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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Creating User-Friendly Tools for Data Analysis and Visualization in K-12 Classrooms: A Fortran Dinosaur Meets Generation Y

During the summer of 2007, as part of the second year of a NASA-funded project in partnership with Christopher Newport University called SPHERE (Students as Professionals Helping Educators Research the Earth), a group of undergraduate students spent 8 weeks in a research internship at or near NASA Langley Research Center. Three students from this group formed the Clouds group along with a NASA mentor (Chambers), and the brief addition of a local high school student fulfilling a mentorship requirement. The Clouds group was given the task of exploring and analyzing ground-based cloud observations obtained by K-12 students as part of the Students' Cloud Observations On-Line (S'COOL) Project, and the corresponding satellite data. This project began in 1997. The primary analysis tools developed for it were in FORTRAN, a computer language none of the students were familiar with. While they persevered through computer challenges and picky syntax, it eventually became obvious that this was not the most fruitful approach for a project aimed at motivating K-12 students to do their own data analysis. Thus, about halfway through the summer the group shifted its focus to more modern data analysis and visualization tools, namely spreadsheets and Google(tm) Earth. The result of their efforts, so far, is two different Excel spreadsheets and a Google(tm) Earth file. The spreadsheets are set up to allow participating classrooms to paste in a particular dataset of interest, using the standard S'COOL format, and easily perform a variety of analyses and comparisons of the ground cloud observation reports and their correspondence with the satellite data. This includes summarizing cloud occurrence and cloud cover statistics, and comparing cloud cover measurements from the two points of view. A visual classification tool is also provided to compare the cloud levels reported from the two viewpoints. This provides a statistical counterpart to the existing S'COOL data visualization tool, which is used for individual ground-to-satellite correspondences. The Google(tm) Earth file contains a set of placemarks and ground overlays to show participating students the area around their school that the satellite is measuring. This approach will be automated and made interactive by the S'COOL database expert and will also be used to help refine the latitude/longitude location of the participating schools. Once complete, these new data analysis tools will be posted on the S'COOL website for use by the project participants in schools around the US and the world.

Chambers, L. H.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Our Human Journey to Mars - The Next Steps

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will be launching the super-heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS) by the end of the decade. This launch marks the next steps of human exploration of Mars and continues the journey that began over 50 years ago with Mariner and most recently ExoMars. SLS is the only rocket with the power capable of sending humans to deep space and the large systems necessary for human exploration all the way to Mars. Exploration Mission (EM)-1 will be the first integrated flight of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft - journeying farther into space than Apollo. NASA will also expand the science and exploration capability of SLS by deploying thirteen small satellites into deep space for the first time. These small satellites, created through partnerships with small businesses, Universities and international partners, will carry out various scientific missions to better understand our universe and the challenges of living and working in deep space. SLS EM-1 will provide the framework and serve as a test flight, not only for vehicle systems, but also for payload accommodations, ground processing and on-orbit operations. The results of this mission will validate capabilities for sending explorers to Mars and create the opportunity to pioneer solutions to challenges to deep space exploration. SLS's versatile design will evolve for future exploration needs and accommodate bigger payloads, such as large aperture telescopes for scientific research or manned human deep space exploration missions to Mars. The achievement of EM-1 will demonstrate NASA's commitment and capability to extend human existence to deep space and inspire the world to pursue greatness in the exploration of our universe.

Singer, Jody↗
NASA NTRS2019

The Zwicky Transient Facility: Science Objectives

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF), a public–private enterprise, is a new time-domain survey employing a dedicated camera on the Palomar 48-inch Schmidt telescope with a 47 sq. deg field of view and an 8 second readout time. It is well positioned in the development of time-domain astronomy, offering operations at 10% of the scale and style of the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) with a single 1-m class survey telescope. The public surveys will cover the observable northern sky every three nights in g and r filters and the visible Galactic plane every night in g and r. Alerts generated by these surveys are sent in real time to brokers. A consortium of universities that provided funding (“partnership”) are undertaking several boutique surveys. The combination of these surveys producing one million alerts per night allows for exploration of transient and variable astrophysical phenomena brighter than r ~20.5 on timescales of minutes to years. We describe the primary science objectives driving ZTF, including the physics of supernovae and relativistic explosions, multi-messenger astrophysics, supernova cosmology, active galactic nuclei, and tidal disruption events, stellar variability, and solar system objects.

