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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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141 records · Page 3

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NASA NTRS1985

Multikilowatt hydrogen-nickel oxide battery system

The potential of the H2-NiO battery for terrestrial applications was assessed. A multicell design approach that differs significantly from the aerospace individual pressure vessel was used. A number of experimental 100-Ah cells were built to evaluate the new design concepts and components. The experimental cells provided the input needed for a multicell battery design. It is found that new multicell H2-NiO battery has a number of potential advantages for aerospace applications such as the manned space station. The advantages are discussed, and a design concept is presented for a multikilowatt battery in a lightweight pressure vessel.

Dunlop, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1982

Cryopump for Large Pulses of Hydrogen

A test involving a flow of hot hydrazine decomposition products at a rate of 13.6 g/s (0.03 lb/s) established the requirement to maintain pressure in an 11.9-m-(39 ft) diameter space chamber below 200 microns. The flow, 2/3 hydrogen and 1/3 nitrogen by volume, continued for several periods ranging from 3 to 15 min. The pressure requirement was necessary to minimize thermal effects of the gas on the test vehicle but was well beyond the capability of the existing facility pumps. Various methods of obtaining additional temporary jump capacity were considered. From these, the slugged-charcoal approach was selected as the quickest and least expensive method to implement.

B C Moore↗

NASA NTRS1992

Nickel hydrogen common pressure vessel battery development

Our present design for a common pressure vessel (CPV) battery, a nickel hydrogen battery system to combine all of the cells into a common pressure vessel, uses an open disk which allows the cell to be set into a shallow cavity; subsequent cells are stacked on each other with the total number based on the battery voltage required. This approach not only eliminates the assembly error threat, but also more readily assures equal contact pressure to the heat fin between each cell, which further assures balanced heat transfer. These heat fin dishes with their appropriate cell stacks are held together with tie bars which in turn are connected to the pressure vessel weld rings at each end of the tube.

Jones, Kenneth R.↗

NASA NTRS2026

Thermal Performance of Common Bulk-Fill Cryogenic Insulation Materials in Helium and Hydrogen Background Gases

Maritime shipping of vast quantities of liquid hydrogen (LH 2 ) will be necessary to facilitate a global hydrogen ecosystem; with some studies estimating volumes up to 172,000 m 3 for individual tanker ships, and requiring stationary storage tanks at terminals of 50,000 m 3 to 100,000 m 3 —ten to fifteen times larger than the current largest tank, located at launch pad B at NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Such a radical scale-up will push the boundary of traditional, vacuum-insulated tank designs. Hence, a potential need exists for non-vacuum solutions, which necessitates exploring the thermal performance of insulation materials in non-condensable background gasses at LH 2 temperatures, namely helium and hydrogen. Testing of two bulk-fill insulation materials common to large LH 2 storage tanks, perlite and glass bubbles, in helium and hydrogen was recently conducted by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at KSC using the Cryostat-100 liquid nitrogen boiloff calorimeter per the ASTM C1774 standard methodology. Effective thermal conductivity (k e ) and heat flux (q) results for each insulation/gas combination are presented across the full vacuum range, as well as thermal profiles through the insulation thickness between 78 K and 293 K.

A M Swanger↗

NASA NTRS1985

Bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery design

The initial design for the NASA-Lewis advanced nickel-hydrogen battery is discussed. Fabrication of two 10-cell boilerplate battery stacks will soon begin. The test batteries will undergo characterization testing and low Earth orbit life cycling. The design effectively deals with waste heat generated in the cell stack. Stack temperatures and temperature gradients are maintained to acceptable limits by utilizing the bipolar conduction plate as a heat path to the active cooling fluid panel external to the edge of the cell stack. The thermal design and mechanical design of the battery stack together maintain a materials balance within the cell. An electrolyte seal on each cell frame prohibits electrolyte bridging. An oxygen recombination site and electrolyte reservoir/separator design does not allow oxygen to leave the cell in which it was generated.

