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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 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Overview of NASA's Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project

NASA's Constellation Program includes the Orion, Altair, and Lunar Surface Systems (LSS) project offices. The first two elements, Orion and Altair, are manned space vehicles while the third element is broader and includes several subelements including Rovers and a Lunar Habitat. The upcoming planned missions involving these systems and vehicles include several risks and design challenges. Due to the unique thermal environment, many of these risks and challenges are associated with the vehicles thermal control system. NASA s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) includes the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). ETDP consists of several technology development projects. The project chartered with mitigating the aforementioned risks and design challenges is the Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project. The risks and design challenges are addressed through a rigorous technology development process that culminates with an integrated thermal control system test. The resulting hardware typically has a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of approximately six. This paper summarizes the development efforts being performed by the technology development project. The development efforts involve heat acquisition and heat rejection hardware including radiators, heat exchangers, and evaporators. The project has also been developing advanced phase change material heat sinks and performing assessments for thermal control system fluids.

Stephan, Ryan A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Overview of NASA's Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project

NASA s Constellation Program includes the Orion, Altair, and Lunar Surface Systems project offices. The first two elements, Orion and Altair, are manned space vehicles while the third element is broader and includes several subelements including Rovers and a Lunar Habitat. The upcoming planned missions involving these systems and vehicles include several risks and design challenges. Due to the unique thermal environment, many of these risks and challenges are associated with the vehicles thermal control system. NASA s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) includes the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). ETDP consists of several technology development projects. The project chartered with mitigating the aforementioned risks and design challenges is the Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project. The risks and design challenges are addressed through a rigorous technology development process that culminates with an integrated thermal control system test. The resulting hardware typically has a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of six. This paper summarizes the development efforts being performed by the technology development project. The development efforts involve heat acquisition and heat rejection hardware including radiators, heat exchangers, and evaporators. The project has also been developing advanced phase change material heat sinks and performing assessments for thermal control system fluids. The current paper will provide an update to a similar overview paper published at last year s International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES).

Stephan, Ryan A.↗
NASA NTRS2010

Overview of NASA's Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project

NASA's Constellation Program includes the Orion, Altair, and Lunar Surface Systems project offices. The first two elements, Orion and Altair, are manned space vehicles while the third element is broader and includes several sub-elements including Rovers and a Lunar Habitat. The upcoming planned missions involving these systems and vehicles include several risks and design challenges. Due to the unique thermal environment, many of these risks and challenges are associated with the vehicles' thermal control system. NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD) includes the Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP). ETDP consists of several technology development projects. The project chartered with mitigating the aforementioned risks and design challenges is the Thermal Control System Development for Exploration Project. The risks and design challenges are addressed through a rigorous technology development process that culminates with an integrated thermal control system test. The resulting hardware typically has a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of six. This paper summarizes the development efforts being performed by the technology development project. The development efforts involve heat acquisition and heat rejection hardware including radiators, heat exchangers, and evaporators. The project has also been developing advanced phase change material heat sinks and performing assessments for thermal control system fluids.

Stephan, Ryan A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Automated Ply-by-Ply Lamination and In-Situ Consolidation of Thermoplastic Composite High-Contour Stiffeners for High-Rate Aircraft Manufacturing

To meet the future demand of the commercial aircraft market, composite aircraft manufacturing rates must significantly increase. NASA’s Hi-Rate Composites Aircraft Manufacturing (HiCAM) program addresses this need to advance aircraft composite manufacturing technologies. Thermoplastic composites offer a promising solution to these manufacturing demands and present an opportunity for Northrop Grumman to bring the benefits of its Automated Stiffener Forming (ASF) technology to thermoplastic processing. Within HiCAM, Northrop Grumman is evolving the ASF technology for ply-by-ply, in-situ processing of thermoplastic composite materials. The modular process accommodates flexibility in the laminate stacking, while allowing for ply drops, ply additions, and yaw, pitch, and roll in the laminate geometry. To adapt the ASF process for thermoplastics, heating technologies and roller compaction processes were investigated by manufacturing flat test coupons. These panels were evaluated by photo-microscopy, non-destructive inspection, and short beam shear tests and results were compared against baseline autoclave coupons. The results of the laminates fabricated via ASF are presented.

