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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Development of Large Scale Extrusion Deposition for Structural Applications

Large Scale Extrusion Deposition (LSED) is an evolving additive manufacturing (AM) technology that research, such as that taking place at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and companies like Local Motors, are continuing to utilize and develop new applications. A major LSED application of interest has been molds and tooling as it allows for much shorter production time and lower cost. However, interest has been expanding into using LSED for more structural applications due to more frequent use of high performing polymer composites as feedstock. The use of LSED for structural applications is of particular interest to Local Motors as it is currently being used to create commercially viable, energy efficient electric vehicles. LSED offers a unique opportunity when compared to traditional manufacturing methods as it can significantly reduce the number of components necessary, while decreasing embodied energy and carbon emissions. Even with these benefits however, it is important that LSED is properly understood from a structural aspect as this field has not been as heavily researched as tooling. To ensure a high level of safety and repeatability is an essential responsibility of a manufacturer whose products are structural in nature. As such it is important to understand the materials and LSED process to make structural objects that the manufacturer can be confident in. The main goals of this project were to: develop and investigate materials that are of interest for structural LSED applications, further develop and understand the current machines used in LSED and develop simulations tools of LSED and the mechanical properties of the created structure. Material development focused on composite materials that have high mechanical properties and are stable in a variety of environments. The materials were tested to determine their as printed mechanical and thermal properties as these are necessary for simulations. Once the materials were investigated thoroughly, it allowed for simulations to be performed to compare to experimental data with simulations. Materials were also vetted to determine candidates for multi-material printing. The machine development focused around the areas of process monitoring, non-destructive evaluation, and quality control. Finally, the goal of the simulations was to develop a realistic model of printed structures, including in-process simulation and dynamic simulation. The routes to get to some of these goals and the depth in which they were investigated changed throughout the project due to personnel changes and the COVID-19 pandemic. This project resulted in many valuable results such as the development of an nondestructive evaluation (NDE) technique for interlayer defects, proof of simulation for warpage in simple parts, the development and utilization of a profilometer to monitor a print for defects or inconsistencies, thorough investigation of a material used commercially for structural LSED applications and valuable experimental data on the applicability and advantages of multi-material crush structures versus their neat counterparts by creation and testing of samples.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Materials Development and Advanced Process Simulation for Additive Manufacturing with Fiber-Reinforced Thermoplastics (Final Technical Report)

DuPont, Local Motors, and the Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center (CMSC) at Purdue worked together to advance process simulation capabilities for Additive Manufacturing (AM) and develop printable short fiber reinforced semi-crystalline engineering thermoplastics suitable for vehicle components. DuPont provided one candidate thermoplastic material, which was evaluated against the following three criteria: 1) Printability using extrusion additive manufacturing processes. 2) Suitability for vehicle applications based on mechanical coupon screening tests. 3) Predictive capability of process simulations. Indiana Manufacturing Institute provided modeling and simulation technology and access to Purdue’s lab scale AM printer. Local Motors provided mechanical property requirements and printed demonstration prototype components using their Thermwood Large Scale Additive Manufacturing (LSAM) printer. To meet the performance and cost requirements of the automotive industry, high fiber content semi-crystalline engineering materials are required. Printing experience and property data for a 50% by weight short glass fiber reinforced material were gathered. Further, material properties required for simulating the printing process with the glass-fiber reinforced material were characterized. Knowledge was acquired with regards to the processability and performance of this thermoplastic material. Predictions of part deformation and crystallinity level were verified against experimental observations. Any significant results other than verification of simulation, e.g., novel material identified here would be impactful.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Utility of Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) For The Rapid Manufacture of Customized Electric Vehicles

This Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Manufacturing Development Facility (MDF) technical collaboration project was conducted in two phases as a CRADA with Local Motors Inc. Phase 1 was previously reported as Advanced Manufacturing of Complex Cyber Mechanical Devices through Community Engagement and Micro-manufacturing and demonstrated the integration of components onto a prototype body part for a vehicle. Phase 2 was reported as Utility of Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) for the Rapid Manufacture of Customized Electric Vehicles and demonstrated the high profile live printing of an all-electric vehicle using ONRL's Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) technology. This demonstration generated considerable national attention and successfully demonstrated the capabilities of the BAAM system as developed by ORNL and Cincinnati, Inc. and the feasibility of additive manufacturing of a full scale electric vehicle as envisioned by the CRADA partner Local Motors, Inc.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2015

