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DOE OSTI2023

Recent advances in metallographic polishing for SRF application

This paper is an overview of the metallographic polishing R\&D program covering Niobium and Copper substrates treatment for thin film coating as an alternative fabrication pathway for 1.3 GHz elliptical cavities. The presented research is the result of a collaborative effort between IJCLab, CEA/Irfu, HZB, and KEK in order to develop innovative surface processing and cavity fabrication protocols capable of meeting stringent requirements for SRF surfaces, including the reduction of safety risks and ecological footprint, enhancing reliability, improving the surface roughness, and potentially allowing cost reduction. The research findings will be disclosed.

Hryhorenko, O.↗

DOE OSTI2020

ORBIT: Offshore Renewables Balance-of-System and Installation Tool

This report describes the Offshore Renewables Balance-of-system Installation Tool ("ORBIT"), a new model developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to evaluate the balance-of-system (BOS) costs associated with offshore wind projects. In the context of wind energy projects BOS costs encompass all expenses required to construct a project other than the capital expenditures (CapEx) of the turbines and towers, including the procurement costs for all other components (such as substructures, cables, and electrical infrastructure), offshore and land-based construction costs, port costs, site surveying fees, permitting fees, and leasing fees are all categorized as BOS costs. BOS costs significantly contribute to the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for offshore wind, typically comprising over 50\% of the CapEx for a fixed-bottom offshore wind project and 60\% for a floating project. In addition, technology solutions and installation methods vary drastically between projects as they are impacted by factors such as vessel availability, geographic considerations and site geotechnical conditions. These effects require a model with appropriate fidelity to understand how these costs scale as turbine rating increases and the offshore wind supply chain, particularly offshore construction vessels, is expanded. For offshore wind, cost savings attributed to increased turbine rating are primarily realized through BOS procurement and project installation as fewer substructures and less cable are required. BOS costs represent both a modeling challenge, as well as an opportunity, for project developers to optimize solutions to reduce costs. It is critical to understand how these costs are affected by novel technologies, innovative installation processes, and operational constraints in order identify meaningful cost reductions for offshore wind energy.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Synergistic Heat Pumped Thermal Storage and Flexibly Carbon Capture System

As the U.S. grid evolves toward a lower-carbon system, fossil generation assets need to operate in energy markets with high variable renewable energy (VRE) penetration while also decreasing carbon emissions. Current carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies suffer from high capital cost and an inability to operate flexibly during periods of oscillating demand. The ARPA-E FLECCS Program Phase 1 was created to fund designing and optimizing innovative CCS processes that enable flexibility on a high-VRE grid. To address this need, the Colorado State University (CSU) Team won funding to design a synergized system of thermal energy storage, power generation, and flexible carbon capture to enable breakthrough system performance that achieves an LCOE <$75/MWh with >99% capture rate. This approach will target new or existing natural gas combined cycle power plants. The proposed design utilizes novel hot and cold thermal energy storage (TES) technologies that store low-cost, off-peak electricity as thermal energy to power CCS solvent regeneration and boost plant output during periods of peak demand. The design provides an overall optimized net present value (NPV) by maximizing low carbon power to grid while prices are highest using Storworks Power’s concrete TES technology. The team also capitalizes on decades of ION Clean Energy’s (ION) development in low cost and flexible pioneering solvent technology, which has proven reductions in energy consumption and overall cost of 28% and 38%, respectively, compared with state-of-the-art CCS.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Recent advances in metallographic polishing for SRF application

Hryhorenko, O.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Toward Solar Photovoltaic Storm Resilience: Learning from Hurricane Loss and Rebuilding Better

The General Service Administration (GSA) suffered extensive damage to its solar arrays located throughout the Caribbean from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. While the damage that occurred was unfortunate, there are excellent lessons learned that can be gained and utilized on new systems. A site on St. Croix provides a particularly high-value opportunity for lessons learned due to the innovative rebuilding process utilized by GSA managers and the in-depth analysis performed by the project engineers. This case study focuses on the rebuild of a 469-kW ground array located at the Almeric L. Christian Federal Building in Christiansted, St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands. This array was destroyed by Hurricane Maria. The entire process of planning and subsequent rebuilding that the GSA managers undertook was highly successful. Notably, GSA managers conducting the rebuild effort obtained an independent assessment of failure modes from U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national labs and then retained a consulting engineering firm to develop design and construction guidance for the rebuild effort. This design and construction guidance was then provided to the engineering, procurement, and constructing firm to implement while rebuilding the site.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Toward Solar Photovoltaic Storm Resilience: Learning from Hurricane Loss and Rebuilding Better

