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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 NTRS2003

Visions of our Planet's Atmosphere, Land and Oceans: NASA/NOAA E-Theater 2003

The NASA/NOAA Electronic Theater presents Earth science observations from space in a spectacular way. Fly in from outer space to the conference location as well as the site of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games using data from NASA satellites and the IKONOS 'Spy Satellite". See HDTV movie Destination Earth 2002 incorporating the Olympic Zooms, NBC footage of the 2002 Olympics, the shuttle, & the best NASA/NOAA Earth science visualizations. See the latest US and international global satellite weather movies including hurricanes, typhoons & "tornadoes". See the latest visualizations from NASA/NOAA and International remote sensing missions like Terra, Aqua, GOES, GMS, SeaWiFS, & Landsat. Feel the pulse of OUT planet. See how land vegetation, ocean plankton, clouds and temperatures respond to the sun & seasons. See vortexes and currents in the global oceans that bring up the nutrients to feed tiny algae and draw the fish, whales and fisherman. See the how the ocean blooms in response to these currents and El Nino/La Nina climate changes. See the city lights, fishing fleets, gas flares and bio-mass burning of the Earth at night observed by the "night-vision" DMSP satellite. The presentation will be made using the latest HDTV and video projection technology by: Dr. Fritz Hasler NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center.

Hasler, Fritz↗
NASA NTRS2016

Improving Nocturnal Fire Detection with the VIIRS Day-Night Band

Building on existing techniques for satellite remote sensing of fires, this paper takes advantage of the day-night band (DNB) aboard the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) to develop the Firelight Detection Algorithm (FILDA), which characterizes fire pixels based on both visible-light and infrared (IR) signatures at night. By adjusting fire pixel selection criteria to include visible-light signatures, FILDA allows for significantly improved detection of pixels with smaller and/or cooler subpixel hotspots than the operational Interface Data Processing System (IDPS) algorithm. VIIRS scenes with near-coincident Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection (ASTER) overpasses are examined after applying the operational VIIRS fire product algorithm and including a modified "candidate fire pixel selection" approach from FILDA that lowers the 4-μm brightness temperature (BT) threshold but includes a minimum DNB radiance. FILDA is shown to be effective in detecting gas flares and characterizing fire lines during large forest fires (such as the Rim Fire in California and High Park fire in Colorado). Compared with the operational VIIRS fire algorithm for the study period, FILDA shows a large increase (up to 90%) in the number of detected fire pixels that can be verified with the finer resolution ASTER data (90 m). Part (30%) of this increase is likely due to a combined use of DNB and lower 4-μm BT thresholds for fire detection in FILDA. Although further studies are needed, quantitative use of the DNB to improve fire detection could lead to reduced response times to wildfires and better estimate of fire characteristics (smoldering and flaming) at night.

Day-night band↗
NASA NTRS2019

Detecting Nighttime Fire Combustion Phase by Hybrid Application of Visible and Infrared Radiation from Suomi NPP VIIRS

An accurate estimation of biomass burning emissions is 1 partially limited by the lack of knowledge of fire burning phase (smoldering vs. flaming). In recent years, several fire detection products have been developed to provide information of fire radiative power (FRP), location, size, and temperature of fire pixels, but no information regarding fire burning phase is retrieved. The Day-Night band (DNB) aboard Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) is sensitive to visible light from flaming fires in nighttime scenes. In contrast, VIIRS 4 m moderate resolution band #13 (M13), though capable of detecting fires at all phases, has no direct sensitivity for discerning fire phase. However, the hybrid usage of VIIRS DNB and M-bands data is hampered by their different scanning technology and spatial resolution. In this study, we present a novel method to rapidly and accurately resample DNB pixel radiances to the footprint of M-band pixels, accounting for onboard detector aggregation schemes and bowtie effect removals. The visible energy fraction (VEF) is subsequently introduced as an indicator of fire burning phase VEF is calculated as the ratio of visible light power (VLP) to FRP for each fire pixel retrieved from the VIIRS 750 m active fire product. A global distribution of VEF values, and thereby the fire phase, is quantitatively obtained, showing smaller VEF values in regions with mostly smoldering wildfires, such as peatland fires in Indonesia, larger VEF values in regions with flaming wildfires over grasslands and savannas in the sub-Sahelian region, and the largest VEF values associated with gas flaring in the Middle East. Mean VEF for different land cover types or regions is highly correlated with modified combustion efficiency (MCE). These results, together with a case study of the 2018 California Camp Fire, show that the VEF has the potential to be an indicator of fire combustion phase for each fire pixel, appropriate for estimating emission factors at the satellite pixel level.