World's First Printed Car

Local Motors partnered with ORNL to print the world’s first 3D-printed car (Strati) at the 2014 International Manufacturing Technology Show.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Design Concepts to Meet EASA SC-VTOL-01 Single Failure Criteria

The objective of the current work is to discuss European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) SC-VTOL-01 single failure criteria, VTOL.2250(c). Prior studies have developed concept distributed propulsion and flight control (DPFC) system architectures and found they comply with EASA SC-VTOL-01 probabilistic failure criteria, VTOL.2510(a). Prior work developed two all-electric DPFC systems utilized in a quadrotor concept aircraft developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); one uses interconnecting shafts and gearboxes to interconnect redundant motors with each rotor system and the other uses gearboxes to connect redundant motors locally, near each rotor. Common between the two electric DPFC systems were rotor shafts, epicyclic systems, and motors. The current work explores Category I failures in drive systems, relevant research to support fail-safe design practices for gear systems, research and adjacent industry trends in motor fail-safety and reliability, and proposed design concepts to comply with VTOL.2250(c). Continued research in fail-safe design concepts and design guidance will benefit eVTOL and conventional rotorcraft, alike. Continued research in these areas will benefit eVTOL certification against SC-VTOL-01, and could optimistically translate to more widespread adoption of similar fail-safe design concepts into new rotorcraft designs certified against CS-29.

Rotorcraft↗
DOE OSTI2018

Characterization of C-ring component assembly in flagellar motors from amino acid coevolution

Bacterial flagellar motility, an important virulence factor, is energized by a rotary motor localized within the flagellar basal body. The rotor module consists of a large framework (the C-ring), composed of the FliG, FliM and FliN proteins. FliN and FliM contacts the FliG torque ring to control the direction of flagellar rotation. We report that structure-based models constrained only by residue coevolution can recover the binding interface of atomic X-ray dimer complexes with remarkable accuracy (approx. 1 Å RMSD). We propose a model for FliM–FliN heterodimerization, which agrees accurately with homologous interfaces as well as in situ cross-linking experiments, and hence supports a proposed architecture for the lower portion of the C-ring. Furthermore, this approach allowed the identification of two discrete and interchangeable homodimerization interfaces between FliM middle domains that agree with experimental measurements and might be associated with C-ring directional switching dynamics triggered upon binding of CheY signal protein. Our findings provide structural details of complex formation at the C-ring that have been difficult to obtain with previous methodologies and clarify the architectural principle that underpins the ultra-sensitive allostery exhibited by this ring assembly that controls the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of flagella.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Structural Evaluation of Complex Subcomponents Manufactured by Large Scale Extrusion Deposition of Carbon Fiber Reinforced ABS

The large scale extrusion deposition process has recently been commercialized in the form of additive manufacturing machines such as the BAAM from Cincinnati Inc., which enables layered production of chopped fiber reinforced thermoplastic polymer systems. The application of this process to the automotive market is being pursued by Local Motors to enable rapid design to market cycles and build on-demand capability for a wide range of vehicle styles from a distributed network of micro-factories. This endeavor will require an understanding of the structural performance of components with complex geometries, where the properties are known to vary as a function of printing conditions, as well as orientation and shape. In order to rapidly build a database of structural performance, a beam specimen with outer dimensions of 914 x 305 x 64 mm3 was selected to be subjected to bending, torsion, and shear loading with full field displacement measurement by digital image correlation (DIC). A total of 25 different specimen configurations were designed including variation of print geometry, reinforcement by foam filling, and overwrapping with advanced composites. This work documents the results of the study and presents the relative performance of the structures in addition to the approach to simulation that is being initiated to serve as a framework for efficient design of structures manufactured in this way. The results are presented as a table of structural efficiency including stiffness and strength as functions of mass for each design. Additional results will also be provided in the form of surface displacements from DIC; future work will utilize this data to better optimize simulations for predicting structural performance of articles manufactured by this process.

