Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “PUMPS”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records

Development of highly efficient NEG pumping system for EBIS

Ultrahigh vacuum inside the ion trap volume is crucial for stable and reliable operation of an Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS). We have developed and tested a compact linear pumping system based on the ZAO Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) module with high pumping speed and enhanced sorption capacity for all active gases. Due to its minimal transverse dimensions, the system can be mounted adjacent to the ion trap inside a superconducting solenoid bore and will provide a pumping speed of the order of 1000 l/s for all active gases in that area. An externally supplied current (100 A DC) is used to heat the ZAO NEG up to 650 °C for more than 1 h, which is required for pump activation and/or reactivation cycles. The pumping system is being developed for use in the Extended EBIS Upgrade which is presently in progress at BNL. In conclusion, the design of the system and results of multiple tests are presented and discussed.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

A simulation-based study on different control strategies for variable speed pump in distributed ground source heat pump systems

Most commercial ground source heat pump systems (GSHP) in the United States are in a distributed configuration. These systems circulate water or an anti-freeze solution through multiple heat pump units via a central pumping system, which usually uses variable speed pump(s). Variable speed pumps have potential to significantly reduce pumping energy use; however, the energy savings in reality could be far away from its potential due to improper pumping system design and controls. In this paper, a simplified hydronic pumping system was simulated with the dynamic Modelica models to evaluate three different pumping control strategies. This includes two conventional control strategies, which are to maintain a constant differential pressure across either the supply and return mains, or at the most hydraulically remote heat pump; and an innovative control strategy, which adjusts system flow rate based on the demand of each heat pump. The simulation results indicate that a significant overflow occurs at part load conditions when the variable speed pump is controlled to main a constant differential pressure across the supply and return mains of the piping system. On the other hand, an underflow occurs at part load conditions when the variable speed pump is controlled to maintain a constant differential pressure across the furthest heat pump. The flow-demand-based control can provide needed flow rate to each heat pump at any given time, and with less pumping energy use than the two conventional controls. Finally, a typical distributed GSHP system was studied to evaluate the energy saving potential of applying the flow-demand-based pumping control strategy. This case study shows that the annual pumping energy consumption can be reduced by 62% using the flow-demand-based control compared with that using the conventional pressure-based control to maintain a constant differential pressure a cross the supply and return mains.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Hybrid Heat Pump Controls: Conventional Dual Fuel versus Seamlessly Fuel Flexible Heat Pump

This paper compares the performance of a novel seamlessly fuel flexible heat pump (SFFHP) and conventional dual fuel heat pump (DFHP) for space heating. The conventional dual fuel systems either run on the gas furnace or electric heat pump at any given moment, as a comparison, the proposed seamlessly fuel flexible heat pump simultaneously consumes gas and electricity by continuously optimizing the proportion of each. The process air flows across the heat pump condenser first and then flows across the furnace coil, therefore, the heat pump temperature lift is reduced. SFFHP delivers energy savings by allowing each subsystem, i.e., gas furnace and electric heat pump, to operate where it performs best.For DFHP, two operation control strategies, i.e., non-restricted control and restricted control, are available on market. For the non-restricted mode, the thermostat has a switching temperature-programmed according to the balancing point of heating load and capacity curve. Heat pump operates above the switching temperature, while the furnace takes over under the switching temperature. For the restricted control, the compressor of a heat pump is disabled below a predefined lockout outdoor temperature to let the furnace take over. For SFFHP, a model predictive control strategy is developed to continuously adjust the capacities of the electric heat pump and gas furnace based on the foreseen weather data, utility price signals, and marginal grid emission signals with the goal of minimizing the utility cost and CO2 emission while guaranteeing comfort requirements.In this paper, DFHP and SFFHP are simulated using high-fidelity heat pump performance curves generated from DOE/ORNL heat pump design model. Performance comparison of DFHP and SFFHP during 2019-2020 heating season in Los Angeles shows that SFFHP with model predictive control achieves 23% utility cost reduction and 17 % CO2 emission reduction. Case studies demonstrate that SFFHP can deliver significant reductions in peak demand, utility cost, and CO2 emission. As a result, SFFHP can deliver superior benefits for utility cost reduction and CO2 emission reduction over conventional dual fuel heat pump.

