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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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434 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Development of a Framework and Methodology for an Advanced Reactor Materials Environmental Effects Design Guide

Advanced non-light-water reactor components may operate at elevated temperature while experiencing cyclic loading, significant neutron irradiation, and exposure to reactor coolant. ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, Section III, Division 5, provides design rules for elevated-temperature service but does not include specific procedures to account for environmental effects on material properties. This report develops an initial framework and methodology for an Environmental Effects Design Guide (EEDG) focused on neutron irradiation; coolant-environment effects are reserved for future work. The proposed approach treats irradiation as a property-based overlay on the existing Division 5 design process, with two routes: a sparse-data route applying two reduction factors — FCR on creep-rupture strength and FF on fatigue life — for the creep-fatigue evaluations that typically control the design of advanced high-temperature reactor components, and a fuller framework developing the property-to-rule chain across the four Division 5 checks (primary load, strain limits and ratcheting, creep-fatigue, and buckling), together with swelling and weldments as scope items. Both routes are scoped by an in-pile qualification that restricts the use of post-irradiation-examination-derived properties in regimes where an in-pile mechanism could control the design outcome. Illustrative outputs derived on a compiled annealed Type 316 database — FCR ≈ 0.78–0.86 and FF ≈ 0.4 — demonstrate the calculation method within that specific dataset. The framework is an initial, testable design-rule concept; it identifies a practical path for preliminary design evaluations under sparse data and the material data and testing needed to develop the framework further.

Barua, Bipul (ORCID:0000000247184113)↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design and Analysis of Battery Thermal Management Systems

Thermal management of battery cell packs is a critically needed technology. The purpose of this work is to design new and improved Battery Thermal Management Systems (BTMS) for use in electric airplanes. The BTMS should be 3D printable and hold twelve to sixteen 18650 batteries. To minimize aircraft’s weight, an actively air-cooled battery pack was chosen to avoid the excess weight of water-cooled and phase change material (PCM) cooled packs. As a result, significant changes were made to remove all metal in the pack and replace it with lower density polymer matrix composites (PMCs) which can be additively manufactured. Two air cooled battery pack configurations (traditional propeller fans & bladeless fans) were designed, modeled, and compared. These packs were first modeled in SolidWorks 2021 3D CAD, then imported into COMSOL MultiPhysics to be studied using the “Heat Transfer in Solids and Fluids” module. The design with the bladeless fans eliminated the need to use high conductivity heavy metal to remove unwanted thermal energy. These bladeless fans were designed entirely out of PMCs. This thermal pack design weighs 0.04 kg less than that of the traditional propeller fans design and has increased the battery pack energy density by 8.25 Wh/kg.

Thermal Management System for Battery Packs↗
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 NTRS1984

Management and Performance of APPLE Battery in High Temperature Environment

India's first experimental communication satellite, APPLE, carried a 12 AH Ni-Cd battery for supplying power during eclipse. Failure to deploy one of the two solar panels resulted in the battery operating in a high temperature environment, around 40 C. This also resulted in the battery being used in diurnal cycles rather than just half yearly eclipse seasons. The management and performance of the battery during its life of two years are described. An attempt to identify the probable degradation mechanisms is also made.

Suresh, M. S.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Laser-induced graphene gas sensors for environmental monitoring

Artemesia tridentatais a foundational plant taxon in western North America and an important medicinal plant threatened by climate change. Low-cost fabrication of sensors is critical for developing large-area sensor networks for understanding and monitoring a range of environmental conditions. However, the availability of materials and manufacturing processes is still in the early stages, limiting the capacity to develop cost-effective sensors at a large scale. In this study, we demonstrate the fabrication of low-cost flexible sensors using laser-induced graphene (LIG); a graphitic material synthesized using a 450-nm wavelength bench top laser patterned onto polyimide substrates. We demonstrate the effect of the intensity and focus of the incident beam on the morphology and electrical properties of the synthesized material. Raman analyses of the synthesized LIG show a defect-rich graphene with a crystallite size in the tens of nanometers. This shows that the high level of disorder within the LIG structure, along with the porous nature of the material provide a good surface for gas adsorption. The initial characterization of the material has shown an analyte response represented by a change in resistance of up to 5% in the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted and detected byArtemisiaspecies. Bend testing up to 100 cycles provides evidence that these sensors will remain resilient when deployed across the landscapes to assess VOC signaling in plant communities. The versatile low-cost laser writing technique highlights the promise of low-cost and scalable fabrication of LIG sensors for gas sensor monitoring.

