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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 73 records · Page 4

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NASA NTRS2005

NASA Glenn Research in Controls and Diagnostics for Intelligent Aerospace Propulsion Systems

With the increased emphasis on aircraft safety, enhanced performance and affordability, and the need to reduce the environmental impact of aircraft, there are many new challenges being faced by the designers of aircraft propulsion systems. Also the propulsion systems required to enable the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Vision for Space Exploration in an affordable manner will need to have high reliability, safety and autonomous operation capability. The Controls and Dynamics Branch at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) in Cleveland, Ohio, is leading and participating in various projects in partnership with other organizations within GRC and across NASA, the U.S. aerospace industry, and academia to develop advanced controls and health management technologies that will help meet these challenges through the concept of Intelligent Propulsion Systems. The key enabling technologies for an Intelligent Propulsion System are the increased efficiencies of components through active control, advanced diagnostics and prognostics integrated with intelligent engine control to enhance operational reliability and component life, and distributed control with smart sensors and actuators in an adaptive fault tolerant architecture. This paper describes the current activities of the Controls and Dynamics Branch in the areas of active component control and propulsion system intelligent control, and presents some recent analytical and experimental results in these areas.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2005

Addressing the Real-World Challenges in the Development of Propulsion IVHM Technology Experiment (PITEX)

The Propulsion IVHM Technology Experiment (PITEX) has been an on-going research effort conducted over several years. PITEX has developed and applied a model-based diagnostic system for the main propulsion system of the X-34 reusable launch vehicle, a space-launch technology demonstrator. The application was simulation-based using detailed models of the propulsion subsystem to generate nominal and failure scenarios during captive carry, which is the most safety-critical portion of the X-34 flight. Since no system-level testing of the X-34 Main Propulsion System (MPS) was performed, these simulated data were used to verify and validate the software system. Advanced diagnostic and signal processing algorithms were developed and tested in real-time on flight-like hardware. In an attempt to expose potential performance problems, these PITEX algorithms were subject to numerous real-world effects in the simulated data including noise, sensor resolution, command/valve talkback information, and nominal build variations. The current research has demonstrated the potential benefits of model-based diagnostics, defined the performance metrics required to evaluate the diagnostic system, and studied the impact of real-world challenges encountered when monitoring propulsion subsystems.

Maul, William A.↗

NASA NTRS2023

Fault Detection and Diagnosis in Spacecraft Electrical Power Systems

The ability to accurately identify and isolate failures in the electrical power system (EPS) is critical to ensure the reliability of spacecraft. This paper proposes a novel solution to the problem of fault detection and diagnosis in direct current (DC) electric power systems for spacecraft. Autonomous operation becomes essential during deep space missions that lack the ability to monitor and control the spacecraft from ground locations. The current state of EPS fault supervision is insufficient to guarantee highly reliable operation. To solve this issue, a combination of model-based and knowledge-based techniques are used in a hierarchical framework to improve the diagnostic performance of the system. Noise, disturbances, and modeling errors are considered in the design of the fault detection system. Practical considerations related to spacecraft flight hardware and software are accounted for in the system design for flight applications. To assess the functionality of the design, a wide array of failures are simulated in a series of experiments. The experiments showed that the technique improved the capability of the autonomous system by increasing the number of fault types diagnosed. The significance of this study is to provide a framework capable of advanced diagnostics of an EPS with little to no interaction from human operators.

