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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 865 records · Page 48
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

All-Digital Plug and Play Passive RFID Sensors for Energy Efficient Building Control

This is the final report for the project “All-Digital Plug and Play Passive RFID Sensors for Energy Efficient Building Control”, funded by DOE, and performed by Clemson University, Phase IV Engineering and Harvard University from October 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020. The main objective of this project is to develop, demonstrate and pre-commercialize a novel, plug & play, battery-free, wireless sensor technology to enable low-cost (<$10 per node) indoor and outdoor temperature and humidity measurement for energy efficient building controls and operations. The proposed technology is based on the novel concept of all-digital sensing and its seamless integration with the passive RFID technology. This project focuses on the design, fabrication, material optimization, interrogation electronics, validation, and demonstration of the novel sensor nodes for building applications. The specific objectives of this research program include: (1) Design, fabricate and optimize a compact, robust, and high-resolution digitizer, which could convert rotation angle into digital numbers. (2) Develop the multi-physics-based modeling and simulation of the temperature/humidity transducer to derive a rational design of the architecture, dimension, structure, materials (i.e., mechanical, electrical, thermal and hygroscopic) properties and functions of the sensor node. (3) Design, fabricate and optimize the bi-material based humidity sensitive coil which could linearly transduce the environmental relative humidity variations to rotation angles. (4) Design, fabricate and optimize an UHF RFID platform which could support long-range passive wireless communications of 8-bit digital numbers. (5) Design, fabricate and optimize the miniaturized all-digital sensor using MEMS technology. (6) Validate the integrated all-digital sensing system in a real building environment to test the system’s performance.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

PlasmoData.jl — A Julia framework for modeling and analyzing complex data as graphs

Datasets encountered in scientific and engineering applications appear in complex formats (e.g., images, multivariate time series, molecules, video, text strings, networks). Graph theory provides a unifying framework to model such datasets and enables the use of powerful tools that can help analyze, visualize, and extract value from data. In this work, we present PlasmoData.jl, an open-source, Julia framework that uses concepts of graph theory to facilitate the modeling and analysis of complex datasets. The core of our framework is a general data modeling abstraction, which we call a DataGraph. We show how the abstraction and software implementation can be used to represent diverse data objects as graphs and to enable the use of tools from topology, graph theory, and machine learning (e.g., graph neural networks) to conduct a variety of tasks. We illustrate the versatility of the framework by using real datasets: (i) an image classification problem using topological data analysis to extract features from the graph model to train machine learning models; (ii) a disease outbreak problem where we model multivariate time series as graphs to detect abnormal events; and (iii) a technology pathway analysis problem where we highlight how we can use graphs to navigate connectivity. Further, our discussion also highlights how PlasmoData.jl leverages native Julia capabilities to enable compact syntax, scalable computations, and interfaces with diverse packages. Overall, we show that the DataGraph abstraction and PlasmoData.jl Julia package are able to model data within graphs and enable useful analysis.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2019

Evaluation of electric vehicle component performance over eco-driving cycles

We report that battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are a critical pathway towards achieving energy independence and meeting greenhouse and criteria pollutant gas reduction goals in the current and future transportation sector. Emerging connected and automated vehicle (CAV) technologies further open the door for developing innovative applications and systems to leverage vehicle efficiency and substantially transform transportation systems. Therefore, we present a simulation study of various BEV types and compare the performance when driving on real-road drive cycles to highly optimized eco-driving cycles using advanced CAV technologies. Additionally, the results demonstrate that eco-driving has a high potential to reduce energy consumption for all types of BEVs considered. The investigated BEVs include a compact vehicle, a transit city bus, and a Class 7 delivery truck. The impact of eco-driving on conventional vehicles was also compared to comparable BEVs. Compared to the BEVs, eco-driving provides a larger reduction in the conventional vehicle's braking energy loss, and also provides conventional vehicles with greater reductions in the engine mechanical energy output but the fuel savings did not show a consistent trend among all the conventional vehicle types. As part of the study, a comprehensive EV powertrain model was developed to account for key EV components and powertrain configurations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2019