Koehler, C. W.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow within Electrochemical Hydrogen Peroxide Generation Unit

Long-term manned space missions require the onboard production of disinfectants essential for maintaining crew health and supporting life systems. Currently, disinfection aboard the International Space Station (ISS) relies on disposable wetted wipes, which are regularly resupplied from Earth. This approach imposes a significant burden on resupply logistics, storage, and waste management. To address these challenges and support future missions, efforts are underway to develop an in-situ solution that electrochemically generates hydrogen peroxide disinfectant using onboard resources. In collaboration with NASA, Faraday Technology, Inc. has advanced this concept through a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) projects, resulting in the development of a Peroxide Generation Unit (PGU). The PGU can produce up to 3 wt.% hydrogen peroxide on-demand at a rate of 1 liter per day, providing a sustainable alternative to Earth-dependent supplies. The resulting aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is an effective disinfectant, safe for crew use, compatible with spacecraft systems, and free from volatiles, off-gassing, or residues. This innovation offers a reliable, efficient solution for onboard disinfection, reducing dependence on Earth-based resupply while ensuring the health and safety of space crews. Generating hydrogen peroxide at the required rate needs high voltages and currents, exceeding 20V and 2A respectively, which leads to significant heat generation from Joule heating. This temperature rise poses a risk to sensitive system components, especially critical and expensive membranes that can degrade under thermal stress. To mitigate this risk, the thermal, fluid, and electrical flows within the system are modeled computationally using the commercial software COMSOL. The numerical simulations are validated against experimental data from both sub-scale and alpha-scale systems. Once verified, the model is employed to identify thermal hotspots, investigate their underlying causes, and explore solutions to prevent them.

Life Support Systems (LSS)↗

NASA NTRS1984

Test Results of a Ten Cell Bipolar Nickel-hydrogen Battery

A study was initiated to design and evaluate a new design concept for nickel-hydrogen cells. This concept involved constructing a battery in a bipolar stack with cells consisting of a one plate for each nickel and hydrogen electrode. Preliminary designs at the system level of this concept promised improvements in both volumetric and gravimetric energy densities, thermal management, life extension, costs, and peak power capability over more conventional designs. Test results were most encouraging. This preprototype battery, built with less than ideal components and hardware, exceeded expectations. A total of 2000 LEO cycles at 80 percent depth of discharge were accrued. A cycle life goal of 30,000 cycles appears achievable with minor design changes. These improvements include advanced technology nickel electrodes, insulated bipolar plates and specifically designed frames to minimize shunt currents. The discharge rate capability of this design exceeds 25C. At the 10C discharge rate, 80% of the battery capacity can be withdrawn in six minutes. This data shows that the bipolar design is well suited for those applications requiring high peak power pulses.

Cataldo, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1995

A review of nickel hydrogen battery technology

This paper on nickel hydrogen batteries is an overview of the various nickel hydrogen battery design options, technical accomplishments, validation test results and trends. There is more than one nickel hydrogen battery design, each having its advantage for specific applications. The major battery designs are individual pressure vessel (IPV), common pressure vessel (CPV), bipolar and low pressure metal hydride. State-of-the-art (SOA) nickel hydrogen batteries are replacing nickel cadmium batteries in almost all geosynchronous orbit (GEO) applications requiring power above 1 kW. However, for the more severe low earth orbit (LEO) applications (greater than 30,000 cycles), the current cycle life of 4000 to 10,000 cycles at 60 percent DOD should be improved. A NASA Lewis Research Center innovative advanced design IPV nickel hydrogen cell led to a breakthrough in cycle life enabling LEO applications at deep depths of discharge (DOD). A trend for some future satellites is to increase the power level to greater than 6 kW. Another trend is to decrease the power to less than 1 kW for small low cost satellites. Hence, the challenge is to reduce battery mass, volume and cost. A key is to develop a light weight nickel electrode and alternate battery designs. A common pressure vessel (CPV) nickel hydrogen battery is emerging as a viable alternative to the IPV design. It has the advantage of reduced mass, volume and manufacturing costs. A 10 Ah CPV battery has successfully provided power on the relatively short lived Clementine Spacecraft. A bipolar nickel hydrogen battery design has been demonstrated (15,000 LEO cycles, 40 percent DOD). The advantage is also a significant reduction in volume, a modest reduction in mass, and like most bipolar designs, features a high pulse power capability. A low pressure aerospace nickel metal hydride battery cell has been developed and is on the market. It is a prismatic design which has the advantage of a significant reduction in volume and a reduction in manufacturing cost.

