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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 OSTI2021

Bio-inspired Bistable Piezoelectric Energy Harvester for Powering Animal Telemetry Tags: Concept Design and Preliminary Experimental Validation

This paper presents the concept design, preliminary experimental validation, and performance evaluation of a novel bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester for self-powered animal telemetry tags. The overall concept design, which includes a bio-inspired attachment and a bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester, is introduced firstly with a specific application example of marine fish tracking. The self-powered telemetry tag can be externally deployed on fish (dorsal fin) to monitor fish habitats, population, and underwater environment. Inspired by the Venus flytrap’s rapid shape transition, a bistable piezoelectric energy harvester is developed to scavenge energy from fish maneuvering and the surrounding fluid flow for a sustainable power supply. The bistability of the harvester is characterized by the measured force-displacement curve and double potential wells. A bluff body is integrated to the free end of the bistable piezoelectric energy harvester to enhance the structure-fluid interaction for the large-amplitude snap-through vibrations and higher voltage output. Controlled laboratory experiments are conducted in a water tank on the bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester using a servo motor system to simulate fish swing motion at various conditions to evaluate the power generation performance. The preliminary underwater experimental results demonstrated that the proposed bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric could effectively converter fish swing motions into electricity. 17.25 mJ energy was obtained within 130 s under the peak-to-peak swing angle of 30o at 1.5 Hz in the capacitor charging experiments.

Qian, Feng↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bio-inspired bistable piezoelectric energy harvester for powering animal telemetry tags: Conceptual design and preliminary experimental validation

Here, this paper presents the conceptual design, preliminary experimental validation, and performance evaluation of a novel bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester for self-powered animal telemetry tags. The overall conceptual design, which includes a bio-inspired attachment and a bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester, is introduced firstly with a specific application example of marine fish tracking. The self-powered telemetry tag can be externally deployed on fish (dorsal fin) to monitor fish habitats, population, and underwater environment. Inspired by the Venus flytrap's rapid shape transition, a bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester is developed to scavenge energy from fish maneuvering and the surrounding fluid flow for a sustainable power supply. The bistability of the harvester is characterized by the measured force-displacement curve and double potential wells. A bluff body is integrated to the free end of the bistable piezoelectric energy harvester to enhance the structure-fluid interaction for the large-amplitude snap-through vibrations and higher voltage output. Controlled laboratory experiments are conducted in a water tank on the bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester using a servo motor system to simulate fish swing motion at various conditions to evaluate the power generation performance. The preliminary underwater experimental results demonstrated that the proposed bio-inspired bi-stable piezoelectric energy harvester could effectively convert fish swing motions into electricity. The device collected 17.25 mJ of energy over 130 s under a peak-to-peak swing angle of 30° at 1.5 Hz in the capacitor charging experiments.

Animal tracking↗
DOE OSTI2026

Energy–Performance Trade-offs in Privacy-Preserving Federated Learning on SmartNIC-Enabled HPC Systems

Federated learning (FL) is increasingly deployed on accelerator-rich high-performance computing (HPC) systems, yet the system-level energy cost of privacy-aware FL remains poorly understood, particularly across heterogeneous networking and server-placement options. We present a measurement-driven study of energy–performance trade-offs for FL on GH200-class nodes across three deployment configurations: CPU-Ethernet, CPU-InfiniBand (RDMA-capable), and a DPU-hosted FL server over InfiniBand using a BlueField-3 SmartNIC/DPU. Using NVIDIA FLARE (NVFLARE), we align node-level power telemetry with per-round timing extracted from NVFLARE logs to quantify time-to-solution (TTS), energy-to-solution (ETS), energy-delay product (EDP), and synchronization behavior for three transformer models (ALBERT, DistilBERT, BERT), trained with and without differential privacy (DP). We find that interconnect choice is the dominant driver of runtime and energy: host-managed InfiniBand consistently reduces communication overhead versus Ethernet, yielding lower TTS/ETS/EDP. In contrast, in our NVFLARE deployment, placing the FL server on the DPU does not consistently match CPU-InfiniBand performance and can be slower—especially for larger models—highlighting that server placement alone is not sufficient to guarantee end-to-end gains. Finally, under our fixed-round protocol, DP increases per-round cost and runtime variance; ETS increases largely in proportion to TTS because average node power remains relatively stable across configurations.

