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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1974

MEGASTAR: The Meaning of Energy Growth: An Assessment of Systems, Technologies, and Requirements

A methodology for the display and analysis of postulated energy futures for the United States is presented. A systems approach that includes the methodology of technology assessment is used to examine three energy scenarios--the Westinghouse Nuclear Electric Economy, the Ford Technical Fix Base Case and a MEGASTAR generated Alternate to the Ford Technical Fix Base Case. The three scenarios represent different paths of energy consumption for the present to the year 2000. Associated with these paths are various mixes of fuels, conversion, distribution, conservation and end-use technologies. MEGASTAR presents the estimated times and unit requirements to supply the fuels, conversion and distribution systems for the postulated end uses for the three scenarios and then estimates the aggregate manpower, materials, and capital requirements needed to develop the energy system described by the particular scenario. The total requirements and the energy subsystems for each scenario are assessed for their primary impacts in the areas of society, the environment, technology and the economy.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1974

MEGASTAR: The meaning of growth. An assessment of systems, technologies, and requirements

A methodology for the display and analysis of postulated energy futures for the United States is presented. A systems approach methodology including the methodology of technology assessment is used to examine three energy scenarios--the Westinghouse Nuclear Electric Economy, the Ford Technical Fix Base Case and a MEGASTAR generated Alternate to the Ford Technical Fix Base Case. The three scenarios represent different paths of energy consumption from the present to the year 2000. Associated with these paths are various mixes of fuels, conversion, distribution, conservation and end-use technologies. MEGASTAR presents the estimated times and unit requirements to supply the fuels, conversion and distribution systems for the postulated end uses for the three scenarios and then estimates the aggregate manpower, materials, and capital requirements needed to develop the energy system described by the particular scenario.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1977

Fabrication of thin layer beta alumina

Beta alumina tubes having walls 700 microns, 300 microns, and 140 microns were processed by extrusion and sintering utilizing Ford proprietary binder and fabrication systems. Tubes prepared by this method have properties similar to tubes prepared by isostatic pressing and sintering, i.e. density greater than 98% of theoretical and a helium leak rate less than 3 x 10 to the -9th power cc/sq cm/sec. Ford ultrasonic bonding techniques were used for bonding beta alumina end caps to open ended beta -alumina tubes prior to sintering. After sintering, the bond was hermetic, and the integrity of the bonded area was comparable to the body of the tube.

Tennenhouse, G. J.↗
NASA NTRS1997

Precision Casting via Advanced Simulation and Manufacturing

A two-year program was conducted to develop and commercially implement selected casting manufacturing technologies to enable significant reductions in the costs of castings, increase the complexity and dimensional accuracy of castings, and reduce the development times for delivery of high quality castings. The industry-led R&D project was cost shared with NASA's Aerospace Industry Technology Program (AITP). The Rocketdyne Division of Boeing North American, Inc. served as the team lead with participation from Lockheed Martin, Ford Motor Company, Howmet Corporation, PCC Airfoils, General Electric, UES, Inc., University of Alabama, Auburn University, Robinson, Inc., Aracor, and NASA-LeRC. The technical effort was organized into four distinct tasks. The accomplishments reported herein. Task 1.0 developed advanced simulation technology for core molding. Ford headed up this task. On this program, a specialized core machine was designed and built. Task 2.0 focused on intelligent process control for precision core molding. Howmet led this effort. The primary focus of these experimental efforts was to characterize the process parameters that have a strong impact on dimensional control issues of injection molded cores during their fabrication. Task 3.0 developed and applied rapid prototyping to produce near net shape castings. Rocketdyne was responsible for this task. CAD files were generated using reverse engineering, rapid prototype patterns were fabricated using SLS and SLA, and castings produced and evaluated. Task 4.0 was aimed at developing technology transfer. Rocketdyne coordinated this task. Casting related technology, explored and evaluated in the first three tasks of this program, was implemented into manufacturing processes.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1999

