Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “ECCE”

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.

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

At least 55 records · Page 3

The latitudinal distribution of ozone to 35 km altitude from ECC ozonesonde observations, 1982-1990

Electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) ozone-sonde observations, made in recent years at ten stations whose locations range from the Arctic to Antarctica, have yielded a self-consistent ozone data base from which mean seasonal and annual latitudinal ozone vertical distributions to 35 km have been derived. Ozone measurement uncertainties are estimated, and results are presented in the Bass-Paur (1985) ozone absorption coefficient scale adopted for use with Dobson ozone spectrophotometers January 1, 1992. The data should be useful for comparison with model calculations of the global distribution of atmospheric ozone, for serving as apriori statistical information in deriving ozone vertical distributions from satellite and Umkehr observations, and for improving the satellite and Umkehr ozone inversion algorithms. Attention is drawn to similar results based on a less comprehensive data set published in Ozone in the Atmosphere, Proceedings of the 1988 Quadrennial Ozone Symposium where errors in data tabulations occurred for three of the stations due to inadvertent transposition of ozone partial pressure and air temperature values.

Komhyr, W. D.↗

10826-ECC-CA-FY24Q1-BP1Q3

Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC) is piloting a replicable model to increase the supply and diversity of technicians entering the solar/electrical workforces to meet demand for renewable energy, electrification, and energy efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Sources of background current in the ECC ozonesonde - Implications for total ozone measurements

The source of the background current in the usual operation of the electrochemical concentration cell ozonesonde is the reduction of tri-iodide normally present in the cathode solution. The time variations in the background current can be explained by the slow rates of solution mass transport and of heterogeneous electron transfer for tri-iodide. Oxygen does not contribute to the background current through reaction with iodide to produce tri-iodide. Direct reduction of oxygen at the cathode is negligible once the electrodes have been exposed to iodide for 24 hours. The present background current correction is altitude-dependent, since it is based on an assumed sensitivity of the electrochemical concentration cell to oxygen. If the background current is independent of altitude and of oxygen, a constant, uncorrected, background current of 0.1 microamp would produce an error of +5.5% for the total ozone value of the electrochemical concentration cell for a typical midlatitude total ozone value of 0.345 atm-cm.

Thornton, D. C.↗

Refueling water storage tank (RWST) with tailored passive emergency core cooling (ECC) flow

A nuclear reactor comprises a pressure vessel containing a nuclear reactor core. A reactor core cooling system comprises a standpipe including a plurality of orifices in fluid communication with a refueling water storage tank (RWST) to drain water from the RWST into the standpipe, and an injection line configured to drain water from the standpipe to the pressure vessel. In some embodiments the standpipe is disposed in the RWST, while in other embodiments the standpipe is disposed outside of the RWST and cross-connection pipes connect the plurality of orifices with the RWST. The reactor core cooling system may further comprise a valve configured to control flow through one orifice of the plurality of orifices in fluid communication with the RWST based on water level in the standpipe. The valve may comprise a float valve having its float disposed in the standpipe.

Watson, Ronald C.↗

Seawater sea-sand engineered/strain-hardening cementitious composites (ECC/SHCC): Assessment and modeling of crack characteristics

Highlights: • A probabilistic model was proposed to model the crack width evolution of SS-ECC at different strain levels. • The Weibull distribution fit the crack width distribution better than the log-normal distribution. • A 5-D representation was proposed to assess the SS-ECC by considering both cracking and mechanical performance. • Larger sea-sand size and lower fiber dosage led to larger crack widths in SS-ECC under the same tensile strain. • 18-mm PE fiber led to larger crack widths in SS-ECC at strain >2%, due to a large fraction of fiber rupture. Seawater sea-sand Engineered Cementitious Composites (SS-ECC) is a new version of ECC for marine constructions facing the scarcity of freshwater and river/manufactured sand. This study aims to assess and model the crack characteristics of SS-ECC, which are critical for its applications with non-corrosive reinforcements. The influence of sea-sand size, fiber length and fiber dosage on the crack characteristics of SS-ECC was explored. A five-dimensional representation was proposed to assess the overall performance of SS-ECC, by comprehensively considering both the crack characteristics (i.e., crack width and its variation) and the mechanical properties (i.e., compressive and tensile properties). A probabilistic model was also proposed to describe the stochastic nature and evolution of crack width, and it can be used to estimate the critical tensile strain on SS-ECC for a given crack-width limit and cumulative probability. The findings and proposed methods can facilitate the design of SS-ECC in marine and coastal structures.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mechanical and self-healing behavior of low carbon engineered cementitious composites reinforced with PP-fibers

