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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 19 records

Effects of expiration of the Federal energy tax credit on the National Photovoltaics Program

Projected 1986 sales are significantly reduced as a direct result of system price increases following from expiration of the Federal energy tax credits. There would be greatly reduced emphasis on domestic electric utility applications. Indirect effects arising from unrealized economies of scale and reduced private investment in PV research and development (R&D) and in production facilities could have a very large cumulative adverse impact on the U.S. PV industry. The industry forecasts as much as fourfold reduction in 1990 sales if tax credits expire, compared with what sales would be with the credits. Because the National Photovoltaics Program is explicitly structured as a government partnership, large changes in the motivation or funding of either partner can affect Program success profoundly. Reduced industry participation implies that such industry tasks as industrialization and new product development would slow or halt. Those research areas receiving heavy R&D support from private PV manufacturers would be adversely affected.

Smith, J. L.↗

Validation of measurements of ventilation-to-perfusion ratio inequality in the lung from expired gas

The analysis of the gas in a single expirate has long been used to estimate the degree of ventilation-perfusion (Va/Q) inequality in the lung. To further validate this estimate, we examined three measures of Va/Q inhomogeneity calculated from a single full exhalation in nine anesthetized mongrel dogs under control conditions and after exposure to aerosolized methacholine. These measurements were then compared with arterial blood gases and with measurements of Va/Q inhomogeneity obtained using the multiple inert gas elimination technique. The slope of the instantaneous respiratory exchange ratio (R slope) vs. expired volume was poorly correlated with independent measures, probably because of the curvilinear nature of the relationship due to continuing gas exchange. When R was converted to the intrabreath Va/Q (iV/Q), the best index was the slope of iV/Q vs. volume over phase III (iV/Q slope). This was strongly correlated with independent measures, especially those relating to inhomogeneity of perfusion. The correlations for iV/Q slope and R slope considerably improved when only the first half of phase III was considered. We conclude that a useful noninvasive measurement of Va/Q inhomogeneity can be derived from the intrabreath respiratory exchange ratio.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

Sensitivity of puff dynamics and airborne droplet nuclei distribution to variations in violent expiration events

Here, we use large eddy simulations to investigate the puff and droplet dynamics from violent expiratory events such as coughs and sneezes in the first few seconds following an ejection. For each of the eleven simulations considered, over 60,000 droplets are ejected and individually tracked using the point-particle Euler–Lagrange approach. We test the sensitivity of the puff and droplet dynamics to various parameters including the ejection volume, momentum, and orientation. We also explore the effect of the mouth shape on the aforementioned dynamics by considering elliptical and circular inlet cross-sections. The results from the simulations compare favorably with a recent theoretical framework put forth by Balachandar et al. in terms of the puff size and propagation velocity. More importantly however, the theory is able to accurately predict the number and size spectra of the potentially virus-laden droplet nuclei that remain airborne within the puff. We observe that the ejection angle and mouth shape do not significantly affect the puff and droplet dynamics. Additionally, we quantify the carrying capacity of the detached puff portions in terms of the number and size spectra of droplets/droplet nuclei suspended within.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Stability Analysis of ISS Medications

It is known that medications degrade over time, and that extreme storage conditions will hasten their degradation. The temperature and humidity conditions of the ISS have been shown to be within the ideal ranges for medication storage, but the effects of other environmental factors, like elevated exposure to radiation, have not yet been evaluated. Current operational procedures ensure that ISS medications are re-stocked before expiration, but this may not be possible on long duration exploration missions. For this reason, medications that have experienced long duration storage on the ISS were returned to JSC for analysis to determine any unusual effects of aging in the low- Earth orbit environment. METHODS Medications were obtained by the JSC Pharmacy from commercial distributors and were re-packaged by JSC pharmacists to conserve up mass and volume. All medication doses were part of the ISS crew medical kit and were transported to the International Space Station (ISS) via NASA's Shuttle Transportation System (Space Shuttle). After 568 days of storage, the medications were removed from the supply chain and returned to Earth on a Dragon (SpaceX) capsule. Upon return to Earth, medications were transferred to temperature and humidity controlled environmental chambers until analysis. Nine medications were chosen on the basis of their availability for study. The medications included several of the most heavily used by US crewmembers: 2 sleep aids, 2 antihistamines/decongestants, 3 pain relievers, an antidiarrheal and an alertness medication. Each medication was available at a single time point; analysis of the same medication at multiple time points was not possible. Because the samples examined in this study were obtained opportunistically from medical supplies, there were no control samples available (i.e. samples aged for a similar period of time on the ground); a significant limitation of this study. Medications were analyzed using the HPLC/MS methods described in the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) to measure the amount of intact active ingredient, identify degradation products and measure their amounts. Some analyses were conducted by an independent analytical laboratory, but certain (Schedule) medications could not be shipped to their facility and were analyzed at JSC. RESULTS Nine medications were analyzed with respect to active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) and degradant amounts. Results were compared to the USP requirements for API and degradants/impurities content for every FDA-approved medication. One medication met USP requirements at 5 months after its expiration date. Four of the nine (44% of those tested) medications tested met USP requirements up to 8 months post-expiration. Another 3 medications (33% of those tested) met USP guidelines 2-3 months before expiration. One medication, a compound classed by the FDA as a dietary supplement and sometimes used as a sleep aid, failed to meet USP requirements at 11 months post-expiration. CONCLUSION Analysis of each medication at a single time point provides limited information on the stability of a medication stored in particular conditions; it is not possible to predict how long a medication may be safe and effective from these data. Notwithstanding, five of the nine medications tested (56%) met USP requirements for API and degradants/impurities at least 5 months past expiration dates. The single compound that failed to meet USP requirements is not regulated as strictly as prescription medications are during manufacture; it is unknown if this medication would have met the requirements prior to flight. Notably, it was the furthest beyond its expiration date. Only more comprehensive analysis of flight-aged samples compared to appropriate ground controls will permit determination of spaceflight effects on medication stability.