Bedsole, Robert↗
DOE OSTI2021

Reclaimed Carbon Fiber Reinforced Automotive Part Using 3-DEP® Preforming Technology on Additive Manufacturing Tool Made with Reclaimed Carbon Fibers

The project focused on how well tools designed and built using reclaimed carbon fiber on the Big Area Additive Manufacturing (BAAM) can be used to manufacture preforms made with reclaimed carbon fibers. The project supported multiple Institute for Advanced Composite Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) goals: • Enables the use of recycled carbon fibers in two areas: o Tooling material compounded with reclaimed carbon fiber. o Preforms made with recycled carbon fiber (rCF). • Lowers manufacturing costs by producing low cost 3-DEP® preform tooling. • Reduces manufacturing cycle time with quick additive manufacturing techniques. • Produces lightweight automotive components that will increase fuel economy which will in turn reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project demonstrated a tool made from reclaimed carbon fibers, gathered technical data that will guide optimization of tooling materials, evaluated preforms made with the BAAM printed tool, and developed cost evaluations. This project has been a total success. First the project demonstrated that reclaimed carbon fiber can be compounded and successfully printed in the BAAM equipment. Second preforms were successfully made from reclaimed carbon fiber using a reclaimed fiber printed tool. Third the team successfully printed a molding tool out of reclaimed carbon fiber. Fourth the project went beyond the scope of this phase I project in 3 areas: (1)- Techmer PM compounded rCF in 2 resin systems instead of just one system (2)- Local Motors evaluated and collected data that will support their IACMI 3.6 project (Robert Bedsole, 2017) . (3)- University of Tennessee Knoxville (UTK) molded a part using the reclaimed preform on a molding tool made from printed reclaim fiber.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Methodology for Estimating Purchased Prices of Energy-efficient Motors Internationally and Results for Selected Countries

Motor-driven systems accounts for approximately 60% of manufacturing final electricity use worldwide. Setting standards and designing policies to increase the energy efficiency of the electric motor stocks in a country is a complex process that requires substantial amount of data and analysis. One of the key data needed for this purpose is the purchase price of electric motors in local market conditions. This study was conducted to develop a bottom-up approach to estimate the purchase price of electric motors in different countries/regions for different sizes, number of poles, enclosures, and efficiency levels by adjusting a recent analysis from the U.S to local parameters. The methodology allows for estimates of manufacturer selling prices, along with other costs associated with the distribution channel to calculate purchase prices for different efficiency levels, in different economies. In this report, we provide preliminary results for selected countries/regions in order to illustrate the possible applications of our analysis. Despite the uncertainties due to specific market conditions, this approach can be used by analysts, industry experts, policy makers, and other interested parties to have a more systematic way to estimate the purchase price of electric motors at the country level and use such prices in cost-benefit analyses and cost-effectiveness of higher energy efficiency standards for electric motors.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2013

Ground and Space-Based Measurement of Rocket Engine Burns in the Ionosphere

On-orbit firings of both liquid and solid rocket motors provide localized disturbances to the plasma in the upper atmosphere. Large amounts of energy are deposited to ionosphere in the form of expanding exhaust vapors which change the composition and flow velocity. Charge exchange between the neutral exhaust molecules and the background ions (mainly O+) yields energetic ion beams. The rapidly moving pickup ions excite plasma instabilities and yield optical emissions after dissociative recombination with ambient electrons. Line-of-sight techniques for remote measurements rocket burn effects include direct observation of plume optical emissions with ground and satellite cameras, and plume scatter with UHF and higher frequency radars. Long range detection with HF radars is possible if the burns occur in the dense part of the ionosphere. The exhaust vapors initiate plasma turbulence in the ionosphere that can scatter HF radar waves launched from ground transmitters. Solid rocket motors provide particulates that become charged in the ionosphere and may excite dusty plasma instabilities. Hypersonic exhaust flow impacting the ionospheric plasma launches a low-frequency, electromagnetic pulse that is detectable using satellites with electric field booms. If the exhaust cloud itself passes over a satellite, in situ detectors measure increased ion-acoustic wave turbulence, enhanced neutral and plasma densities, elevated ion temperatures, and magnetic field perturbations. All of these techniques can be used for long range observations of plumes in the ionosphere. To demonstrate such long range measurements, several experiments were conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory including the Charged Aerosol Release Experiment, the Shuttle Ionospheric Modification with Pulsed Localized Exhaust experiments, and the Shuttle Exhaust Ionospheric Turbulence Experiments.