out of autoclave↗
DOE OSTI2019

A review of separation processes proposed for advanced fuel cycles based on technology readiness level assessments

The results of an international review of separation processes for spent nuclear fuel (SNF) recycling in future closed fuel cycles are reported. This study was made by the Expert Group on Fuel Recycling Chemistry (EGFRC) organised by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A unique feature of this study was that processes were classified according to a hierarchy of separations aimed at different elements within spent fuel (uranium; uranium-plutonium co-recovery; minor actinides; high heat generating radionuclides) and also the Head-end processes, used to prepare the SNF for chemical separation, were included. Separation processes covered both wet (hydrometallurgical) and dry (pyro-chemical) processes. A bespoke methodology suitable for assessing the technological maturities of separation processes for SNF recycling was then designed based on the well-established Technology Readiness Level (TRL) scale but adapted for spent nuclear fuel separations. The innovative feature of this was the use of a matrix approach that enabled information on both the scale of testing and materials used in testing to be combined in the evaluation of the TRL. TRLs for the Head-end, hydrometallurgical and pyrochemical processes that had been reviewed by the study have been evaluated. It is clear that, whilst more R&D is needed in most cases to raise TRLs, suitable options exist to enable the recovery of all actinide elements plus the HHRs by wet or dry processes, even up to the extraordinarily difficult isolation of americium alone. The technology readiness levels (TRL) for most processes fall in the ‘proof of principle’ range with TRLs between 4 and 6, although this is an evaluation at the system level and some gaps in the individual process steps may still exist that strictly would reduce the overall TRL. That is, flowsheets have been proposed for processes and tested with active materials under increasingly relevant conditions, through to initial hot tests with small quantities of SNF. The results of this work were shown to be comparable to a parallel European study that evaluated TRLs for minor actinide partitioning processes.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS2012

The PROPEL Electrodynamic Tether Mission and Connecting to the Ionosphere

The exponential increase of launch system size.and cost.with delta-V makes missions that require large total impulse cost prohibitive. Led by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, a team from government, industry, and academia has developed a flight demonstration mission concept of an integrated electrodynamic (ED) tethered satellite system called PROPEL: "Propulsion using Electrodynamics". The PROPEL Mission is focused on demonstrating a versatile configuration of an ED tether to overcome the limitations of the rocket equation, enable new classes of missions currently unaffordable or infeasible, and significantly advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to an operational level. We are also focused on establishing a far deeper understanding of critical processes and technologies to be able to scale and improve tether systems in the future. Here, we provide an overview of the proposed PROPEL mission. One of the critical processes for efficient ED tether operation is the ability to inject current to and collect current from the ionosphere. Because the PROPEL mission is planned to have both boost and deboost capability using a single tether, the tether current must be capable of flowing in both directions and at levels well over 1 A. Given the greater mobility of electrons over that of ions, this generally requires that both ends of the ED tether system can both collect and emit electrons. For example, hollow cathode plasma contactors (HCPCs) generally are viewed as state-of-the-art and high TRL devices; however, for ED tether applications important questions remain of how efficiently they can operate as both electron collectors and emitters. Other technologies will be highlighted that are being investigated as possible alternatives to the HCPC such as Solex that generates a plasma cloud from a solid material (Teflon) and electron emission (only) technologies such as cold-cathode electron field emission or photo-electron beam generation (PEBG) techniques.