Kotevska, Olivera [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000316772243)↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wireless in-core acoustic telemetry and self-powered sensing

A promising wireless telemetry infrastructure based on acoustic transmission of in-pile measurements (information) is being developed at the Idaho National Laboratory for use in nuclear reactors. In this paper, we will demonstrate an approach to telemetry and sensing that exploits a reactor core's energy-rich environment to generate acoustic telemetry signals from self-powered telemeters that produce sounds. These sounds propagate through the reactor's coolant, whether it is gas, water, or liquid metal, through its mechanical structures (e.g., lattice work, pressure vessel, and piping), and can be detected outside the reactor. A thermo-acoustic (TAC) sensor was designed to be geometrically indistinguishable from the other Training Research Isotopes General Atomics (TRIGA) fuel elements in the Breazeale reactor's core. Heat was produced by fission of two Pathfinder {sup 235}UO{sub 2} fuel pellets contained within a finned heat exchanger. The acoustic signals from the TAC sensor can be picked up by hydro-phones and accelerometers anywhere in the reactor pool and from structures that penetrate the pool. Most of the signals we acquired had sufficient signal-to-noise ratios even with both the {sup 16}N diffusion pump and the pool coolant pump operating. The TAC sensor was tested during eight irradiation runs in the Breazeale Nuclear Reactor over the span of a week. We were able to show that the frequency of the thermo-acoustically generated sound provides an accurate determination of the reactor's coolant temperature. Such a sensor strategy might have provided useful information in a reactor accident like that which destroyed the Fukushima complex in March 2011.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Design of a telemetry system based on wireless power transmission for physiological parameter monitoring

An implanted telemetry system for experimental animals with or without anaesthesia can be used to continuously monitor physiological parameters. This system is significant not only in the study of organisms but also in the evaluation of drug efficacy, artificial organs, and auxiliary devices. The system is composed of a miniature electronic capsule, a wireless power transmission module, a data-recording device, and a processing module. An electrocardiograph, a temperature sensor, and a pressure sensor are integrated in the miniature electronic capsule, in which the signals are transmitted in vitro by wireless communication after filtering, amplification, and A/D sampling. To overcome the power shortage of batteries, a wireless power transmission module based on electromagnetic induction was designed. The transmitting coil of a rectangular-section solenoid and a 3D receiving coil are proposed according to stability and safety constraints. Experiments show that at least 150 mW of power could pick up on the load in a volume of Φ10.5 mm × 11 mm, with a transmission efficiency of 2.56%. Vivisection experiments verified the feasibility of the integrated radio-telemetry system.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2012

Wireless link and microelectronics design for retinal prostheses

This project focuses on delivering power and data to the artificial retinal implant inside the eye and the implant microstimulator electronics which delivers the current pulses to stimulate the retinal layer to elicit visual perception. Since the use of invasive means such as tethering wires to transmit power and data results in discomfort to the patients which could eventually cause infection due to the abrasion caused by the wire and contact of the internals of the eye to the external environment, a completely wireless approach is used to transfer both power and data. Power is required inside the eye for the microelectronic implant which uses a dual voltage supply scheme (positive and negative) to deliver biphasic (anodic and cathodic) current pulses. Data in the form of digital bits from the data transmitter external to the eye, carries information about the amplitude, phase width, interphase delay, stimulation sequence for each implant electrode. The data receiver unit decodes the digital stream and the microstimulator unit generates the appropriate current stimuli. Since the external unit consisting of the power transmitter can experience coupling a variation with the power receiver due to the patient’s movements, a closed loop approach is used which varies the transmitted power dynamically to automatically compensate for such movements. This report presents the salient features of this research activities and results.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Next Generation RivGen Power System: Kvichak River, AK Overwinter Ice Study

The University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) Alaska Hydrokinetic Energy Research Center was tasked with developing a real-time data telemetry / remote power generation system to monitor frazil ice conditions in the Kvichak River in support of the U.S. Department of Energy funded "Next Generation MHK River Power System Optimized for Performance, Durability and Survivability" project. A real-time telemetry system was requested because of the short time span between the end of the frazil ice season when the instruments would be recovered, limited vessel availability and the project end-date. To meet the project objectives, UAF designed and assembled a remote power/real-time data telemetry system that included an auto start propane generator, a small PV array, a small battery bank and line-of-sight radios as well as two sonar systems to monitor river velocity and water column acoustic backscatter strength. Both sonars included internal batteries for powering the instruments in case of failure of the shore based power system. The sonars, deployed in ~5 m of water on the bed of the Kvichak River, adjacent to the Village of Igiugig, Alaska were tethered to shore via a waterproof armored cable that conveyed power to the subsurface instruments and data from the instruments to the shore based telemetry system. The instruments were programmed to record data internally as well as to transmit data serially over the cables to the shore based system. The system was in-place between November, 2016 and June, 2017. While the real-time data telemetry system was not successful and the remote power generation power system was only partially successful, the system design included sufficient redundant power in the form of internal instrument batteries to enable the collection of nearly three months of overlapping velocity and backscatter data (from November through February) and a record of acoustic backscatter strength spanning the entire ~150 day frazil ice season between November, 2016 and ~April, 2017. This submission includes the overwinter ice study plan, raw data, and report.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2016