Smithrick, John J.↗

NASA NTRS2026

Center for High-Efficiency Electrical Technologies for Aircraft: Phase I Final Report

Under the University Leadership Initiative (ULI), the Center for High-Efficiency for Electrical Technologies (CHEETA) was established to develop and mature early-stage technologies pertaining to hydrogen-electric power and energy systems for aircraft. In particular, integration of these technologies on an aircraft system is envisioned to leverage the high specific energy content of liquid hydrogen (LH2) with fuel cell energy conversion and an electrically driven ducted fan system to provide an ultra-efficient propulsion drivetrain. For this concept, the LH2 system is not just used as an energy storage mechanism, but also as a cryogen to enable highly efficient superconducting electric systems. The end result of this concept is an integrated aircraft system with a quiet, efficient propulsion architecture that produces zero CO2, NOx, SOx, and particulate matter emissions at the vehicle level.

Hydrogen↗

NASA NTRS1991

Nickel hydrogen battery expert system

The Hubble Telescope Battery Testbed at MSFC uses the Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) Battery Expert System (NICBES-2) which supports the evaluation of performance of Hubble Telescope spacecraft batteries and provides alarm diagnosis and action advice. NICBES-2 provides a reasoning system along with a battery domain knowledge base to achieve this battery health management function. An effort is summarized which was used to modify NICBES-2 to accommodate Nickel Hydrogen (NiH2) battery environment now in MSFC testbed. The NICBES-2 is implemented on a Sun Microsystem and is written in SunOS C and Quintus Prolog. The system now operates in a multitasking environment. NICBES-2 spawns three processes: serial port process (SPP); data handler process (DHP); and the expert system process (ESP) in order to process the telemetry data and provide the status and action advice. NICBES-2 performs orbit data gathering, data evaluation, alarm diagnosis and action advice and status and history display functions. The adaptation of NICBES-2 to work with NiH2 battery environment required modification to all of the three component processes.

Shiva, Sajjan G.↗

NASA NTRS1996

Hypervelocity Impact Testing of Nickel Hydrogen Battery Cells

Nickel-Hydrogen (Ni/H2) battery cells have been used on several satellites and are planned for use on the International Space Station. In January 1992, the NASA Lewis Research Center (LeRC) conducted hypervelocity impact testing on Ni/H2 cells to characterize their failure modes. The cell's outer construction was a 24 mil-thick Inconel 718 pressure vessel. A sheet of 1.27 cm thick honeycomb was placed in front of the battery cells during testing to simulate the on-orbit box enclosure. Testing was conducted at the NASA White Sands Test Facility (WSTF). The hypervelocity gun used was a 7.6 mm (0.30 caliber) two-stage light gas gun. Test were performed at speeds of 3, 6, and 7 km/sec using aluminum 2017 spherical particles of either 4.8 or 6.4 mm diameter as the projectile. The battery cells were electrically charged to about 75 percent of capacity, then back-filled with hydrogen gas to 900 psi simulating the full charge condition. High speed film at 10,000 frames/sec was taken of the impacts. Impacts in the dome area (top) and the electrode area (middle) of the battery cells were investigated. Five tests on battery cells were performed. The results revealed that in all of the test conditions investigated, the battery cells simply vented their hydrogen gas and some electrolyte, but did not burst or generate any large debris fragments.