Bernhardt, P. A.↗
DOE OSTI2015

ARPA-E LITECAR Challenge

With more than 250 conceptual designs submitted, we are pleased to highlight the winners of the LIghtweighting Technologies Enabling Comprehensive Automotive Redesign (LITECAR) Challenge. These innovative conceptual designs seek to lightweight a vehicle while maintaining or exceeding current U.S. automotive safety standards.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Nanomotor dynamics in a chemically oscillating medium

Synthetic nanomotors powered by chemical reactions have potential uses as cargo transport vehicles in both in vivo and in vitro applications. In many situations, motors will have to operate in out-of-equilibrium complex chemically reacting media, which supply fuel to the motors and remove the products they produce. Using molecular simulation and mean-field theory, this paper describes some of the new features that arise when a chemically powered nanomotor, operating through a diffusiophoretic mechanism, moves in an environment that supports an oscillatory chemical reaction network. It is shown how oscillations in the concentrations in chemical species in the environment give rise to oscillatory motor dynamics. More importantly, since the catalytic reactions on the motor that are responsible for its propulsion couple to the bulk phase reaction network, the motor can change its local environment. This process can give rise to distinctive spatiotemporal structures in reaction-diffusion media that occur as a result of active motor motion. Such locally induced nonequilibrium structure will play an important role in applications that involve motor dynamics in complex chemical media.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Dual Phase Soft Magnetic Laminates for Low-cost, Non/Reduced-Rare-Earth Containing Electrical Machines

To accelerate the mass market adoption of electric drive vehicles, the key technology barriers in electric motors are (1) magnet cost and rare-earth element price volatility; (2) non-rare-earth electric motor performance; and (3) materials property optimization. The goal of this project was to address these barriers by advancing a unique and innovative dual phase soft magnetic material technology and demonstrating the material in a 30-kW synchronous reluctance motor without using any permanent magnet for electric vehicles. Dual phase magnetic materials offer the electric motor designer the ability to locally control the magnetic saturation level in a motor laminate, while at the same time enhancing the mechanical strength of the laminate material, resulting in an enhancement in motor performance and efficiency. Scalable dual phase soft magnetic laminates manufacturing technologies were developed in collaboration with multiple US manufacturers. 1000 lbs of alloy sheet with a thickness of 0.25mm and width of 280 mm was manufactured within the specifications. Batch sizes of up to 240 laminates per run were produced from the alloy sheet. Two prototype motors with dual phase soft magnetic laminates were designed, built, and tested. The major goal of building the subscale prototype as a pathway to develop scalable manufacturing technologies for the dual phase soft magnetic laminates was met. The additional goal of building and testing the subscale prototype in order to validate the calculated performance with the tested motor performance was also met. For the full-scale 30kW continuous power synchronous reluctance motor prototype, the tested performance met the targets in terms of continuous power at the operating speeds up to 8000 rpm. Post-test studies were conducted and the root causes for the discrepancy between the predicted and tested peak power, continuous power at high speed range, and efficiency were identified. Further modeling study showed that the dual phase rotor machine has a 27% higher torque to active weight ratio than an equivalent performance silicon steel rotor machine. Application space and multiple discussions with traction motor and electric vehicle manufacturers for commercialization of the dual phase soft magnetic material technology were identified and conducted. An initial cost model was established based on the developed manufacturing technologies with the US manufacturers. Future paths for further cost reduction were identified, including increasing the market volume by broadening the applications of the dual phase soft magnetic laminate technology for electric machines in other energy sections such as oil & gas, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), and power generation.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Extremum-Seeking-Based Ultra-local Model Predictive Control and Its Application to Electric Motor Speed Regulation

Electric vehicle (EV) market is rapidly expanding. As a critical component of EV, an electric motor needs to accurately follow a reference speed signal while respecting the electrical current constraint for safety. Those requirements are usually formulated as a model predictive control (MPC) problem. However, the performance of traditional model-based MPC depends on the accuracy of the system model, which may not always be guaranteed in reality. Therefore, we utilize a data-driven, model-free predictive control strategy, called ultra-local MPC (ULMPC), to control the speed of an electric motor. To further enhance the control performance of ULMPC, we employ the extremum-seeking control (ESC) to tune the control gain of the ULMPC online. Simulation and hardware experiments demonstrate the enhancement of the extremum-seeking-based ULMPC over a constant-gain ULMPC.

Zhou, Yujing↗
DOE OSTI2015

Motor Fuel Excise Taxes

A new report from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) explores the role of alternative fuels and energy efficient vehicles in motor fuel taxes. Throughout the United States, it is common practice for federal, state, and local governments to tax motor fuels on a per gallon basis to fund construction and maintenance of our transportation infrastructure. In recent years, however, expenses have outpaced revenues creating substantial funding shortfalls that have required supplemental funding sources. While rising infrastructure costs and the decreasing purchasing power of the gas tax are significant factors contributing to the shortfall, the increased use of alternative fuels and more stringent fuel economy standards are also exacerbating revenue shortfalls. The current dynamic places vehicle efficiency and petroleum use reduction polices at direct odds with policies promoting robust transportation infrastructure. Understanding the energy, transportation, and environmental tradeoffs of motor fuel tax policies can be complicated, but recent experiences at the state level are helping policymakers align their energy and environmental priorities with highway funding requirements.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2017