Plasma-enhanced atomic-layer-deposited gallium nitride as an electron transport layer for planar perovskite solar cells

Low-temperature deposited gallium nitride (GaN) thin-films have been introduced into planar perovskite solar cells (PSCs) as electron transport layers (ETLs) for the first time. Compact and amorphous n-type GaN layers were uniformly coated on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass substrates via plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD) technology, in which an optimized deposition temperature of 280 °C was identified and adopted. The as-prepared GaN thin-films were subsequently employed to fabricate planar PSCs with the device configuration FTO/GaN/perovskite/spiro-OMeTAD/Au. Interestingly, although a conduction-band-minimum (CBM) mismatch of 0.59 eV is found at the interface of the 50-PEALD-cycle GaN/perovskite, a significantly enhanced device efficiency from 10.38% to 15.18% has also been achieved relative to the ETL-free PSCs. Meanwhile, the current–voltage hysteresis and device stability of GaN-based PSCs can be remarkably improved. It is found that the GaN layer can promote the electron extraction and reduce recombination at the FTO/perovskite interface. This work demonstrates the feasibility and potential of GaN films as ETLs in planar PSCs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Beamline for E-beam processing at UITF

Electron beam irradiation is a method that has shown a good potential to reduce several pollutants in wastewater. One of the main challenges towards wider adoption of this method is the need for compact, reliable, cost-effective, high-power accelerators. Jefferson Lab is working on the design and prototyping of accelerator components, based on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) technology, aiming at accelerators for industrial applications. The LDRD project aimed at designing, procuring, installing, and commissioning a beamline at the Upgraded Injector Test Facility (UITF) accelerator to allow electron-beam irradiation studies of different materials, beginning with wastewater. The availability of such beamline allows exploring the ability of electron-beam radiation to reduce or eliminate so-called “forever chemicals” that can be found in wastewater or industrial sites. After successful commissioning, the beamline was used to irradiate wastewater samples with different concentrations of 1,4-dioxane, in collaboration with Hampton Roads Sanitation District (HRSD).

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ion Channel Laser Based on Direct Laser Acceleration of a Shaped Beam Driver (Final Technical Report)

The main focus of our research was to understand the synergies between an electron bunch and a laser pulse when the two co-propagate through the plasma. We have clearly demonstrated using theoretical and computational modeling that the propagation distance of both the bunch and the laser pulse could be extended. The ability of the combined bunch/pulse system to extend the propagation distance and the size of the plasma bubble enables highly-efficient sources of relativistic electrons. As pointed out by the Plasma Decadal Study, such electron sources can be used for generating extremely bright x-rays for a variety of applications can serve as probes and diagnostics for other plasma experiments: high energy density (HED) sciences, inertial confinement fusion (ICF), and potentially Fusion Materials and Technology (FM&T). Development of advanced diagnostics of plasma-based accelerators is yet another key area identified by recent reports. Even broader security and medical applications of compact accelerator-based radiation sources, such as very high energy electron (VHEE) sources for FLASH radiobiology, have been identified by a recent multi-agency panel. A number of key technical issues were considered and successfully resolved during the course of the grant. Those include: beam loading effect of both the driver and witness bunches on the wake, laser channeling by the bunch, and the direct laser acceleration (DLA) of the driver bunch by the laser pulse. To demonstrate clear synergy, we were able to ascertain that the total energy gain of a witness bunch in the wake of the combined bunch/laser complex is large than the sum of the energy gains in the wake of the laser pulse alone, and the driver bunch alone. We have also demonstrated that not only the energy gain is improved, but the energy spread is not sacrificed. To carry out these simulations, we have to develop a range of in-house computational tools, including a fully-3D code WAND-PIC.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

R.U.N. Motion VR Boots: Realistic Unimpeded Natural (RUN) Motion Boots for VR gaming in the comfort of your home

