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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 1,783 records · Page 99

Extravehicular Crewman Work System (ECWS) study program. Volume 3: Satellite service

The satellite service portion of the Extravehicular Crewman Work System Study defines requirements and service equipment concepts for performing satellite service from the space shuttle orbiter. Both normal and contingency orbital satellite service is required. Service oriented satellite design practices are required to provide on orbit satellite service capability for the wide variety of satellites at the subsystem level. Development of additional satellite service equipment is required. The existing space transportation system provides a limited capability for performing satellite service tasks in the shuttle payload bay area.

Wilde, R. C.↗

Access to Space for Technology Validation Missions: A Practical Guide

Space technology experiments and validation missions share a common dilemma with the aerospace industry in general: the high cost of access to space. Whether the experiment is a so-called university cubesat, a university measurement experiment, or a NASA New Millennium Program (NMP) technology validation mission, the access to space option can be scaled appropriately for the particular constraints. A cubesat might fly as one of a number of cubesats that negotiate a flight on an experimental vehicle. A university experiment might do the same. A NASA flight validation might partner with an Air Force experimental mission.

access to space↗

e-Stars Template Builder

e-Stars Template Builder is a computer program that implements a concept of enabling users to rapidly gain access to information on projects of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The information about a given project is not stored in a data base, but rather, in a network that follows the project as it develops. e-Stars Template Builder resides on a server computer, using Practical Extraction and Reporting Language (PERL) scripts to create what are called "e-STARS node templates," which are software constructs that allow for project-specific configurations. The software resides on the server and does not require specific software on the user machine except for an Internet browser. A user's computer need not be equipped with special software (other than an Internet-browser program). e-Stars Template Builder is compatible with Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX operating systems. A user invokes e-Stars Template Builder from a browser window. Operations that can be performed by the user include the creation of child processes and the addition of links and descriptions of documentation to existing pages or nodes. By means of this addition of "child processes" of nodes, a network that reflects the development of a project is generated.

Cox, Brian↗

A reliable control system for measurement on film thickness in copper chemical mechanical planarization system

In recent years, a variety of film thickness measurement techniques for copper chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) are subsequently proposed. In this paper, the eddy-current technique is used. In the control system of the CMP tool developed in the State Key Laboratory of Tribology, there are in situ module and off-line module for measurement subsystem. The in situ module can get the thickness of copper film on wafer surface in real time, and accurately judge when the CMP process should stop. This is called end-point detection. The off-line module is used for multi-points measurement after CMP process, in order to know the thickness of remained copper film. The whole control system is structured with two levels, and the physical connection between the upper and the lower is achieved by the industrial Ethernet. The process flow includes calibration and measurement, and there are different algorithms for two modules. In the process of software development, C++ is chosen as the programming language, in combination with Qt OpenSource to design two modules’ GUI and OPC technology to implement the communication between the two levels. In addition, the drawing function is developed relying on Matlab, enriching the software functions of the off-line module. The result shows that the control system is running stably after repeated tests and practical operations for a long time.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Phase-based design of CO 2 capture, transport, and storage infrastructure via SimCCS 3.0

The design of optimal infrastructure is essential for the deployment of commercial and large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. During the design process, it is important to consider CO 2 capture and storage locations and CO 2 transportation pipelines to minimize the total project cost. SimCCS, first introduced in 2009, is an integrated open-source tool to optimize CCS infrastructure. The core CCS infrastructure design problem in SimCCS is structured as a mixed-integer linear programming problem by selecting the optimal pipeline routes, searching CO 2 source capture and storage locations, and determining the corresponding CO 2 amounts to meet desired capture targets. Multiple important and practical features have been developed to the latest version of SimCCS, SimCCS 3.0 . One of these features is phase-based modeling which enables users to dynamically design the CCS infrastructure. We demonstrate the phased-based modeling capability using two CCS infrastructure optimization case studies. The results from these case studies reveal that the phase-based modeling capability in SimCCS is particularly useful to optimize the dynamic deployment of CCS projects.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

