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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Induction Heating Model of Cermet Fuel Element Environmental Test (CFEET)

Deep space missions with large payloads require high specific impulse and relatively high thrust to achieve mission goals in reasonable time frames. Nuclear Thermal Rockets (NTR) are capable of producing a high specific impulse by employing heat produced by a fission reactor to heat and therefore accelerate hydrogen through a rocket nozzle providing thrust. Fuel element temperatures are very high (up to 3000 K) and hydrogen is highly reactive with most materials at high temperatures. Data covering the effects of high‐temperature hydrogen exposure on fuel elements are limited. The primary concern is the mechanical failure of fuel elements due to large thermal gradients; therefore, high‐melting‐point ceramics‐metallic matrix composites (cermets) are one of the fuels under consideration as part of the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (NCPS) Advance Exploration System (AES) technology project at the Marshall Space Flight Center. The purpose of testing and analytical modeling is to determine their ability to survive and maintain thermal performance in a prototypical NTR reactor environment of exposure to hydrogen at very high temperatures and obtain data to assess the properties of the non‐nuclear support materials. The fission process and the resulting heating performance are well known and do not require that active fissile material to be integrated in this testing. A small‐scale test bed; Compact Fuel Element Environmental Tester (CFEET), designed to heat fuel element samples via induction heating and expose samples to hydrogen is being developed at MSFC to assist in optimal material and manufacturing process selection without utilizing fissile material. This paper details the analytical approach to help design and optimize the test bed using COMSOL Multiphysics for predicting thermal gradients induced by electromagnetic heating (Induction heating) and Thermal Desktop for radiation calculations.

Gomez, Carlos F.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Unitized regenerative fuel cell system

A Unitized Regenerative Fuel Cell system uses heat pipes to convey waste heat from the fuel cell stack to the reactant storage tanks. The storage tanks act as heat sinks/sources and as passive radiators of the waste heat from the fuel cell stack. During charge up, i.e., the electrolytic process, gases are conveyed to the reactant storage tanks by way of tubes that include dryers. Reactant gases moving through the dryers give up energy to the cold tanks, causing water vapor in with the gases to condense and freeze on the internal surfaces of the dryer. During operation in its fuel cell mode, the heat pipes convey waste heat from the fuel cell stack to the respective reactant storage tanks, thereby heating them such that the reactant gases, as they pass though the respective dryers on their way to the fuel cell stacks retrieve the water previously removed.

Burke, Kenneth A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Oxidation and formation of deposit precursors in hydrocarbon fuels

A practical fuel, home heating oil no. 2 (Fuel C), and the pure hydrocarbon, n-dodecane, were subjected to mild oxidation at 130 C and the resulting oxygenated reaction products, deposit precursors, were analyzed using field ionization mass spectrometry. Results for fuel C indicated that, as oxidation was initially extended, certain oxygenated reaction products of increasing molecular weights in the form of monomers, dimers and some trimers were produced. Further oxidation time increase resulted in further increase in monomers but a marked decrease in dimers and trimers. This suggests that these larger molecular weight products have proceeded to form deposit and separated from the fuel mixture. Results for a dodecane indicated that yields for dimers and trimers were very low. Dimers were produced as a result of interaction between oxygenated products with each other rather than with another fuel molecule. This occurred even though fuel molecule concentration was 50 times, or more greater than that for these oxygenated reaction products.

Buttrill, S. E., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Development of Passive Fuel Cell Thermal Management Heat Exchanger

The NASA Glenn Research Center is developing advanced passive thermal management technology to reduce the mass and improve the reliability of space fuel cell systems for the NASA Exploration program. The passive thermal management system relies on heat conduction within highly thermally conductive cooling plates to move the heat from the central portion of the cell stack out to the edges of the fuel cell stack. Using the passive approach eliminates the need for a coolant pump and other cooling loop components within the fuel cell system which reduces mass and improves overall system reliability. Previous development demonstrated the performance of suitable highly thermally conductive cooling plates that could conduct the heat, provide a sufficiently uniform temperature heat sink for each cell of the fuel cell stack, and be substantially lighter than the conventional thermal management approach. Tests were run with different materials to evaluate the design approach to a heat exchanger that could interface with the edges of the passive cooling plates. Measurements were made during fuel cell operation to determine the temperature of individual cooling plates and also to determine the temperature uniformity from one cooling plate to another.