Virtual reality (VR) gaming has experienced increasingly widespread adoption in recent years largely due to the development of affordable, consumer-grade headsets equipped with high quality, miniature displays and compact sensors for motion tracking. These devices are now able to provide users with immersive experiences that far surpass what traditional video games can achieve. However, despite these technological strides, a fundamental limitation remains: VR users are unable to move freely in their physical environment without the risk of colliding with real-world obstacles and hazards. This safety concern significantly restricts the level of immersion and natural movement possible in VR gaming.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1982

Energy efficient engine: Turbine transition duct model technology report

The Low-Pressure Turbine Transition Duct Model Technology Program was directed toward substantiating the aerodynamic definition of a turbine transition duct for the Energy Efficient Engine. This effort was successful in demonstrating an aerodynamically viable compact duct geometry and the performance benefits associated with a low camber low-pressure turbine inlet guide vane. The transition duct design for the flight propulsion system was tested and the pressure loss goal of 0.7 percent was verified. Also, strut fairing pressure distributions, as well as wall pressure coefficients, were in close agreement with analytical predictions. Duct modifications for the integrated core/low spool were also evaluated. The total pressure loss was 1.59 percent. Although the increase in exit area in this design produced higher wall loadings, reflecting a more aggressive aerodynamic design, pressure profiles showed no evidence of flow separation. Overall, the results acquired have provided pertinent design and diagnostic information for the design of a turbine transition duct for both the flight propulsion system and the integrated core/low spool.

Leach, K.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Recent trends in particle size analysis techniques

Recent advances and developments in the particle-sizing technologies are briefly reviewed in accordance with three operating principles including particle size and shape descriptions. Significant trends of the particle size analysing equipment recently developed show that compact electronic circuitry and rapid data processing systems were mainly adopted in the instrument design. Some newly developed techniques characterizing the particulate system were also introduced.

Kang, S. H.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Nuclear power systems for lunar and Mars exploration

Initial studies of a variety of mission scenarios for the new Space Exploration Initiative, and the technologies necessary to enable or significantly enhance them, have identified the development of advanced space power systems whether solar, chemical or nuclear to be of prime importance. Lightweight, compact, reliable power systems for planetary rovers and a variety of surface vehicles, utility surface power, and power for advanced propulsion systems have been identified as critical needs for these missions. These mission scenarios, the concomitant power system requirements, and power system options considered are discussed. The significant potential benefits of nuclear power are identified for meeting the power needs of the above applications.

Sovie, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Nuclear power systems for lunar and Mars exploration

Initial studies of a variety of mission scenarios for the new Space Exploration Initiative, and the technologies necessary to enable or significantly enhance them, have identified the development of advanced space power systems whether solar, chemical or nuclear to be of prime importance. Lightweight, compact, reliable power systems for planetary rovers and a variety of surface vehicles, utility surface power, and power for advanced propulsion systems have been identified as critical needs for these missions. These mission scenarios, the concomitant power system requirements, and the power system options considered are discussed. The significant potential benefits of nuclear power are identified for meeting the power needs of the above applications.

Sovie, R. J.↗
NASA NTRS1996

Communications and information research: Improved space link performance via concatenated forward error correction coding

With the development of new advanced instruments for remote sensing applications, sensor data will be generated at a rate that not only requires increased onboard processing and storage capability, but imposes demands on the space to ground communication link and ground data management-communication system. Data compression and error control codes provide viable means to alleviate these demands. Two types of data compression have been studied by many researchers in the area of information theory: a lossless technique that guarantees full reconstruction of the data, and a lossy technique which generally gives higher data compaction ratio but incurs some distortion in the reconstructed data. To satisfy the many science disciplines which NASA supports, lossless data compression becomes a primary focus for the technology development. While transmitting the data obtained by any lossless data compression, it is very important to use some error-control code. For a long time, convolutional codes have been widely used in satellite telecommunications. To more efficiently transform the data obtained by the Rice algorithm, it is required to meet the a posteriori probability (APP) for each decoded bit. A relevant algorithm for this purpose has been proposed which minimizes the bit error probability in the decoding linear block and convolutional codes and meets the APP for each decoded bit. However, recent results on iterative decoding of 'Turbo codes', turn conventional wisdom on its head and suggest fundamentally new techniques. During the past several months of this research, the following approaches have been developed: (1) a new lossless data compression algorithm, which is much better than the extended Rice algorithm for various types of sensor data, (2) a new approach to determine the generalized Hamming weights of the algebraic-geometric codes defined by a large class of curves in high-dimensional spaces, (3) some efficient improved geometric Goppa codes for disk memory systems and high-speed mass memory systems, and (4) a tree based approach for data compression using dynamic programming.