Wotring, V. E.↗

Inhomogeneity of pulmonary perfusion during sustained microgravity on SLS-1

We studied the effects of gravity on the inhomogeneity of pulmonary perfusion in humans by performing hyperventilation-breath-hold single-breath measurements before, during, and after 9 days of continuous exposure to microgravity during the Spacelab Life Sciences-1 (SLS-1) mission. In microgravity the indicators of inhomogeneity of perfusion, especially the size of cardiogenic oscillations in expired CO2 and the height of phase IV, were markedly reduced. Cardiogenic oscillations were reduced to approximately 60% of their preflight standing size, and the height of phase IV was between 0 and -8% (a terminal fall became a small terminal rise) of the preflight standing value. The terminal change in expired CO2 was nearly abolished in microgravity, indicating more uniformity of blood flow between lung units that close and those that remain open at the end of expiration. A possible explanation of this observation is the disappearance of gravity-dependent topographic inequality of blood flow. The residual cardiogenic oscillations in expired CO2 imply a persisting inhomogeneity of perfusion in the absence of gravity, probably in lung regions that are not within the same acinus.

Prisk, G. Kim↗

Using advanced data structures to enable responsive security monitoring

Write-optimized data structures (WODS), offer the potential to keep up with cyberstream event rates and give sub-second query response for key items like IP addresses. These data structures organize logs as the events are observed. To work in a real-world environment and not fill up the disk, WODS must efficiently expire older events. As the basis for our research into organizing security monitoring data, we implemented a tool, called Diventi, to index IP addresses in connection logs using RocksDB (a write-optimized LSM tree). In this work, we extended Diventi to automatically expire data as part of the data structures’ normal operations. We guarantee that Diventi always tracks the N most recent events and tracks no more than N + k events for a parameter k < N, while ensuring the index is opportunistically pruned. To test Diventi at scale in a controlled environment, we used anonymized traces of IP communications collected at SuperComputing 2019. We synthetically extended the 2.4 billion connection events to 100 billion events. We tested Diventi vs. Elasticsearch, a common log indexing tool. In our test environment, Elasticsearch saw an ingestion rate of at best 37,000 events/s while Diventi sustained ingestion rates greater than 171,000 events/s. Our query response times were as much as 100 times faster, typically answering queries in under 80 ms. Furthermore, we saw no noticeable degradation in Diventi from expiration. We have deployed Diventi for many months where it has performed well and supported new security analysis capabilities.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Human sinus arrhythmia as an index of vagal cardiac outflow

The human central vagal mechanisms were investigated by measuring the intervals between heartbeats during controlled breathing (at breathing intervals of 2.5-10 s and nominal tidal volumes of 1000 and 1500 ml) in six young men and women. It was found that as the breathing interval increased, the longest heart periods became longer, the shortest heart periods became shorter, and the peak-valley P-P intervals increased asymptotically. Peak-valley intervals also increased in proportion to tidal volume, although this influence was small. The phase angles between heart period changes and respiration were found to vary as linear functions of breathing interval. Heart period shortening began in inspiration at short breathing intervals and in expiration at long breathing intervals, while heart period lengthening began in early expiration at all breathing intervals studied. It is concluded that a close relationship exists between variations of respiratory depth and interval and the quantity, periodicity, and timing of vagal cardiac outflow in conscious humans. The results indicate that at usual breathing rates, phasic respiration-related changes of vagal motoneuron activity begin in expiration, progress slowly, and are incompletely expressed at fast breathing ratges.