Matthew J. Graham↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

VfOx in GEER: Functional Test of a Venus Oxygen Fugacity Sensor

VfOx, which stands for “Venus Oxygen Fugacity” is the DAVINCI mission’s Student Collaboration Experiment (SCE); a small single- objective sensor used to measure the partial pressure of molecular oxygen in Venus’ lower atmosphere. Through the mission timeline, VƒOx will be designed, fabricated, tested, operated, and results analyzed by undergraduate and graduate students mentored by the DAVINCI team in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and other institutions. The simple principal of VƒOx is a ceramic O 2 sensor derived from common applications, utilizing diffusion of O -2 ions between a standard (PdO) inside the sensor and the target atmosphere measured by a mW level voltage that depends directly on the standard/sample fO 2 ratio. A 60-day environmental test of a prototype design of the sensor was conducted at the Glenn Extreme Environment Rig (GEER) from August to October of 2022, in which VƒOx (Fig. 1) was placed inside the experimental chamber (Fig. 2) and brought to Venus surface temperature (460 °C) and pressure (92 bar) conditions, in a Venus like atmosphere (96.5% CO 2 , 3.5% N 2 ) that included trace gases like SO 2 , maintained by occasional “boosts” of extra gas during the experimental run.

Noam R. Izenberg↗
DOE OSTI2020

Innovations in Renewable Energy Technologies, Systems, and Energy Analysis

Costs for renewable energy technologies have declined rapidly in the past decade and their use for residential, commercial, and utility scale electricity has therefore grown exponentially. As the energy mix diversifies, energy analysis becomes increasing important, requiring renewable energy to integrate with other reduced emission energy sources, such as small modular nuclear reactors and carbon capture and utilization. Energy analysis can also explore the expansion of clean energy into new sectors, such as industrial processes and electrification. The U.S. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA), which is a partnership of NREL and universities, study the integration and application of clean energy technologies into existing and new sectors. This presentation includes an overview of NREL and JISEA and summarizes innovations in renewable energy technologies and energy systems analysis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

NA-213 Presentation.pdf

The Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) is one of 17 United States Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories. SRNL, a multi-program national laboratory, is a leading research and development institution for the Offices of Environmental Management and Legacy Management at the U.S. Department of Energy and the Weapons and Nonproliferation programs for the National Nuclear Security Administration. Battelle Savannah River Alliance, LLC (BSRA), a not-for-profit limited liability company, manages and operates SRNL for the DOE. BSRA board leadership includes Battelle Memorial Institute, Clemson University, University of South Carolina, South Carolina State University, University of Georgia, and Georgia Institute of Technology. Battelle Memorial Institute and the five universities are joined in partnership with preferred subcontractors TechSource and Longenecker & Associates with the singular purpose of maintaining SRNL as a best-in-class national laboratory. Scientists and Engineers at SRNL use leading edge science and technology to advance the Department of Energy’s critical mission outcomes.

Hasty, Timothy C.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Vegetation Management Lessons Learned and Helpful Tools

The InSPIRE Project is investigating questions around vegetation management and agrivoltaics at solar sites across the US. Results from research at three Enel Green Power pollinator-friendly solar sites in Minnesota have shown that the success of different pollinator-friendly seed mixes depend on the ecoregion and can vary from site to site. Results from the Enel Green Power sites also showed that weed coverage decreases dramatically by three years post seeding. The InSPIRE project has also created resources like The 5 C's of Agrivoltaics and an online agrivoltaics financial calculator to help farmers, land owners, developers, and facility operators with vegetation management at solar facilities. The PV-SMaRT calculator was created by the University of Minnesota in partnership with NREL to help with questions surrounding storm-water runoff at PV sites.

agrivoltaic↗
DOE OSTI2024

U.S. DOE Midwest Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership (Midwest CHP TAP) (Final Technical Report)

