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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

Interposed pulsed power system for fast separation of radioactive beams

This paper presents the novel design of an interposed pulsed power system, developed to drive a fast-switching magnet with a large multi-mH load inductance, and high field amplitude (> 1 T). This modulator can produce variable flat-top pulses from 1 to 30 ms with rise and fall times of less than 0.5 ms at a variable duty cycle of 3–91% into a heavily inductive load. The system employs a novel over-voltage topology to overcome the inherent inductance and achieve the fast rise and fall times, switching to a precision DC supply to efficiently maintain the flattop without requiring many-kV voltage. We present a power source design consideration, including the results of computer modeling as well as the first experimental results of a modulator scaled test model will also be presented.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Automotive Silicon Carbide Power Module Cooling With A Novel Modular Manifold And Embedded Heat Sink

The next generation of integrated power electronics packages will implement wide-bandgap devices with ultrahigh device heat fluxes. Although jet impingement has received attention for power electronics thermal management, it is not used in commercial electric vehicles (EVs) because of the associated pressure drop and reliability concerns. Here, in this paper, we present a modular thermal management system designed for automotive power electronics. The system achieves superior thermal performance to benchmarked EVs, while adhering to reliability standards and with low pumping power. The system utilizes a low-cost and lightweight plastic manifold to generate jets over an optimized heat sink, which is embedded in the direct-bonded-copper (DBC) substrate. The embedded heat sink concept leverages additive manufacturing to add elliptical pin fins to the DBC substrate. The heat sink geometry is optimized for submerged jet impingement using a unit-cell model and an exhaustive search algorithm. The model predictions are validated using unit-cell experiments. A full-scale power module model is then used to compare the DBC-embedded heat sink against direct DBC cooling and baseplate-integrated heat sinks for single-sided (SS) and double-sided (DS) cooling concepts. Using the SS and DS DBC-embedded cooling concepts, the models predict a thermal resistance that represents a reduction of 75% and 85% compared to the 2015 BMW i3, respectively, for the same water-ethylene glycol inverter flow rate. We have shown that an inverter with a 100-kilo-Watt-per-liter power density is achievable with the proposed design.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Computational framework for modeling membrane processes without process and solution property simplifications

Accurately modeling membrane processes is critical to evaluating novel process configurations, designing scalable membrane systems, informing process cost estimates, and directing future research. Most membrane process models trade accuracy for computational efficiency by employing simplified approximations of the process (i.e. no salt flux, no pressure drop) and solution properties (i.e. ideal solution, and constant density, viscosity, and diffusivity). Our report introduces a detailed one-dimensional finite difference model for evaluating membrane processes that avoids these common simplifications. We apply this model to quantify the error introduced by these simplifications for case studies of reverse osmosis, osmotically assisted reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, and pressure retarded osmosis. While the magnitude of error introduced by these simplifications is reliant on the case study parameters and specifications, we find that existing model formulations can underestimate or overestimate average water flux by nearly 50% for some membrane processes operating under standard conditions. Lastly we investigate the error introduced by simplified inlet-outlet models that do not solve the governing system of differential equations, and we assess the accuracy of novel inlet-outlet formulations that use a log and geometric mean, instead of the typical arithmetic mean, to represent non-linear water flux profiles.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Modeling and Scaling up of Membrane Modules Leveraging Dimensional Analysis

In the current analysis, we study the separation performance using membrane modules through dimensional analysis (DA). We formulate the main process equations to identify relevant dimensionless numbers inherent in the physics. In particular, we identify that the critical step in the separation process is mass transfer through the selective layer. Remarkably, the dimensionless feed flow (DFfeed) emerges as a crucial factor in describing this process. Not only does DFfeed directly appear in the governing equations, but it also holds a physical significance associated with the time scales for the mass transfer across the feed side and through the selective layer. Regarding the output performance variables, we consider the recovery, stage cut, productivity and purity. In this context, we profit from experimental data and CFD simulations to evaluate the separation performance of the modules when varying the input flowrate, the scale of the module, and the CO2 permeance. These datasets enable us to establish correlations between performance metrics and the dimensionless feed flow. Using simple power functions of DFfeed, we obtain R2 coefficients exceeding 0.99, indicating the accuracy of the correlations built in the present work. In the future, we wish to use DA to understand key transport mechanisms, predict and control module performance, and challenge the universality of these findings by testing various gas separations across different membrane modules beyond our case study.