This case study report focuses on the rebuild of a 469 kW ground array located at the Almeric L. Christian Federal Building in Christiansted, St. Croix, in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The General Service Administration (GSA) suffered extensive damage to its solar arrays located throughout the Caribbean from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. While the damage that occurred was unfortunate, there are excellent lessons learned that can be gained and utilized on new systems. The St. Croix site provides a particularly high-value opportunity for lessons learned due to the innovative rebuilding process utilized by GSA managers and the in-depth analysis performed by the project engineers.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Developing rapid electrochemical relithiation protocols for scalable relithiation of lithium-ion battery cathode materials

The recent and ongoing boom in electric vehicle sales has caused the circularity of the supply chain for electric vehicle battery materials to come under a great deal of scrutiny. Innovative recycling processes, or direct recycling, that offer the possibility of reducing the cost of recycling are one possible solution to regaining resources from end-of-life (EoL) electric vehicle batteries. Electrochemically shuttling lithium back into the cathode, or electrochemical relithiation, is a possible technique for restoring lithium content to NMC materials (EoL) in a direct recycling process. This study provides essential understanding towards developing an electrochemical relithiation protocol that will restore lithium loss in intercalation cathode materials that reach EoL by loss of lithium inventory (LLI) as opposed to other degradation mechanisms like loss of active material (LAM), cation mixing or phase transition. Electrochemically aged NMC cathode materials have been prepared and characterized to establish the extent of EoL material structural degradation and lithium loss. A model-informed experimental process is used to identify the optimal electrochemical relithiation protocol to minimize the time taken to relithiate EoL materials and maximize the amount of lithium restored. Protocols were evaluated based on their ability to enable rapid lithium intercalation, maintain structural uniformity in the EoL material and fully restore lithium content. An optimal protocol was identified at elevated temperatures utilizing a novel scanning voltage step.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

DOE OSTI2024

“Green” Fabrication of High-performance Transparent Conducting Electrodes by Blade Coating and Photonic Curing on PET for Perovskite Solar Cells

This study presents an innovative material processing approach to fabricate transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using blade coating and photonic curing. The hybrid TCEs consist of a multiscale Ag network, combining silver metal bus lines and nanowires, overcoated by an indium zinc oxide layer, and then photonically cured. Blade coating ensures film uniformity and thickness control over large areas. Photonic curing, a non-thermal processing method with significantly lower carbon emissions, enhances the conductivity and transparency of the coated layers. Our hybrid TCEs achieve an average transmittance of (81 ± 0.4)% referenced to air ((90 ± 0.4)% referenced to the PET substrate) in the visible range, an average sheet resistance of (11 ± 0.5) Ω sq−1, and an average surface roughness of (4.3 ± 0.4) nm. We benchmark these values against commercial PET/TCE substrates. Mechanical durability tests demonstrate <3% change in resistance after 2000 bending cycles at a 1 in radius. The scalable potential of the hybrid TCE fabrication method is demonstrated by high uniformity and excellent properties in 7 in × 8 in large-area samples and by performing the photonic curing process at 11 m min−1. Furthermore, halide perovskite solar cells fabricated on these hybrid TCEs achieve average and champion power conversion efficiencies of (10.5 ± 1.0) % and 12.2%, respectively, and significantly outperform devices made on commercial PET/TCEs. This work showcases our approach as a viable pathway for high-speed “green” manufacturing of high-performance TCEs on PET substrates for flexible optoelectronic devices.

Bonner, Justin C↗

NASA NTRS2001

Electrodeposition of Low Stress Nickel Phosphorous Alloys for Precision Component Fabrication

Nickel alloys are favored for electroforming precision components. Nickel phosphorous and nickel cobalt phosphorous are studied in this work. A completely new and innovative electrolytic process eliminates the fumes present in electroless processes and is suitable for electroforming nickel phosphorous and nickel cobalt phosphorous alloys to any desirable thickness, using soluble anodes, without stripping of tanks. Solutions show excellent performance for extended throughput. Properties include, cleaner low temperature operation (40 - 45 C), high Faradaic efficiency, low stress, Rockwell C 52 - 54 hardness and as much as 2000 N per square millimeter tensile strength. Performance is compared to nickel and nickel cobalt electroforming.

