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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 523 records · Page 29

NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging Program

NEPP program objectives are to: (1) Access the reliability of newly available electronic parts and packaging technologies for usage on NASA projects through validations, assessments, and characterizations, and the development of test methods/tools; (2)Expedite infusion paths for advanced (emerging) electronic parts and packaging technologies by evaluations of readiness for manufacturability and project usage consideration; (3) Provide NASA projects with technology selection, application, and validation guidelines for electronic parts and packaging hardware and processes; nd (4) Retain and disseminate electronic parts and packaging quality assurance, reliability validations, tools, and availability information to the NASA community.

Kayali, Sammy↗

Predictive Thermal Control (PTC) Technology to Enable Thermally Stable Telescopes: First Two Year Status

Predictive Thermal Control Technology (PTCT) development project is a multiyear effort initiated in Fiscal Year (FY) 2017, to mature the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of critical technologies required to enable ultra-thermally-stable ultraviolet/optical/infrared (UVOIR) space telescope primary-mirror assemblies for ultra-high-contrast observations of exoplanets. Key accomplishments of 2017 to 2019 include: creating a high-fidelity STOP (Structural, Thermal, and Optical Performance) model of the AMTD-2 (Advance Mirror Technology Development) 1.5-meter Ultra-Low Expansion (ULE®) mirror (manufactured by Harris Corp) by merging 3D X-Ray computed tomography data of the ‘as-built’ mirror and coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) data maps for each of the 18 core elements; partially validating this model by measuring the mirror’s response to bulk temperature changes and lateral thermal gradients; designed and built (with PTC partner Harris Corp) a 1.5-meter enclosure with 26 actively-control thermal zones; and defined specifications for a potential 4-meter primary mirror thermal enclosure for the Habitable Exoplanet (HabEx) Imager mission.

Astrophysics↗

Development of a High-Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion System (HT-SSEP) to Enable Lower Cost NASA Science Missions

Discusses progress at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in the development and demonstration of an integrated high-propellant throughput small spacecraft electric propulsion (HT-SSEP) system based on a Hall-effect thruster. A center-mounted cathode and an innovative magnetic circuit topology were implemented in the design of the Hall-effect thruster to achieve high-propellant throughput, high performance, and efficient packaging. To minimize technical risk, the HT-SSEP development approach sought to limit design features and materials to those with a clear path-to-flight. A propellant throughput capability of greater than 100 kilograms at a minimum thruster efficiency of 50 percent was targeted. The proof-of-concept NASA-H64M laboratory model (LM) thruster was designed, fabricated, and tested at GRC in fiscal year 2018. The thruster development leveraged heritage Hall-effect thruster design and manufacturing processes wherever appropriate. Recent NASA advances in Hall-effect thruster technology were also leveraged. A scalable discharge power supply (DPS) capable of powering the H64M-LM was developed, then demonstrated as part of an integrated system test. The DPS uses commercial off-the-shelf components with spaceflight equivalents. A keeper supply with DC ignitor was breadboarded, then demonstrated with a laboratory cathode. Finally, feed system trade studies were performed to ascertain what feed system architecture might be appropriate for an HT-SSEP system. This paper details the motivations for the project, the development approach, the chosen sub-system architectures, design considerations, and test results.

Benavides, Gabriel↗

Development of a High-Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion System to Enable Lower Cost NASA Science Missions

This paper describes recent progress at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in the development and demonstration of an integrated high-propellant throughput small spacecraft electric propulsion (HT-SSEP) system based on a Hall-effect thruster. A center-mounted cathode and an innovative magnetic circuit topology were implemented in the design of the Hall-effect thruster to achieve high-propellant throughput, high performance, and efficient packaging. To minimize technical risk, the HT-SSEP development approach sought to limit design features and materials to those with a clear path-to-flight. A propellant throughput capability of greater than 100 kg at a minimum thruster efficiency of 50% was targeted. The proof-of-concept NASA-H64M laboratory model (LM) thruster was designed, fabricated, and tested at GRC in fiscal year 2018. The thruster development leveraged heritage Hall-effect thruster design and manufacturing processes wherever appropriate. Recent NASA advances in Hall-effect thruster technology were also leveraged. A scalable discharge power supply (DPS) capable of powering the H64M-LM was developed, then demonstrated as part of an integrated system test. The DPS uses commercial off-the-shelf components with spaceflight equivalents. A keeper supply with DC ignitor was breadboarded, then demonstrated with a laboratory cathode. Finally, feed system trade studies were performed to ascertain what feed system architecture might be appropriate for an HT-SSEP system. This paper details the motivations for the project, the development approach, the chosen sub-system architectures, design considerations, and test results.