Pedrozo, Hector A.↗

Optimum backscatter cross section of the ocean as measured by synthetic aperture radars

The interaction of the radar signals from Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) is particularly important for the ocean surface where the radar modulation can yield information about the long ocean wave field. Radar modulation measurements from fixed platforms are made in wavetanks and the open oceans. The surfaces are described in terms of two scale models. The radar modulation is considered to be principally due to: (1) geometrical tilt due to the slope of the long ocean waves, and (2) the straining of the short waves (by hydrodynamic interaction). For application to moving platforms, this modulation needs to be described in terms of a general geometry for both like and cross polarization since the long ocean waves, in general, travel in arbitrary directions. The finite resolution of the radar is considered for tilt modulation with hydrodynamic effects neglected.

Bahar, E.↗

Desalinating a Real Hyper-Saline Pre-Treated Produced Water via Direct-Heat Vacuum Membrane Distillation

Membrane distillation (MD) is an emerging thermal desalination technology capable of desalinating waters of any salinity. During typical MD processes, the saline feedwater is heated and acts as the thermal energy carrier; however, temperature polarization (as well as thermal energy loss) contributes to low distillate fluxes, low single-pass water recovery and poor thermal efficiency. An alternative approach is to integrate an extra thermal energy carrier as part of the membrane and/or module assembly, which can channel externally provided heat directly to the membrane-feedwater interface and/or along the feed channel length. This direct-heat delivery has been demonstrated to increase single-pass water recovery and enhance the overall thermal efficiency. We developed a bench-scale direct-heated vacuum MD (DHVMD) process to desalinate pre-treated oil and gas "produced water" with an initial total dissolved solids of 115,500 ppm at a feed temperature ranging between 24 and 32 degrees C. We evaluated both water flux and specific energy consumption (SEC) as a function of water recovery. The system achieved a 50% water recovery without significant scaling, with an average flux >6 kg m-2 hr-1 and a SEC as low as 2,530 kJ kg-1. The major species of mineral scales (i.e., NaCl, CaSO4, and SrSO4) that limited the water recovery to 68% were modeled in terms of thermodynamics and identified by scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. In addition, we further developed and employed a physics-based process model to estimate temperature, salinity, water transport and energy flows for full-scale vacuum MD and DHVMD modules. Model results show that a direct-heat input rate of 3,600 W can increase single-pass water recovery from 2.1% to 3.1% while lowering the thermal SEC from 7,800 kJ kg-1 to 6,517 kJ kg-1 in an unoptimized module. Finally, the scaling up potential of DHVMD process is briefly discussed.

brine↗

Joint Bayesian analysis of large angular scale CMB temperature anomalies

Cosmic microwave background measurements show an agreement with the concordance cosmology model except for a few notable anomalies: Power Suppression , the lack of large scale power in the temperature data compared to what is expected in the concordance model, and Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry , a dipolar breakdown of statistical isotropy. An expansion of the CMB covariance in Bipolar Spherical Harmonics naturally parametrizes both these large-scale anomalies, allowing us to perform an exhaustive, fully Bayesian joint analysis of the power spectrum and violations of statistical isotropy up to the dipole level. Our analysis sheds light on the scale dependence of the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry. Assuming a scale-dependent dipole modulation model with a two-parameter power law form, we explore the posterior pdf of amplitude A($l$ = 16) and the power law index α and find the maximum a posteriori values A * (l = 16) = 0.064 ± 0.022 and $α_*$ = -0.92 ± 0.22. The maximum a posteriori direction associated with the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry is ($l,b$) = (247.8 o , -19.6 o ) in Galactic coordinates, consistent with previous analyses. We evaluate the Bayes factor BSI-DM to compare the Cosmic Hemispherical Asymmetry model with the isotropic model. The data prefer but do not substantially favor the anisotropic model (BSI-DM=0.4). We consider several priors and find that this evidence ratio is robust to prior choice. The large-scale power suppression does not soften when jointly inferring both the isotropic power spectrum and the parameters of the asymmetric model, indicating no evidence that these anomalies are coupled.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Modulation of Gravity Waves by Tides as Seen in CRISTA Temperatures

During shuttle missions STS-66 (November, 1994) and STS-85 (August, 1997) the Cryogenic Infrared Spectrometers and Telescopes for the Atmosphere (CRISTA) acquired temperature data with very high spatial resolution. These are analyzed for gravity waves (GW). The altitude range spans the whole middle atmosphere from the tropopause up to the mesopause. In the upper mesosphere tidal amplitudes exceed values of 10 K. Modulation of GW activity by the tides is observed and analyzed using CRISTA temperatures and tidal predictions of the Global Scale Wave Model (GSWM). The modulation process is identified as a tidally-induced change of the background buoyancy frequency. The findings agree well with the expectations for saturated GW and are the first global scale observations of this process.

SHUTTLE MISSIONS↗