SU-C-202-01: Incorporating Time-Dependent Hypoxia in IMRT Planning

Purpose: To incorporate uncertainties in oxygenation of tumor cells into radiation therapy planning via robust optimization. The model is demonstrated using a clinical prostate cancer case. Methods: The tumor oxygenation levels are determined based on pre- and mid-treatment PET scans. To account for oxygenation changes, we use a radio-sensitivity factor for the effective dose necessary to treat hypoxic cells. Due to the unpredictable nature of re-oxygenation of hypoxic cells, the radio-sensitivity factor and its change is modeled to reside in a time-dependent uncertainty set. This uncertainty can adapt to both pre- and mid-treatment scans, resulting in a two-stage robust treatment planning model. We develop a robust counterpart reformulation that transforms the original NP-hard problem into a linear program consisting of finitely many linear constraints, which can be solved efficiently. Results: The robust plan is compared to both the corresponding fractionated plan which ignores hypoxia, and to the commonly practiced dose-escalated plan that uniformly increases dose based on initial oxygen concentrations. For PTV, the robust plan improves D{sub 50}, D{sub 95}, and EUD by 4% on average compared to fractionated, and by 11% compared to the optimal escalated plan. Moreover, the robust plan spared organs at risk similar to the fractionated plan, while the escalated plan led to over 170% increase of Bladder D{sub 30}. Conclusion: The proposed robust adaptive model can improve tumor coverage by increasing dose to hypoxic tumor voxels that is overlooked by common fractionated treatments. In addition, the robust model anticipates the re-oxygenation process, thus reducing the excess dose at later fractions in comparison to uniform dose-escalation methods.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Analyzing data from a PDV microphone

Photon Doppler Velocimetry (PDV) is used at Los Alamos National Laboratory to measure extremely fast velocities (on the order of 0.01 - 5 km/s) of projectiles during material testing procedures. This kind of testing is extremely important to understand how materials behave in extreme conditions (such as in nuclear explosions). PDV data is created by summing an incident beam with a Doppler shifted reflection, forming a beat frequency. The beat frequency is directly proportional to the velocity of the reflecting surface. We explored a new way of using PDV: measuring slow velocities (less than 1 m/s). The principle method we used was to measure vibrations in a Mylar sheet due to incident sound waves. I analyzed these files using both my own coding as well as a program designed at NSTec for this purpose. Analysis included performing Fourier Transforms, extracting velocity as a function of time, and playing the velocity function through a speaker to recreate the initial sound. We were able to create a successful microphone, though playback quality was poor. The limiting factor was the low velocity of the Mylar sheet, which was about 0.2 m/s. Other methods are now being explored to extract velocity data in a more efficient manner. During this project I gained extensive experience in programming, data analysis, problem solving, and communication. I learned that one must be creative in order to solve complex problems, approaching them from various angles. I also gained a lot of practice working on a team, which consisted of a high school student, another college intern, and our mentor.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Annual Sustainability Report FY 2014. Incorporates NREL Site Sustainability Plan

NREL's Sustainability Program is responsible for upholding all executive orders, federal regulations, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) orders, and goals related to sustainable and resilient facility operations. But NREL continues to expand sustainable practices above and beyond the laboratory's regulations and requirements to ensure that the laboratory fulfills its mission into the future, leaves the smallest possible legacy footprint, and models sustainable operations and behaviors on national, regional, and local levels. The report, per the GRI reporting format, elaborates on multi-year goals relative to executive orders, achievements, and challenges; and success stories provide specific examples. A section called 'Sustaining NREL's Future Through Integration' provides insight into how NREL is successfully expanding the adoption of renewable energy technologies through integration.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Literature review for oxalate oxidation processes and plutonium oxalate solubility

A literature review of oxalate oxidation processes finds that manganese(II)-catalyzed nitric acid oxidation of oxalate in precipitate filtrate is a viable and well-documented process. The process has been operated on the large scale at Savannah River in the past, including oxidation of 20 tons of oxalic acid in F-Canyon. Research data under a variety of conditions show the process to be robust. This process is recommended for oxalate destruction in H-Canyon in the upcoming program to produce feed for the MOX facility. Prevention of plutonium oxalate precipitation in filtrate can be achieved by concentrated nitric acid/ferric nitrate sequestration of oxalate. Organic complexants do not appear practical to sequester plutonium. Testing is proposed to confirm the literature and calculation findings of this review at projected operating conditions for the upcoming campaign.