Wireless power-receiving assembly for a telemetry system in a high-temperature environment of a combustion turbine engine

In a telemetry system (100) in a high-temperature environment of a combustion turbine engine (10), a wireless power-receiving coil assembly (116) may be affixed to a movable component (104) of the turbine engine. Power-receiving coil assembly (116) may include a radio-frequency transparent housing (130) having an opening (132). A lid (134) may be provided to close the opening of the housing. Lid (134) may be positioned to provide support against a surface (120) of the movable component. An induction coil (133) is disposed in the housing distally away from the lid and encased between a first layer (136) and a last layer (140) of a potting adhesive. Lid (134) is arranged to provide vibrational buffering between the surface (120) of the movable component (104) and the layers encasing the induction coil.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2022

AI-enabled, implantable, multichannel wireless telemetry for photodynamic therapy

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) offers several advantages for treating cancers, but its efficacy is highly dependent on light delivery to activate a photosensitizer. Advances in wireless technologies enable remote delivery of light to tumors, but suffer from key limitations, including low levels of tissue penetration and photosensitizer activation. Here, we introduce DeepLabCut (DLC)-informed low-power wireless telemetry with an integrated thermal/light simulation platform that overcomes the above constraints. The simulator produces an optimized combination of wavelengths and light sources, and DLC-assisted wireless telemetry uses the parameters from the simulator to enable adequate illumination of tumors through high-throughput (<20 mice) and multi-wavelength operation. Together, they establish a range of guidelines for effective PDT regimen design. In vivo Hypericin and Foscan mediated PDT, using cancer xenograft models, demonstrates substantial suppression of tumor growth, warranting further investigation in research and/or clinical settings.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Analysing a multi‐stage cyber threat and its impact on the power system

Abstract Electric power systems are composed of physical and cyber sub‐systems. The sub‐systems depend on each other. If the cyber sub‐system is compromised by a cyber threat, what is the impact on the physical system? This paper presents a case study that shows the steps of a multi‐stage cyber threat involving a database injection attack, and what happens to the power system if this threat is not detected in its early stages. The threat first affects one utility but it can spread to the balancing authority, which is responsible for keeping the voltage and frequency stable in the power grid. During the cyber threat, the authors also show defence tools, such as a cyber‐physical data fusion tool that displays and analyses power and cyber telemetry.

Al Homoud, Leen [Texas A&amp,M University College ↗
DOE OSTI2021

A machine learning degradation model for electrochemical capacitors operated at high temperature

Electrochemical capacitors (ECs) have only recently been considered as an alternative power source for telemetry sensors of drilling equipment for geothermal or oil and gas exploration. The lifecycle analysis and modelling of ECs is underrepresented in literature in comparison to other storage devices e.g. Li-ion batteries. This paper investigates the degradation of ECs when cycled outside the manufacturer-specified operating temperature envelope and proposes a machine learning-based approach for modelling the degradation. Experimental results show that end of life, defined as a 30% decrease in capacitance, occurs at 1,000 cycles when the environmental temperature exceeds the maximum operating temperature by 30%. The life-cycle test data is then used as an input to a Gaussian process regression (GPR) algorithm to predict the capacitance fade trend. The GPR is validated on a total of nine commercial cells from two different manufacturers, achieving an average root mean squared percent error of less than 2% and a mean calibration score of 93% when referenced to a 95% confidence interval. The model can be utilized to determine the EC degradation rate at a range of operating temperature values.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Directional infrasound sensing using acoustic metamaterials

Natural and anthropogenic infrasound may travel vast distances, making it an invaluable resource for monitoring phenomena such as nuclear explosions, volcanic eruptions, severe storms, and many others. Typically, these waves are captured using pressure sensors, which cannot encode the direction of arrival—critical information when the source location is not known beforehand. Obtaining this information therefore requires arrays of sensors with apertures ranging from tens of meters to kilometers depending on the wavelengths of interest. This is often impractical in locations that lack the necessary real estate (urban areas, rugged regions, or remote islands); in any case, it requires multiple power, digitizer, and telemetry deployments. In this work, the theoretical basis behind a compact infrasound direction of arrival sensor based on the acoustic metamaterials is presented. This sensor occupies a footprint that is orders of magnitude smaller than the span of a typical infrasound array. The diminutive size of the unit greatly expands the locations where it can be deployed. The sensor design is described, its ability to determine the direction of arrival is evaluated, and further avenues of study are suggested.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rechargeable Micro-Batteries

