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Results for “Material Handling”

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 OSTI2025

Paper or Plastic? Multiscale Material Handling Properties of Two Model Municipal Solid Waste Streams

Purpose: Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) is a potentially valuable sustainable feedstock for fuel and chemical production due to its carbon-rich content and low cost. This study aims to assess the material handling properties of paperand plastic-rich MSW feedstocks to mitigate equipment failure and processing downtime. Methods: The material handling properties of crumbled MSW feedstocks were measured using apowder rheometer with mass flow hopper calculations to assess handling performance. Inverse gas chromatography was use to measure the surface energy differences between feedstocks. Electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy was used to evaluate microscale features that may contribute to material handling differences. Results: Plastic and paper rich feedstocks crumbled to a nominal 2 mm particle size were observed to have similar flow and handling characteristics with reasonable hopper outlets. 2 mm plastic rich crumbles, with their higher bulk density, exhibited superior flow performance. By contrast, 4 mm material required significantly larger hopper outlets, indicating poor flowability. Paper rich and 4 mm plastic rich samples displayed broad particle size distributions, which contributed to particle interlocking, jamming, and other flow issues. Electron microscopy revealed that plastic rich samples were significantly smoother, enhancing their flowability compared to the rougher, paper rich materials. Conclusions: This study establishes critical material handling baselines for processing MSW as a viable feedstock for fuel and chemical production. The findings highlight the importance of optimizing particle size and feedstock composition to improve flowability and handling performance.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Evaluation of the Total Cost of Ownership of Fuel Cell-Powered Material Handling Equipment

This report discusses an analysis of the total cost of ownership of fuel cell-powered and traditional battery-powered material handling equipment (MHE, or more typically 'forklifts'). A number of fuel cell MHE deployments have received funding support from the federal government. Using data from these government co-funded deployments, DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has been evaluating the performance of fuel cells in material handling applications. NREL has assessed the total cost of ownership of fuel cell MHE and compared it to the cost of ownership of traditional battery-powered MHE. As part of its cost of ownership assessment, NREL looked at a range of costs associated with MHE operation, including the capital costs of battery and fuel cell systems, the cost of supporting infrastructure, maintenance costs, warehouse space costs, and labor costs. Considering all these costs, NREL found that fuel cell MHE can have a lower overall cost of ownership than comparable battery-powered MHE.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mechanical Material Handling Coordinator (43321) [Slides]

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to assess a load handling activity in order to develop a mechanical materials handling plan following safety guidelines and LANL policies.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2012

2010 Manufacturing Readiness Assessment Update to the 2008 Report for Fuel Cell Stacks and Systems for the Backup Power and Materials Handling Equipment Markets

In 2008, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), under contract to the US Department of Energy (DOE), conducted a manufacturing readiness assessment (MRA) of fuel cell systems and fuel cell stacks for back-up power and material handling applications (MHE). To facilitate the MRA, manufacturing readiness levels (MRL) were defined that were based on the Technology Readiness Levels previously established by the US Department of Energy (DOE). NREL assessed the extensive existing hierarchy of MRLs developed by Department of Defense (DoD) and other Federal entities, and developed a MRL scale adapted to the needs of the Fuel Cell Technologies Program (FCTP) and to the status of the fuel cell industry. The MRL ranking of a fuel cell manufacturing facility increases as the manufacturing capability transitions from laboratory prototype development through Low Rate Initial Production to Full Rate Production. DOE can use MRLs to address the economic and institutional risks associated with a ramp-up in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell production. In 2010, NREL updated this assessment, including additional manufacturers, an assessment of market developments since the original report, and a comparison of MRLs between 2008 and 2010.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2016

Results of Modeling and Simulation Support to Specia Nuclear Material Handling Facility Operations - 16053

Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) is the sole designer and provider of nuclear powered aircraft carriers and one of only two companies in the United States to build nuclear powered submarines. As part of the upkeep of aircraft carriers, the ships return to NNS once in their lifetime for a complex overhaul and to be refueled. In support of overhaul operations NNS maintains a state of the art Special Nuclear Material (SNM) handling facility. Due to the complex nature of the operations that occur within this facility, during the design and initial operation of the building NNS developed a facility simulation model to provide decision support during the project planning and operational phases. This tool allows users to experiment with process times, process order, equipment utilization, personnel utilization and spatial utilization. By capturing the planned operations, time distributions for operations, equipment sizes and uses and personnel requirements, the tool accurately reflects the planned use of the facility. This realism allows the user to experiment with any aspect of the facility, in a controlled and cost effective space, and determine how changes or potential delays may impact overall facility operations. Thus the model allows for rapid exploration of multiple scenarios to determine likely outcomes, allowing a user to identify risks well ahead of their realization and explore mitigation strategies in a controlled space, to determine the ideal path forward. The tool was successful during the initial operation of the facility in helping to identify and mitigate risks related to the complex operations occurring during SNM handling. The tool is now in use to support planning for the next series of operations that will occur within the facility. The initial operations the model supported occurred during the deactivation of the USS Enterprise, and future operation will focus on the overhaul of Nimitz class aircraft carriers. The NNS planning team is currently using the tool to assess potential risks and challenges that are identified as potentially impacting the schedule and timelines for these overhaul processes. In addition, the NNS development team is working to add new operational steps to the model, capturing work that is occurring near the facility, but which directly impacts the facilities operational abilities. In conjuncture with the engineering planning division, the NNS development team has run over 20 complex scenarios through the tool. The team has provided output from these scenarios to both NNS personnel and government representatives. To date the model has successfully supported the identification of several feasible paths to incorporate new processes, dictated by the work to support a overhaul vs a deactivation. The model also provides a spatial arrangement component that allows users to experiment with different equipment placement within the facility. Due to the fidelity of the model, arranging equipment with the spatial component allows a user to set up the facility in an experimental layout and run the processes inside the facility to determine if the layout will be feasible, or if it would impact operational capabilities. Additionally, the spatial component allows for visual collaboration between stakeholders to ensure all operational personnel are aware of the current and planned layout, and that they do not locate equipment or work stations in locations that would interfere with facility operations. The spatial component, in combination with the simulation component, has resulted in several documented improvements in process. These include: the identification of additional equipment which could be stored outside the facility, without impacting operations, to increase space; confirmation of the ideal placement of a large water tank; and identification of several risks related to planned equipment storage area, allowing the team to develop new plans and avoid realizing the risk. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Titanium Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing Inert Enclosure and Material Handling Safety Considerations

Wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) via metal inert gas (MIG)/gas metal arc welding (GMAW) is a viable option for fabrication of large-scale titanium parts; however, it introduces new safety hazards associated with both the material and the additional system hardware required for the process. Localized gas shielding of the weld arc via standard GMAW torch is inadequate for titanium due to its affinity for oxygen; thereby requiring the use of an inert enclosure to protect the weld from entraining oxygen. The use of the inert enclosure presents potential safety hazards such as operator asphyxiation and brings up discussion of confined space considerations. In addition, the titanium welding process creates pyrophoric titanium soot residue around the deposit, which can undergo deflagration during part cleaning and part removal. This paper provides an overview of the titanium WAAM process along with safety considerations for the design and operation of the inert enclosure as well as functional solutions for the safe handling of the titanium soot by-product.

Walters, Alex↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improved biomass feedstock materials handling and feeding engineering data sets, design methods, and modeling/simulation tools

Forest Concepts led a project to develop a set of tools which enable feedstock handing equipment designers to better understand and model the flowability of bulk particulate biomass materials. The work products included improved flowability mathematical models, data sets used to populate the models, and two new laboratory devices – a biomass-scale true cubical triaxial tester and a biomass-scale gas pycnometer. This work was funded in part by the US Department of Energy under contact DE-EE0008254.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Efficient Silicon Carbide (SiC) Fiber Manufacture: Continuous Processing of Novel Precursors via Modified Material Handling

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) together with The Nonwovens Institute (NWI) and Harper International have executed on a development project to improve the production efficiency and reduce the production cost of silicon carbide (SiC) fiber – a critical material that advances US energy security and aerospace leadership. In the first budget period (BP1), the modified tow throughput (MTT) apparatus was developed, enabling fiber spinning in the form of loose coils rather than tightly packed spools (Figure 1) for batch processing of SiC fiber. This coil-based approach was proven to be capable of uniform fiber crosslinking and ceramic conversion, as well as demonstrating key process efficiencies while meeting the program fiber property targets.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Development of Automated Material Handling System with Alternate Gripper Designs for the Purpose of Increased Performance & Worker Safety

Savannah River National Laboratory’s (SRNL) Surplus Plutonium Disposition (SPD) Program leads the development and transition of automated unit operations for the processing of Plutonium oxide. A mixing can is opened, filled with material, mixed, set inside of a die can, and finally punched into compressed material. Replication of the process is constructed in A-area, where the mixing can weighs 1.6 kg (3.5 lbs.) and the compressed material weighs 4 kg (8.8 lbs.). Due to the constant process of Plutonium disposition, the fatigue on workers and worker dose accumulates quickly over time. SPD aims to automate this process by using a robotic arm to replace the hands-on worker. Automation will: Reduce worker radiation dose; Increase process throughout; Reduce costs for the disposition of Plutonium oxide.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Computational modeling of continuum scale constitutive equations to improve biomass feedstock material handling and conveying systems

Existing design practices for common feedstock handling equipment such as hoppers and screw feeders have not been successful in many situations. The lack of an appropriate toolset to characterize and model biomass flow behavior is deemed the root cause of plugging, stalls, and flow-related issues in biomass handling systems design and operations. New standardized characterization protocols in conjunction with appropriate constitutive models will lead to successful biomass handling system design and operations. This study investigates constitutive models for bulk solid flow based on the first principles to overcome issues in biomass handling. The focus is on two major issues in biomass handling, i.e., initiating and sustaining of flow in the hopper that is widely used in biomass conveying operation. Accordingly, this article focuses on analytical models of biomass hopper flow. Mohr-Coulomb, Drucker-Prager, and modified Cam-clay models are investigated as constitutive bulk solid flow models. Parameters of those models are determined using a set of triaxial tests. Triaxial tests are conducted using the cubical triaxial tester (CTT) in the Food and Biomaterials Lab of the Pennsylvania State University. Milled 1mm corn stover and 2mm wood chip biomass materials having different flow characteristics are examined, and their respective flow behavior out of a hopper are simulated using the Finite Element method implementing identified constitutive models and determined fundamental mechanical properties. It is found that, with the same hopper geometry, ground corn stover 1mm tends to exhibit funnel flow whereas ground Douglas fir 2 mm tends to exhibit mass flow. These simulation results are validated with hopper flow experiments. This study demonstrates how biomass flow problems can be predicted and mitigated by numerically modeled fundamental constitutive equations.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