Li, Zhenning↗

Burst mode pumping: A new mechanism of drinking in mosquitoes

Mosquitoes transport liquid foods into the body using two muscular pumps in the head. In normal drinking, these pumps reciprocate in a stereotyped pattern of oscillation, with a high frequency but small stroke volume. Do mosquitoes modulate their neuromotor programs for pumping to produce different drinking modes? More broadly, what are the mechanical consequences of a two-pump system in insects? To address these questions, we used synchrotron x-ray imaging and fluid mechanical modeling to investigate drinking performance in mosquitoes. X-ray imaging of the pumps during drinking revealed two modes of pumping: continuous reciprocation with multiple small strokes, and a newly discovered ‘burst mode’ involving a single, large-volume stroke. Results from modeling demonstrate that burst mode pumping creates a very large pressure drop and high volume flow rate, but requires a massive increase in power, suggesting that continuous pumping is more economical for drinking. Modeling also demonstrates that, from one mode of pumping to the other, the mechanical role of the individual pumps changes. Furthermore, these results suggest that the advantage of a two-pump system in insects lies in its flexibility, enabling the animal to pump efficiently or powerfully as demanded by environmental considerations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

The crystal structures of a chloride-pumping microbial rhodopsin and its proton-pumping mutant illuminate proton transfer determinants

Microbial rhodopsins are versatile and ubiquitous retinal-binding proteins that function as light-driven ion pumps, light-gated ion channels, and photosensors, with potential utility as optogenetic tools for altering membrane potential in target cells. Insights from crystal structures have been central for understanding proton, sodium, and chloride transport mechanisms of microbial rhodopsins. Two of three known groups of anion pumps, the archaeal halorhodopsins (HRs) and bacterial chloride-pumping rhodopsins, have been structurally characterized. Here we report the structure of a representative of a recently discovered third group consisting of cyanobacterial chloride and sulfate ion-pumping rhodopsins, the Mastigocladopsis repens rhodopsin (MastR). Chloride-pumping MastR contains in its ion transport pathway a unique Thr-Ser-Asp (TSD) motif, which is involved in the binding of a chloride ion. The structure reveals that the chloride-binding mode is more similar to HRs than chloride-pumping rhodopsins, but the overall structure most closely resembles bacteriorhodopsin (BR), an archaeal proton pump. The MastR structure shows a trimer arrangement reminiscent of BR-like proton pumps and shows features at the extracellular side more similar to BR than the other chloride pumps. We further solved the structure of the MastR-T74D mutant, which contains a single amino acid replacement in the TSD motif. We provide insights into why this point mutation can convert the MastR chloride pump into a proton pump but cannot in HRs. Our study points at the importance of precise coordination and exact location of the water molecule in the active center of proton pumps, which serves as a bridge for the key proton transfer.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Impact of moderate pump–Stokes chirp on femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering spectra

The effects of inducing moderate chirp in the pump and Stokes beams in chirped-probe-pulse femtosecond coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy are discussed. This is an important issue for measurements in high-pressure systems where the CARS beams must be transmitted through glass of significant thickness to reach the probe volume of interest. The effects were investigated both experimentally, by inserting disks of SF-11 glass into the pump and Stokes beam paths, and theoretically, by incorporating pulse chirp into our time-dependent density matrix (TDDM) simulations. Experimentally, we found that inducing moderate pump and Stokes chirp produced significant spectral narrowing of the nonresonant four-wave mixing contribution to the CARS signal, and this allowed us to control the resonant excitation bandwidth to eliminate interferences from neighboring species. The temperature measurement accuracy and precision were essentially unchanged with respect to the unchirped pump and Stokes case. The effect of moderate pump and Stokes chirp on the narrowing of the Raman excitation efficiency envelope was investigated by solving the full set of TDDM through direct numerical integration. The numerical efficiency of the solutions was enhanced dramatically by developing a parallel version of the TDDM code. The calculated Raman excitation efficiency profile was incorporated in our phenomenological spectral fitting codes.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Effects of groundwater pumping on ground surface temperature: A regional modeling study in the North China Plain

Over-exploitation of groundwater (GW) in the North China Plain (NCP) since the 1960s has many environmental consequences. However, understanding of the dominant mechanisms remains limited, particularly at regional scale. In this study, the coupled ParFlow.CLM model representing subsurface and land-surface processes and their interactions was applied in the NCP at high spatio-temporal resolutions. The model was validated using the water and energy fluxes reported in previous studies and from the JRA-55 reanalysis. Numerical experiments were designed to examine the relative impacts of GW pumping and irrigation on the ground surface temperature (GST). Results show significant effects of GW pumping on GST in the NCP. Generally, the subsurface acts as a buffer to temporal variations in heat fluxes at the land-surface, but long-term pumping can gradually weaken this buffer, resulting in increases in the spatio-temporal variability of GST, as exemplified by hotter summers and colder winters. Considering that changes of water table depth (WTD) can significantly affect land surface heat fluxes when WTD ranges roughly between 0.01–10 m, the 0.5 m/year increase of WTD simulated by the model due to pumping can continue to increase the average WTD and hence, disturb GST, for about 20 years from the pre-pumping WTD in the NCP, before the WTD exceeds 10 m. The variations of GST are expected to be faster initially and gradually slow down due to the nonlinear behaviors of GST with WTD. The findings from this study in the NCP may also have implications for other regions with GW depletion.