Burke, Kenneth A.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Simulation of Hydrogen Flow in a Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion Reactor Subsystem: Conjugate Heat Transfer in Surrogate Fuel Elements and Flow Through the Dome Inlet to the Fuel Elements

NASA is performing research related to a Nuclear-Thermal Propulsion (NTP) engine as a step toward future manned missions to Mars. BWX Technologies (BWXT), in conjunction with NASA, is developing the reactor subsystem for that NTP engine design. As a subset of the reactor subsystem, the fuel elements have continued to evolve in design, as well. A set of experiments within the Nuclear Thermal Reactor Element Environmental Simulator at NASA Marshall has been developed to compliment that design process, including a series of surrogate fuel elements. Before the experiments of each surrogate can be completed, they must be deemed safe using structural analysis, which itself requires thermal and conjugate heat transfer analyses of the articles. Therefore, conjugate heat transfer simulations of the hydrogen flow through the test article fuel element surrogates were developed to provide estimates of heating, as well as to provide assessments of the fluid flow through the elements. The set of simulations involved not only the separate test conditions, but also a sensitivity study to estimate the effect of physical parameter uncertainty on the selected quantities of interest. Additionally, the fluid flow through the fore section inner plenum dome to the entrances of the fuel elements, another section of the reactor subsystem still under active development, was simulated and analyzed. The simulations show the extent of non-uniformity in the mass flow distribution across the dome outlets. Furthermore, additional analyses estimate the effects of required flow blockages on the potential development of flow dynamics. These analyses were used in the design cycle to make improvements to the reactor subsystem design.

Kalen E. Braman↗
NASA NTRS1984

Hydrogen Production From Heavy Fuels

Better heat transfer properties avoid sulfur poisoning of catalyst. Monolithic supported catalyst allows initiation of steam reforming to take place more rapidly at inlet section of reactor.

Voecks, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1972

Heat transfer to four fineness-ratio-1.6 hexagonal prisms with various corner radii at Mach 6

An investigation was conducted in the Langley 20-inch Mach 6 tunnel to define the aerodynamic heat transfer to the radioisotope fuel cask (heat source) of the SNAP-19/Pioneer power system. The shape of the SNAP-19/Pioneer heat source is that of a hexagonal prism with flat ends; the fineness ratio, based on maximum (edge to edge) diameter, is 1.61. Phase-change-paint heat-transfer data and schlieren photographs were obtained on four possible 1/2-scale entry configurations of the SNAP-19/Pioneer heat source. Tests were conducted over a wide range of attitudes and at nominal Reynolds numbers, based on the length of the unablated configuration, of 33,000; 84,000; and 2,200,000.

Hunt, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Transient Modeling of Hybrid Rocket Low Frequency Instabilities

A comprehensive dynamic model of a hybrid rocket has been developed in order to understand and predict the transient behavior including instabilities. A linearized version of the transient model predicted the low-frequency chamber pressure oscillations that are commonly observed in hybrids. The source of the instabilities is based on a complex coupling of thermal transients in the solid fuel, wall heat transfer blocking due to fuel regression rate and the transients in the boundary layer that forms on the fuel surface. The oscillation frequencies predicted by the linearized theory are in very good agreement with 43 motor test results obtained from the hybrid propulsion literature. The motor test results used in the comparison cover a very wide spectrum of parameters including: 1) four separate research and development programs, 2) three different oxidizers (LOX, GOX, N2O), 3) a wide range of motor dimensions (i.e. from 5 inch diameter to 72 inch diameter) and operating conditions and 4) several fuel formulations. A simple universal scaling formula for the frequency of the primary oscillation mode is suggested.

