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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Thin-Film Embedded Sensors for Battery Health Monitoring

Hybrid or all-electric aircraft are being developed as the next generation of aircraft to both allow new forms of aviation and decrease environmental impact. Since these types of aircraft are based on high-capacity battery technology, safe operation of these batteries becomes increasingly important. In particular, the potential for battery failure due to uncontrolled chemical reactions resulting in thermal runaway, catastrophic failure, and battery fires must be addressed in order for such battery technology to have the level of safety needed for standard aviation implementation. Efforts to ensure battery safety often involve engineering solutions that seek to contain rather than prevent such events by early detection. Such approaches increase the system weight and decrease the power per unit mass provided by the battery system. Existing methods for measuring battery parameters to determine the battery state-of-health are limited. These methods include electrical measurements of the cell current and/or voltage output as well as temperature measurements taken externally on the cell surface. Such external temperature measurements are limited in their ability to provide early warning of impending battery failure. In response, an effort to develop sensors operating internal to battery for health monitoring has been ongoing in the NASA Sensor-based Prognostics to Avoid Runaway Reactions & Catastrophic Ignition (SPARRCI) project. The basic approach associated with this sensor work is the deposition of thin film sensors on the battery separator located between the anode and cathode of the battery. These thin film sensors are then monitored to determine changes in battery parameters and health. Microfabrication techniques are employed to minimize the overall impact of the sensors on battery operation through the implementation of sensors with minimal size, weight, and power consumption. The thickness of the films, which are fabricated through physical vapor deposition (sputtering), are on the order of thousands of angstroms and can have minimal surface area. Thin film sensors for system health management have been implemented for a many decades on complex components for aerospace applications. However, the application of thin films of this type on a battery separator for internal battery monitoring applications has not previously been demonstrated to our knowledge. This paper describes the development of sensors for the internal battery monitoring through the use of thin film sensor technology. Thin metal films were successfully deposited on a battery separator polymer material with good adherence and electrical continuity. Multiple types of sensors have been deposited, as well as lead connections from the sensor to the edge of the separator material. The ability of these thin film sensors immersed in electrolyte to perform multiple types of battery parameter measurements has been demonstrated. For example, a multiparameter sensor system measured multiple properties simultaneously inside of a pouch cell over a wide temperature range. Further, real time measurement of interior temperature changes in a battery pouch cell with an integrated interior temperature sensor was demonstrated. These changes include detecting a fault in the battery (shorting) in situ with rapid response time (less than a minute) corresponding to a more limited response by a temperature sensor mounted externally. Other aspects of monitoring battery health were also explored, such as real-time measurement of simulated dendrite growth/metal deposition by sensor on separator material demonstrated. Future efforts will include improvements in the durability of the sensor structure to allow introduction of the approach into standard battery fabrication techniques. Overall, this work is a step forward in providing a method to prevent catastrophic battery failures and provide a foundation for safer, lighter, and higher energy batteries for the electric aircraft industry.

thin film battery health↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advancing the Oxygen Generation Assembly Design to Increase Reliability and Reduce Costs for a Future Long Duration Mission

The state-of-the-art Oxygen Generation Assembly (OGA) has been reliably producing breathing oxygen for the crew aboard the International Space Station (ISS) for over eight years. Lessons learned from operating the ISS OGA have led to proposing incremental improvements to advance the baseline design for use in a future long duration mission. These improvements are intended to reduce system weight, crew maintenance time and resupply mass from Earth while increasing reliability. The proposed improvements include replacing the cell stack membrane material, deleting the nitrogen purge equipment, replacing the hydrogen sensors, deleting the wastewater interface, replacing the hydrogen dome and redesigning the cell stack power supply. The development work to date will be discussed and forward work will be outlined. Additionally, a redesigned system architecture will be proposed.

Kevin C Takada↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

STABLE Study for the Habitable Worlds Observatory

We report on progress on the STABLE study, which was awarded on the NASA 2023 ROSES D.19 opportunity. In the study, we are developing technologies for the Habitable Worlds Observatory (HWO) in four areas: Micrometeoroid Impact Mitigation, Telescope Temperature Control, Ultra-Stable Telescope Structure Materials and Modeling, and Improvement of Thermal Expansion Test Capability. This study is a collaboration between Northrop Grumman, Kratos, NeXolve, JPL, STScI, NASA’s White Sands Test Facility, and NASA Goddard’s Ultra-Stable Test Facility. We will also discuss our plans for our follow-on study as part of NASA’s 2024 ROSES D.19. In this study, we will address additional technologies as well as perform analysis of HWO architecture options.