Rao, T. R. N.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Smart Optical RAM for Fast Information Management and Analysis

Statement of Problem Instruments for high speed and high capacity in-situ data identification, classification and storage capabilities are needed by NASA for the information management and analysis of extremely large volume of data sets in future space exploration, space habitation and utilization, in addition to the various missions to planet-earth programs. Parameters such as communication delays, limited resources, and inaccessibility of human manipulation require more intelligent, compact, low power, and light weight information management and data storage techniques. New and innovative algorithms and architecture using photonics will enable us to meet these challenges. The technology has applications for other government and public agencies.

Liu, Hua-Kuang↗
NASA NTRS1995

Scuba Weights

The Attitude Adjuster is a system for weight repositioning corresponding to a SCUBA diver's changing positions. Compact tubes on the diver's air tank permit controlled movement of lead balls within the Adjuster, automatically repositioning when the diver changes position. Manufactured by Think Tank Technologies, the system is light and small, reducing drag and energy requirements and contributing to lower air consumption. The Mid-Continent Technology Transfer Center helped the company with both technical and business information and arranged for the testing at Marshall Space Flight Center's Weightlessness Environmental Training Facility for astronauts.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2003

Rollable Thin-Shell Nanolaminate Mirrors

A class of lightweight, deployable, thin-shell, curved mirrors with built-in precise-shape-control actuators is being developed for high-resolution scientific imaging. This technology incorporates a combination of advanced design concepts in actuation and membrane optics that, heretofore, have been considered as separate innovations. These mirrors are conceived to be stowed compactly in a launch shroud and transported aboard spacecraft, then deployed in outer space to required precise shapes at much larger dimensions (diameters of the order of meters or tens of meters). A typical shell rollable mirror structure would include: (1) a flexible single- or multiple-layer face sheet that would include an integrated reflective surface layer that would constitute the mirror; (2) structural supports in the form of stiffeners made of a shape-memory alloy (SMA); and (3) piezoelectric actuators. The actuators, together with an electronic control subsystem, would implement a concept of hierarchical distributed control, in which (1) the SMA actuators would be used for global shape control and would generate the large deformations needed for the deployment process and (2) the piezoelectric actuators would generate smaller deformations and would be used primarily to effect fine local control of the shape of the mirror.

Hickey, Gregory↗
NASA NTRS2022

Lightweight Composite Reflectarray That Can Be Flattened, Folded, and Coiled for Compact Stowage

Herein is presented a design for a lightweight 5m 1m radio-frequency (RF) re ector that can be attened, folded, and coiled for compact stowage on board an ESPA-class spacecraft. The re ector is a re ectarray that operates at 3.2GHz. Compared to state- of-the-art technologies for RF re ectors, the presented design has advantages in terms of areal density, sti ness, deployed stability, and scalability. Thermal and structural analysis is presented to demonstrate deployed sti ness and thermoelastic stability of the proposed design. Thermal analysis is used to predict in- space deployed temperatures in an operational condition, and structural nite element analysis is used to predict deployed vibration modes and frequencies, and the thermoelastic deformation of the deployed re ector. Also presented are the fabrication, assembly, and testing of two one-third-scale-length full-scale-width 1:7m 1m test articles. These test articles are used to experimentally demonstrate RF functioning, stowage, deployment, and RF performance after deployment.

