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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Portable Luminescent Sensor Technologies for Economically Critical Metals

Presentation on the development of sensing materials and compact platforms for the photoluminescence-based detection of economically critical metals, including rare earth elements, cobalt, and aluminum. The important of detecting metals that interfere with critical metal processing, such as iron and aluminum, are also discussed. The presented results represent a significant step forward in reducing the economic and time costs associated with the characterization of metals during prospecting and downstream processing.

Crawford, Scott↗
DOE OSTI2019

Wireless Sensor Network Technologies

Wireless sensor network (WSN) technologies have become a focus of development for instrumentation and control (I&C) applications in many critical infrastructure industries. Their implementation includes factories, electric plants and distribution systems, municipal water and sewer facilities, natural gas storage and distribution facilities, and even nuclear facilities. The promise of lower installation cost combined with reliable monitoring of process parameters at virtually any location, when needed, has driven many I&C vendors to offer WSN technology. These technologies are in their infancy and have not been fully tested for security, reliability, and compatibility when used in resilient control systems. The end user now has the difficult task of selecting which technology to use and how to implement a WSN. One of the key parameters in a WSN is sensor battery life. In a WSN some sensors pass on data from other sensors that do not have a direct communication path to the process controller. This extra work takes more power from the battery which decreases the battery life. The current work at CAES investigates how fast these batteries degrade compared to sensor batteries that do not have to process other sensor data. The result of this investigation will indicate how this effects the reliability of sensor networks.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1989

Advanced technology for space communications, tracking, and robotic sensors

Technological advancements in tracking, communications, and robotic vision sensors are reviewed. The development of communications systems for multiple access, broadband, high data rate, and efficient operation is discussed. Consideration is given to the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite systems, GPS, and communications and tracking systems for the Space Shuttle and the Space Station. The use of television, laser, and microwave sensors for robotics and technology for autonomous rendezvous and docking operations are examined.

Krishen, Kumar↗
NASA NTRS1991

Report of the sensor cooler technology panel

The Sensor Cooler Technology Panel identified three major areas in which technology development must be supported in order to meet the system performance requirements for the Astrotech 21 mission set science objectives. They are: long life vibration free refrigerators; mechanical refrigeration for 2 K to 5 K; and flight testing of emerging prototype refrigerators. A development strategy and schedule were recommended for each of the three areas.

Ross, Ronald↗
DOE OSTI2023

Technology Maturation of Wireless Harsh Environment Sensors For Improved Condition Based Monitoring Of Coal Fired Power Generation

The overall goal of this project was to demonstrate and develop the usage of high-temperature (HT) harsh-environment (HE) wireless surface acoustic wave resonator (SAWR) sensor technology to promote reliable maintenance through condition-based maintenance (CBM) for field applications in harsh service conditions associated with power plant environments. The project aimed to advance the HT HE wireless SAWR sensor technology from TRL 5 to TRL 7. In addition to HT HE wireless temperature sensing, efforts were dedicated during this project to investigate, develop and increase the TRL from 3 to 5 for the following technologies: (a) HT HE strain sensors to address additional CBM monitoring needs, such as boiler tube mechanical / thermal stresses, which can provide early indications for boiler tube cracking and failure; and (b) HT aluminum nitride (AlN) and scandium aluminum nitride (ScAlN) based piezoelectric thin film fabrication and implementation of SAW sensors, with the goal of releasing the need to use single crystal piezoelectric materials for SAWRs and thus broaden possible technology applications to non-planar and harder to modify surfaces. To achieve the goals mentioned above, UMaine and its partner, Environetix Technologies Corporation, established partnerships with the following power plants: Longview Power (Maidsville, WV), a coal-fired power plant; Penobscot Energy Recovery Corp (PERC, Orrington, ME), a waste-to-energy power plant; and the UMaine Steam Plant (Orono, ME), an oil / natural gas power plant. To realize wireless HT HE SAWR sensor systems in these harsh service conditions, the University of Maine research team worked with Environetix and these power plants to define, design, fabricate, test and validate a mature prototype wireless temperature SAWR sensor system for boiler tube applications within the HT HE of the reheater pass damper chamber to directly and wirelessly monitor the temperature at eighteen independent boiler tube locations. The system included three levels, or “tiers”, of wireless communication to enable remote monitoring: Tier 1, the wireless link in the reheater pass damper chamber directly accessing the sensors on the boilers; Tier 2, the wireless local area network link, transmitting processed sensor information within the power plant to the Tier 3, a commercial wireless signal carrier company for secure remote data monitoring outside of the power plant. Regarding the wireless sensor system installed at Longview Power, temperature information from the boilers was continuously transmitted from the Longview boilers at Maidsville, WV, to Environetix headquarters, Orono, ME, over a 34 month period, when the system was finally decommissioned. Strain sensors and piezoelectric ScAlN thin film sensors were successfully installed on the exhaust duct at the UMaine Steam Power plant. The advances in wireless strain sensors and thin film piezoelectric film fabrication and testing were performed mostly in UMaine laboratories and field tested at the UMaine Steam Plant, due to its close proximity to UMaine/Environetix, access to the plant facility, and due to difficulties in accessing the other power plants during the COVID shut-down period. The project accomplished the TRL level increase of the targeted CBM technologies through the successful fabrication, installation, test, and validation of dedicated and commercial wireless sensor systems, utilizing the three different power plants. The outcomes of this project, including the wireless sensor data capability, are expected to yield an advance for CBM in harsh power plant environments. The reduction of maintenance costs, improved safety during plant operation, and increased power plant efficiency will lead to increased revenues (i.e., fewer forced outages) due to better process monitoring enabled by the wireless HT HE SAWR temperature sensor technology.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Milestone 4: Thrust structure concepts and IHM screening Graphite Composite Primary Structure (GCPS)

The first part of the task was to select up to three promising thrust structure constructions and to select materials for screening tests. Part of the nondestructive evaluation and inspection (NDE/I) and integrated health management (IHM) task is to acquire and develop NDE/I sensor technologies and to integrate those sensors into the full scale test articles which will be produced under the TA2 program. Review of the anticipated fault modes and the available sensor technology data indicates that three sensor technologies should be assessed for the in-situ monitoring of the composite primary structure elements. These are: ultrasonics (dry contact), acoustic emissions, and fiber optics (embedded or attached). In fact, a combination of sensor technologies will be needed to detect and evaluate the fault modes; not only do sensor technology have specific capabilities and applicability, but the three Gr/Ep primary structures being demonstrated under the TA2 effort have differing requirements based on their respective failure modes and designs.

Greenberg, H. S.↗