Benavides, Gabriel F.↗

Development of a High-Propellant Throughput Small Spacecraft Electric Propulsion System to Enable Lower Cost NASA Science Missions

This paper describes recent progress at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in the development and demonstration of an integrated high-propellant throughput small spacecraft electric propulsion (HT-SSEP) system based on a Hall-effect thruster. A center-mounted cathode and an innovative magnetic circuit topology were implemented in the design of the Hall-effect thruster to achieve high-propellant throughput, high performance, and efficient packaging. To minimize technical risk, the HT-SSEP development approach sought to limit design features and materials to those with a clear path-to-flight. A propellant throughput capability of greater than 100 kg at a minimum thruster efficiency of 50% was targeted. The proof-of-concept NASA-H64M laboratory model (LM) thruster was designed, fabricated, and tested at GRC in fiscal year 2018. The thruster development leveraged heritage Hall-effect thruster design and manufacturing processes wherever appropriate. Recent NASA advances in Hall-effect thruster technology were also leveraged. A scalable discharge power supply (DPS) capable of powering the H64M-LM was developed, then demonstrated as part of an integrated system test. The DPS uses commercial off-the-shelf components with spaceflight equivalents. A keeper supply with DC ignitor was breadboarded, then demonstrated with a laboratory cathode. Finally, feed system trade studies were performed to ascertain what feed system architecture might be appropriate for an HT-SSEP system. This paper details the motivations for the project, the development approach, the chosen sub-system architectures, design considerations, and test results.

Benavides, Gabriel F.↗

Refractory high entropy alloy compact heat exchanger

Several innovative technologies, including pressure-drop minimization, advanced refractory high entropy alloys, and advanced manufacturing can provide a compact heat exchanger that extends the state-of-the-art heat-exchanger operating range. The compact heat exchanger can reduce pressure drop losses by 100 to 500%, while retaining most of the heat transfer. The compact heat exchanger can be fabricated from refractory high entropy alloys that have favorable corrosion, thermal fatigue, and creep properties at high temperatures and pressures. Therefore, the compact heat exchanger using high entropy alloys can operate at >800° C. and 80 bars.

Kustas, Andrew↗

Abstract for CRADA between National Energy Technology Laboratory and American Institute of Chemical Engineers dba RAPID Manufacturing Institute

NETL and RAPID Manufacturing will develop advanced electromagnetic (EM) reactors and catalysts to produce light olefins from alternative feedstocks using CO2 soft oxidation. Light olefins are the building blocks for many plastic products, in addition to synthetic fibers, rubbers, and polymers. This project has the potential to produce high-value light olefins from alternative feedstocks with reduced energy consumption (50-70%), carbon intensity (50-70%), and production cost (15-25%) compared to the traditional olefin production processes.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NRIC Strategy for Advancing Nuclear Integrated Energy Systems

Integrated energy systems (IES) combine low-carbon energy sources to meet demand for clean energy in multiple forms across multiple sectors of economy. IES create opportunities to cost-effectively dispatch generation resources to balance electricity supply and demand. In addition to producing electricity, IES increase the value of non-emitting energy sources by integrating generation technologies with industrial processes to efficiently produce commodities that benefit the manufacturing, industrial processing, and transportation industries. Nuclear energy technology is key to enabling these benefits. Advanced nuclear reactors capable of producing high-quality heat, electricity, and radiation, will play a foundational role in IES of the future.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Spinoff, 1987

Various current or forthcoming NASA projects and experiments with potential for technology spinoff are described. NASA technological advances with existing commercial applications are outlined in the following areas: transportation; consumer; home; and recreation; medicine; resources management; energy; public safety; and manufacturing technology and industrial productivity. Specific systems, devices, and equipment are described. A concluding essay describes the NASA technology utilization/transfer effort.

Haggerty, James J.↗

Advancing lightweight mirror design: a paradigm shift in mirror preforms by utilizing design for additive manufacturing

Additive manufacturing is a disruptive technology that can be leveraged by the redesign of components in most engineering fields. Fundamental engineering resources for lightweight mirrors were developed more than 30 years ago with a main design limitation, state of the art manufacturing. In this study, we present two design methodologies for the design of lightweight mirrors. The first method utilizes analytical expressions to design a traditional isogrid mirror, which provided the foundation for most lightweight mirrors to date. The second method employs a combination of topology optimization, lattice infill, and analytical estimation to develop an advanced lightweight mirror designed for additive manufacturing. The advanced mirror design outperforms the traditional design for each functional requirement, including a 94% reduction in predicted surface quilting and a higher specific stiffness. The manufacturing of the advanced mirror is only possible with an additive manufacturing process.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Business models to assure availability of advanced superconductors for the accelerator sector and promote stewardship of superconducting magnet technology for the US economy