Habitable Worlds Observatory↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interface-induced fast Li+ transport in mixed ionic–electronic conductors

Interfacial instability between lithium metal and solid-state electrolytes limits the performance of all-solid-state lithium metal batteries (ASSLBs), leading to parasitic reactions, non-uniform Li+ flux, and dendrite growth. Here, we develop a composite interlayer composed of the anti-perovskite Li2OHCl0.75Br0.25 (AP) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to enhance both interfacial stability and ionic transport. The AP–CNT interlayer exhibits enhanced Li+ conductivity arising from interfacial electron transfer from AP to CNTs, which generates a built-in electric field that facilitates Li+ migration. Lithium symmetric cells incorporating this interlayer achieve a high critical current density of 2.4 mA cm−2 at 55 °C. This design integrates chemical robustness with coupled ion–electron transport, offering a generalizable strategy for safe, dendrite-free, and high-performance ASSLBs.

He, Chenche↗
NASA NTRS2024

Ejecta Management in a Safe Lithium Ion Battery Design

As lithium-ion battery energy densities continue to rise, managing the heat and pressure generated during failure events has become increasingly critical. Safety systems must effectively relieve pressure without releasing sparks, flames, or particulate matter, requiring robust filtration solutions. The challenge is compounded by the reduced free volume available for gas expansion in high-density designs, which increases the demands on these filters. While significant progress has been made through experimental studies and modeling efforts to understand the behavior of ejecta during battery failures, there remains a pressing need for practical, rule-of-thumb sizing parameters. These parameters would help correlate high-energy waste streams with appropriate filter design, ensuring reliable containment and safety. This talk will explore recent experimental findings in this area and discuss the potential pathways for developing these essential sizing guidelines.

Ejecta Management↗
NASA NTRS2026

Manufacturing and Scale-Up of Natural Fiber Composite eVTOL Propeller Skin and C-Channel

This report presents the manufacturing and scale-up of natural fiber composites for aerospace applications, conducted within NASA’s Convergent Aeronautics Solutions portfolio to advance aircraft capabilities and efficiency. The effort focused on the development and demonstration of two proof-of-concept articles, an Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL) propeller skin and a C-channel, produced through an iterative design and process optimization approach. Best practices and guidance on addressing key challenges with bio-based composite materials and manufacturing is provided. Ideally suited for non-load-bearing structural components, these emerging materials offer potential for weight reduction, vibration damping, noise mitigation, interference-free communication, and cost savings, without compromising the performance of safety-critical primary structures.

Natural fibers↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Boundary Layer Analysis of Shock Tube Flows

Shock tubes offer a controlled environment to reproduce kinetic and radiative phenomena characteristic of atmospheric entry flows under ground-test conditions. The boundary layer developing behind the incident shock wave determines the available test time, influences particle residence times important for similarity scaling, and can affect radiative energy transport. In this study, we couple a quasi-1D space marcher with the compressible boundary-layer equations to numerically compute the post-shock flow in a shock frame of reference for various test gas mixtures representative of different planetary atmospheres. The solvers are individually verified against CFD simulations and analytical correlations available in the literature. Coupled solutions are computed for a finite-rate chemistry in the boundary layer and a non-catalytic isothermal wall. Results yield refined estimates of the maximum separation distance, as well as insights into concentration profiles of relevant species within the boundary layer.