Yang, Chen↗

Photon pumping in a weakly-driven quantum cavity–spin system

Highlights: • We study photon frequency conversion in a driven spin coupled to a cavity mode. • Quantized frequency conversion is excpected in the strong-drive adiabatic limit. • A new photon pumping effect is established in the accessible weak drive regime. • Pumping is linked to the delocalization of the corresponding Floquet states. • Quantum coherence is preserved in both the strong and ultraweak-drive limits. We investigate the photon pumping effect in a topological model consisting of a periodically driven spin-1/2 coupled to a quantum cavity mode out of the adiabatic limit. In the strong-drive adiabatic limit, a quantized frequency conversion of photons is expected as the temporal analog of the Hall current. We numerically establish a novel photon pumping phenomenon in the experimentally accessible nonadiabatic driving regime for a broad region of the parameter space. The photon frequency conversion efficiency exhibits strong fluctuations and high efficiency that can reach up 80% of the quantized value for commensurate frequency combinations. We link the pumping properties to the delocalization of the corresponding Floquet states which display multifractal behavior as the result of hybridization between localized and delocalized sectors. Finally we demonstrate that the quantum coherence properties of the initial state are preserved during the frequency conversion process in both the strong and ultra-weak-drive limit.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Temporal reflection from short pump pulses inside a dispersive nonlinear medium: the impact of pump parameters

We have studied, through a series of experiments and numerical simulations, how temporal reflection from an intense pump pulse inside a photonic crystal fiber is affected by parameters of the pump pulse used to form a moving high-index boundary. We used femtosecond pump pulses, which slow down inside the fiber as their spectrum red-shifts because of intrapulse Raman scattering. Temporal reflection of probe pulses occurs from such decelerating pump pulses. We changed the width and chirp of our pump pulses with a 4f pulse shaper capable of providing both spectral filtering and frequency chirping. We found that temporal refection exhibited novel features, to our knowledge, when pump pulses were made wider or chirped. In both cases, two or more reflected pulses were produced at different wavelengths in a specific range of the initial pump-probe delays. Furthermore, numerical simulations reveal that the origin of such novel features is related to the complex nonlinear evolution of pump pulses inside optical fibers.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Heat pump concepts for nZEB Technology developments, design tools and testing of heat pump systems for nZEB in the USA: Country report IEA HPT Annex 40 Task 2, Task 3 and Task 4 of the USA

The IEA HPT Annex 40 "Heat pump concepts for Nearly Zero Energy Buildings" deals with the application of heat pumps as a core component of the HVAC system for Nearly or Net Zero energy buildings (nZEB). This report covers Task 2 on the system comparison and optimisation and Task 3 dedicated to the development of adapted technologies for nZEB and field monitoring results of heat pump systems in nZEB. In the US team three institutions are involved and have worked on the following projects: The Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) will summarize development activities through the field demonstration stage for several integrated heat pump (IHP) systems electric ground-source (GS-IHP) and air-source (AS-IHP) versions and an engine driven AS-IHP version. The first commercial GS-IHP product was just introduced to the market in December 2012. This work is a contribution to Task 3 of the Annex. The University of Maryland will contribute a software development project to Task 2 of the Annex. The software ThermCom evaluates occupied space thermal comfort conditions accounting for all radiative and convective heat transfer effects as well as local air properties. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is working on a field study effort on the NIST Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF). This residential building was constructed on the NIST campus and officially opened in summer 2013. During the first year, between July 2013 and June 2014, baseline performance of the NZERTF was monitored under a simulated occupancy protocol. The house was equipped with an air-to-air heat pump which included a dedicated dehumidification operating mode. Outdoor conditions, internal loads and modes of heat pump operation were monitored. Field study results with respect to heat pump operation will be reported and recommendations on heat pump optimization for a net zero energy building will be provided. This work is a contribution to Task 3 of the Annex.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Application of a Novel Heat Pump Model for Estimating Economic Viability and Barriers of Heat Pumps in Dairy Applications in the United States