HB-line↗

International Energy Agency (IEA) Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project

The IEAGHG Weyburn-Midale CO₂ Monitoring and Storage Project (WMP) began in 2000 with the first four years of research that confirmed the suitability of the containment complex of the Weyburn oil field in southeastern Saskatchewan as a storage location for CO₂ injected as part of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. The first half of this report covers research conducted from 2010 to 2012, under the funding of the United States Department of Energy (contract DEFE0002697), the Government of Canada, and various other governmental and industry sponsors. The work includes more in-depth analysis of various components of a measurement, monitoring and verification (MMV) program through investigation of data on site characterization and geological integrity, wellbore integrity, storage monitoring (geophysical and geochemical), and performance/risk assessment. These results then led to the development of a Best Practices Manual (BPM) providing oilfield and project operators with guidance on CO₂ storage and CO₂-EOR. In 2013, the USDOE and Government of Saskatchewan exercised an optional phase of the same project to further develop and deploy applied research tools, technologies, and methodologies to the data and research at Weyburn with the aim of assisting regulators and operators in transitioning CO₂-EOR operations into permanent storage. This work, detailed in the second half of this report, involves seven targeted research projects – evaluating the minimum dataset for confirming secure storage; additional overburden monitoring; passive seismic monitoring; history-matched modelling; developing proper wellbore design; casing corrosion evaluation; and assessment of post CO₂-injected core samples. The results from the final and optional phases of the Weyburn-Midale Project confirm the suitability of CO₂-EOR fields for the injection of CO₂, and further, highlight the necessary MMV and follow-up monitoring required for these operations to be considered permanent storage.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Telematics and Data Science: Informing Energy-Efficient Mobility

Fleets exploring the possibility of adding electric vehicles (EVs), battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) seek an efficient, data-driven means to justify both expenditures for vehicle and charging infrastructure and the appropriate placement of them to help ensure the cost-effective adoption of these technologies. Exploring data collection and analytic methodologies across different telematics providers offers the opportunity to better understand the strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities for employing different methods of data collection, including smartphone-based telematics and more traditional telematics with hardware installed on a vehicle's onboard diagnostics port. This report presents results of five pilot programs that collected data from the operation of conventional light-duty fleet vehicles to generate recommendations for transitioning these fleet vehicles to EVs, implementing adequate charging infrastructure, and establishing management practices to maximize the benefits of these new fleet technologies.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

TBAA20: Task-Based Algorithms and Applications

The new challenges posed by Exascale system architectures have resulted in difficulty achieving a desired scalability using traditional distributed ­memory runtimes. Task­-based programming models show promise in addressing these challenges, providing application developers with a productive and performant approach to programming on next generation systems. Empirical studies show that task-based models can overcome load ­balancing issues that are inherent to traditional distributed ­memory runtimes, and that task-­based runtimes perform comparably to those systems when balanced. This panel is designed to explore the advantages of task-­based programming models on modern and future HPC systems from an industry, university, and national lab perspective. It aims at gathering application experts and proponents of these models to present concrete and practical examples of using task­-based runtimes to overcome the challenges posed by Exascale system architectures. This report describes the objectives, activities, and outcomes of the panel TBAA: Task­-Based Algorithms and Applications which was held at the International Conference for High Performance Computing, Networking, Storage, and Analysis (SC 20) on November 18, 2020.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Clean Cities: A Model of Collaborative Technology Innovation Built Over 30 Years

