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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
DOE OSTI2026

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory – Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO): FY24 Technology Transfer Report (2025 Report V3)

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory’s (LLNL) Innovation and Partnerships Office (IPO) is the focal point for Laboratory engagement with industry. Organizations partner with LLNL to unlock the commercial viability of breakthrough technologies invented at the Laboratory and collaborate to mature them in order to solve complex industry challenges. LLNL technology transfer connects cutting-edge science with real-world applications, empowering businesses to thrive while advancing the nation’s technological edge. We do this by identifying new economic opportunities, protecting LLNL intellectual property (IP) and transferring it to the private sector through licensing and partnerships

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Pluto's Ultraviolet Spectrum, Surface Reflectance, and Airglow Emissions

During the New Horizons spacecraft’s encounter with Pluto, the Alice ultraviolet spectrograph conducted a series of observations that detected emissions from both the interplanetary medium (IPM) and Pluto. In the direction of Pluto, the IPM was found to be 133.4 ± 0.6 R at Lyα, 0.24 ± 0.02 R at Lyβ, and <0.10 R at He i 584 Å. We analyzed 3900 s of data obtained shortly before closest approach to Pluto and detect airglow emissions from H i, N i, N ii, N{sub 2}, and CO above the disk of Pluto. We find Pluto’s brightness at Lyα to be 29.3 ± 1.9 R, in good agreement with preencounter estimates. The detection of the N ii multiplet at 1085 Å marks the first direct detection of ions in Pluto’s atmosphere. We do not detect any emissions from noble gases and place a 3σ upper limit of 0.14 R on the brightness of the Ar i 1048 Å line. We compare preencounter model predictions and predictions from our own airglow model, based on atmospheric profiles derived from the solar occultation observed by New Horizons, to the observed brightness of Pluto’s airglow. Although completely opaque at Lyα, Pluto’s atmosphere is optically thin at wavelengths longer than 1425 Å. Consequently, a significant amount of solar far-UV light reaches the surface, where it can participate in space weathering processes. From the brightness of sunlight reflected from Pluto, we find the surface has a reflectance factor (I/F) of 17% between 1400 and 1850 Å. We also report the first detection of a C{sub 3} hydrocarbon molecule, methylacetylene, in absorption, at a column density of ∼5 × 10{sup 15} cm{sup −2}, corresponding to a column-integrated mixing ratio of 1.6 × 10{sup −6}.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Lyα Observations of Comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) Using MAVEN IUVS Echelle

The close approach of comet C/2013 A1 (Siding Spring) to Mars in 2014 October provided a unique opportunity to observe a dynamically new Oort cloud comet with potential for interaction with a planet’s atmosphere. The water-originating hydrogen coma of the comet extended to over 20 million km from the nucleus. Determining the properties of this coma contributes to characterizing the comet’s water content and production rate. The present study analyzes a unique data set of high spectral resolution UV observations of comet C/2013 A1 Siding Spring measured by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft. The Siding Spring observations capture Lyα emissions from the Martian corona, the interplanetary medium, as well as the cometary H and D reservoirs. The isolated cometary spectra are analyzed to reveal a velocity distribution of H atoms that are consistent with model estimates of H{sub 2}O photodissociated H emissions and of OH photodissociated H emissions, Doppler shifted from the main comet H emission line center by 18 km s{sup −1} and 8 km s{sup −1}, respectively. The variations in comet H brightness with distance from the nucleus are used to constrain cometary water production to a rate of 0.5 × 10{sup 28} molecules s{sup −1} at a time when Siding Spring was at 1.5 au, pre-perihelion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

VLBI Data Processing on Coronal Radio-sounding Experiments of Mars Express

The ESA’s Mars Express solar corona experiments were performed at two solar conjunctions in the years 2015 and 2017 by a number of radio telescopes in the European VLBI Network. This paper presents the methods to measure the frequency and phase fluctuations of the spacecraft radio signal, and the applications to study the characteristics of the plasma turbulence effects on the signal at a single station and at multiple stations via cross correlation. The power spectra of the frequency fluctuations observed between 4.9 and 76.3 R {sub s} have a power-law shape close to a Kolmogorov spectrum over the frequency interval ν {sub lo} < ν < ν {sub up}, where the nominal value of ν {sub lo} is set to 3 mHz and ν {sub up} is in the range of 0.03–0.15 Hz. The rms of the frequency fluctuations is presented as a function of the heliocentric distance. Furthermore, we analyze the variations of the electron column density fluctuations at solar offsets 4.9 R {sub s} and 9.9 R {sub s} and the cross-correlation products between the VLBI stations. The power density of the differential fluctuations between different stations decreases at ν < 0.01 Hz. Finally, the fast flow speeds of solar wind >700 km s{sup -1} are derived from the cross correlation of frequency fluctuations at ν < 0.01 Hz. The fast flow speeds of solar wind correspond to the high heliolatitude of the coronal region that the radio rays passed. The VLBI observations and analysis methods can be used to study the electron column density fluctuations and the turbulence at multiple spatial points in the inner solar wind by providing multiple lines of sight between the Earth and the spacecraft.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

VPP Participation Models: What is the Objective?