Gilchrist, Brian↗
NASA NTRS2012

Technology Area Roadmap for In-Space Propulsion Technologies

The exponential increase of launch system size.and cost.with delta-V makes missions that require large total impulse cost prohibitive. Led by NASA fs Marshall Space Flight Center, a team from government, industry, and academia has developed a flight demonstration mission concept of an integrated electrodynamic (ED) tethered satellite system called PROPEL: \Propulsion using Electrodynamics.. The PROPEL Mission is focused on demonstrating a versatile configuration of an ED tether to overcome the limitations of the rocket equation, enable new classes of missions currently unaffordable or infeasible, and significantly advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) to an operational level. We are also focused on establishing a far deeper understanding of critical processes and technologies to be able to scale and improve tether systems in the future. Here, we provide an overview of the proposed PROPEL mission. One of the critical processes for efficient ED tether operation is the ability to inject current to and collect current from the ionosphere. Because the PROPEL mission is planned to have both boost and deboost capability using a single tether, the tether current must be capable of flowing in both directions and at levels well over 1 A. Given the greater mobility of electrons over that of ions, this generally requires that both ends of the ED tether system can both collect and emit electrons. For example, hollow cathode plasma contactors (HCPCs) generally are viewed as state-of-the-art and high TRL devices; however, for ED tether applications important questions remain of how efficiently they can operate as both electron collectors and emitters. Other technologies will be highlighted that are being investigated as possible alternatives to the HCPC such as Solex that generates a plasma cloud from a solid material (Teflon) and electron emission (only) technologies such as cold-cathode electron field emission or photo-electron beam generation (PEBG) techniques

Johnson, Les↗
NASA NTRS1993

Commercial space opportunities - Advanced concepts and technology overview

The paper discusses the status of current and future commercial space opportunities. The goal is to pioneer innovative, customer-focused space concepts and technologies, leveraged through industrial, academic, and government alliance, to ensure U.S. commercial competitiveness and preeminence in space. The strategy is to develop technologies which enable new products and processes, deploy existing technology into commercial and military products and processes, and integrate military and commercial research and production activities. Technology development areas include information infrastructure, electronics design and manufacture, health care technology, environment technology, and aeronautical technologies.

Reck, Gregory M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Considerations for Electrochemical Phosphorus Precipitation: A Figures of Merit Approach

Electrochemical phosphorus precipitation (EPP) from wastewater is a promising emerging technology for recovering valuable nutrients. While there are significant advantages of EPP compared to traditional phosphorus recovery, large gaps in reported performance exist between EPP methods and between EPP and industrial methods. Herein we discuss Figures of Merit (FOM) to normalize and report EPP performance at low-to-intermediate technology readiness levels (TRLs). Here, the appropriate use of FOM in electrochemical engineering enables better comparison between technologies, enhanced understanding of electrochemical and mass transport phenomena, and faster scale-up and adoption of nascent technologies.¬ FOM specific to EPP are discussed along with important considerations and adaptations from traditional electrochemical engineering FOM. Importantly, this FOM approach may be adapted for many different electrochemical processes and technologies, aiding in the push toward and adoption of electrification in chemical processing.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2015

Test plan for formulation and evaluation of grouted waste forms with shine process wastes

The objective of this experimental project is to demonstrate that waste streams generated during the production of Mo99 by the SHINE Medical Technologies (SHINE) process can be immobilized in cement-based grouted waste forms having physical, chemical, and radiological stabilities that meet regulatory requirements for handling, storage, transport, and disposal.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2021

Basic Energy Sciences Roundtable: Foundational Science for Carbon-Neutral Hydrogen Technologies

The amount of molecular hydrogen used worldwide is enormous; about 70 million metric tons are produced globally every year, with approximately 10 million metric tons produced within the U.S. alone. 1 Hydrogen is used primarily by the industrial sector for oil refining; chemical production, especially for ammonia; steel manufacturing; and transportation fuels. With the recent announcement of the Hydrogen Shot, the first U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Energy Earthshot, the DOE declared a near-term focus on “accelerating breakthroughs of more abundant, affordable, and reliable clean energy solutions within the decade.” Consequently, there is a compelling need for novel approaches to enable hydrogen processes and technologies that do not emit carbon dioxide (i.e., are carbon-neutral). Innovative hydrogen research and development is required to impact how hydrogen is produced, stored, transported, converted, and used. Although progress has been made over the previous two decades, fundamental research can play a critical role in overcoming the technical hurdles that continue to limit implementation of economically viable systems and processes for carbon-neutral hydrogen technologies.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2023

Algal Biomass Conversion to Fuels via Combined Algae Processing (CAP): 2022 State of Technology and Future Research