Stakeholders representing concerns of national and global leadership, industries that use superconducting magnets in products, manufacturers of superconducting wires and tapes that supply to industries, and innovation generators from small businesses and universities came together to address stewardship of superconducting magnet technology and assurance of supply of advanced superconductors to the accelerator sector. This report outlines potential public-private partnerships that develop and enhance domestic capabilities to meet the needs of science facilities in the accelerator systems sector and in the broader commercial ecosystem.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Research pressure instrumentation for NASA space shuttle main engine

The breadboard feasibility model of a silicon piezoresistive pressure transducer suitable for space shuttle main engine (SSME) applications was demonstrated. The development of pressure instrumentation for the SSME was examined. The objective is to develop prototype pressure transducers which are targeted to meet the SSME performance design goals and to fabricate, test and deliver a total of 10 prototype units. Effective utilization of the many advantages of silicon piezoresistive strain sensing technology to achieve the objectives of advanced state-of-the-art pressure sensors for reliability, accuracy and ease of manufacture is analyzed. Integration of multiple functions on a single chip is the key attribute of the technology.

Anderson, P. J.↗

Off-Earth Servicing Component Advancement (OESCA) Flight-like Coriolis Mass Flowmeter Development

With the completion of this initial technology development effort, additional work will be required for infusion and advancement through TRL 7. The remainder of the flight-level environmental testing (electromagnetic interference and compatibility or electromagnetic interference/electromagnetic compatibility (EMI/EMC), thermal vacuum or TVAC, along with vibration and shock testing) and post-test functional checkouts will need to be completed and are currently planned as part of an awarded STMD Early Career Initiative (ECI) Project called Advancement of Exploration Components for In-Space Servicing or AXCIS. The results and reports from these additional tests during the ECI effort will complete the technology development package, advancing the TRL to 5 or 6 while providing a vendor capable of manufacturing flight units and a flight-ready design as well as lessons-learned from the environmental testing. The Coriolis flowmeter development unit would then be incorporated into a demonstration testbed system for microgravity testing to further understand how it functions and performs in a space-like environment, advancing the developed technology to TRL 6 or 7. Following this infusion path will enable NASA program(s)/proposal(s) to procure a flight-rated high accuracy Coriolis mass flowmeter for incorporation into in-space and Lunar/Martian surface spacecraft propellant resupply systems which, after successful mission use, will bring the TRL to 7+.

Amy Felt↗

2023 Annual Merit Review Vehicle Technologies Office Results Report

The 2023 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's (EERE) Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) Annual Merit Review (AMR) was held June 12-15, 2023, as a hybrid event with in-person and virtual attendance. The review encompassed work done by VTO: 257 individual activities were reviewed by 266 reviewers. Exactly 991 individual review responses were received for the VTO technical reviews. The objective of the meeting was to review the accomplishments and plans for VTO over the previous 12 months, and provide an opportunity for industry, government, and academia to give inputs to DOE with a structured and formal methodology. The meeting also provided attendees with a virtual forum for interaction and technology information transfer.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Mechanical behavior of additively manufactured and wrought 316L stainless steels before and after neutron irradiation

Fabrication of nuclear reactor components using additive manufacturing (AM) methods is now a practical option since the AM technologies have advanced to allow for building of complex parts with high quality materials. To assess the mechanical performance of printed components in reactor-relevant conditions and to build a property database for the AM 316L stainless steel (SS), mechanical testing and characterization were performed before and after neutron irradiation. In this work, miniature tensile specimens were irradiated at the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) to 0.2 and 2 displacements per atom (dpa) at 300 and 600°C. The AM 316L SS was tested in the as-built, stress-relieved, and solution-annealed conditions, and the wrought (WT) 316L SS in solution-annealed condition as a reference alloy. The baseline test result showed that the AM 316L SS, regardless of the post-build heat treatment, had higher strength than the WT 316L SS, but similar ductility. Post-irradiation tensile testing was conducted at RT, 300°C, and 500°C for selected irradiation conditions. Neutron irradiation induced significant changes in the mechanical behavior of the AM stainless steels, including both hardening and softening. Although the as-built 316L steel after 300°C irradiation showed necking just after yielding, the overall property changes of the as-printed alloy became less significant after 600°C irradiation. Irradiation-induced ductilization was also observed after the higher temperature irradiation. In general, the strength change was smaller in the relatively stronger as-built and stress-relieved AM SSs than in the solution-annealed AM and WT SSs. These relatively lower strength 316L SSs overall retained higher ductility in the irradiation conditions tested, but the stronger 316L SSs demonstrated a similar level of ductility after the higher temperature (600°C) irradiation. It is a positive assessment for the AM 316L materials that no embrittlement was observed within the test and irradiation conditions of the experiment.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Predictive Modeling of Fast-Curing Thermosets in Nozzle-Based Extrusion