Eckberg, D. L.↗

The three R's of training: Recording, Retaining, and Reporting - The training management system that synergizes

NASA's Kennedy Space Center employs a Training and Certification Record System (TCRS) which tracks and maintains records for each of its employees, encompassing all aspects of training history: training courses, physical examinations, proficiency tests, on-the-job training, standboards, and certifications with completions and expiration dates. TCRS, which is fully automated, includes an expiration-alert notification capability to project recurring expirations, thereby functioning as a forecasting tool for training budgets.

Ingram, Dick D.↗

Inhomogeneity of pulmonary perfusion during sustained microgravity

The effects of gravity on the inhomogeneity of pulmonary perfusion in man were studied by performing hyperventilation-breathhold single-breath measurements before, during and after 9 days of continuous exposure to microgravity. In microgravity the indicators of inhomogeneity of perfusion, especially the size of cardiogenic oscillations in expired CO2 and the height of phase 4, were both markedly reduced. Cardiogenic oscillations were reduced to approximately 60 of their preflight standing size, while the height of phase 4 was between 0 and -8% (a terminal fall became a small terminal rise) of preflights standing. The terminal change in CO2 was nearly abolished in microgravity indicating more uniformity of blood flow between lung units that close at the end of expiration and units that remain open. This may result from the disappearance of gravity-dependent topographical inequality of blood flow. The residual cardiographic oscillations in expired CO2 imply a persisting inhomogeneity of perfusion in the absence of gravity at a level larger than acinar.

Prisk, G. Kim↗

NASA LaRC Hazardous Material Pharmacy

In 1993-1994 the Office of Environmental Engineering contracted SAIC to develop NASA Langley's Pollution Prevention (P2) Program. One of the priority projects identified in this contract was the development of a hazardous waste minimization (HAZMIN)/hazardous materials reutilization (HAZMART) program in the form of a Hazardous Materials Pharmacy. A hazardous materials pharmacy is designed to reduce hazardous material procurement costs and hazardous waste disposal costs. This is accomplished through the collection and reissue of excess hazardous material. Currently, a rarely used hazardous material may be stored in a shop area, unused, until it passes its expiration date. The material is then usually disposed of as a hazardous waste, often at a greater expense than the original cost of the material. While this material was on the shelf expiring, other shop areas may have ordered new supplies of the same material. The hazardous material pharmacy would act as a clearinghouse for such materials. Material that is not going to be used would be turned in to the pharmacy. Other users could then be issued this material free of charge, thereby reducing procurement costs. The use of this material by another shop prevents it from expiring, thereby reducing hazardous waste disposal costs.

Esquenet, Remy↗

Basin-Wide Approaches to Hydropower Licensing

This presentation summarizes findings from a 2020 NREL technical report including the FERC relicensing process for non-federal hydropower projects, analyzes FERC-licensed projects with license expiration dates from 2018-2037, discusses FERC's authority to coordinate license terms of hydropower projects within a shared river basin and provides basin-wide case studies and considerations to hydropower relicensing. In the United States there are 1,043 active FERC-licensed hydroelectric projects with a total capacity of 56,097 MW. Of those, 647 with a total capacity of 21,870 MW have license expiration dates from 2018-2037. The expected workload in conjunction with the time, cost, and complexity associated with issuing a single new license has led to initiatives that aim to increase the efficiency of the relicensing process. Federal and state regulators and licensees in California, Maine, New York, and Wisconsin have begun to develop approaches to look at hydropower relicensing as part of a larger system - a river basin. These basin-wide approaches seek to coordinate different stages of the relicensing process for multiple projects at the same time. The goal of these basin-wide approaches is to increase the efficiency of the relicensing process and allow for a more comprehensive analysis of the cumulative impacts of the projects within the basin. These innovative approaches to relicensing could also reduce the workload for regulators and costs associated with relicensing. This presentation discusses some of the findings from the Basin-wide Approaches to Hydropower Relicensing: Case Studies and Considerations including a summary of the key considerations for the FERC relicensing process for non-federal hydropower projects, key findings from the analysis of FERC-licensed projects with license expiration dates from 2018-2037, discusses FERC's authority to coordinate license terms of hydropower projects within a shared river basin and provides basin-wide case studies and considerations to hydropower relicensing.

basin-wide↗

Statistical analysis of the performance and long-term stability of unquenched LSC standards ( 3 H, 14 C) used for radiochemical measurements

Multiple sets of toluene-based unquenched standards, procured over the last 3 decades, were analyzed to determine their stability over time. A statistical analysis was performed to provide insight into the variability for tSIE and counting efficiency measurements of 3 H and 14 C isotopes. Our data suggests that standards remain viable even 30 years after the manufacturer’s recommended expiration date. Overall, these standards have shown no statistically significant sign of performance degradation. We have proven through statistical analysis that these standards can provide comparable performance over time well past their manufactured expiration date.