Karabeyoglu, M. Arif↗
NASA NTRS1974

Electrical heating tests of uranium dioxide external fuel configuration at emitter temperature of 1900 K

Testing of two fuel clad specimens for thermionic reactor application is described. The annular UO2 fuel was clad on both sides with tungsten; heat rejection was radially inward. The tests were intended to study inner clad stability, fuel redistribution, and fuel melting problems. The specimens were tested in a vacuum chamber using electron bombardment heating. Fuel structural changes were studied using periodic gammagraphs and posttest metallography. The first specimen test was terminated at 50 hours because of a braze failure. The second specimen was tested for 240 hours when an outer clad leak developed due to a tungsten-water reaction. The fuel developed numerous cracks on cooldown but the inner clad remained dimensionally stable. The fuel cover gas did not impede the rate of fuel redistribution. Posttest examination showed the fuel had not melted during operation.

Diianni, D. C.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Deposit formation and heat transfer in hydrocarbon rocket fuels

An experimental research program was undertaken to investigate the thermal stability and heat transfer characteristics of several hydrocarbon fuels under conditions that simulate high-pressure, rocket engine cooling systems. The rates of carbon deposition in heated copper and nickel-plated copper tubes were determined for RP-1, propane, and natural gas using a continuous flow test apparatus which permitted independent variation and evaluation of the effect on deposit formation of wall temperature, fuel pressure, and fuel velocity. In addition, the effects of fuel additives and contaminants, cryogenic fuel temperatures, and extended duration testing with intermittent operation were examined. Parametric tests to map the thermal stability characteristics of RP-1, commercial-grade propane, and natural gas were conducted at pressures of 6.9 to 13.8 MPa, bulk fuel velocities of 30 to 90 m/s, and tube wall temperatures in the range of 230 to 810 K. Also, tests were run in which propane and natural gas fuels were chilled to 230 and 160 K, respectively. Corrosion of the copper tube surface was detected for all fuels tested. Plating the inside of the copper tubes with nickel reduced deposit formation and eliminated tube corrosion in most cases. The lowest rates of carbon deposition were obtained for natural gas, and the highest rates were obtained for propane. For all fuels tested, the forced-convection heat transfer film coefficients were satisfactorily correlated using a Nusselt-Reynolds-Prandtl number equation.

Giovanetti, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Thick thermal barrier coatings for diesel components

An engineered thick thermal barrier coating consisting of multiple layers of zirconia and CoCrAlY with a zirconia top layer and having a system thermal conductance less than 410 w/m(exp 2)K exceeded the 100 hour engine durability goals set forth in this program. The thermal barrier coatings were intact at the test conclusion. Back to back single cylinder research engine tests were conducted with watercooled, metal hardware and oil-cooled, thermal barrier coating insulated hardware to determine apparent heat release and fuel economy. Apparent heat release data revealed that the insulated engine had a shorter ignition delay and a longer combustion duration than the metal engine. The insulated engine fuel economy was approximately two percent worse on average for this series of tests. There was no attempt to optimize engine efficiency of the insulated engine by modifying the engine timing, coating, or other techniques.

Yonushonis, T. M.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Deposit formation and heat transfer in hydrocarbon rocket fuels

An experimental research program was undertaken to investigate the thermal stability and heat transfer characteristics of several hydrocarbon fuels under conditions that simulate high-pressure, rocket engine cooling systems. The rates of carbon deposition in heated copper and nickel-plated copper tubes were determined for RP-1, propane, and natural gas using a continuous flow test apparatus which permitted independent variation and evaluation of the effect on deposit formation of wall temperature, fuel pressure, and fuel velocity. In addition, the effects of fuel additives and contaminants, cryogenic fuel temperatures, and extended duration testing with intermittent operation were examined. Corrosion of the copper tube surface was detected for all fuels tested; however, plating the insides of the tubes with nickel reduced deposit formation and eliminated corrosion in most cases. The lowest rates of carbon deposition were obtained for natural gas, and the highest rates were obtained for propane. Forced-convection heat transfer film coefficients were satisfactorily correlated using a Nusselt-Reynolds-Prandtl number equation for all the fuels tested.