Pellegrino, Sergio↗
DOE OSTI2022

Technical Performance and Cost Optimization of Unobtrusive Multi-static Serial LiDAR Imager (UMSLI) for Wide-area Surveillance and Identification of Marine Life at Marine Energy Installations

Florida Atlantic University developed an underwater optical monitoring system prototype - Unobtrusive Multi-static Serial LiDAR Imager (UMSLI) - suitable for marine energy full project lifecycle observation (baseline, commissioning, and decommissioning), with an automated real-time classification of marine animals. With precursor 2014 DOE funding (award DE-EE0006787), a prototype UMSLI was demonstrated in a controlled laboratory environment and achieved a TRL 6. This EERE DE-EE0007828 award aimed to both increase the TRL of the UMSLI by improving the technology performance (e.g., increase distance of marine animal target detection capability, add additional species classification capabilities, improve the system performance during the day, etc.) and reduce the cost. The UMSLI presents a novel application of underwater distributed Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR), an advanced remote sensing method that uses light in the form of laser pulses for an application, this paired with an algorithm provides 360 degrees underwater detection, imaging, and classification of marine life. This solution for underwater monitoring of biota preserves the advantages of traditional optical and acoustic solutions while overcoming many associated disadvantages for marine energy site environmental monitoring, such as difficulties in species detection and classification in low light or night and turbid environments. This new approach is a purposefully designed, reconfigurable adaptation of an existing class 3B laser technology into one UMSLI instrument that can be easily mounted on or around different classes of marine energy equipment, such as devices to capture ocean current energy or wave energy. The system uses relatively low average power, utilizes far-red (> 635nm) laser illumination to be invisible and eye-safe to marine animals, is compact, and cost-effective. The equipment is designed for long-term, maintenance-free operations (i.e., current design is targeting more than 7 days continuous operation), to inherently generate a sparse primary dataset that only includes detected anomalies, and to allow robust real-time automated animal classification and identification with a low data bandwidth requirement. The technology’s overarching goal for application, is a system that can be deployed to collect pre-installation baseline species observations at a proposed marine energy deployment site with minimal post-processing overhead. The envisioned system will also produce high-resolution imagery of marine animals through a wide range of conditions and support automated tracking and notification of the presence of managed animals within established perimeters of marine energy equipment to satisfy deployed marine energy projects’ endangered and threatened species monitoring requirements. Through the current project, we demonstrated the UMSLI prototype in an operational environment and increased the UMSLI’s Technology Readiness Level from 6 to 7. The project resulted in many novel technologies, including: 1) an eye-safe red laser based, low-cost LiDAR system that can detect targets up to 10 meters distance; 2) the GAN-based machine learning underwater LiDAR image enhancement technique (this is the first known application of GAN technique in underwater LiDAR); 3) LiDAR-based real-time automated detection capabilities; and 4) a template matching based automated classification tool. These technologies build a solid foundation for future efforts to develop an extended range electro-optical monitoring system suitable for marine energy deployments. In addition to technology development, a key lesson learned is that addressing regulatory and safety requirements must be front and center in any marine energy monitoring applications.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2022

Design and Verification of An Open-Circuit Electro-Hydraulic Actuator System with An Integrated Electro-Hydraulic Unit

This paper proposes an electro-hydraulic actuator (EHA) system, and two novel-designed electro-hydraulic units (EHU) consisting of a fixed-displacement hydraulic pump and a variable-speed electric motor. Both the novel EHU designs integrate an electric machine and a hydraulic machine in a single unit, featuring compactness and power density. However, they differ for salient aspects such as power and electric machine cooling system. The EHA system features an open circuit design, where hydraulic hoses connect the EHU with a tank, a valve manifold, and the hydraulic cylinder. In this way, the proposed EHA technology can be used to implement distributed hydraulic actuation in a vehicle without requiring changes to the hydraulic actuators or at the overall layout of the hydraulic components with respect to the original vehicle design. A dedicated test rig is developed to verify the performance of the proposed EHA system. The efficiency of the EHA is measured in a steady state and under a realistic duty cycle of a commercial compact loader. The measured efficiency of the system can reach 54% with up to 20kN load and 6kW power level.

42 ENGINEERING↗