Aerodynamic Flow Field Measurements for Automotive Systems

The design of a modern automotive air handling system is a complex task. The system is required to bring the interior of the vehicle to a comfortable level in as short a time as possible. A goal of the automotive industry is to predict the interior climate of an automobile using advanced computational fluid dynamic (CFD) methods. The development of these advanced prediction tools will enable better selection of engine and accessory components. The goal of this investigation was to predict methods used by the automotive industry. To accomplish this task three separate experiments were performed. The first was a laboratory setup where laser velocimeter (LV) flow field measurements were made in the heating and air conditioning unit of a Ford Windstar. The second involved flow field measurements in the engine compartment of a Ford Explorer, with the engine running idle. The third mapped the flow field exiting the center dashboard panel vent inside the Explorer, while the circulating fan operated at 14 volts. All three experiments utilized full-coincidence three-component LV systems. This enabled the mean and fluctuating velocities to be measured along with the Reynolds stress terms.

Hepner, Timothy E.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Adaptivity in Agent-Based Routing for Data Networks

Adaptivity, both of the individual agents and of the interaction structure among the agents, seems indispensable for scaling up multi-agent systems (MAS s) in noisy environments. One important consideration in designing adaptive agents is choosing their action spaces to be as amenable as possible to machine learning techniques, especially to reinforcement learning (RL) techniques. One important way to have the interaction structure connecting agents itself be adaptive is to have the intentions and/or actions of the agents be in the input spaces of the other agents, much as in Stackelberg games. We consider both kinds of adaptivity in the design of a MAS to control network packet routing. We demonstrate on the OPNET event-driven network simulator the perhaps surprising fact that simply changing the action space of the agents to be better suited to RL can result in very large improvements in their potential performance: at their best settings, our learning-amenable router agents achieve throughputs up to three and one half times better than that of the standard Bellman-Ford routing algorithm, even when the Bellman-Ford protocol traffic is maintained. We then demonstrate that much of that potential improvement can be realized by having the agents learn their settings when the agent interaction structure is itself adaptive.

Wolpert, David H.↗
NASA NTRS1980

Automotive Engineering Software

Ford Motor Company has made particular use of Computer Program (NASTRAN) NASA Structural Analysis Program which electronically analyzes a computerized design and predicts its reaction to many different conditions of stress and strain. Ford used NASTRAN to analyze the combined torsional bending and axial loading conditions of a new automobile. As a result of the analytical solutions, fewer prototypes had to be built and tested with instant reduction of development time and cost.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Pragmatic Leadership Advice from Donald Rumsfeld

When President Gerald Ford appointed Donald Rumsfeld as his Secretary of Defense in 1975, Rumsfeld became the youngest defense secretary in US. history. Today, as defense secretary for President George W. Bush, Rumsfeld is the most senior appointee to hold that post. Between political assignments, he became an expert at turning around troubled corporations. His work at G.D. Searle-now a subsidiary of Pharmacia-earned him awards as an outstanding chief executive officer in the pharmaceutical industry. Rumsfeld's management philosophy is unique and direct, and the best part is he's written it down. While serving in the Ford administration, Rumsfeld wrote a white paper titled Rumsfeld's Rules. These rules were written as guiding principles for White House staff. First published in 1980, the rules were revised and expanded in 2001 to include broader insights on management, work and leadership. They reflect more than 40 years of Rumsfeld's wisdom and experience.

Teany, Douglas R.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Next Generation High Efficiency Boosted Engine Concept

This report summarizes a collaborative research project between Ford Motor Company, FEV North America, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to develop a next-generation, high-efficiency, boosted spark-ignited engine. The goal was to achieve a 23% improvement in fuel economy and a 15% reduction in engine weight compared to a 2016 Ford F150. The team utilized advanced technologies including a high compression ratio, cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR), early intake valve closing, and a novel active pre-chamber ignition system. The final engine prototype met the fuel economy goal and demonstrated a 4.3% weight reduction, with further opportunities identified to reach the full 15% target.