Autonomous Power Systems↗

DOE OSTI2022

NO x Control and Measurement Technology for Heavy-Duty Diesel Engines (CRADA Final Report)

The Catalyst CRADA focused on lean-NO x trap (LNT) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) automotive emission control catalyst technology. It particularly had the goal of developing and applying advanced diagnostics capable of elucidating the network and sequence of catalyst reactions, as well as how they are affected by real-world operation and aging. Another overarching goal and action of this CRADA section was to develop methods to quantify and monitor catalyst states and support the development of full and reduced models for design and in-use control applications. William Partridge was the ORNL principal investigator (PI) throughout the Catalyst CRADA; Neal Currier was the Cummins PI through circa 2017, and Saurabh Joshi was the subsequent Cummins PI.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

NASA NTRS2008

Efficient Probabilistic Diagnostics for Electrical Power Systems

We consider in this work the probabilistic approach to model-based diagnosis when applied to electrical power systems (EPSs). Our probabilistic approach is formally well-founded, as it based on Bayesian networks and arithmetic circuits. We investigate the diagnostic task known as fault isolation, and pay special attention to meeting two of the main challenges . model development and real-time reasoning . often associated with real-world application of model-based diagnosis technologies. To address the challenge of model development, we develop a systematic approach to representing electrical power systems as Bayesian networks, supported by an easy-to-use speci.cation language. To address the real-time reasoning challenge, we compile Bayesian networks into arithmetic circuits. Arithmetic circuit evaluation supports real-time diagnosis by being predictable and fast. In essence, we introduce a high-level EPS speci.cation language from which Bayesian networks that can diagnose multiple simultaneous failures are auto-generated, and we illustrate the feasibility of using arithmetic circuits, compiled from Bayesian networks, for real-time diagnosis on real-world EPSs of interest to NASA. The experimental system is a real-world EPS, namely the Advanced Diagnostic and Prognostic Testbed (ADAPT) located at the NASA Ames Research Center. In experiments with the ADAPT Bayesian network, which currently contains 503 discrete nodes and 579 edges, we .nd high diagnostic accuracy in scenarios where one to three faults, both in components and sensors, were inserted. The time taken to compute the most probable explanation using arithmetic circuits has a small mean of 0.2625 milliseconds and standard deviation of 0.2028 milliseconds. In experiments with data from ADAPT we also show that arithmetic circuit evaluation substantially outperforms joint tree propagation and variable elimination, two alternative algorithms for diagnosis using Bayesian network inference.

Mengshoel, Ole J.↗

DOE OSTI2025

Megahertz Rate Optical Diagnostics of Explosively Generated Soot

Detonation of a solid explosive produces a turbulent and luminous post‐detonation fireball containing condensed carbon soot. Diagnostics of soot dynamics are needed for model validation and to interpret emission signals. Diffuse back‐illumination extinction imaging (DBI‐EI) and laser‐induced incandescence (LII) are two common optical diagnostics for flame soot. This work extends both to measure time‐resolved soot dynamics from a 12 mm HMX hemisphere. DBI‐EI measured line‐of‐sight optical extinction exceeds 99% in some regions. Results are tomographically inverted to obtain a signal proportional to the soot volume fraction. Pulse‐burst LII measures are presented at 1 MHz. For the first time, LII results are combined with DBI‐EI extinction measurements to quantify and correct for signal trapping. Following this, spatially and temporally resolved DBI‐EI and LII measures are shown to be in reasonable agreement. Finally, experimental results are compared against recently developed simulations. Quantitative differences in the soot mixing dynamics are resolved. These findings motivate future model improvements and demonstrate ongoing needs for diagnostic advancements for heavily sooting environments.

diffuse back-illumination extinction imaging↗

DOE OSTI2026

Flame Chemistry Workshop: a perspective on challenges and strategic actions in combustion experiments and chemical kinetics modeling

Continued progress in the development of predictive models for combustion chemistry—including ignition and flame behavior, species evolution, and combustion system performance—relies on overcoming enduring and emerging challenges in experimental measurements, theoretical formulations, and chemical kinetics mechanism construction. As combustion science continues to coincide with advances in sustainable fuels development, plasma technologies, and automated modeling capabilities, the need for coordinated, community-driven strategies is essential. The Flame Chemistry Workshop (FCWS), held biennially before the International Symposium on Combustion, serves as a dedicated platform to identify, consolidate, and address these challenges in a structured and collaborative manner. This perspective arises from discussions at the 7th FCWS in Milan, Italy (2024), and presents a collective view of the critical barriers currently limiting progress. Across the five technical domains discussed during the 7th FCWS – sustainable fuels combustion, advanced diagnostics for combustion measurements, experiments and modeling in plasma combustion, artificial intelligence and automated methods for theory and mechanisms generation, and chemical kinetic models—a series of persistent and emerging scientific challenges were identified, highlighting the need for deeper integration between three areas: theory, experiments, and modeling. In conclusion, the present article concisely describes present challenges that were identified in each of the technical domains in an effort to streamline and coordinate solutions to accelerate progress in combustion science.