The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) was awarded the U.S. DOE Midwest Combined Heat and Power Technical Assistance Partnership (Midwest CHP TAP) program to provided technical and policy expertise to support local opportunities to promote CHP, waste heat to power, district energy, and microgrids in the Midwest and Central regions of the U.S. that included the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, and Wisconsin. During this contract period, UIC, through the Midwest CHP TAP activities, provided significant regional support to the U.S. strategic goals of: 1) Stimulating America’s Energy Revolution and Promoting Energy Independence; 2) Promoting Jobs and Manufacturing Competitiveness; 3) Supporting a Positive Trade Balance; 4) Enhancing Energy System Resiliency and Energy Security; and 5) Improving the Nation’s Infrastructure. UIC met the annual go/no-go metrics each year and either met and/or exceeded the milestones each year.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2000

University-Level Research Projects for High School Students

The goal of this project was to provide an opportunity for high school students to participate in university-level research projects. In this case, students from Pinkerton Academy (Derry, New Hampshire) were invited to participate in efforts to catalog data from the COMPTEL experiment on NASA's Compton Gamma-Ray Observatory (CGRO). These activities were part of a senior level honors course at Pinkerton. Although the success of this particular program was rather limited, we feel that the general concept is a sound one. In principle, the concept of partnerships between local schools and university researchers is one that could be especially attractive to soft money researchers. Programs can be carefully designed to benefit both the students and the research program.

McConnell, Mark L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Final DOE-ASR Report for the Project “Using LASSO to bridge the gap between model and observations and to learn about atmospheric convection”

Atmospheric convection spans a wide range of spatial and temporal scales and involves complex interactions with the surrounding dynamic and thermodynamic environment, particularly over tropical continental regions. These processes remain a major source of uncertainty in weather and climate models, including persistent biases in the diurnal cycle of convective precipitation that directly affect estimates of climate sensitivity. Addressing these challenges requires the combined use of high-resolution observations and cloud-resolving modeling frameworks. In this context, the DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program’s Large-Eddy Simulation ARM Symbiotic Simulation and Observation (LASSO) activity provides a powerful platform that pairs comprehensive observations with numerical simulations to enable process-level understanding of atmospheric convection. Within this context, this Research and Development Partnership Pilot (RDPP) project was designed to initiate and expand DOE ARM/ASR research capacity at minority-serving institutions, while advancing scientific understanding of convective processes over the Amazon rainforest. Consistent with the RDPP mission, the project emphasized partnership development, training, and workforce capacity building alongside exploratory research activities. On the scientific side, the project produced two peer-reviewed journal articles, and one manuscript currently under review (see list in section 3.1). Together, these studies combine long-term ARM observations and cloud-resolving and convection-permitting modeling to investigate the environmental controls on the shallow-to-deep convective transition during the Amazon wet season. The results demonstrate the central role of early-day moisture preconditioning and large-scale dynamical forcing in regulating isolated deep convection, provide mechanistic insight into convective evolution, and establish physically informed modeling frameworks for future sensitivity experiments. These scientific outcomes are described in sections 2.1 to 2.3 and were disseminated in 8 conference presentations (see section 3.2) and 5 invited talks (see section 3.3), reflecting broad engagement with our community. Equally important, the project achieved its RDPP capacity-building objectives (see section 2.4). A sustained research partnership was established among the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), Morgan State University (MSU), and Howard University (HU), and extended to include collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The project organized multiple multi-day training events focused on ARM data, LASSO simulations, and quantitative analysis methods, directly engaging students, postdoctoral researchers, and faculty across institutions. These activities broadened participation in ASR research and led to independent adoption of LASSO workflows by students beyond the immediate project team. Finally, the project successfully positioned the participating institutions to pursue future DOE research. Preliminary scientific results, coupled with strengthened partnerships and technical capacity, enabled the submission of follow-on proposals to DOE ASR funding opportunities. In this way, the project fulfilled the RDPP goal of seeding durable research capacity and laying the foundation for larger-scale, sustained engagement with DOE ARM and ASR programs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Fostering Computational Thinking within Elementary Classrooms through a Research-Practice Partnership: A Strategy for Broadening Participation in Computer Science

This paper describes a research-practice partnership involving twenty elementary teachers and a support team of university researchers and K-12 learning specialists. Over five years, the partnership explored ways to highlight and to expand computational thinking within math and science instruction. The project sought to increase student awareness, confidence, and fluency with computational thinking as a problem-solving approach, with particular attention to students from groups historically underrepresented in computer science. Based on feedback from across the partnership – together with analysis of student attitude and problem-solving data – this experience report identifies successes, challenges, and recommendations for future study.