Fuel economy↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lightweight Metal Stamping Optimization Enabled by Artificial Intelligence

Successfully manufacturing an automotive body structure made via the sheet metal stamping process depends upon simultaneous consideration of component design, tooling design, stamping process control, and material properties. In many cases, introducing lightweight sheet materials (e.g., aluminum alloys, magnesium alloys, advanced high strength steels) holds the potential to significantly reduce vehicle weight, but challenges the stamping process by introducing materials with inherently less ductility. Successful and repeatable applications require co-developing the stamping process controls with the varying material properties, including formability. During the stamping process, as soon as the forming limit of the sheet is exceeded, the material shows localized necking which quickly leads to splits. Controlling process variability to avoid these material splits will enable deployment of less formable, lighter, and stronger materials for stamped automotive components. A typical optimization procedure for manufacturing requires an iterative process involving parameter setting, execution of computational simulations, and modifying the parameters. The entire process demands substantial computational time, making it impractical for real-time feedback towards rapid corrective actions required for in-line control for running production processes. To overcome this challenge, artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to determine optimal manufacturing parameters within a single manufacturing cycle time. This research proposes an in-line optimization framework incorporating a trained AI model to predict kidney-shaped die forming. Preliminary results indicate that the AI framework can accurately predict draw-in values based on a given parameter set, a process referred to as forward prediction. Furthermore, the AI framework can also predict the optimal parameter set that leads to the desired draw-in values, referred to as inverse optimization (or backward prediction). This research has been performed in collaborations with USCAR (US Council for Automotive Research) and AutoForm. The members of USCAR are Ford, GM, and Stellantis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Surfactant inhibition mechanisms of carbonate mineral dissolution in shale

Surfactants are common additives to hydraulic fracturing and enhanced oil recovery (EOR) fluids, and are under consideration for amendment to supercritical carbon dioxide for geological carbon sequestration (GCS). The effect of a common anionic surfactant, internal olefin sulfonate (IOS), on mineral dissolution from shale into brine was evaluated. When added to brine at concentrations exceeding the critical micelle concentration (94 mg/L), IOS inhibited carbonate mineral dissolution in an Eagle Ford shale, as well as dissolution of optical quality calcite (the dominant carbonate in the shale). Laser profilometry images provide spatial resolution across > 3 orders of magnitude, and indicate that IOS addition to brine both enhances the formation of new etch pits in calcite, and impedes their further growth. Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry surface profiles show for the first time that IOS preferentially adsorbs at calcite pit edges versus flat calcite surfaces (i.e., terraces). Surface pressure calculations, sulfur K-edge near edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy results, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations support this observation; the DFT results indicate that the sulfonate head group of the IOS molecule binds strongly to the calcite step site as compared to the terrace site. The S K-edge NEXAFS results indicate that IOS adsorbed more to etched calcite surfaces compared to smooth calcite surfaces. Overall, the results indicate that weak adsorption on flat calcite surfaces (i.e., terraces) disrupts water structure and enhances mass transfer of dissolution, while strong adsorption on calcite pit edges displaces adsorbed water and inhibits further etch pit growth. This work provides the first direct evidence of preferential adsorption of IOS to etched calcite surfaces and links it to macroscopic dissolution kinetics. Finally, this work has implications for surfactant-containing fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, EOR and potentially GCS for subsurface injection into carbonate rich reservoirs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interpretable Machine Learning for Characterizing Electric Vehicle Charging Behavior: Insights from Real-World Data

As electric vehicle (EV) adoption rises globally, concerns about the impact on aging electrical grids grow, particularly regarding the charging behavior of EV drivers. This study analyzes real-world driving and charging data from Ford battery electric vehicles (BEVs) collected between 2018 and 2019 to develop interpretable models that characterize charging behavior and quantify influencing factors. Prior research has relied on assumptions regarding driver behavior, often overlooking actual charging patterns. By employing generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs), this work offers insights into how various elements, such as next trip distance and state of charge (SOC), influence charging decisions. The dataset comprises over three million park-trip pairs from 1,997 vehicles, revealing that features related to driving behavior significantly dictate charging behavior, while infrastructure and regional factors have lesser impacts. The findings suggest that existing simulation models may oversimplify EV charging behavior assumptions. This work utilizes real-world EV driving and charging data to train interpretable models that describe charging behavior and quantify the factors most associated with how drivers use charging infrastructure. This research underscores the need for interpretable, data-driven methodologies to inform future EV infrastructure planning and grid management.