Andrea Fagnani↗
DOE OSTI1992

Nuclear Safety [Vol. 33, No. 4, October-December 1992]

Nuclear Safety is a review journal that covers significant developments in the field of nuclear safety. Its scope includes the analysis and control of hazards associated with nuclear energy, operations involving fissionable materials, and the products of nuclear fission and their effects on the environment. Primary emphasis is on safety in reactor design, construction, and operation; however, the safety aspects of the entire fuel cycle, including fuel fabrication, spent-fuel processing, nuclear waste disposal, handling of radioisotopes, and environmental effects of these operations, are also treated. Table of Contents for this issue follows. GENERAL SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS: 499 Technical Note: Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Examination Question Bank System, C. L Jensen and N. L. Skinner; 506 Report on the Specialists’ Meeting on Passive and Active Safety Features of Liquid-Metal Fast Breeder Reactors Organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency at Oarai Engineering Centre of Power Reactor and Nuclear Development Corporation, Japan, November 5-7,1991, S. R. Paranjpe; ACCIDENT ANALYSIS: 514 A Review of Hydrogen Production During Melt/Water Interaction in LWRs, D. F. Fletcher, B. D. Turland, and S. P. A. Lawrence; 535 A Review of the U 3 0 8 -Al Reaction as a Potential Heat Source in Research and Test Reactor Accidents, J. L. Snelgrove; CONTROL AND INSTRUMENTATION: 543 Multilevel Interfaces for Power Plant Control Rooms II: A Preliminary Design Space, K. J. Vicente; DESIGN FEATURES: 549 Twenty-Second DOE/NRC Nuclear Air Cleaning and Treatment Conference, R. R. Bellamy, D. W. Moeller, and M. W. First; 562 Book Review: Safety Assessment of Unit 5 (WWER-440/W-213) of the Greifswald Nuclear Power Station, M. H. Fontana; WASTE AND SPENT FUEL MANAGEMENT: 576 Activities Related to Waste and Spent Fuel Management, M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; OPERATING EXPERIENCES: 586 Analysis of Corrective Actions Applied to Nuclear Power Plant Operations, A. E. Cross; 593 Reactor Shutdown Experience, Compiled by J. W. Cletcher; 596 Operating U.S. Power Reactors, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; 609 Non-Commercial Power Operating Experience; 614 World Nuclear Performance, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim; RECENT DEVELOPMENTS: 623 General Administrative Activities, Compiled by M. D. Muhlheim and E. G. Silver; 635 Reports, Standards, and Safety Guides, D. S. Queener; 639 Proposed Rule Changes as of June 30, 1992; ANNOUNCEMENTS: 513 Fourth International Conference on Nuclear Fuel Reprocessing and Waste Management RECOD '94; 585 International Topical Meeting on Advanced Reactors Safety; 622 International Workshop on Implementation of ALARA at Nuclear Power Plants; 648 Short Course on Nuclear Criticality Safety; 648 8th Topical Meeting on Problems in Reactor Physics MEPhi-VOLGA-93; 643 The Authors; 646 Reviewers of Nuclear Safety, Vol. 33

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1990

Planning for Execution Monitoring on A Planetary Rover

A planetary rover will be traversing largely unknown and often unknowable terrain. In addition to geometric obstacles such as cliffs, rocks, and holes, it may also have to deal with non-geometric hazards such as soft soil and surface breakthroughs which often cannot be detected until rover is in imminent danger. Therefore, the rover must monitor its progress throughout a traverse, making sure to stay on course and to detect and act on any previously unseen hazards. Its onboard planning system must decide what sensors to monitor, what landmarks to take position readings from, and what actions to take if something should go wrong. The planning systems being developed for the Pathfinder Planetary Rover to perform these execution monitoring tasks are discussed. This system includes a network of planners to perform path planning, expectation generation, path analysis, sensor and reaction selection, and resource allocation.

Erann Gat↗
DOE OSTI2026

Reliability Assessment of Solid-State Circuit Breakers (CRADA CRD-21-21469, Project 4 Final Report)

Growth in power requirements and the complexity of emerging distribution systems are creating the need for new solid-state products for many applications. The qualification requirements, testing standards and life-cycle management practices of solid-state devices used in protection applications is not established. The project will leverage newly developed accelerated testing capabilities design specifically for protection applications to generate large data sets that will enable advanced digital techniques for data analysis and embedded health monitoring.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

3D Printing of Polyelectrolyte Complex-Integrated Photocurable Hydrogel Resins

In this study, we developed a photocurable hydrogel resin incorporating a polyelectrolyte complex (PEC) for 3D printing. Acrylamide-based monomers were formulated with varying PEC contents (0–15 wt %) in an aqueous KBr medium to fabricate patterned porous hydrogel structures. The morphology of printed hydrogels was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Notably, the PEC5 and PEC10 formulations exhibited optimal thermal stability and compressive properties, attributed to the homogeneous distribution of PEC domains within the hydrogel matrix. Furthermore, dye adsorption experiments demonstrated excellent removal efficiency, highlighting the potential of PEC-containing hydrogels for environmental remediation applications, particularly in the treatment of dye-contaminated wastewater.

