Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Technology Utilization”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 91 records · Page 5

Technology utilization and American competitiveness

This session of discussions reports on two sides of the technology transfer issue. The speakers are representatives of the aluminum industry (Alcoa Aluminum) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Commercial Programs. They discuss what technology transfer means, what NASA does for industry, and how information is disseminated.

Penaranda, Frank↗

In Situ Resource Utilization Technology Research and Facilities Supporting the NASA's Human Systems Research and Technology Life Support Program

The NASA Microgravity Science program has transitioned research required in support of NASA s Vision for Space Exploration. Research disciplines including the Materials Science, Fluid Physics and Combustion Science are now being applied toward projects with application in the planetary utilization and transformation of space resources. The scientific and engineering competencies and infrastructure in these traditional fields developed at multiple NASA Centers and by external research partners provide essential capabilities to support the agency s new exploration thrusts including In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU). Among the technologies essential to human space exploration, the production of life support consumables, especially oxygen and; radiation shielding; and the harvesting of potentially available water are realistically achieved for long-duration crewed missions only through the use of ISRU. Ongoing research in the physical sciences have produced a body of knowledge relevant to the extraction of oxygen from lunar and planetary regolith and associated reduction of metals and silicon for use meeting manufacturing and repair requirements. Activities being conducted and facilities used in support of various ISRU projects at the Glenn Research Center and Marshall Space Flight Center will be described. The presentation will inform the community of these new research capabilities, opportunities, and challenges to utilize their materials, fluids and combustion science expertise and capabilities to support the vision for space exploration.

Schlagheck, Ronald A.↗

In Situ Resource Utilization Technologies for Enhancing and Expanding Mars Scientific and Exploration Missions

The primary objectives of the Mars exploration program are to collect data for planetary science in a quest to answer questions related to Origins, to search for evidence of extinct and extant life, and to expand the human presence in the solar system. The public and political engagement that is critical for support of a Mars exploration program is based on all of these objectives. In order to retain and to build public and political support, it is important for NASA to have an integrated Mars exploration plan, not separate robotic and human plans that exist in parallel or in sequence. The resolutions stemming from the current architectural review and prioritization of payloads may be pivotal in determining whether NASA will have such a unified plan and retain public support. There are several potential scientific and technological links between the robotic-only missions that have been flown and planned to date, and the combined robotic and human missions that will come in the future. Taking advantage of and leveraging those links are central to the idea of a unified Mars exploration plan. One such link is in situ resource utilization (ISRU) as an enabling technology to provide consumables such as fuels, oxygen, sweep and utility gases from the Mars atmosphere.

Sridhar, K. R.↗

Technology Utilization House Study Report

The objectives of Project TECH are: (1) to construct a single family detached dwelling for demonstrating the application of advanced technology and minimizing the requirement for energy and utility services, and (2) to help influence future development in home construction by defining the interaction of integrated energy and water management systems with building configuration and construction materials. Components and methods expected to be cost effective over a 20 year span were studied. Emphasis was placed on the utilization of natural heating and cooling characteristics. Orientation and location of windows, landscaping, natural ventilation, and characteristics of the local climate and microclimate were intended to be used to best advantage. Energy conserving homes are most efficient when design for specific sites, therefore project TECH should not be considered a prototype design suitable for all locations. However, it does provide ideas and analytical methods which can be applied to some degree in all housing.

Source record↗

Standard Lunar Regolith Simulants for Space Resource Utilization Technologies Development: Effects of Materials Choices

As NASA turns its exploration ambitions towards the Moon once again, the research and development of new technologies for lunar operations face the challenge of meeting the milestones of a fastpace schedule, reminiscent of the 1960's Apollo program. While the lunar samples returned by the Apollo and Luna missions have revealed much about the Moon, these priceless materials exist in too scarce quantities to be used for technology development and testing. The need for mineral materials chosen to simulate the characteristics of lunar regoliths is a pressing issue that is being addressed today through the collaboration of scientists, engineers and NASA program managers. The issue of reproducing the properties of lunar regolith for research and technology development purposes was addressed by the recently held 2005 Workshop on Lunar Regolith Simulant Materials at Marshall Space Flight Center. The recommendation of the workshop of establishing standard simulant materials to be used in lunar technology development and testing will be discussed here with an emphasis on space resource utilization. The variety of techniques and the complexity of functional interfaces make these simulant choices critical in space resource utilization.