Jun Wang↗
NASA NTRS2005

High- and low-altitude AVIRIS observations of nocturnal lighting

Elvidge et al. (1997) developed methods to locate and define the spatial extent of nocturnal lighting across large land areas using low-light imaging data from the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS). This sensor has a unique capability to detect low levels of visible - near infrared radiance at night (Figure 1). The primary function of the DMSP-OLS is to provide global imagery of cloud cover. At night the observed visible - near infrared (VNR) radiance is intensified, for the purpose of cloud detection using moonlight. In addition to moonlit clouds, the light intensification makes it possible to detect VNIR emissions emanating from the earth's surface, from cities, towns, industrial sites, gas flares, and ephemeral events such as fires. In the latter part of this decade NOAA, NASA and DoD plan to fly a new sensor (Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite - VIJRS) which will continue the record of low-light imaging earth observations, with improved spatial and radiometric properties over the OLS.

Green, Robert O.↗
DOE OSTI2022

The Effect of Heat Distribution on the Production of Benzene Using Microwaves

The conversion of methane into aromatics with microwaves has the potential to be developed into a modular process for associated natural gas flaring reduction. Microwaves provide advantages of rapid, selective heating of heterogenous catalyst systems, but the heating is non-homogeneous. This body of work is a study performed by NETL researchers to evaluate the effect of silicon carbide as a microwave susceptor with a benchmark Mo/ZSM-5 catalyst to provide uniform bed heating and improved benzene yields. We demonstrate microwave can provide more efficient benzene production than a conventionally heated system.

Haynes, Daniel↗
DOE OSTI2023

Methane Partial Oxidation over Multifunctional 2-D Materials

The objective of this research is to design, synthesize, and evaluate highly selective, active, and stable multifunctional catalysts for the low temperature (< 500 Kelvin (K)) partial oxidation of methane to methanol (MTM) with molecular oxygen: CH 4 (g) + $\frac{1}{2}$O 2 (g) → CH 3 OH(g). Methane, the primary component of natural gas, is a source of energy and economic growth as well as an environmental concern. Recent developments in horizontal drilling and enhanced extraction methods have resulted in production of an estimated 62.4 trillion m 3 of ‘stranded’, or uneconomic, natural gas. Uneconomical natural gas is often flared or vented at remote oil production sites. Leaked, flared, and/or vented gas represents a "lost opportunity”, and this research project aims to maximize the value of the resource. Conventional catalysts for MTM suffer from low methanol selectivity since they exhibit ~0.55 eV higher barrier for C-H bond activation of methane compared to methanol. Without breaking these scaling relations, methanol oxidation is orders of magnitude faster than methane oxidation and it is very challenging to envision a process with economically viable single-pass yield. Here, we chose to investigate single-atom catalysts embedded and stabilized in two-dimensional materials such as graphene (GR) and "supported" on Group VIII and IB transition metals such as nickel. The electronic atomic monolayer-metal support interaction (EAMSI) present in these systems could promote methanol selectivity by breaking the scaling relations of the C-H bond activation of methane and methanol. A density functional theory (DFT) based computational study focused on predicting families of GR-based catalysts that could be active and selective for MTM. The catalyst systems predicted by the computational study were synthesized and evaluated for the gas phase MTM under relevant conditions. Unfortunately, the experimental activity and selectivity was lower than computationally predicted. The origin for the discrepancy is likely related to difficulties in synthesizing single atom catalysts in a threecomponent catalyst system at high density and with high selectivity. Future work in our groups is thus focused on reducing the system complexity to a two-component catalyst system. Finally, a techno-economic analysis (TEA) was also conducted to identify critical bottlenecks that inhibit future commercialization.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS1984

Transient behavior of flare-associated solar wind. II - Gas dynamics in a nonradial open field region

Transient behavior of flare-associated solar wind in the nonradial open field region is numerically investigated, taking into account the thermal and dynamical coupling between the chromosphere and the corona. A realistic steady solar wind is constructed which passes through the inner X-type critical point in the rapidly diverging region. The wind speed shows a local maximum at the middle, O-type, critical point. The wind's density and pressure distributions decrease abruptly in the rapidly diverging region of the flow tube. The transient behavior of the wind following flare energy deposition includes ascending and descending conduction fronts. Thermal instability occurs in the lower corona, and ascending material flows out through the throat after the flare energy input ceases. A local density distribution peak is generated at the shock front due to the pressure deficit just behind the shock front.