Chemical kinetics↗

DOE OSTI2025

Analysis of fast-ion losses measured in MAST-U via infrared thermography and a Fast Ion Loss Detector

Fast-ion losses need to be monitored to avoid damage to plasma facing components. In existing experimental devices, the scintillator-based fast-ion loss detector (FILD) is the most advanced diagnostic for measuring fast-ion losses. However, FILDs provide only local information about the losses. Infrared (IR) thermography can be used as a complementary tool for more global monitoring of the deposition of fast-ion losses on the wall, at the expense of no velocity-space resolution. IR cameras measure the temperature of the plasma facing components. This measurement, determined by a combined effect of the thermal plasma, radiation, neutrons and fast-ion losses, can be decomposed to infer the fast-ion load on the tokamak wall. In this manuscript, a workflow to estimate fast-ion losses via IR thermography is applied to the MAST-U spherical tokamak, using a 1D approximation to extract the experimental heat flux on the FILD front face from IR data. To numerically estimate the different contributions to this total heat flux, the field-line tracing environment SMITER is used to calculate the thermal plasma contribution, the orbit-following Monte-Carlo code ASCOT to estimate the fast-ion losses, and bolometry measurements for the radiation. To validate the workflow, two discharges, L-mode plasmas with low MHD activity, were executed using on and off-axis beams, respectively. The experimentally and numerically estimated heat flux are of the same order of magnitude for the on-axis heated scenario, with a strong dependence of the estimated fast-ion losses contribution on the fit to the kinetic profiles used as input. This is also true for the off-axis heated scenario, where the total numerically estimated heat flux is 2.1 or 1.3 times higher than the maximum experimentally estimated heat flux, depending on the ASCOT input used.

FILD↗

DOE OSTI2025

Spontaneous sodium ion storage behaviors of reduced graphene oxide anodes exceeding 100% Coulombic efficiency by modulated ion solvation

Rechargeable batteries are essential energy storage devices that power portable devices and electrical vehicles throughout the world. In general, it is thought that the electrochemical performance of rechargeable batteries is mostly determined by the electrodes within them and that the electrolyte plays a relatively passive role. However, ion transport and storage can be greatly influenced by the electrolyte solution structure, specifically, ion solvation within the bulk and ion desolvation across the electrode/electrolyte interfaces. Herein, we studied the role of the electrolyte as an active component of electrochemical energy storage devices. We found that with an appropriate electrolyte formulation, ion storage in disordered carbonaceous anode materials can occur spontaneously without externally supplied electrical energy. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) in an ether-based electrolyte demonstrates ‘spontaneous' ion storage behaviors of adsorbing and inserting the solvated ions utilizing facilitated permeability and wettability of RGO, which results in Coulombic efficiency of ~145% due to additional charging capacity of ~180 mAh g -1 during electrochemical processes. The unexpected spontaneous ion storage behavior was extensively investigated using a combination of electrochemical analyses and diagnostics, advanced characterizations, and computational simulation. In conclusion, we believe the spontaneous ion storage behavior offers a new way to further improve the energy efficiency of practical rechargeable batteries.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

An image classification deep-learning algorithm for shrapnel detection from ultrasound images