Sibille, Laurent↗

Development of Membrane Distillation Technology Utilizing Waste Heat for Treatment of High Salinity Wastewaters

Membrane distillation (MD) can serve as a cost effective method to treat high salinity wastewaters, especially if waste heat is utilized for its operation. The goal of this work is to study the feasibility of employing MD technology for the treatment of high salinity wastewaters which are generated as a result of natural gas production and active reservoir management for CO 2 sequestration. This study also aimed at quantifying the availability of waste heat which could be used as the primary source of thermal energy to drive the MD process. Bench scale studies were carried out with several commercially available membranes using both synthetic and actual high salinity wastewaters. The membranes tested with real wastewater samples exhibited excellent rejection of dissolved ions, including naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). Long term bench scale experiments with real produced water from the Marcellus shale play revealed that iron oxide could precipitate on the feed side of direct contact MD (DCMD) module but had a negligible effect on the performance of the system. Based on the bench scale experiments, an ASPEN Plus simulation, which incorporated a mathematical model with fundamental heat and mass transfer equations, was developed and used to evaluate the process energy requirements. Despite low operating temperature and pressure for MD, it had a large thermal energy requirement for operation, which could make this technology expensive compared to reverse osmosis (RO) and forward osmosis (FO). However, it is important to note that RO and FO have limited applicability for high salinity shale gas wastewater. Moreover, MD could be integrated with renewable energy sources such as wind or solar energy or industrial waste heat sources to offset the thermal energy requirements and enhance the economics of wastewater treatment. Natural gas compressor stations (NG CS) have been proposed in this study as the source of waste heat based on the estimate of quantity and quality of available waste heat in the exhaust streams of gas turbine and internal combustion compressor engines. Using the actual installed capacity and location of compressor stations in the U.S., this analysis revealed that an average of 610 TJ/day of thermal energy is available at existing NG CS and that this source of waste heat is of high quality with temperatures above 645 K. A systems-level integration of MD with waste heat from NG CS revealed that approximately 56% of available waste heat at NG CS in Pennsylvania is sufficient to concentrate (from 10% to 30% salinity) all wastewater associated with shale gas extraction. Techno-economic assessment (TEA) accounting for capital as well as operating and maintenance costs with and without waste heat integration was conducted for a hypothetical 0.5 million gallons per day (MGD) DCMD plant using experimental and modeling results from this study. TEA revealed that the total cost of shale gas wastewater treatment using MD is $5.7/m 3 feed for the base case scenario in which the thermal energy requirements are met by external steam, however, the total cost can be reduced to $0.74/m 3 feed when integrated with free waste heat from NG CS. Sensitivity analysis revealed that thermal energy cost and feed TDS are the most important factors in total cost of high salinity wastewater treatment using DCMD.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Near Real-Time Nondestructive Active Inspection Technologies Utilizing Delayed γ-Rays and Neutrons for Advanced Safeguards

In this two year project, the research team investigated how delayed γ-rays from short-lived fission fragments detected in the short interval between irradiating pulses can be exploited for advanced safeguards technologies. This program contained experimental and modeling efforts. The experimental effort measured the emitted spectra, time histories and correlations of the delayed γ-rays from aqueous solutions and solid targets containing fissionable isotopes. The modeling effort first developed and benchmarked a hybrid Monte Carlo simulation technique based on these experiments. The benchmarked simulations were then extended to other safeguards scenarios, allowing comparisons to other advanced safeguards technologies and to investigate combined techniques. Ultimately, the experiments demonstrated the possible utility of actively induced delayed γ-ray spectroscopy for fissionable material assay.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