Yang, Jinchul [University of Tennesse Knoxville]↗
NASA NTRS2025

Mechanics of Preloaded Bolt Tensile Loading With Focus on Load Introduction Factor

The bolt tensile and joint separation loads are directly influenced by the locations at which the external loads enter the clamped members of a preloaded bolted joint (PBJ) and the associated load-paths through the joint. This physical load introduction mechanism affecting the bolt tensile loading is typically represented in the bolt tensile load equation, in part, by a load introduction factor (LIF), which was shown by H.M. Lee of Marshall Spaceflight Center to be a natural product of the bolt tensile load equation using a linear spring stiffness model. This LIF, being a function of load-path stiffness, has subsequently been denoted as the stiffness-based LIF (SBLIF), providing a framework to calculate the LIF using whatever load-path stiffness approximations are appropriate. Expanding upon the work of Lee, it is shown that the SBLIF and the joint stiffness factor are functions of the stiffnesses of the same load-paths and regions within a PBJ, and thus they should not be treated as independent variables. Mathematical expressions for the SBLIF are presented. Comparisons are shown between the analytically calculated SBLIF, the analytically calculated geometric LIF (GLIF), which is a simple clamped-member thickness ratio, the experimentally derived LIF, and the LIF determined by finite element analysis (FEA). Using experiment and FEA as a benchmark, the SBLIF, using traditional load-path stiffness approximations, enables a more accurate prediction of bolt tensile loading than the GLIF, although it can be unconservative near joint separation. The GLIF generally attributes more of the externally applied tensile load to the bolt than does the SBLIF, potentially resulting in heavier and/or more costly bolted joints. Mathematical relationships between the SBLIF and the GLIF are developed. Supplemental material is provided in the appendixes where the historical practice of using the joint compressive stiffness in place of the joint tensile stiffness is evaluated. The appendixes include step-by-step examples demonstrating the calculation of the SBLIF using traditional stiffness approximations and conclude with the development of the joint diagram in terms of the SBLIF, culminating into formulas for the key features of a joint diagram, which is useful for programming.

Load Path↗
DOE OSTI2025

Complex-Valued Intermolecular Coupling Enables Directional Exciton Transport in Excitonic Circuits

Molecular systems capable of directing the flow of excitons are key to the development and optimization of optoelectronic materials. The transport of excitons across multiple molecules is governed by an intermolecular electronic coupling network. In this article, we consider the effects of complex-valued intermolecular electronic coupling on exciton transport. Here, we present a molecular motif capable of generating complex-valued coupling under excitation with circularly polarized light. We use theoretical modeling and simulation to illustrate how complex coupling can be leveraged to drive the rotational flux of excitons in cyclic molecular networks and direct the exciton population in branched molecular networks.

chromophores↗
NASA NTRS1990

Laboratory Investigations: Low Earth Orbit Environment Chemistry With Spacecraft Surfaces

Long-term space operations that require exposure of material to the low earth orbit (LEO) environment must take into account the effects of this highly oxidative atmosphere on material properties and the possible contamination of the spacecraft surroundings. Ground-based laboratory experiments at Los Alamos using a newly developed hyperthermal atomic oxygen (AO) source have shown that not only are hydrocarbon based materials effected but that inorganic materials such as MoS2 are also oxidized and that thin protective coatings such as Al2O3 can be breached, producing oxidation of the underlying substrate material. Gas-phase reaction products, such as SO2 from oxidation of MoS2 and CO and CO2 from hydrocarbon materials, have been detected and have consequences in terms of spacecraft contamination. Energy loss through gas-surface collisions causing spacecraft drag has been measured for a few select surfaces and has been found to be highly dependent on the surface reactivity.