Engelhaupt, Darell↗

NASA NTRS2003

Self-Reacting Friction Stir Welding for Aluminum Alloy Circumferential Weld Applications

Friction stir welding is an innovative weld process that continues to grow in use, in the commercial, defense, and space sectors. It produces high quality and high strength welds in aluminum alloys. The process consists of a rotating weld pin tool that plasticizes material through friction. The plasticized material is welded by applying a high weld forge force through the weld pin tool against the material during pin tool rotation. The high weld forge force is reacted against an anvil and a stout tool structure. A variation of friction stir welding currently being evaluated is self-reacting friction stir welding. Self-reacting friction stir welding incorporates two opposing shoulders on the crown and root sides of the weld joint. In self-reacting friction stir welding, the weld forge force is reacted against the crown shoulder portion of the weld pin tool by the root shoulder. This eliminates the need for a stout tooling structure to react the high weld forge force required in the typical friction stir weld process. Therefore, the self-reacting feature reduces tooling requirements and, therefore, process implementation costs. This makes the process attractive for aluminum alloy circumferential weld applications. To evaluate the application of self-reacting friction stir welding for aluminum alloy circumferential welding, a feasibility study was performed. The study consisted of performing a fourteen-foot diameter aluminum alloy circumferential demonstration weld using typical fusion weld tooling. To accomplish the demonstration weld, weld and tack weld development were performed and fourteen-foot diameter rings were fabricated. Weld development consisted of weld pin tool selection and the generation of a process map and envelope. Tack weld development evaluated gas tungsten arc welding and friction stir welding for tack welding rings together for circumferential welding. As a result of the study, a successful circumferential demonstration weld was produced leading the way for future circumferential weld implementation.

Bjorkman, Gerry↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Overview

Davusm Daniel J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Overview

By incorporating rigorous engineering practices, innovative manufacturing processes and test techniques, a unique multi-center government/contractor partnership, and a clean-sheet design developed around the primary requirements for the International Space Station (ISS) and Lunar missions, the Upper Stage Element of NASA's Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), the "Ares I," is a vital part of the Constellation Program's transportation system. Constellation's exploration missions will include Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles required to place crew and cargo in low-Earth orbit (LEO), crew and cargo transportation systems required for human space travel, and transportation systems and scientific equipment required for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Early Ares I configurations will support ISS re-supply missions. A self-supporting cylindrical structure, the Ares I Upper Stage will be approximately 84' long and 18' in diameter. The Upper Stage Element is being designed for increased supportability and increased reliability to meet human-rating requirements imposed by NASA standards. The design also incorporates state-of-the-art materials, hardware, design, and integrated logistics planning, thus facilitating a supportable, reliable, and operable system. With NASA retiring the Space Shuttle fleet in 2010, the success of the Ares I Project is essential to America's continued leadership in space. The first Ares I test flight, called Ares I-X, is scheduled for 2009. Subsequent test flights will continue thereafter, with the first crewed flight of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), "Orion," planned for no later than 2015. Crew transportation to the ISS will follow within the same decade, and the first Lunar excursion is scheduled for the 2020 timeframe.

McArthur, J. Craig↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper Stage Overview

By incorporating rigorous engineering practices, innovative manufacturing processes and test techniques, a unique multi-center government/contractor partnership, and a clean-sheet design developed around the primary requirements for the International Space Station (ISS) and Lunar missions, the Upper Stage Element of NASA's Crew Launch Vehicle (CLV), the "Ares I," is a vital part of the Constellation Program's transportation system. Constellation's exploration missions will include Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles required to place crew and cargo in low-Earth orbit (LEO), crew and cargo transportation systems required for human space travel, and transportation systems and scientific equipment required for human exploration of the Moon and Mars. Early Ares I configurations will support ISS re-supply missions. A self-supporting cylindrical structure, the Ares I Upper Stage will be approximately 84' long and 18' in diameter. The Upper Stage Element is being designed for increased supportability and increased reliability to meet human-rating requirements imposed by NASA standards. The design also incorporates state-of-the-art materials, hardware, design, and integrated logistics planning, thus facilitating a supportable, reliable, and operable system. With NASA retiring the Space Shuttle fleet in 2010, the success of the Ares I Project is essential to America's continued leadership in space. The first Ares I test flight, called Ares 1-X, is scheduled for 2009. Subsequent test flights will continue thereafter, with the first crewed flight of the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV), "Orion," planned for no later than 2015. Crew transportation to the ISS will follow within the same decade, and the first Lunar excursion is scheduled for the 2020 timeframe.