Giovanetti, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Integrated Fuel Cell/Coal Gasifier

Powerplant design with low-temperature coal gasifier coupled to highly-exothermic fuel cell for efficient production of dc power eliminates need for oxygen in gasifier and achieves high fuel efficiency with recycling of waste heat from fuel cell.

Ferrall, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Deposit formation in hydrocarbon rocket fuels with an evaluation of a propane heat transfer correlation

A high pressure fuel coking testing apparatus was designed and developed and was used to evaluate thermal decomposition limits and carbon decomposition rates in heated copper tubes for hydrocarbon fuels. A commercial propane (90% grade) and chemically pure (CP) propane were tested. Heat transfer to supercritical propane was evaluated at 136 atm, bulk fluid velocities of 6 to 30 m/s, and tube wall temperatures in the range of 422 to 811 K. A forced convection heat transfer correlation developed in a previous test effort verified a prediction of most of the experimental data within a + or - 30% range, with good agreement for the CP propane data. No significant differences were apparent in the predictions derived from the correlation when the carbon resistance was included with the film resistance. A post-test scanning electron microprobe analysis indicated occurrences of migration and interdiffusion of copper into the carbon deposit.

Masters, P. A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Oil cooling system for a gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine fuel delivery and control system is provided with means to recirculate all fuel in excess of fuel control requirements back to aircraft fuel tank, thereby increasing the fuel pump heat sink and decreasing the pump temperature rise without the addition of valving other than that normally employed. A fuel/oil heat exchanger and associated circuitry is provided to maintain the hot engine oil in heat exchange relationship with the cool engine fuel. Where anti-icing of the fuel filter is required, means are provided to maintain the fuel temperature entering the filter at or above a minimum level to prevent freezing thereof. Fluid circuitry is provided to route hot engine oil through a plurality of heat exchangers disposed within the system to provide for selective cooling of the oil.

Coffinberry, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Antimisting kerosene: Low temperature degradation and blending

The inline filtration characteristics of freshly blended and degraded antimisting fuels (AMK) at low temperature are examined. A needle valve degrader was modified to include partial recirculation of degraded fuel and heat addition in the bypass loop. A pressure drop across the needle valve of up to 4,000 psi was used. The pressure drop across a 325 mesh filter screen placed inline with the degrader and directly downstream of the needle valve was measured as a function of time for different values of pressure drop across the needle valve. A volume flux of 1 gpm/sq in was employed based on the frontal area of the screen. It was found that, at ambient temperatures, freshly blended AMK fuel could be degraded using a single pass degradation at 4,000 psi pressure drop across the needle valve to give acceptable filterability performance. At fuel temperatures below -20 C, degradation becomes increasingly difficult and a single pass technique results in unacceptable filtration performance. Recirculation of a fraction of the degraded fuel and heat addition in the bypass loop improved low temperature degradation performance. The problem is addressed of blending the AMK additive with Jet A at various base fuel temperatures.

Yavrouian, A.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Oil cooling system for a gas turbine engine

A gas turbine engine fuel delivery and control system is provided with means to recirculate all fuel in excess fuel control requirements back to the aircraft fuel tank. This increases the fuel pump heat sink and decreases the pump temperature rise without the addition of valving other than normally employed. A fuel/oil heat exchanger and associated circuitry is provided to maintain the hot engine oil in heat exchange relationship with the cool engine fuel. Where anti-icing of the fuel filter is required, means are provided to maintain the fuel temperature entering the filter at or above a minimum level to prevent freezing thereof. In one embodiment, a divider valve is provided to take all excess fuel from either upstream or downstream of the fuel filter and route it back to the tanks, the ratio of upstream to downstream extraction being a function of fuel pump discharge pressure.

Coffinberry, G. A.↗