Ultrasound imaging is essential for non-invasively diagnosing injuries where advanced diagnostics may not be possible. However, image interpretation remains a challenge as proper expertise may not be available. In response, artificial intelligence algorithms are being investigated to automate image analysis and diagnosis. Here, we highlight an image classification convolutional neural network for detecting shrapnel in ultrasound images. As an initial application, different shrapnel types and sizes were embedded first in a tissue mimicking phantom and then in swine thigh tissue. The algorithm architecture was optimized stepwise by minimizing validation loss and maximizing F1 score. The final algorithm design trained on tissue phantom image sets had an F1 score of 0.95 and an area under the ROC curve of 0.95. It maintained higher than a 90% accuracy for each of 8 shrapnel types. When trained only on swine image sets, the optimized algorithm format had even higher metrics: F1 and area under the ROC curve of 0.99. Overall, the algorithm developed resulted in strong classification accuracy for both the tissue phantom and animal tissue. This framework can be applied to other trauma relevant imaging applications such as internal bleeding to further simplify trauma medicine when resources and image interpretation are scarce.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

A platform for non-local thermodynamic equilibrium atomic physics research using the buried layer target approach at a kJ level laser facility

Here we present a design and first use of a kJ level laser facility for research of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium atomic physics using the buried layer target method. The target design included a metal layer buried inside a plastic tamper with thicknesses tailored to the expected laser intensities. The target was illuminated from each side by two laser beams with intensities of 0.5–5 × 10 14 W/cm 2 . The advanced diagnostic suite included static and time-resolved imagers and spectrometers with various spectral resolutions. A 3D printed dual elliptically curved spectrometer is presented, and its results are compared to a traditional crystal spectrometer. Experimental results and radiation hydrodynamic simulations demonstrate that the target achieved the desired thermodynamic conditions of n e ≈ 10 21 –10 22 cm -3 and T e ≈ 1–2 keV.

3D printing↗

DOE OSTI2025

Runaway electron-induced plasma facing component damagein tokamaks

This Roadmap article addresses the critical and multifaceted challenge of plasma facing component (PFC) damage caused by runaway electrons (REs) in tokamaks, a phenomenon that poses a significant threat to the viability and longevity of future fusion reactors such as ITER and DEMO. The dramatically increased RE production expected in future high-current tokamaks makes it very difficult to avoid or mitigate REs in such devices when a plasma discharge terminates abnormally. Preventing damage from the intense localised heat loads they can cause requires a holistic approach that considers plasma, REs and PFC damage. Despite decades of progress in understanding the physics of REs and the thermomechanical response of PFCs separately, their complex interplay remains poorly understood. This document aims to initiate a coordinated, interdisciplinary approach to bridge this gap by reviewing experimental evidence, advancing diagnostic capabilities, and improving modelling tools across different scales, dimensionalities, and fidelities. Key topics include RE beam formation and transport, damage mechanisms in both brittle and metallic PFCs, and observed effects in major facilities such as JET, DIII-D, WEST and EAST. The Roadmap emphasises the urgency of predictive, high-fidelity modelling validated against well-diagnosed controlled experiments, particularly in the light of recent changes in ITER’s wall material strategy and the growing importance of private sector fusion initiatives. Each section of the Roadmap article is written to provide a concise overview of one area of this multidisciplinary subject, with an assessment of the status, a look at current and future challenges, and a brief summary. The ultimate goal of this initiative is to guide future mitigation strategies and design resilient components that can withstand the intense localised loads imposed by REs, thus ensuring the safe and sustainable operation of the next generation of fusion power plants.