Frate, David T.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Evaluation of Low-Energy Hydrogen Separation Method Using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) for Closed-Loop ECLSS Air Revitalization (CLEAR)

The State-of-the-Art (SOA) air revitalization architecture onboard the International Space Station (ISS) recovered approximately 50% of the oxygen (O 2 ) from metabolic carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) via the Sabatier process from 2011 to 2017. O 2 recovery is currently constrained by the limited availability of reactant hydrogen (H 2 ) preventing complete conversion of CO 2 to H 2 O. Increasing O 2 recovery within Closed-Loop ECLSS is essential to reducing resupply mass for long-duration manned missions; specifically focusing on water (H 2 O) which supplies H 2 for Sabatier via water electrolysis. Past ground test endeavors at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) have attempted to recover H 2 from Sabatier-produced CH 4 using technologies such as carbon vapor deposition (CVD) and plasma pyrolysis. The byproducts of these technologies can act as a catalyst poison or reactor deadload to the Sabatier reactor. Hydrogen separation techniques must be utilized to maintain the Sabatier catalyst during gas recycling and must be scalable, non-energy intensive, and safe to operate in a habitation setting. Research indicated that metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) could meet these criteria and were tested for their capability to capture the various carbon-based gaseous products of CVD and plasma pyrolysis such as acetylene (C 2 H 2 ), ethylene (C 2 H 4 ), ethane (C 2 H 6 ), and carbon monoxide (CO) which would purify the hydrogen gas stream passing through the MOF. A sub-scale adsorption column was developed by Marshall Space Flight Center to test three MOF candidates against a synthetic gas mixture comprised of process-relevant carbonous gases and hydrogen to evaluate the separation capability of the MOFs. The results of the hydrogen separation capability, isothermal desorption capability, and demonstrated cyclic reuse of the MOF are presented in this paper.

Kagen Crawford↗

NASA NTRS1985

Life cycle test results of a bipolar nickel hydrogen battery

A history is given of low Earth orbit (LEO) laboratory test data on a 6.5 ampere-hour bipolar nickel hydrogen battery designed and built at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The bipolar concept is a means of achieving the goal of producing an acceptable battery, of higher energy density, able to withstand the demands of low-Earth-orbit regimes. Over 4100 LEO cycles were established on a ten cell battery. It seems that any perturbation on normal cycling effects the cells performance. Explanations and theories of the battery's behavior are varied and widespread among those closely associated with it. Deep discharging does provide a reconditioning effect and further experimentation is planned in this area. The battery watt-hour efficiency is about 75 percent and the time averaged, discharge voltage is about 1.26 volts for all cells at both the C/4 and LEO rate. Since a significant portion of the electrode capacity has degraded, the LEO cycle discharges are approaching depths of 90 to 100 percent of the high rate capacity. Therefore, the low end-of-discharge voltages occur precipitously after the knee of the discharge curve and is more an indication of electrode capacity and is a lesser indicator of overall cell performance.

Cataldo, R. L.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Hubble Space Telescope nickel-hydrogen flight spare battery test

For several years, MSFC has been engaged in a series of battery tests in support of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Program. Now that the HST is in orbit, many of these tests will continue in order to give those responsible for the HST a reasonable prediction on the performance of the flight batteries. These tests will also be a source of needed low earth orbit (LEO) data for nickel hydrogen (Ni-H2) batteries and cells. One of the tests currently in progress at MSFC is a mission simulation test on a 22-cell Ni-H2 battery. This battery is composed of spare cells taken from the lot of cells out of which the Flight Spare Module was assembled. This module is one of two modules launched on the HST. This battery has been on test since Jun. 1989 and has completed nearly 8000 LEO cycles. A series of characterization tests were run prior to the start of the mission simulation and a launch scenario test was run in Feb. and Mar. 1990 to test the behavior of the cells through a simulated launch. The results from these tests as well as the overall performance of the battery as it continues to cycle are reported.

Brewer, Jeffrey C.↗

NASA NTRS1995

Hubble Space Telescope nickel-hydrogen battery testing: An update

The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) began testing the HST Ni-H2 Six Battery Test and the 'Flight Spare Battery' Tests approximately one year before the launch of the HST. These tests are operated and reported on by the MSFC, but are managed and funded by Goddard Space Flight Center in direct support of the HST program. The HST Ni-H2 batteries are built from Eagle Picher RNH-90-3 cells. The HST EPS (electrical power system) is a direct energy transfer power system. The HST Ni-H2 Six Battery Test is a breadboard of the HST EPS. The batteries in the test are composed of test module cells and packaged into three battery modules identical to the flight modules. This test is the HST EPS testbed. The 'Flight Spare Battery' Test is a simulation of one of the six battery channels on the HST. The cells in the test are from the flight spare lot of cells, which are the same lot of cells that three of the six HST flight batteries are made from. This test is the battery life test for the HST program.