This work presents an approach to modeling the dynamic spreading and curing behavior of thermosets in nozzle-based extrusions. Thermosets cover a wide range of materials, some of which permit low-temperature processing with subsequent high-temperature and high-strength working properties. Extruding thermosets may overcome the limited working temperatures and strengths of conventional thermoplastic materials used in additive manufacturing. This project aims to produce technology for the fabrication of thermoset-based structures leveraging advances made in nozzle-based extrusion, such as fused deposition modeling (FDM), material jetting, and direct writing. Understanding the synergistic interactions between spreading and fast curing of extruded thermosetting materials will provide essential insights for applications that require accurate dimensional controls, such as additive manufacturing [1], [2] and centrifugal coating/forming [3]. Two types of thermally curing thermosets -- one being a soft silicone (Ecoflex 0050) and the other being a toughened epoxy (G/Flex) -- served as the test materials in this work to obtain models for cure kinetics and viscosity. The developed models align with extensive measurements made with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheology. DSC monitors the change in the heat of reaction, which reflects the rate and degree of cure at different crosslinking stages. Rheology measures the change in complex viscosity, shear moduli, yield stress, and other properties dictated by chemical composition. By combining DSC and rheological measurements, it is possible to establish a set of models profiling the cure kinetics and chemorheology without prior knowledge of chemical composition, which is usually necessary for sophisticated mechanistic modeling. In this work, we conducted both isothermal and dynamic measurements with both DSC and rheology. With the developed models, numerical simulations yielded predictions of diameter and height of droplets, along with width and height of extruded lines cured at varied temperatures. Experimental results carried out on a goniometric platform and a nozzle-based 3D printer showed agreement with the numerical simulations. Finally, this presentation will show how the models are adaptable to the planning of tool paths and designs in additive manufacturing.

Xie, Jingjin↗

NASA's Exploration and In-Space Services (NExIS) Division OSAM-1 Propellant Transfer Subsystem Progress 2020

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Exploration and In-Space Services (NExIS) Division of Goddard Space Flight Center has been developing technology for the On-orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing Mission 1 (OSAM-1) to robotically refuel heritage and new satellites on-orbit. OSAM-1, formerly known as Restore-L, successfully passed an important NASA milestone called Key Decision Point-C (KDP-C), receiving agency-level approval for its implementation. The decision point also establishes the mission’s official schedule and budget. The OSAM-1 spacecraft, Servicing Payload and the Space Infrastructure Dexterous Robot (SPIDER) payload will refuel a satellite in space, assemble a communications antenna and manufacture a beam. By demonstrating these capabilities, the mission is advancing never-before tested technologies for use in future missions (by NASA and other government organizations and private industry). The mission is funded by the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. This paper covers a review of servicing extensibility and critical technologies that are being developed within NExIS with a focus on the fluid transfer refueling technology within the framework of the Propellant Transfer Subsystem (PTS). An overview of the planned initial technology demonstration servicing mission via the OSAM-1 Space Vehicle is provided as an extension of the technology development progress reported in 20181, and 20192. The general objectives, challenges, and key technologies are presented as an introduction to the context of the OSAM-1 mission, and a precursor to the OSAM-1 PTS specific development status. Development and progress of the Hose Management Assembly (HMA) and Propellant Transfer Assembly (PTA) are discussed. HMA risk reduction test results including those of thermal vacuum testing are presented. Important analytical results are discussed and progress of drawings and procedures developed for the fabrication and testing phase are shown. A summary of the PTS overall verification status and design activities prepared for the critical design peer review are presented. Procurement progress is shown with status on long, medium, and short term efforts to acquire the hardware required to support the mission objectives. Technology development, challenges, and testing status are discussed with particular regard to the OSAM-1 specific key assemblies including the PTA and HMA along with the overall integrated flight mockup of the spacecraft to client fluid transfer testing conducted in the servicing testbeds. The paper concludes with key milestones leading to the goal of on-orbit refueling to be demonstrated in 2024. The overall mission Launch Readiness Date (LRD) has been realigned to accommodate budget profiles and incorporation of additional on-orbit assembly and manufacturing demonstration efforts.

Propellant transfer, satellite servicing↗