Ratynskaia, Svetlana [KTH Royal Inst. of Technolog↗

DOE OSTI2025

Stability evaluation and mitigation strategies in advanced tokamaks using 3D MHD spectroscopy

Multi-modal, active 3D MHD spectroscopy is applied in high-performance advanced tokamak scenarios to study their stability time evolution, revealing an intriguing dependence on both and . A tailored applied 3D field provides a 3D plasma response to extract the growth rate of the least stable mode. The estimated growth rate finds a decrease in stability when the minimum in the safety factor (q) passes through 2.0 and reveals inherent risks of crossing an additional rational surface at integer q min , even above the usual q = 1 sawtooth condition. Based on this result, the potential scenario in which q min ~ 2 can be safely crossed during a more stable lower β N phase was investigated, and the improved stability of this scenario is confirmed by the estimated growth rate. This shows that 3D MHD spectroscopy can offer insights into strategies for improving stability by identifying the vulnerable aspects of such scenarios. In addition, the method highlights its potential for instability avoidance by enabling early detection of multiple modes, even before magnetic coils can measure them. The measured growth rate by the 3D MHD spectroscopy shows its reliability by exhibiting a correlation with the programmed rises in plasma beta across various high β N and high q min discharges. In addition, this method is successfully applied during rapidly evolving I p ramp-up phases, a key part of the scenario development. By achieving reasonable growth rate measurements at high-performance scenario developments, this technique contributes to the development of advanced diagnostic tools for tokamak scenario stability, which will help identify an effective pathway to stable, high-performance scenarios.

Yang, S. M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (↗

DOE OSTI2024

Enclosed Sydney Swirl Burner Experimental Data Set - Release 1.0

This submission includes a comprehensive data set for the NETL Enclosed Sydney Swirl Burner, generated between 2012 and 2014. The data set includes global parametric data and advanced diagnostic data for (3) flames of interest to CFD model validation. The submission includes a companion summary document describing the data and associated references.

Diagnostics↗

DOE OSTI2020

Development of Mockups and Instrumentation for Spent Fuel Drying Tests

The purpose of this report is to provide updates on the experimental components, methodology, and instrumentation under development for use in advanced studies of realistic drying operations conducted on surrogate spent nuclear fuel. Validation of the extent of water removal in a dry spent nuclear fuel storage system based on drying procedures used at nuclear power plants is needed to close existing technical gaps. Operational conditions leading to incomplete drying may have potential impacts on the fuel, cladding, and other components in the system. Water remaining in canisters upon completion of drying procedures can lead to cladding corrosion, embrittlement, and breaching, as well as fuel degradation. Additional information is needed on the drying process efficacy to help evaluate the potential impacts of water retention on extended longterm dry storage. A general lack of data suitable for model validation of commercial nuclear canister drying processes necessitates additional, well-designed investigations. Smaller-scale tests that incorporate relevant physics and well-controlled boundary conditions are essential to provide insight and guidance to the simulation of prototypic systems undergoing drying processes. This report describes the implementation of moisture monitoring equipment on a pressurized, submersible system employing a single waterproof, electrically heated spent fuel rod simulator as a demonstration of analytical capabilities during a drying process. A mass spectrometer with specially designed inlets was used to monitor moisture and other gases at 150 kPa to 800 kPa for a test simulating a forced helium dehydration procedure and below 1 torr for tests mimicking a vacuum drying process. The dew point data from the mass spectrometer was found to be in good agreement with a solid-state moisture probe. A distinct advantage of the mass spectrometer system was the capability to directly sample from the hightemperature (>200 °C) head space expected in a prototypic scale experiment where a solid-state moisture probe would suffer considerable loss of accuracy or fail altogether. The operational and analytical experiences gained from this test series are poised to support an expansion to assembly-scale tests at prototypic length. These assemblies are designed to feature prototypic assembly hardware, advanced diagnostics for in situ internal rod pressure monitoring, and failed fuel rod simulators with engineered cladding defects to challenge the drying system with waterlogged fuel.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Mshock HED Council Request FY24 [Slides]

ICF and HEDP experiments experience complicated loadings including successive shocks, but modeling and analytic work has mostly engaged the simpler shock or shock-reshock case. This is because the co propagating case is difficult to achieve with conventional (non-HED) drivers. Successive shocks will be challenging to model in BHR or modal model interpretations: 1) Ex: Consider the case where long wavelength modes re-invert coherently, but short wavelength nonlinear modes are spun up turbulently. 2) Necessitates more advanced diagnostics and analysis than simple “mixing layers.” High resolution spectral information (concomitant with Ω-EP campaigns) and higher-order moment analyses will be necessary to stress and validate the reduced BHR-type models.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2020

AMPPED LDRD: Advanced Models of the Physics & Phenomena of Electrical Discharge.

This Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) project aimed at addressing an unmet need for physics-based models that enable prediction of electrical breakdown in the presence of high voltage gradients and real-world environments. This project focused on understanding coupled plasma-surface feedback phenomena critical to electrical discharge processes and design of breakdown voltages, breakdown times, and breakdown paths. New secondary electron emission and coupled plasma-surface measurement methods and models were developed. Highly reproducible discharge experiments were developed to provide current-voltage data as a function of time, and methods were developed to condition electrodes for predictable discharge. To assess plasma-surface feedback mechanisms, new surface physics capabilities, including measurement systems for local and global photoemission yield and ion-induced secondary electron emission yield were developed. Discharge models were developed to incorporate these yields for predicting discharge behavior to understand influence of surface physics on discharge current and time evolution, and methods to accelerate these simulations were demonstrated. A key finding was that the initiation process of a non-vacuum discharge appears highly dependent on photoemission at the cathode. Advanced diagnostics were developed, including spatial electrical field imaging, spectroscopy of plasmas, and high-speed imaging of discharge event s in metal and dielectric environments. These diagnostics and improved electrical models are a step toward enabling quantitative design margins, assurance of safety architectures, and implementation of novel materials and technologies for wide ranging energy and electronics applications.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

MRT 7365: Power flow physics and key physics phenomena

The Z accelerator at Sandia National Laboratories conducts z-pinch experiments at 26 MA in support of DOE missions in stockpile stewardship, dynamic materials, fusion, and other basic sciences. Increasing the current delivered to the z-pinch would extend our reach in each of these disciplines. To achieve increases in current and accelerator efficiency, a fraction of Z’s shots are set aside for research into transmission-line power flow. These shots, with supporting simulations and theory, are incorporated into this Advanced Diagnostics milestone report. The efficiency of Z is reduced as some portion of the total current is shunted across the transmission-line gaps prior to the load. This is referred to as “current loss”. Electrode plasmas have long been implicated in this process, so the bulk of dedicated power-flow experiments are designed to measure the plasma environment. The experimental analyses are enhanced by simulations conducted using realistic hardware and Z voltage pulses. In the same way that diagnostics are continually being improved for sensitivity and resolution, the modeling capability is continually being improved to provide faster and more realistic simulations. The specifics of the experimental hardware, diagnostics, simulations, and algorithm developments are provided in this report. The combined analysis of simulation and data confirms that electrode plasmas have the most detrimental impact on current delivery. Experiments over the last three years have tested the theoretical current-loss mechanisms of enhanced ion current, plasma gap closure, and Hall-related current. These mechanisms are not mutually exclusive and may be coincident in the final feed as well as in upstream transmission lines. The final-feed geometries tested here, however, observe lower-density plasmas without dominant ion currents which is consistent with a Hall-related current. The picture of plasma formation and transport formed from experiment and simulation is informing hardware designs being fielded on Z now and being proposed for the Next-Generation Pulsed Power (NGPP) facility. In this picture, the strong magnetic fields that heat the electrodes above particle emission thresholds also confine the charged particles near the surface. Some portion of the plasmas thus formed is transported into the transmission-line gap under the force of the electric field, with aid from plasma instabilities. The gap plasmas are then transported towards the load by a cross-field drift, where they accumulate and contribute to a likely Hall-related cross-gap current. The achievements in experimental execution, model validation, and physical analysis presented in this report set the stage for continued progress in power flow and load diagnostics on Z. The planned shot schedule for Z and Mykonos will provide data for extrapolation to higher current to ensure the predicted performance and efficiency of a NGPP facility.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