Heat pumps represent an important opportunity for energy savings and decarbonization. This work investigates the techno-economic performance of high-temperature heat pumps (HTHPs) for use in the U.S. dairy industry. The studied heat pump performs a 50 °C temperature lift on a waste heat stream of cleaning water and applies the upgraded heat stream to a fluid milk pasteurization process. This work involved the creation of a HTHP model that estimated the coefficient of performance (COP), internal rate of return (IRR), net present value (NPV), and payback period (PBP), and emissions saved for a heat pump replacing a natural gas boiler. Capital costs, operations, and maintenance (O&M) cost, heat pump lifetime, electricity prices, natural gas prices, and a cost of carbon were varied to perform a parametric study on the factors affecting the break-even price of HTHPs. The results show that HTHP economics are highly sensitive to COP and energy price environment, and less sensitive to capital and O&M cost variance, leading to a large scatter of positive and negative NPVs based on U.S. location. PBPs demonstrate a defined threshold, based on energy price environment, below which favorable two-to-three-year PBPs predominate. This work is focused on the U.S. dairy industry, but international application in relation to fossil vs. electricity price regimes. Heat pumps have seen wider adoption in regions with a high ratio of fossil energy to electricity prices ($/MMBTU vs. $/kWh). The U.S. has plentiful natural gas resulting in lower fossil energy prices which has reduced heat pump adoption. This paper identifies potential first mover industries for HTHP adoption and their associated price regimes even in regions with lower ratios of fossil energy to electricity prices that exist many places globally.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION,↗

Modeling a divertor with mid-leg pumping for high-power H-mode scenarios in DIII-D considering E x B drift flows

Edge-plasma simulations of a baffled, long-legged divertor in DIII-D, performed using the multi-fluid code UEDGE, indicate that the position of the detachment front is constrained to the location of the pump duct along the low-field side (LFS) baffle. Simulations including magnetic and E x B drifts were performed for 12.5 MW deuterium plasmas including intrinsic carbon and seeded neon to assess the optimal location of the LFS divertor pump to create a stable detachment front between the target and the X-point. The radiation front position in the simulations, taken to be indicative of the detachment front, can be controlled between the pump and X-point in the favorable magnetic field direction for H-mode access by moving the pump duct location upstream of the target along the LFS baffle. In the unfavorable magnetic field direction, the radial E θ x B drift flows are directed towards the pumping surface, efficiently removing the injected deuterium gas and limiting the sensitivity of the radiation front location to the gas injection rate. The role of pumping rate and drift direction on the pumping efficiency are also found to affect the divertor plasma conditions and detachment front location in UEDGE simulations.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Heating performance of a vapor compression heat pump cascaded with a thermoelectric heat pump

Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) are widely utilized for heating and cooling in residential buildings; however, their effectiveness in heating mode is compromised during extreme weather conditions. Extensive research endeavors have been undertaken to develop, test, and assess a cost-effective vapor compression ASHP suitable for cold climate regions. Further, this study takes an innovative approach by developing component and system prototypes for a cold climate heat pump. This design combines a thermoelectric heat pump (TEHP) with a traditional residential split ASHP to augment heating capacity in low ambient temperature conditions. The component and system prototypes underwent experimental testing in the psychrometric chambers. The experimental findings revealed a 13.6% to 13.7% increase in total heat pump heating capacity, accompanied by a 3.1% to 5.0% decrease in the coefficient of performance (COP) at ambient temperatures of -15°C and -19°C, when compared to the original ASHP. The COP of the TEHP is relatively constant, ranging from 1.63 to 1.76. This prototype offers a solution to address the challenges associated with reduced heat pump capacity at low ambient temperatures. The experimental results indicated that the lower the ambient temperature, thermoelectric heat pump auxiliary heating can increase the heating efficiency 60% in comparison to electric resistance.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Robust and compact entanglement generation from diode-laser-pumped four-wave mixing

Four-wave-mixing processes are now routinely used to demonstrate multi-spatial-mode Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement and intensity difference squeezing. Diode-laser-pumped four-wave mixing processes have recently been shown to provide an affordable, compact, and stable source for intensity difference squeezing, but it was unknown if excess phase noise present in power amplifier pump configurations would be an impediment to achieving quadrature entanglement. Here, we demonstrate the operating regimes under which these systems are capable of producing entanglement and under which excess phase noise produced by the amplifier contaminates the output state. We show that Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen entanglement in two mode squeezed states can be generated by a four-wave-mixing source deriving both the pump field and the local oscillators from a tapered-amplifier diode-laser. This robust continuous variable entanglement source is highly scalable and amenable to miniaturization, making it a critical step toward the development of integrated quantum sensors and scalable quantum information processors, such as spatial comb cluster states.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