Broadening participation↗
DOE OSTI2021

Transportation Energy Analytics Dashboard (TEAD)

The investment decisions within the nation’s transportation sector have traditionally been prioritized and measured against safety and travel efficiency goals. Increasingly, federal, state, and local policies are requiring consideration of energy use and emissions in the design of our transportation infrastructure. Yet the processes, analytics, and knowledge to include these new metrics into transportation decisions are lacking. Although targeted studies and before and after analysis are performed from time to time, no comprehensive real-time monitoring systems provide energy and emissions to the same level as congestion and safety. To address this gap, the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT Lab) and the Maryland Transportation Institute (MTI) at the University of Maryland (UMD), in partnership with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), have developed a Transportation Energy Analytics Dashboard, or TEAD, to raise awareness of the energy and emission impacts to the same level of observability as that of safety and mobility concerns. The overall goal of this project was to develop and demonstrate an online tool to monitor transportation energy use and emissions in real-time and to archive this data for retrospective analysis. By combining surface transportation energy and emissions evaluation capability with more traditional safety, mobility and reliability system evaluation, our goal is for TEAD to create a dynamic new paradigm in transportation systems management and performance analyses, for both real-time traffic operations, and longer-term planning for project and program investment decision-making.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

SEIN: Breaking Barriers Resilient Energy System Analysis [Slides]

The Solar Energy Innovation Network (SEIN) is a collaborative research program that supports multi-stakeholder teams in researching and sharing solutions to real-world challenges associated with solar energy adoption. The Breaking Barriers project was selected to participate in the Solar Energy Innovation Network, Round 2, and was led by Groundswell, a D.C.-based clean energy project developer. The Breaking Barriers team included Partnership for Southern Equity, Atlanta University Center campus facility managers and professors, the City of Atlanta's Neighborhood Planning Unit T, and Georgia Power Company. The project aimed to design and construct innovative urban energy resiliency hubs integrating microgrid technology, solar generation, and energy storage in Atlanta colleges and communities. The hubs will help these historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and the energy-burdened broader community in West Atlanta be more resilient, in addition to informing new course curricula at Atlanta University Center campuses. With many possible options for the system's battery size, the Breaking Barriers team needed insight into the relationships between BESS size, economic performance, and resilience at Spelman College's Manley Center. These insights are crucial for entering procurement negotiations with project developers, establishing resilience capabilities that the HBCU campuses can plan around, and guiding the team's fundraising targets. This analysis includes estimates of PV and battery performance, costs, savings, and resilience for multiple battery sizes. In order to provide power during a grid outage, the resilient energy system also needs to be connected to the Manley Center in a safe and island-able manner (electrically isolated from the grid). Analysis of potential electrical configurations and estimated setup costs is key to successfully entering a required interconnection agreement with Georgia Power, as well as informing requests for engineering firms to construct the system. This analysis includes conceptual options and rough order of magnitude cost estimates for electrically interconnecting the resilient energy system to the Manley Center and the grid. The Breaking Barriers team used this analysis to select preferred system characteristics and design for the resilient energy system.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2002

Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School (PASS) Project

The Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School Project (PASS) Project was granted a one-year no cost extension for 2001-2002. In year three of the project, objectives and strategies were modified based on the previous year-end evaluation. The recommendations were incorporated and the program was replicated within most of the remaining elementary schools in Portsmouth, Virginia and continued in the four middle schools. The Portsmouth Atmospheric Science School Project is a partnership, which includes Norfolk State University, Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering (CHROME), NASA Langley Research Center, and the City of Portsmouth, Virginia Public Schools. The project seeks to strengthen the knowledge of Portsmouth Public Schools students in the field of atmospheric sciences and enhance teacher awareness of hands on activities in the atmospheric sciences. The project specifically seeks to: 1) increase the interest and participation of elementary and middle school students in science and mathematics; 2) strengthen existing science programs; and 3) facilitate greater achievement in core subjects, which are necessary for math, science, and technical careers. Emphasis was placed on providing training activities, materials and resources for elementary students (grades 3 - 5) and middle school students (grades 6 - 8), and teachers through a CHROME club structure. The first year of the project focused on introducing elementary students to concepts and activities in atmospheric science. Year two of the project built on the first year's activities and utilizes advanced topics and activities appropriate for middle school students. During the third year of the project, in addition to the approaches used in years one and two, emphasis was placed on activities that enhanced the Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL).