Jon B Cross↗
DOE OSTI2025

32 examples of LLM applications in materials science and chemistry: towards automation, assistants, agents, and accelerated scientific discovery

Abstract Large language models (LLMs) are reshaping many aspects of materials science and chemistry research, enabling advances in molecular property prediction, materials design, scientific automation, knowledge extraction, and more. Recent developments demonstrate that the latest class of models are able to integrate structured and unstructured data, assist in hypothesis generation, and streamline research workflows. To explore the frontier of LLM capabilities across the research lifecycle, we review applications of LLMs through 32 total projects developed during the second annual LLM hackathon for applications in materials science and chemistry, a global hybrid event. These projects spanned seven key research areas: (1) molecular and material property prediction, (2) molecular and material design, (3) automation and novel interfaces, (4) scientific communication and education, (5) research data management and automation, (6) hypothesis generation and evaluation, and (7) knowledge extraction and reasoning from the scientific literature. Collectively, these applications illustrate how LLMs serve as versatile predictive models, platforms for rapid prototyping of domain-specific tools, and much more. In particular, improvements in both open source and proprietary LLM performance through the addition of reasoning, additional training data, and new techniques have expanded effectiveness, particularly in low-data environments and interdisciplinary research. As LLMs continue to improve, their integration into scientific workflows presents both new opportunities and new challenges, requiring ongoing exploration, continued refinement, and further research to address reliability, interpretability, and reproducibility.

Computer Science↗
DOE OSTI2026

Scintillator Library

This website provides measured scintillation properties of many inorganic and organic materials and citations to published papers in which the original measurements were reported. It is intended for two main uses: a web-accessible reference to useful scintillation detector materials and properties; an aid in developing fundamental theories or empirical relations between basic material properties and scintillation performance. To this end, both strong and weak scintillators have been included as well as those where sensitive measurements have not detected any scintillation emissions.

Shook, L. [University of California, Berkeley, CA ↗
DOE OSTI2026

Design and Modeling of the Charge Readout of a SiMOS Quantum Dot with a Single Electron Transistor and CryoCMOS

Single electron spin qubits trapped in SiMOS quantum dots are a promising technology for scaling to thousand- or million-qubit systems due to their compatibility with mature CMOS manufacturing processes. A readout system that combines a single electron transistor with a custom cryogenic CMOS amplification and digitization chain offers key advantages by avoiding the use of bulky RF components or room-temperature interconnects. We present design techniques and simulation results for an optimized qubit-SET cryoCMOS interface, culminating in the design of the QNDR1 ASIC, the first cryogenic readout ASIC designed under the Quandarum project, which targets the development of a many-channel spin qubit based detector for use in high energy physics.

Quinn, Adam [Fermilab] (ORCID:0009000605056371)↗
DOE OSTI2026

An integrated in-situ coordination strategy enabling high-performance layered cathodes for sodium-ion batteries

O3-type layered transition metal oxide cathodes hold tremendous potential in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their low cost and high energy density. However, the structure instability associated with detrimental phase transitions and severe interface parasitic reactions exacerbate the material's electrochemical performance degradation. Herein, we develop an integrated in-situ coordination strategy via heteroatomic modulation inducing coherent epitaxial layer to collaboratively enhance the overall framework robustness from surface to bulk. The theoretical calculation and multiple in/ex-situ characterizations demonstrate the charge density around oxygen is redistributed, which promotes the electron localization, thus widening the NaO 2 lattice space and accelerating the Na + transport dynamics. Furthermore, the formed strengthened oxygen bond energy effectively distributes the long-range coordination of Mn 3+ O 6 octahedron, thereby alleviating Jahn-Teller distortion and local stress. Importantly, the in-situ formed conformal buffer layer dramatically relieves the adverse interface side reactions, facilitating the construction of robust cathode-electrolyte interface, which ameliorate the whole structure stability of designed materials. Consequently, the optimized NFMZ@NZO-1.0 exhibits the excellent cycling stability with 80.2% capacity retention after 300 cycles at 1C, and delivers a high discharge capacity of 107.1 mAh g −1 at 10C. In conclusion, this distinctive coupling strategy provides valuable insights for developing high-performance layered cathode materials in SIBs.

Coherent epitaxial layer↗