Davis, Daniel J.↗

NASA NTRS2008

NASA Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle Upper State Overview

Davis, Daniel J.↗

NASA NTRS2010

180-GHz I-Q Second Harmonic Resistive Mixer MMIC

An indium phosphide MMIC (monolithic microwave integrated circuit) mixer was developed, processed, and tested in the NGC 35-nm-gate-length HEMT (high electron mobility transistor) process. This innovation is very compact in size and operates with very low LO power. Because it is a resistive mixer, this innovation does not require DC power. This is an enabling technology for the miniature receiver modules for the GeoSTAR instrument, which is the only viable option for the NRC decadal study mission PATH.

Kangaslahti, Pekka P.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Hydrological Variations in Australia Recovered by GRACE High-Resolution Mascons Solutions

Australia represents a challenging region in which to study hydrological variations as recovered by the GRACE (Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment) mission data. Much of Australia is characterized by relatively small hydrological signals, with large precipitation gradients between the North and the South. These signals are better recovered using innovative GRACE processing techniques such as high-resolution mascon solutions, which may help overcome the deficiencies in the standard GRACE data processing and filtering methods. We will show the power of using regional and global mas con solutions to recover hydrological variations from 2003 to 2011, as well as the oceanic mass variations in the surrounding regions. We will compare the GRACE signals with state of the art hydrology and ocean general circulation models, precipitation, soil moisture and groundwater data sets. We especially emphasize the gravity signatures observed during the decadal drought in the Murray-Darling river basin and the early 2011 floods in North-Western Australia.

Carabajal, Claudia C.↗

NASA NTRS2011

Design and Impacts of Land-Biogenic-Atmosphere Coupling in the NASA-Unified WRF (NU-WRF) Modeling System

Land-Atmosphere coupling is typically designed and implemented independently for physical (e.g. water and energy) and chemical (e.g. biogenic emissions and surface depositions)-based models and applications. Differences in scale, data requirements, and physics thus limit the ability of Earth System models to be fully coupled in a consistent manner. In order for the physical-chemical-biological coupling to be complete, treatment of the land in terms of surface classification, condition, fluxes, and emissions must be considered simultaneously and coherently across all components. In this study, we investigate a coupling strategy for the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting (NU-WRF) model that incorporates the traditionally disparate fluxes of water and energy through NASA's LIS (Land Information System) and biogenic emissions through BEIS (Biogenic Emissions Inventory System) and MEGAN (Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature) into the atmosphere. In doing so, inconsistencies across model inputs and parameter data are resolved such that the emissions from a particular plant species are consistent with the heat and moisture fluxes calculated for that land cover type. In turn, the response of the atmospheric turbulence and mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) acts on the identical surface type, fluxes, and emissions for each. In addition, the coupling of dust emission within the NU-WRF system is performed in order to ensure consistency and to maximize the benefit of high-resolution land representation in LIS. The impacts of those self-consistent components on' the simulation of atmospheric aerosols are then evaluated through the WRF-Chem-GOCART (Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport) model. Overall, this ambitious project highlights the current difficulties and future potential of fully coupled. components. in Earth System models, and underscores the importance of the iLEAPS community in supporting improved knowledge of processes and innovative approaches for models and observations.

Tan, Qian↗

NASA NTRS2014

Additive Manufacturing and 3D Printing in NASA: An Overview of Current Projects and Future Initiatives for Space Exploration

NASA, including each Mission Directorate, is investing in, experimenting with, and/or utilizing AM across a broad spectrum of applications and projects; Centers have created and are continuing to create partnerships with industry, other Government Agencies, other Centers, and Universities; In-house additive manufacturing capability enables rapid iteration of the entire design, development and testing process, increasing innovation and reducing risk and cost to projects; For deep space exploration, AM offers significant reduction to logistics costs and risk by providing ability to create on demand; There are challenges: Overwhelming message from recent JANNAF AM for Propulsion Applications TIM was "certification."; NASA will continue to work with our partners to address this and other challenges to advance the state of the art in AM and incorporate these capabilities into an array of applications from aerospace to science missions to deep space exploration.

Clinton, R. G., Jr.↗