The Clean Cities Coalition Network is an example of successful government-sponsored efforts to reduce petroleum use and facilitate collaborative governance across sectors and levels of government within the transportation sector. In 1993, under what is now the Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO), the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) established Clean Cities in response to a requirement in the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992 to implement voluntary alternative fuel deployment activities. VTO's Technology Integration Program is responsible for the Clean Cities Coalition Network and many other activities. DOE created a collaborative governance effort that has translated higher-level policy goals into multiple local collaborative practices for more than 30 years.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Computational aspects of maximum likelihood estimation and reduction in sensitivity function calculations

This paper discusses numerical aspects of computing maximum likelihood estimates for linear dynamical systems in state-vector form. Different gradient-based nonlinear programming methods are discussed in a unified framework and their applicability to maximum likelihood estimation is examined. The problems due to singular Hessian or singular information matrix that are common in practice are discussed in detail and methods for their solution are proposed. New results on the calculation of state sensitivity functions via reduced order models are given. Several methods for speeding convergence and reducing computation time are also discussed.

Gupta, N. K.↗

Space power subsystem automation technology

The technology issues involved in power subsystem automation and the reasonable objectives to be sought in such a program were discussed. The complexities, uncertainties, and alternatives of power subsystem automation, along with the advantages from both an economic and a technological perspective were considered. Whereas most spacecraft power subsystems now use certain automated functions, the idea of complete autonomy for long periods of time is almost inconceivable. Thus, it seems prudent that the technology program for power subsystem automation be based upon a growth scenario which should provide a structured framework of deliberate steps to enable the evolution of space power subsystems from the current practice of limited autonomy to a greater use of automation with each step being justified on a cost/benefit basis. Each accomplishment should move toward the objectives of decreased requirement for ground control, increased system reliability through onboard management, and ultimately lower energy cost through longer life systems that require fewer resources to operate and maintain. This approach seems well-suited to the evolution of more sophisticated algorithms and eventually perhaps even the use of some sort of artificial intelligence. Multi-hundred kilowatt systems of the future will probably require an advanced level of autonomy if they are to be affordable and manageable.

Graves, J. R.↗

Partitioning problems in parallel, pipelined and distributed computing

The problem of optimally assigning the modules of a parallel program over the processors of a multiple computer system is addressed. A Sum-Bottleneck path algorithm is developed that permits the efficient solution of many variants of this problem under some constraints on the structure of the partitions. In particular, the following problems are solved optimally for a single-host, multiple satellite system: partitioning multiple chain structured parallel programs, multiple arbitrarily structured serial programs and single tree structured parallel programs. In addition, the problems of partitioning chain structured parallel programs across chain connected systems and across shared memory (or shared bus) systems are also solved under certain constraints. All solutions for parallel programs are equally applicable to pipelined programs. These results extend prior research in this area by explicitly taking concurrency into account and permit the efficient utilization of multiple computer architectures for a wide range of problems of practical interest.

Bokhari, S.↗

Evaluation of an automated karyotyping system for chromosome aberration analysis

Chromosome aberration analysis is a promising complement to conventional radiation dosimetry, particularly in the complex radiation fields encountered in the space environment. The capabilities of a recently developed automated karyotyping system were evaluated both to determine current capabilities and limitations and to suggest areas where future development should be emphasized. Cells exposed to radiometric chemicals and to photon and particulate radiation were evaluated by manual inspection and by automated karyotyping. It was demonstrated that the evaluated programs were appropriate for image digitization, storage, and transmission. However, automated and semi-automated scoring techniques must be advanced significantly if in-flight chromosome aberration analysis is to be practical. A degree of artificial intelligence may be necessary to realize this goal.

Prichard, Howard M.↗

SSME technology test bed fast shutdown assessment

The fastest practical shutdown sequence for the Technology Test Bed Engine is developed. A sequence is defined and key issues addressed. The conclusion of the study is that a fastest shutdown sequence within the existing SSME design capability is practical and can cut oxidizer consumption by 50 percent. However, the revised sequence would not have prevented any of the prior experienced SSME incidents and would introduce development risk to the program.

Liebman, A.↗