The annual State of Technology (SOT) assessment is an essential activity for platform research conducted under the Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO). It allows for the impact of research progress (both directly achieved in-house at NREL and furnished by partner organizations) to be quantified in terms of economic improvements in the overall biofuel production process for a particular biomass processing pathway, whether based on terrestrial or algal biomass feedstocks. As such, initial benchmarks can be established for currently demonstrated performance, and progress can be tracked toward out-year goals to ultimately demonstrate economically viable biofuel technologies. NREL's algae SOT benchmarking efforts focus both on front-end algal biomass production and separately on back-end conversion to fuels through NREL's "combined algae processing" (CAP) pathway. The production model is based on outdoor long-term cultivation data, enabled by comprehensive algal biomass production trials conducted under Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization, and Verification Research (DISCOVR) consortium efforts and driven by data furnished by Arizona State University's (ASU's) Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI) test bed site. The CAP model is primarily based on experimental efforts conducted under NREL research and development projects, with some process parameters provided by partner organizations. Assumptions regarding the wet storage of algae use data provided by Idaho National Laboratory (INL), while parts of the polyurethane production process leverage BETO-funded research from collaborators at Algenesis and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). This report focuses on back-end conversion of algal biomass through the CAP pathway, highlighting the 2022 updates to minimum fuel selling price (MFSP). This update incorporates improvements to fermentation performance for two biological pathways through carboxylic acid and 2,3-butanediol (BDO) intermediates, as demonstrated through parallel research on the biochemical conversion of corn stover. Improvements are applied to the glucose fraction of the biomass only, while parameters regarding the conversion of the mannose fraction (not a significant component in corn stover) are maintained consistently with prior CAP SOTs. Additional parameters are also updated to reflect the most current understanding of each pathway, including an increase in the catalyst loading requirement in the ketonization step of the acids pathway and a decrease in the fermentation productivity in the BDO pathway. Additionally, the biomass feedstock costs (minimum biomass selling price [MBSP]), yields, and seasonal variability from the upstream cultivation SOT model were also incorporated into downstream Aspen Plus CAP models.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Developing Load Cell Monitoring on the Mock UF 6 Feed and Withdrawal System

A proof-of-concept load cell monitoring system has been developed for the Mock Feed and Withdrawal (F&W) System at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This system leverages industry-standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware and software in a modular and scalable design. The Mock F&W System was designed to simulate operations at a uranium hexafluoride (UF 6 ) gas centrifuge enrichment plant F&W area. It provides a test bed for process-monitoring technologies. Water, used as a surrogate for UF 6 , is pumped from three feed tanks, through a process surge tank, and is then cut between two tails tanks and three product tanks. The weight of the each tank is continuously monitored using a load cell monitoring system. In addition to the F&W stations, large and small accountancy stations are monitored. The Mock F&W System allows ORNL to test and evaluate capabilities of industry-standard process monitoring hardware and software. A variety of commonly used weighing indicators are connected to the load cells to monitor the weight at each station. These weighing indicators are representative of the types likely found in operating facilities. A data center modeled after those currently used for international safeguards was installed to collect and manage the weight data. This data center provides a robust and flexible test bed for testing and developing software solutions. COTS software packages that leverage industry-standard communication protocols provide a data flow architecture that is modular, interoperable, and scalable. One software package provides communication drivers to collect the raw weight data from the weighing indicators. A data historian is used to store the raw data. Custom in-house algorithms have been developed using MATLAB to analyze the raw historical data and to automatically identify process information. This information includes the number of cycles completed and the mass of material transferred from stations to the process. The process information identified by the analysis is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server database. Visualization concepts have been developed that display the analyzed process information alongside visually compelling plots and animations of the raw data. The load cell monitoring system developed on the Mock F&W System was designed as a proof of concept that could be scaled to a field trial at an operating facility. This system, built with industry standard hardware and software, has allowed ORNL to develop capabilities that provide confidence in the ability to leverage existing operator load cell monitoring equipment with minimal impact on operations. The international safeguards community is evaluating the use of load cell monitoring as an additional safeguards measure; this system demonstrates a practical solution to collect, store, analyze, and visualize load cell weight data.