Whitt, Thomas H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

Advanced nickel-hydrogen spacecraft battery development

Eagle-Picher currently has several advanced nickel-hydrogen (NiH2) cell component and battery designs under development including common pressure vessel (CPV), single pressure vessel (SPV), and dependent pressure vessel (DPV) designs. A CPV NiH2 battery, utilizing low-cost 64 mm (2.5 in.) cell diameter technology, has been designed and built for multiple smallsat programs, including the TUBSAT B spacecraft which is currently scheduled (24 Nov. 93) for launch aboard a Russian Proton rocket. An advanced 90 mm (3.5 in.) NiH2 cell design is currently being manufactured for the Space Station Freedom program. Prototype 254 mm (10 in.) diameter SPV batteries are currently under construction and initial boilerplate testing has shown excellent results. NiH2 cycle life testing is being continued at Eagle-Picher and IPV cells have currently completed more than 89,000 accelerated LEO cycles at 15% DOD, 49,000 real-time LEO cycles at 30 percent DOD, 37,800 cycles under a real-time LEO profile, 30 eclipse seasons in accelerated GEO, and 6 eclipse seasons in real-time GEO testing at 75 percent DOD maximum. Nickel-metal hydride battery development is continuing for both aerospace and electric vehicle applications. Eagle-Picher has also developed an extensive range of battery evaluation, test, and analysis (BETA) measurement and control equipment and software, based on Hewlett-Packard computerized data acquisition/control hardware.

Coates, Dwaine K.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Use of Immersion Rigs for High Temperature Hydrogen Exposure Testing within the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES): Thermal Soak Rig (TSR)

The Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) facility was purpose constructed to perform non-nuclear evaluations of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system fuel materials and structures within prototypic thermochemical environments. This system has been utilized steadily in its ability to subject test specimens to thermochemical and thermohydraulic environments simulating that of an operating nuclear rocket engine. Fission heat is simulated by induction power and experiments are conducted within a ~1000 psi pressure vessel. Hydrogen is conventionally passed through the heated fuel surrogate test specimen while pressure, temperature, and gas species data are collected at various points along the experiment. In order to test fuel and material coupon samples, a class of test apparatus named “immersion rigs” are being developed and employed to more rapidly test these smaller and more technically challenging test specimen. One example of a promising potential fuel structure, Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) particles, presents unique challenges for testing of this type. TRISO fuel micro-particles are spheroids typically on the order of 500 – 1000 μm in diameter, and exposing a batch sample to hot hydrogen requires purpose-built special test equipment. Thusly, an immersion rig was developed and successfully demonstrated to expose ~1 g of micro-particles to hydrogen gas at temperatures and pressures relevant to NTP systems for the purpose of fuel evaluation. The rig, comprised primarily of graphite and pure tungsten, houses in its core a batch of micro-particles between pucks of porous silicon carbide (SiC). This approach permits gas flow while simultaneously retaining the particles in place. Herein is a discussion of the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of the NTREES Thermal Soak Rig (TSR).

Space Nuclear Propulsion↗

NASA NTRS1993

Lewis Research Center battery overview

The topics covered are presented in viewgraph form and include the following: the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite; the Space Station Freedom (SSF) photovoltaic power module division; Ni/H2 battery and cell design; individual pressure vessel (IPV) nickel-hydrogen cell testing SSF support; the LeRC Electrochemical Technology Branch; improved design IPV nickel-hydrogen cells; advanced technology for IPV nickel-hydrogen flight cells; a lightweight nickel-hydrogen cell; bipolar nickel-hydrogen battery development and technology; aerospace nickel-metal hydride cells; the NASA Sodium-Sulfur Cell Technology Flight Experiment; and the lithium-carbon dioxide battery thermodynamic model.

Odonnell, Patricia↗