While the ultrahigh tensile ductility and superior durability of Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC) have been demonstrated, the relatively high energy and carbon intensity, as well as high material cost present potential impediments to broader ECC applications. The objective of this research is to develop a more sustainable and cost-effective ECC. The ordinary Portland cement (OPC) and the commonly used PVA fiber in conventional ECC were replaced by limestone calcined clay cement (LC3) and polypropylene (PP) fiber, respectively. The ECC compressive strength, tensile stress-strain relationship, and microcrack self-healing behavior were studied at three water to binder ratios (0.3, 0.2, 0.16). The novel LC3-PP-ECC showed a tensile strain capacity of greater than 6% and an intrinsically tight crack width below 82 μm when loaded to 1% tensile strain. Further, the LC3-PP-ECC demonstrated efficient recovery of the composite tensile ductility and ultimate tensile strength through self-healing. Compared to typical ECC made with OPC and PVA fiber, the material cost, embodied energy and carbon footprint of LC3-PP-ECC are reduced by 61%, 45%, and 48%, respectively. Here, the superior mechanical properties and durability combined with the low environmental impact and cost for material production promote LC3-PP-ECC as a sustainable material for structural and non-structural applications.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Development of sustainable low carbon Engineered Cementitious Composites with waste polyethylene fiber, sisal fiber and carbonation curing

Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) is an advanced fiber-reinforced cementitious composite with high tensile ductility. However, the binder and fiber system in ECC incur high economic and environmental cost. In this study, a low carbon ECC was developed by substituting virgin polyethylene fiber with waste polyethylene fiber (WPE) from waste marine fishing nets. Carbonation curing was applied to further reduce embodied carbon footprint via direct CO 2 mineralization. This research examined the low carbon ECC’s mechanical properties, including compressive strength and tensile strength and ductility. The CO 2 footprint and material costs of ECC were also investigated. The objective was to develop an ECC competitive to normal concrete economically and environmentally while maintain the unique ductile performance of ECC. Results suggest that carbonation-cured WPE reinforced ECC possesses 50% of the CO 2 footprint and 37% of the cost of traditional concrete. Meanwhile, this low carbon ECC maintains at least 4 MPa tensile strength and 6% tensile ductility. This research demonstrates the feasibility of developing construction materials with low environmental impact while maintaining high performance for civil infrastructure applications. As a result, the adoption of WPE in ECC provides a plausible pathway to recycle marine waste into the construction industry that urgently needs to be decarbonized.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Storing Co 2 in Built Infrastructure: Co 2 Carbonation of Precast Concrete Products