Nagai, F.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Market Analysis: Upcycling Natural Gas Into Solid Carbon Products

The purpose of this report is to execute a market analysis to determine the potential market opportunities for natural gas-derived high-value carbon products and their associated applications. Currently, associated gas is released through the process of either venting or flaring. Vented or flared natural gas is presently lost to the atmosphere, despite the fact that it represents a significant resource of both carbon and hydrogen—two products that could have significant value. Transforming some of this underutilized supply into high-cost products could contribute to realizing the full value of United States (U.S.) natural gas resources. The products analyzed in this report are carbon fiber, carbon nanotubes, synthetic graphite, and carbon black. The report also touches on the market opportunities for hydrogen, a by-product of the pyrolysis process.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS2024

Space Weather 101

Earth has an intrinsic magnetic field. Most people know this, because they use the magnetized needle of a compass to locate the cardinal directions north, east, south, and west. Most people don’t realize however, that Earth’s magnetic field extends well out into space where it meets, combines, and interacts with the Sun’s much stronger magnetic field. The interactions happen because the Sun sends out a steady stream of mostly protons and electrons in all directions along its magnetic field -- the solar wind. The Sun also produces continuous light emissions in infrared to ultraviolet to X-ray, in addition to eruptive emissions of X-rays and bulk ionized gas, called flares and coronal mass ejections. The ionizing radiation from the Sun striking our upper atmosphere creates a layer of ionized gas that leads to our own outflowing ionized gas, called plasma, along Earth’s magnetic field lines. The Sun’s outflowing solar wind and coronal mass ejections, together with its large magnetic field, drive strong responses inside Earth’s magnetic and plasma system. Together with cosmic radiation, these processes in the space environment are called Space Weather. That term includes the responses Earth’s magnetized plasma system has to these external drivers, which cause dangerous conditions for astronauts and satellites in space, as well as to us and our systems in the atmosphere and on the ground. This lecture is intended to make you aware of the risks and lead you to a basic awareness of the processes going on in our near-Earth space environment.

Space Weather↗
NASA NTRS1984

Transient behavior of a flare-associated solar wind. I - Gas dynamics in a radial open field region

A numerical investigation is conducted into the way in which a solar wind model initially satisfying both steady state and energy balance conditions is disturbed and deformed, under the assumption of heating that correspoonds to the energy release of solar flares of an importance value of approximately 1 which occur in radial open field regions. Flare-associated solar wind transient behavior is modeled for 1-8 solar radii. The coronal temperature around the heat source region rises, and a large thermal conductive flux flows inward to the chromosphere and outward to interplanetary space along field lines. The speed of the front of expanding chromospheric material generated by the impingement of the conduction front on the upper chromosphere exceeds the local sound velocity in a few minutes and eventually exceeds 100 million cm/sec.

Nagai, F.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Exploring Catalyst Compositions for Microwave-Assisted Methane Dehydroaromatization

The flaring of natural gas in U.S. shale regions remains a challenge for producers. One alternative to flaring is converting the wasted gas into valuable chemicals. Microwave-based processes offer a promising solution, potentially enabling the development of compact, modular systems for on-site production of chemicals, such as aromatics, from natural gas. This is due to the advantages of microwave heating, including efficient heating of compact volumes, accelerated reaction rates, and electrification of heating. However, developing effective catalysts for microwave-based processes is challenging, as conventional materials often require modification to be effectively heated by microwaves. This study provides an overview of a catalyst development project focused on a molybdenum-supported zeolite catalyst, optimized for the direct conversion of methane into aromatics under microwave irradiation. It details the synthesis, characterization, and the effects of promoters, as well as computational efforts undertaken to understand and enhance the catalyst's performance.

flare gas↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis of natural gas bubble in NETL High Pressure Water Tunnel (HPWT) experiment and its application to natural seeps

Conference Presentation at the 9th International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics. Analysis of natural gas bubbles under deep-ocean conditions, including hydrate armoring. Compares numerical simulations using the Texas A&M Oil spill / outfall Calculator (TAMOC) to data observed in the NETL High Pressure Water Tunnel. Also, presents simulations of natural seep bubbles in the oceans off the coast of Oregon with comparison to acoustic observations of natural gas seep flares.

Kim, Byungjin↗
NASA NTRS1972

Solar flares, the lunar surface, and gas rich meteorites

Investigations on the Fe-group nuclei track density vs depth in lunar rocks and Surveyor 3 TV camera filter glass were critically examined considering more factors than previously. The analysis gives a firmer basis to the observation of the preferential leakage of low energy Fe nuclei from the accelerating region of the sun. The track density gradients in lunar rock 12022 and filter glass are used to determine the lunar erosion rate of 3 angstroms/yr. Track gradients are less steep than predicted from energy spectrum observed in the Surveyor glass, perhaps due to sputtering. High densities of etchable tracks were found at all depths down to 60 cm in fines from Apollo cores and also in thin sections of the Pesjanoe, Pantar, and Fayetteville gas-rich meteorites. It is felt unlikely that suprathermal heavy ions were responsible for the high track densities.

Barber, D. J.↗