Virtual power plants (VPPs) can provide grid services by aggregating and controlling many distributed energy resources. However, their design, operation, level of participation, and outcomes depend on the regulatory and market environments they operate in, DER owner preferences, grid service value, and technical capabilities (e.g., communications, forecasting, controls, user interfaces). Although VPPs are inherently complex, they could enable high shares of behind-the-meter solar plus storage and reduce the cost of electrifying, e.g., personal vehicles and space heating.

demand response↗
DOE OSTI2024

Ad-Mat: Adaptations of Mature Manufacturing Strategies for Accelerated Redox Flow Battery Deployment

The concept of the Ad-Mat approach is to leverage existing adjacent markets across a broad scope of technologies in order to reduce the manufacturing learning curve and ultimately accelerate redox flow battery (RFB) deployment at scale. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the dominant energy storage technology, and they came to technological maturity under unique market conditions when there was no meaningful competition in the consumer electronic and electric vehicle (EV) space. Today, alternative chemistries that may be technologically better-suited for long-duration storage applications are experiencing a high barrier to entry. This is in large part due to the substantial bias towards the scaled-up production and supply chain that now exists for LIBs. In the case of RFBs in particular, numerous analyses have suggested that RFBs should theoretically have a much lower system cost than LIBs - however, this relies on a mature and competitive manufacturing landscape, which has been extremely challenging to achieve for both flow batteries and other LIB competitors. At the moment, LIB alternatives tend to have isolated small-scale manufacturing pathways, which preclude the economies of scale that would be required to compete with the mature LIB industry. In the present state of the industry, niche manufacturing tools and approaches have evolved to support each alternative technology, such that there is substantial replication and duplication in effort. Continuing to pursue a strategy of isolated manufacturing processes/approaches for each LIB-alternative may never allow for at-scale deployment. In order for RFBs to meaningfully compete with LIBs in the realm of LDES, a new disruptive approach based on cross-industry learning and coordination is needed - and this is exactly what our Ad-Mat concept aims to tackle. In this re-envisioned manufacturing landscape, tools and processes from mature industries can be adapted and deployed across the range of alternative energy storage technologies. Adapting tools, equipment, processes, and industrial learning from mature industries to meet the technological requirements of RFBs would open new markets for existing OEMs in adjacent industries, would prevent unnecessary duplication and re-development, would improve efficiency across the manufacturing chain, and would ultimately support reduced costs and accelerated deployment of RFBs at scale.

adaptive manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2020

Highly Integrated WBG Power Module for Next Generation Plug-In Vehicles

Current inverter technologies used in electric vehicles (EVs) are bulky, heavy, and expensive. The performance of the inverter is also limited by the traditional Si-based semiconductor and packaging technology. These constraints are responsible for extra weight and volume in the vehicle that reduces the driving range along with usable space within the vehicle. Moreover, operating temperature restrictions, and boundaries on the inverter location within the vehicle drastically reduces the inverter performance. Thus an improved inverter design is required for next generation electric vehicles. The objective of this project was to research, develop and demonstrate a highly integrated WBG power module targeting the next generation of plugin hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). This power module needed to be functionally and mechanically optimized for General Motors (GM) traction inverter architecture. General Motors was the prime contractor, led the project, and oversaw the design, build, and test of the integrated power module. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VT) performed modeling and simulation tasks as well as power module design support. Monolith Semiconductor, Inc provided SiC dies and consulted on devices for the inverter. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) performed power module technology evaluations, design evaluations of interconnect options, and performed material analysis and cross-sectioning of die activities.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Real-Time On-Ramp Merging Control of Connected and Automated Vehicles using Pseudospectral Convex Optimization

Highway on-ramp merging can be a challenging task for human drivers due to the complex vehicle negotiations and interactions in limited time and space. Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) have great potential to address the problem and offer many benefits in terms of safety, traffic efficiency, and fuel economy. However, real-time optimal control of CAVs still faces many challenges, including nonlinear dynamics, complex inter-vehicle interactions, and a highly dynamic and uncertain traffic environment. To address these challenges, we develop a novel control approach that balances the solution optimality and computational efficiency to determine optimal merging speed profiles in real time. Specifically, by employing a pseudospectral method and a sequential convex programming approach, two algorithms are proposed and implemented within the model predictive control (MPC) framework to enable real-time generation of optimal solutions for potential on-vehicle applications. The convergence and optimality of the proposed algorithms are validated by comparing with a general-purpose solver under different traffic scenarios.

Shi, Yang↗