Coleman, Clarence D.↗
NASA NTRS2003

The Application of Advanced Cultivation Techniques in the Long Term Maintenance of Space Flight Plant Biological Systems

The development of the International Space Station (ISS) presents extensive opportunities for the implementation of long duration space life sciences studies. Continued attention has been placed in the development of plant growth chamber facilities capable of supporting the cultivation of plants in space flight microgravity conditions. The success of these facilities is largely dependent on their capacity to support the various growth requirements of test plant species. The cultivation requirements for higher plant species are generally complex, requiring specific levels of illumination, temperature, humidity, water, nutrients, and gas composition in order to achieve normal physiological growth and development. The supply of water, nutrients, and oxygen to the plant root system is a factor, which has proven to be particularly challenging in a microgravity space flight environment. The resolution of this issue is particularly important for the more intensive crop cultivation of plants envisaged in Nasa's advanced life support initiative. BioServe Space Technologies is a NASA, Research Partnership Center (RPC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder. BioServe has designed and operated various space flight plant habitat systems, and placed specific emphasis on the development and enhanced performance of subsystem components such as water and nutrient delivery, illumination, gas exchange and atmosphere control, temperature and humidity control. The further development and application of these subsystems to next generation habitats is of significant benefit and contribution towards the development of both the Space Plant biology and the Advanced Life Support Programs. The cooperative agreement between NASA Ames Research center and BioServe was established to support the further implementation of advanced cultivation techniques and protocols to plant habitat systems being coordinated at NASA Ames Research Center. Emphasis was placed on the implementation of passive-based water and nutrient support systems and techniques, which can be used to minimize demands on power, mass, and operational complexity in space flight studies. This effort has direct application to the development of next-generation space flight plant chambers such as the Plant Research Unit (PRU). Work was also directed at the development of in-flight plant preservation techniques and protocols consistent with the interest in applying recent developments in gene chip micro array technologies. Cultivation technologies and protocols were evaluated in a 55 day space flight plant growth study, conducted on the ISS, mission 9A (10/7/02 - 12/7/02).

Heyenga, A. G.↗
NASA NTRS2005

High-Temperature, Thin-Film Ceramic Thermocouples Developed

To enable long-duration, more distant human and robotic missions for the Vision for Space Exploration, as well as safer, lighter, quieter, and more fuel efficient vehicles for aeronautics and space transportation, NASA is developing instrumentation and material technologies. The high-temperature capabilities of thin-film ceramic thermocouples are being explored at the NASA Glenn Research Center by the Sensors and Electronics Branch and the Ceramics Branch in partnership with Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). Glenn s Sensors and Electronics Branch is developing thin-film sensors for surface measurement of strain, temperature, heat flux, and surface flow in propulsion system research. Glenn s Ceramics Branch, in conjunction with CWRU, is developing structural and functional ceramic technology for aeropropulsion and space propulsion.

Sayir, Ali↗
NASA NTRS2007

Ikhana: A NASA UAS Supporting Long Duration Earth Science Missions

The NASA Ikhana unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is a General Atomics Ae ronautical Systems Inc. (San Diego, California) MQ-9 Predator-B modif ied to support the conduct of Earth science missions for the NASA Sci ence Mission Directorate and, through partnerships, other government agencies and universities. It can carry over 2000 lb of experiment p ayloads in the avionics bay and external pods and is capable of missi on durations in excess of 24 hours at altitudes above 40,000 ft. The aircraft is remotely piloted from a mobile ground control station (GC S) that is designed to be deployable by air, land, or sea. On-board s upport capabilities include an instrumentation system and an Airborne Research Test System (ARTS). The Ikhana project will complete GCS d evelopment, science support systems integration, external pod integra tion and flight clearance, and operations crew training in early 2007 . A large-area remote sensing mission is currently scheduled for Summ er 2007.

Cobleigh, B.↗