Chemistry↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development of a Digital Twin for Electrified Aircraft Powertrain Health Management

The augmentation of aircraft powertrains with electrical power systems is a promising path to reducing aircraft fuel consumption, emissions, and noise. Like conventional propulsion systems, electrified aircraft propulsion (EAP) systems will be subject to wear and tear throughout their lifecycles. System health management for EAP will enable efficient flight and maintenance scheduling, realizing economic, safety, and reliability benefits. A digital twin is, broadly, a dynamically updated virtual representation of an individual physical asset. This paper presents a Kalman filter-based approach for the development of a digital twin for an electrified powertrain and applies the approach to an EAP controls testbed. Measurements from nominal testbed operations are used to update a nonlinear model of the testbed. A Kalman filter is then created and used to identify and isolate anomalous testbed behavior based on measurements from off- nominal operations. Results show that the Kalman filter-based digital twin can monitor individual powertrain components’ health for degradation or other changes in performance. The applicability of the presented digital twin approach to any hybrid- or fully-electrified powertrain is emphasized.

Electrified Aircraft Propulsion↗
DOE OSTI2026

Linking international technical specifications for acoustic characterization of marine energy converter sounds with environmental compliance criteria

As new ocean energy technologies emerge and are deployed for testing and operations, sound emissions are a potential concern for environmental effects to marine life. Consistent acoustic measurement and data analysis methods can help promote comparisons of technologies and transferability between project sites. In 2022, acoustic emissions from a prototype scale wave energy converter (WEC) were characterized for a range of environmental conditions and power generation states in the coastal waters off southern California using a set of international technical specifications. Results from the international technical specification analyses were applied to United States regulatory threshold criteria for acoustic impacts to marine mammals and examined in the context of European underwater noise monitoring guidelines. Weighted 24 hour cumulative sound exposure levels SEL24h calculated from the highest power generation state WEC sound pressure levels were often more than 20 dB below threshold criteria for temporary threshold shifts in five relevant marine mammal hearing groups. Following European Union recommendations for analyses and reporting, WEC sound characterization in third octave bands centered at 63 Hz and 125 Hz show clear spatial decay of WEC-generated noise, with more pronounced attenuation at 63 Hz, and a less marked but still detectable gradient at 125 Hz, collectively suggesting a relatively confined acoustic footprint under the observed conditions. The value of the international technical specification approach is highlighted by the isolation of WEC sounds from the surrounding soundscape. This allows for a robust characterization of acoustic emissions through a range of device power generation and sea states. Furthermore, in threshold-based regulatory contexts like the U.S., this facilitates direct evaluation of source contributions, while in broader monitoring frameworks used in the E.U. it provides a reproducible foundation for assessing the contribution of emerging ocean energy technologies to the underwater acoustic environment.

Haxel, Joseph H. (ORCID:0000000273864761)↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

The Use of Immersion Rigs for High Temperature Hydrogen Exposure Testing within the Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES): Thermal Soak Rig (TSR)