commercial off the shelf↗
NASA NTRS1991

RoMPS concept review automatic control of space robot

The Robot operated Material Processing in Space (RoMPS) experiment is being performed to explore the marriage of two emerging space commercialization technologies: materials processing in microgravity and robotics. This concept review presents engineering drawings and limited technical descriptions of the RoMPS programs' electrical and software systems.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA/DOD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. Paper 23: Information technology and aerospace knowledge diffusion: Exploring the intermediary-end user interface in a policy framework

Federal attempts to stimulate technological innovation have been unsuccessful because of the application of an inappropriate policy framework that lacks conceptual and empirical knowledge of the process of technological innovation and fails to acknowledge the relationship between knowled reproduction, transfer, and use as equally important components of the process of knowledge diffusion. It is argued that the potential contributions of high-speed computing and networking systems will be diminished unless empirically derived knowledge about the information-seeking behavior of the members of the social system is incorporated into a new policy framework. Findings from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project are presented in support of this assertion.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project. XXIII - Information technology and aerospace knowledge diffusion: Exploring the intermediary-end user interface in a policy framework

Federal attempts to stimulate technological innovation have been unsuccessful because of the application of an inappropriate policy framework that lacks conceptual and empirical knowledge of the process of technological innovation and fails to acknowledge the relationship between knowledge production, transfer, and use as equally important components of the process of knowledge diffusion. This article argues that the potential contributions of high-speed computing and networking systems will be diminished unless empirically derived knowledge about the information-seeking behavior of members of the social system is incorporated into a new policy framework. Findings from the NASA/DoD Aerospace Knowledge Diffusion Research Project are presented in support of this assertion.

Pinelli, Thomas E.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Monitoring, Controlling and Safeguarding Radiochemical Streams at Spent Fuel Reprocessing Facilities, Part 1: Optical Spectroscopic Methods

Abstract: The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has established international safeguards standards for fissionable material at spent fuel reprocessing plants to ensure that significant quantities of weapons-useable nuclear material are not diverted from these facilities. For large throughput nuclear facilities, it is difficult to satisfy the IAEA safeguards accountancy goal for detection of abrupt diversion. Currently, methods to verify material control and accountancy (MC&A) at these facilities require time-consuming and resource-intensive destructive assay (DA). Leveraging new on-line non-destructive assay (NDA) process monitoring techniques in conjunction with the traditional and highly precise DA methods may provide an additional measure to nuclear material accountancy which would potentially result in a more timely, cost-effective and resource efficient means for safeguards verification at such facilities. By monitoring process control measurements (e.g. flowrates, temperatures, or concentrations of reagents, products or wastes), abnormal plant operations can be detected. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is developing on-line NDA process monitoring technologies based upon gamma-ray and optical spectroscopic measurements to potentially reduce the time and resource burden associated with current techniques. The Multi-Isotope Process (MIP) Monitor uses gamma spectroscopy and multivariate analysis to identify off-normal conditions in process streams. The spectroscopic monitor continuously measures chemical compositions of the process streams including actinide metal ions (U, Pu, Np), selected fission products, and major stable flowsheet reagents using UV-Vis, Near IR and Raman spectroscopy. Multi-variate analysis is also applied to the optical measurements in order to quantify concentrations of analytes of interest within a complex array of radiochemical streams. This paper will provide an overview of these methods and reports on-going efforts to develop and demonstrate the technologies. This paper is Part 1 of a two part series, and focuses on the optical spectroscopy based process monitoring methods.

material control and accountancy, process monitor,↗
NASA NTRS1987

Technology advancements for the U.S. manned Space Station - An overview

The structure and methodology of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) advanced development program is described. An overview of the program is given, and the technology transfer process to other disciplines is described. The test bed and flight experiment programs are described, as is the technology assessment which was performed at the end of the Phase B program. The technology program within each discipline is summarized, and the coordination and integration of the JSC program with the activities of other NASA centers and with work package contractors are discussed.

Simon, William E.↗