29 - ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-Speed Layup and Forming of Automotive Composite Components

This Project is focused on the design and manufacture of automotive components that meet functional and environmental requirements of an existing automotive application at a cost of ≤ $\$$11.00 per kilogram weight reduction. This project fosters the development of composite material technologies suitable for high volume automotive processes and run rates as well as industry workforce development with these technologies. Current automotive manufacturing involves utilizing steel or aluminum in sheet form which is rapidly stamped into components at rates up to 3600 per hour. The metallic sheets are available in many different thicknesses, strength levels, and manufacturing rates are reasonable independent of part size. While composite materials are available for use in automotive applications, the material cost, labor to manufacture and the processing of the waste far exceed the cost compared to metallic designs. Typical composite layer by layer layup procedures don’t meet the desired 60 second layup time that current automotive processes require and are also restricted by part size. Due to these factors, composites have not yet made advances into today’s high volume automotive applications. Industry partners DURA, BASF, Ford, and IACMI core innovation partner MSU collaborated to develop a manufacturing process technology that is capable of manufacturing composite blanks at high volume and independent of part size. IACMI core innovation partner Purdue provided FEA analysis and cost modelling. The objective of this project was to demonstrate a composite sheet layup and consolidation process that can be commercialized for high volume requirements, identify potential layup equipment suppliers, and develop a process of 60 second layup, forming, and trimming of a continuous fiber automotive component for the mainstream market.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1986

Space shuttle radar images of Indonesia

Sabins (1983) interpreted Shuttle Imaging Radar (SIR)-A images of Indonesia; Sabins and Ford (1985) interpreted SIR-B images. These investigations had the following major results: (1) major lithologic assemblages are recognizable by their terrain characteristics in the SIR images, and (2) both local and regional geologic structures are mappable. These results are summarized.

Sabins, Floyd F.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Quotient-difference type generalizations of the power method and their analysis

The recursion relations that were proposed by W. F. Ford and A. Sidi (Appl. Numer. Math, 4 (1988), pp. 477-489) for implementing vector extrapolation methods are used for devising generalizations of the power method for linear operators. These generalizations are shown to produce approximations to largest eigenvalues of a linear operator under certain conditions. They are similar in form to the quotient-difference algorithm and share similar convergence properties with the latter. These convergence properties also resemble those obtained for the basic LR and QR algorithms. Finally, it is shown that the convergence rate produced by one fo these generalizations is twice as fast for normal operators as it is for nonnormal operators.