The overall objective of the proposed study was to advance the technical understanding of CO 2 incorporation into novel cementitious materials for the development of high value products that provide a net reduction in carbon emissions. This project combined two primary phases of research that addressed technical barriers related to (i) optimizing CO 2 storage capability of cementitious materials, (ii) evaluating and enhancing physical properties of novel carbonated materials, and (iii) assessing the reductions in life cycle CO 2 emissions attributed to CO 2 carbonation of precast cementitious materials. Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) are a class of highly ductile concrete composites that have been shown to be very durable when used in the built environment. CO 2 carbonation of ECC was examined in this study and it was found that precast ECC specimens could sequester up to 35% CO 2 by cement mass after 24 hours of curing at a CO 2 pressure of 0.5 MPa and 23°C and had a strain capacity of 3%. Carbonation conditions were optimized at the bench-scale and then utilized to create full-scale CO 2 -cured ECC railroad ties that were field tested on a train track. Rail ties were selected for this initial assessment of CO 2 storage in precast concrete materials due to the large market for concrete ties in the railroad industry. Although the full-scale rail ties passed all of the required American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association qualifying mechanical tests, on-track testing of the CO 2 -cured ECC rail ties was unsuccessful due to fiber alignment in the ECC the during the rail tie casting process which prevented the material from achieving the expected level of strain capacity. This result highlights the challenge in scaling up bench-scale processes to full-scale product manufacturing and requires additional investigation into the casting process of large-scale infrastructure elements using ECC combined with carbonation curing. Life cycle assessment of a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie versus a traditional concrete rail tie indicates that the ECC tie can have lifecycle carbon savings of between 11% and 51% depending on how much longer its useful lifetime is compared to traditional concrete rail ties. Both carbon and cost savings are driven by a reduction in the need to replace broken rail ties, so the key factor is the extent to which a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie will have increased lifetime durability compared to alternative rail ties.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Sulphate resistance of low‐clinker engineered cementitious composites examined by MicroXRF imaging

Abstract Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) are a class of high‐performing fibre‐reinforced cementitious materials recognised for their increased ductility and durability compared to conventional cement‐based materials, owing to their autogenously controlled tight crack widths, even when subjected to high strains. To reduce ECC's environmental impact, this research examines the use of a low‐clinker binder − limestone‐calcined clay cement (LC3) − as an alternative to portland cement (PC), along with fly ash to further reduce the clinker proportion and the embodied CO 2 of the formulations. In conventional concrete, LC3 hydrates to a denser microstructure resulting from the synergistic reaction between limestone and calcined clay. At the lower water contents typical of ECC and with the presence of fly ash, the influence of the binder composition on the microstructure is difficult to anticipate. To examine the influence of these compositional variables on microstructure, permeability and durability, the sulphate resistance of LC3‐based ECC is explored. Specifically, the ECC‐LC3 blends are designed with high clinker replacement rate of 75% by mass of binder and contain either conventional fly ash or reclaimed fly ash at 50% by mass of binder. Expansion of ECC‐LC3 samples subjected to standard sodium sulphate test conditions was measured up to 12 months and the depth of penetration of sulphates into the ECC‐LC3 of varying compositions was quantified using micro‐X‐Ray Fluorescence (microXRF) imaging and modelling. The expansion results show that the ECC‐LC3 formulations performed better than the PC samples and can provide adequate resistance to external sulphate attack, even when reclaimed fly ashes are used in place of the conventional ash. In addition, the shallow penetration of sulphate into these cementitious composites demonstrates the low diffusion coefficients values that were determined using the quantitative data from MicroXRF imaging.

Microscopy↗

Novel ductile wellbore cementitious composite for geologic CO 2 storage

CO 2 leakage through damaged wellbore cement sheaths is a major risk of geologic CO 2 storage (GCS), as conventional wellbore cement is brittle and can be damaged due to acid attack and downhole stresses during CO 2 injection. Here we examine a novel fiber-reinforced engineered cementitious composite (ECC) proposed as a substitute to conventional wellbore cement due to its superior ductility and intrinsic crack width control. ECC and conventional wellbore cement coupons were exposed to water in equilibrium with CO 2 at 50 °C and 10 MPa. The samples were retrieved after several days and their mechanical performance was evaluated using a four-point bending test, microhardness, and compressive strength analyses. Optical microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry were used to characterize the progression of the carbonation front and pore structures of the specimens. Control experiments were conducted under the same temperature and pressure conditions but with a N 2 headspace to isolate the impact of CO 2 . It was found that carbonation increased the ultimate flexural strength of ECC but decreased its ductility. However, the ductility of carbonated ECC remained higher than that of conventional wellbore cements that exhibited brittle failure under all test conditions. Additionally, ECC exhibited minimal material loss and continued resistance to deformation in comparison to conventional wellbore cements. This suggests that while the exposure of ECC to CO 2 will alter its mechanical properties, altered ECC will continue to exhibit mechanical performance superior to conventional wellbore cement, and therefore shows promise as a highly durable wellbore cementing material for GCS applications.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