypropylene’s high coefficient of thermal expansion and lack of material adhesion, while meeting the requirements set forth by the use-case for wearable technology. This research offers novel avenues for processing one of the most common plastics in the world, which could contribute to the development of protective garments, as well as new avenues to explore for additive manufacturing in low-gravity environments.

Additive Manufacturing, 3D Printing, Polypropylene↗