Sidi, Avram↗
NASA NTRS1992

Dielectric surface properties of Venus

It has been known for over a decade that certain high-altitude regions on Venus exhibit bizarre radar-scattering and radiothermal-emission behavior. For example, observed values for normal-incidence power reflection coefficients in these areas can exceed 0.5; enhanced back scatter in some mountainous areas in the Magellan SAR images creates a bright surface with the appearance of snow; and reduced thermal emission in the anomalous areas makes the surface there appear hundreds of degrees cooler than the corresponding physical surface temperatures. The inferred radio emissivity in several of these regions falls to 0.3 for horizontal linear polarization at viewing angles in the range 20 deg - 40 deg. Several explanations have been offered for these linked phenomena. One involves single-surface reflection from a sharp discontinuity separating two media that have extremely disparate values of electromagnetic propagation. The mismatch may occur in either or both the real (associated with propagation velocity) or imaginary (associated with absorption) components of the relevant indices of refraction, and the discontinuity must take place over a distance appreciably shorter than a wavelength. An example of such an interaction of Earth would occur at the surface of a body of water. At radio wavelengths, water has an index of refraction of 9 (dielectric permittivity of about 80), and an associated loss factor that varies strongly with the amount of dissolved salts, but is generally significant. Its single-surface radar reflectivity at normal incidence is about 0.65, and the corresponding emissivity (viewed at the same angle) is therefore 0.35. Both these values are similar to the extremes found on Venus, but in the absence of liquid water, the process on Venus requires a different explanation. Two of the present authors (Pettengill and Ford) have suggested that scattering from a single surface possessing a very high effective dielectric permittivity could explain many of the unusual characteristics displayed by the Venus surface. A second explantion relates to the volume scattering that results from successive interactions with one or more interfaces interior to the planetary surface. If the near-surface material has a moderately low index of refraction (to ensure that a substantial fraction of the radiation incident from outside is not reflected, but rather penetrates into the surface), and a very low internal propagation loss, successive internal reflections can eventually redirect much of the energy back through the surface toward the viewer. The necessary conditions for this process to be effective are a low internal propagation loss coupled with efficient internal reflection. At sufficiently low temperatures, fractured water ice displays both the necessary low loss and near-total internal reflection. The possibility that this mechanism might be acting on Venus has recently been put forward.

Pettengill, G. H.↗
NASA NTRS2004

A Proposal to Investigate Outstanding Problems in Astronomy

Holland Ford and Garth Illingworth organized, managed, and coordinated a very successful year of work by the ACS science team. The team is working well together on analysis of ACS observations and supporting data from other satellites and from ground-based observations. Many important papers have been published or submitted, spanning science from observations of newly discovered debris disks around young stars, to the characterization of galaxy clusters at half the age of the Universe, to observations of proto-clusters with ages of approx. 2 billion years, to searches for galaxies forming within the first billion years after the birth of the universe. One important milestone during the year was the annual team meeting during September. The meeting, organized and led by Holland and Garth, produced a plan for analysis of ACS observations during the coming year, and a plan for obtaining supporting observations with large ground-based telescopes.

Ford, Holland↗
NASA NTRS2020

Candidate Electromagnetic Counterpart to the Binary Black Hole Merger Gravitational-Wave Event S190521g

We report the first plausible optical electromagnetic counterpart to a (candidate) binary black hole merger. Detected by the Zwicky Transient Facility, the electromagnetic flare is consistent with expectations for a kicked binary black hole merger in the accretion disk of an active galactic nucleus [B. McKernan, K. E. S. Ford, I. Bartoset al., Astrophys. J. Lett.884, L50 (2019)] and is unlikely [<O(0.01%))] due to intrinsic variability of this source. The lack of color evolution implies that it is not a supernova and instead is strongly suggestive of a constant temperature shock. Other false-positive events, such as microlensing ora tidal disruption event, are ruled out or constrained to be <O(0.1%). If the flare is associated withS190521g, we find plausible values of total mass M(BBH) ∼ 100 Mꙩ, kick velocity v(k) ∼ 200 km/s at θ ∼ 60° in a disk with aspect ratio H/a ∼ 0.01(i.e., disk height H at radius a) and gas density ρ ∼ 10^(−10)g/cu.cm. The merger could have occurred at a disk migration trap (a ∼ 700 r(g); r(g) ≡ GM(SMBH)/sq.c, where M(SMBH) is the mass of the active galactic nucleus supermassive black hole). The combination of parameters implies a significant spin for at least one of the black holes in S190521g. The timing of our spectroscopy prevents useful constraints on broad-line asymmetry due to an off-center flare. We predict a repeat flare in this source due to a reencountering with the disk in ∼ 1.6 yr(M(SMBH)/10^(8) Mꙩ)(a/10^(3)r(g))^(3/2).

M. J. Graham↗