Insights into the Behavior of Potential Structural Failures Originating from Localized High Stress Regions in Configurations Relevant to Solid Rocket Motor Nozzles

During the structural certification effort for the Space Launch System solid rocket booster nozzle, it was identified that no consistent method for addressing local negative margins of safety in non-metallic materials had been developed. Relevant areas included bond-line terminations and geometric features in the composite nozzle liners. In order to gain understanding, analog test specimens were designed that very closely mimic the conditions in the actual full scale hardware. Different locations in the nozzle were represented by different analog specimen designs. This paper describes those tests and corresponding results. Finite element analysis results for the tests are presented. Strain gage correlation of the analysis to the test results is addressed. Furthermore, finite fracture mechanics (a coupled stress and energy failure criterion) is utilized to predict the observed crack pop-in loads for the different configurations. The finite fracture mechanics predictions are found to be within a 10% error relative to the average measured pop-in load for each of four configurations. Initiation locations, arrest behaviors, and resistances to further post-arrest crack propagation are also discussed.

McCutcheon, David Matthew↗
NASA NTRS2001

Molecular motors and their functions in plants

Molecular motors that hydrolyze ATP and use the derived energy to generate force are involved in a variety of diverse cellular functions. Genetic, biochemical, and cellular localization data have implicated motors in a variety of functions such as vesicle and organelle transport, cytoskeleton dynamics, morphogenesis, polarized growth, cell movements, spindle formation, chromosome movement, nuclear fusion, and signal transduction. In non-plant systems three families of molecular motors (kinesins, dyneins, and myosins) have been well characterized. These motors use microtubules (in the case of kinesines and dyneins) or actin filaments (in the case of myosins) as tracks to transport cargo materials intracellularly. During the last decade tremendous progress has been made in understanding the structure and function of various motors in animals. These studies are yielding interesting insights into the functions of molecular motors and the origin of different families of motors. Furthermore, the paradigm that motors bind cargo and move along cytoskeletal tracks does not explain the functions of some of the motors. Relatively little is known about the molecular motors and their roles in plants. In recent years, by using biochemical, cell biological, molecular, and genetic approaches a few molecular motors have been isolated and characterized from plants. These studies indicate that some of the motors in plants have novel features and regulatory mechanisms. The role of molecular motors in plant cell division, cell expansion, cytoplasmic streaming, cell-to-cell communication, membrane trafficking, and morphogenesis is beginning to be understood. Analyses of the Arabidopsis genome sequence database (51% of genome) with conserved motor domains of kinesin and myosin families indicates the presence of a large number (about 40) of molecular motors and the functions of many of these motors remain to be discovered. It is likely that many more motors with novel regulatory mechanisms that perform plant-specific functions are yet to be discovered. Although the identification of motors in plants, especially in Arabidopsis, is progressing at a rapid pace because of the ongoing plant genome sequencing projects, only a few plant motors have been characterized in any detail. Elucidation of function and regulation of this multitude of motors in a given species is going to be a challenging and exciting area of research in plant cell biology. Structural features of some plant motors suggest calcium, through calmodulin, is likely to play a key role in regulating the function of both microtubule- and actin-based motors in plants.

Non-NASA Center↗
NASA NTRS1991

Closed-loop motor control using high-speed fiber optics

A closed-loop control system for controlling the operation of one or more servo motors or other controllable devices is described. The system employs a fiber optics link immune to electromagnetic interference, for transmission of control signals from a controller or controllers at a remote station to the power electronics located in proximity to the motors or other devices at the local station. At the remote station the electrical control signals are time-multiplexed, converted to a formatted serial bit stream, and converted to light signals for transmission over a single fiber of the fiber optics link. At the local station, the received optical signals are reconstructed as electrical control signals for the controlled motors or other devices. At the local station, an encoder sensor linked to the driven device generates encoded feedback signals which provide information as to a condition of the controlled device. The encoded signals are placed in a formatted serial bit stream, multiplexed, and transmitted as optical signals over a second fiber of the fiber optic link which closes the control loop of the closed-loop motor controller. The encoded optical signals received at the remote station are demultiplexed, reconstructed and coupled to the controller(s) as electrical feedback signals.

Dawson, Reginald↗