FEED Study of CarbonCapture Inc DAC and CarbonCure Utilization Technologies Using United States Steel’s Gary Works Plant Waste Heat (Final Report)

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) led this project to produce a front-end engineering design (FEED) study of an advanced Direct Air Capture and Utilization System (DACUS) system that can remove a minimum of 5,000 tonnes/yr net of carbon dioxide from air (based on cradle-to-gate LCA) and utilizing the CO 2 to produce low carbon intensity ready mix concrete. The designed system, if built, would be larger than any currently existing Direct Air Capture (DAC) collector in the U.S. Such carbon capture technologies are critical to meeting the goals of the DOE’s program to accelerate climate-critical technology. In addition to the power sector, industrial facilities for the manufacture of steel and cement/concrete are among the major sources of anthropogenic CO 2 . DAC is a promising new technology for reducing CO 2 , a potent greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere but is expensive, in part due to the energy required to adsorb and desorb captured CO 2 during cycles. By integrating CarbonCapture Inc. (CCI) DAC modules at United States Steel's Gary Works (USS) and utilizing the site's waste heat, energy, and location this project evaluates the feasibility of utilizing the captured CO 2 and the logistics of transportation. CarbonCapture Inc. has developed an innovative DAC system using novel adsorbents to cost-effectively capture CO 2 . The captured, liquified gas will be trucked to ready-mix concrete plants within the region, the closest of which is approximately 3.5 miles away, where CarbonCure will inject it into concrete during the mixing process at the facilities. The carbon dioxide reacts with concrete, mineralizing into calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ), permanently locking the greenhouse gas into the matrix of the building material. This FEED study demonstrated a full CO 2 value chain for DACUS from industrial facilities. It also provided a means for Visage Energy Corp. (Visage) to assess the impact of this holistic approach on job creation, regional economic impact, and environmental justice. The project team also included Sargent & Lundy (S&L) to provide the constructability review and costing of the integration of the DAC with the steel plant. Ecotek Engineering USA, LLC designed the outside battery limit (OSBL) infrastructure to connect the DAC and the plant. Activities performed during the project included: (1) Project Management Plan; (2) Technology Maturation Plan (TMP); (3) Initial Workforce Readiness Plan; (4) Workforce Readiness Plan; (5) Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) Study; (6) Project Design Basis; (7) Hazards and Operability (HAZOP) Study; (8) Constructability Review; (9) Project Cost Assessment; (10) Logistics Analysis of CO 2 Transportation to the Utilization Site; (11) Business Case Analysis; (12) Life Cycle Analysis (LCA); (13) Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) Analysis; (14) Environmental Justice Analysis; and (15) Economic Revitalization and Job Creation Outcomes Analysis. This report provides a summary of the outcomes and results of the project, which was performed between Oct. 1, 2022, through Sept. 30, 2024.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Study of aerospace technology utilization in the civilian biomedical field

The treatment of patients with acute pulmonary or cardiovascular diseases is used to demonstrate the benefits to be derived from a more extensive application of NASA technology in public health care. Significant and rather universal problems faced by the medical profession and supporting services are identified. The required technology and specifications for its development and evaluation are delineated. Institutional relationships and collaboration needed to accomplish technology transfer are developed.

Source record↗

A case study in technology utilization: Industrial products and practices

In pursuit of such missions as Apollo, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has called into being unique equipment that obviously has little direct application beyond the achievement of mission objectives. Yet, to assume that further direct application of space program hardware is somehow a measure of the industrial benefits accruing to the nation is to misunderstand how the creation of new technology affects modern industrial capability. This document presents a profile of the significant ways in which technological developments in response to aerospace mission requirements have been coupled into industrial practice, with the result being that improved products and processes are now being utilized to benefit the nation.

Source record↗