The Nuclear Thermal Rocket Element Environmental Simulator (NTREES) facility was purpose constructed to perform non-nuclear evaluations of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) system fuel materials and structures within prototypic thermochemical environments. This system has been utilized steadily in its ability to subject test specimens to thermochemical and thermohydraulic environments simulating that of an operating nuclear rocket engine. Fission heat is simulated by induction power and experiments are conducted within a ~1000 psi pressure vessel. Hydrogen is conventionally passed through the heated fuel surrogate test specimen while pressure, temperature, and gas species data are collected at various points along the experiment. In order to test fuel and material coupon samples, a class of test apparatus named “immersion rigs” are being developed and employed to more rapidly test these smaller and more technically challenging test specimen. One example of a promising potential fuel structure, Tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) particles, presents unique challenges for testing of this type. TRISO fuel micro-particles are spheroids typically on the order of 500 – 1000 μm in diameter, and exposing a batch sample to hot hydrogen requires purpose-built special test equipment. Thusly, an immersion rig was developed and successfully demonstrated to expose ~1 g of micro-particles to hydrogen gas at temperatures and pressures relevant to NTP systems for the purpose of fuel evaluation. The rig, comprised primarily of graphite and pure tungsten, houses in its core a batch of micro-particles between pucks of porous silicon carbide (SiC). This approach permits gas flow while simultaneously retaining the particles in place. Herein is a discussion of the design, analysis, fabrication, and testing of the NTREES Thermal Soak Rig (TSR).

Space Nuclear Propulsion↗
DOE OSTI2026

Revolutionizing thermal Management in Next-Generation AI data centers: Challenges and breakthrough innovations

Data centers (DCs) serve as critical infrastructure for powering the growth and evolution of AI. Next-generation AI DCs present unique challenges in thermal management driven by unprecedented computational demands. This paper provides a comprehensive summary of key stakeholder perspectives on technology gaps, infrastructure requirements, test bed needs, emerging opportunities, and preliminary solutions related to thermal management for AI DCs. It establishes six strategic pillars of thermal management for next generation AI DC: reliability, deployability, efficiency, resilience, measurability, and valorization. The discussion spans a range of critical topics, including advanced cooling technologies, thermal strategies for emerging modular and edge DCs, system-level optimization and control frameworks, infrastructure planning and grid integration designs, benchmarking approaches, and pathways for waste heat recovery and reuse. The proposed research, development, and demonstration efforts are aimed at accelerating the deployment of AI DCs while ensuring energy efficiency, reliability, safety, and regulatory compliance.

Wang, Pengtao [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000214713429)↗
NASA NTRS2026

Development and Validation of a High-Vacuum Thermal Conductivity Testbed for Aerospace Interface Materials

Thermal Interface Materials (TIMs) are critical components in spacecraft thermal management systems, where thermal performance is strongly influenced by vacuum conditions, interface contact resistance, and layered metallic joint behavior. However, manufacturer-reported thermal conductivity values are often derived under idealized conditions and may not accurately represent performance within operational aerospace applications. To address this limitation, the Testbed for Advanced Interface Materials in Vacuum (TAIMV) was developed as a modular vacuum-compatible thermal conductivity characterization platform capable of evaluating aerospace-relevant TIM configurations under both ambient and high-vacuum environments. The testbed was derived from the ASTM C1044-16 guarded hot plate methodology and incorporates interchangeable layers of stainless steel coupon geometries, independently controlled main and guard heaters, embedded resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), thermocouples, multi-layer insulation (MLI), and a temperature-controlled cold plate to characterize through-thickness thermal gradients across layered interfaces. In the current configuration, interface compression is limited to the nominal contact pressure generated by the experimental stack assembly. Initial experimental campaigns were conducted at ambient pressure and below 1×10-5 torr for vacuum cases using multiple interface materials including Braycote 601EF and Krytox-based greases across a range of thermal operating conditions. In parallel, a coupled numerical Python thermal model was developed to predict temperature distribution throughout the stack while accounting for conduction, radiation, and parasitic heat transfer pathways and effective interface resistance effects. Experimental measurements and numerical predictions showed consistent thermal trends across multiple operating conditions and environmental states. Results also revealed measurable differences between ambient and vacuum thermal behavior, demonstrating the importance of interface resistance, parasitic heat transfer mechanisms, and stack geometry in determining effective thermal performance within layered thermal interfaces. The presented work establishes a foundation for future thermal model correlation efforts and expanded characterization of aerospace thermal interface materials under representative environmental conditions. Future work will focus on the integration of a load cell system to enable controlled pressure-dependent characterization of thermal interface materials under compressive loading. This capability will allow investigation of the influence of contact pressure on effective thermal conductivity, interface resistance, and thermal performance within layered aerospace thermal interfaces under representative operational conditions.

Thermal Development Testing↗