LSC standards↗

Methods for the Automated Determination of Sustained Maximum Amplitudes in Oscillating Signals

Machine condition monitoring has been proven to reduce machine downtime and increase productivity. The state-of-the-art research uses vibration monitoring for tasks such as maintenance and tool wear prediction. A less explored aspect is how vibration monitoring might be used to monitor equipment sensitive to vibration. In a manufacturing environment, one example of where this might be needed is in monitoring the vibration of optical linear encoders used in high-precision machine tools and coordinate measuring machines. Monitoring the vibration of sensitive equipment presents a unique case for vibration monitoring because an accurate calculation of the maximum sustained vibration is needed, as opposed to extracting trends from the data. To do this, techniques for determining sustained peaks in vibration signals are needed. Here, this work fills this gap by formalizing and testing methods for determining sustained vibration amplitudes. The methods are tested on simulated signals based on experimental data. Results show that processing the signal directly with the novel Expire Timer method produces the smallest amounts of error on average under various test conditions. Additionally, this method can operate in real-time on streaming vibration data.

Industrial Internet of Things↗

GH Induction System 1B (BR-105) & MRF System 6 (BR-120) in B226

The purpose of the attached calculations and detail sketches is to document conformance with the requirements of DOE-STD-1020-2016 for the subject project. The calculations have been reviewed for technical accuracy, appropriate methodology, and completeness using the "Document Review Method." The reviewer confirms that the stated purpose has been met. This package does not constitute a construction permit. The enclosed calculations are valid for 2 years from signed date or expiration of listed code cycles, whichever occurs first. Licensed civil or structural engineer is to be contacted for calculations application following expiration of calculations package.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Recertification of the DOE 9978 Type B Package: Lessons L

The history and limited use of the 9978 Type B package history represents a complex case story. Unprecedented delays (from Covid-19) caused the annual maintenance of nine loaded 9978 packages to expire before the actual shipments were initiated. Additionally, with the delays, the content amendment authorizing the Pu and Am standards as authorized content expired, hence additionally requiring a full SARP revision prior to making the shipments

Ketusky, Edward T. [Savannah River National Labora↗

In-silico quantification of intersubject variability on aerosol deposition in the oral airway

The extrathoracic oral airway I s not only a major mechanical barrier for pharmaceutical aerosols to reach the lung but also a major source of variability in lung deposition. Using computational fluid dynamics, deposition of 1-30 µm particles was predicted in 11 CT-based models of the oral airways of adults (7 healthy subjects and 4 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). Simulations were performed for mouth breathing during both inspiration and expiration at two steady-state flow rates representative of resting/light activity (18 L/min) and of that typically used during aerosol inhalation from a dry powder inhaler (45 L/min). For each subject, oral deposition increased with increasing particle size and flow rate. When averaged over all subjects, there was no significant difference in oral deposition efficiency between inspiration and expiration, unlike subregional deposition that show significantly different patterns between the two breathing phases. Consistent with previous in-vitro inspiratory studies, our data showed a large intersubject variability in oral deposition. These results highlight the need for incorporating morphological variation of the upper airway in predictive models of aerosol deposition for accurate predictions of particle dosimetry in the intrathoracic region of the lung.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD), Inertial impac↗

Effect of stratified inequality of blood flow on gas exchange in liquid-filled lungs.

This investigation set out to answer two questions: (1) are the distal alveoli in the terminal lung units less well perfused than the proximal alveoli, i.e., is there stratification of blood flow; and (2) if so, does this enhance gas exchange in the presence of stratified inequality of ventilation. Excised dog lungs were ventilated with saline and perfused with blood. Following single inspirations of xenon 133 in saline and various periods of breath holding, the expired xenon concentration against volume was measured and it confirmed marked stratified inequality of ventilation under these conditions. By measuring the rate of depletion of xenon from alveoli during a period of blood flow, we showed that the alveoli which emptied at the end of expiration had 16% less blood flow than those exhaling earlier. However, by measuring the xenon concentration in pulmonary venous blood, we found that about 10% less tracer was transferred from the alveoli into the blood when the inspired xenon was stratified within the respiratory zone. Thus while stratification of blood flow was confirmed, it was shown to impair rather than enhance the efficiency of gas transfer.

West, J. B.↗