The quest for efficient power sources for small sensors has led to a growing interest in rechargeable micro-batteries, offering the potential to harness energy from various sources for extended periods. This project delves into a multifaceted project aimed at enhancing the performance and viability of rechargeable micro-batteries in this context. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has leveraged its expertise in primary micro-battery development, evolving into a software-driven approach for designing cylindrical micro-batteries. This project addresses the cycle life issue through innovative cell design, electrode optimization, and electrolyte refinement. A case study of the MB1842 rechargeable micro-battery demonstrates the promising outcomes of these advancements, showcasing a capacity of 0.32 mAh at ~1C (0.35 mA) and remarkable cycle performance, extending the cycle life to 510-570 cycles at 80% end-of-life (EOL), 710-760 cycles at 70% EOL and 840-940 cycles at 60% EOL, thereby ensuring a service life of 10 years for these rechargeable micro-batteries. This endeavor represents a significant stride towards unlocking the full potential of rechargeable micro-batteries, paving the way for their widespread application in small sensor technologies. The outcome from this project also successfully supports the award of a new project: 80621 - Self-Powered Modular Acoustic Telemetry System with Sensing.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2021

TEAMER: Electrically Engaged Undulation System for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles

This TEAMER RFTS 1 (Request for Technical Support) project supported the flume tank testing of a long range, high endurance unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) to monitor maritime space. Today, battery-powered remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) lack the duration to make persistent, wide-area data collection possible.The proposed solution, an Electrically Engaged UnduLation (EEL) drone, can sustain missions for longer duration through hydrodynamic energy harvesting. Power is provisioned via the piezoelectric effect, a material-led phenomenon that converts applied stress into electricity. The EEL subsystems include power, propulsion, navigation, ballast, telemetry, and instrumentation. By mimicking the gait of aquatic eels, EEL can counter currents during maneuvering and level-flight. The identified opportunity is in the future capability of extreme endurance UUVs in swarms. The specific goal for the EEL development is to expand the spatio-temporal coverage of the existing ocean observation mission by overcoming significant challenges of autonomous robotics. Some of the challenges presented include novel compliant mechanism for robust actuation, bio-inspired design to emulate efficient locomotion, smart material-based energy harvesting for sustained power, and swarming architecture through enabled autonomy.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2023

Semi-Supervised, Non-Intrusive Disaggregation of Nodal Load Profiles With Significant Behind-the-Meter Solar Generation

It is of imperative interests for regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to effectively extract actual load profiles at transmission nodes with significant behind-the-meter solar generation, which remains a gap in the existing technology paradigm. This paper proposes an explicit yet efficient linear estimator to disaggregate actual load profiles at transmission buses with significant behind-the-meter (BTM) solar generations. The proposed estimator is based on disaggregating (i.e., extracting) at locations close to transmission buses under consideration. Further, to overcome the lack of “ground truth” and validate the performance of the proposed algorithms, we first propose semi-supervised mechanisms with parameter tuning as well as unsupervised clustering and leverage the unique characteristics of zero-crossing points in BTM solar peaking behaviors, which we refer to as “Zone-to-Node (Z2N)” methods. Next, we further propose a bi-level Node-to-Node (N2N) framework that improves the overall disaggregation performances compared to Z2N. Numerical results are presented using real-world data at PJM Interconnection.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

Artificial Retina Project: Electromagnetic and Thermal Effects

This award supported the investigation on electromagnetic and thermal effects associated with the artificial retina, designed in collaboration with national laboratories, universities, and private companies. Our work over the two years of support under this award has focused mainly on 1) Design of new telemetry coils for optimal power and data transfer between the implant and the external device while achieving a significant size reduction with respect to currently used coils; 2) feasibility study of the virtual electrode configuration 3) study the effect of pulse shape and duration on the stimulation efficacy.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy Storage and Generation for Extreme Temperature and Pressure and Directional Measurement While Drilling Applications

FastCAP Systems Corporation has successfully completed all milestones defined by the award DE-EE0005503. Under this program, FastCAP developed three critical subassemblies to TRL3 demonstrating proof of concept of a geothermal MWD power source. This power source includes an energy harvester, electronics and a novel high temperature ultracapacitor (“ultracap”) rechargeable energy storage device suitable for geothermal exploration applications. FastCAP’s ruggedized ultracapacitor (ultracap) technology has been proven and commercialized in oil and gas exploration operating to rated temperatures of 150°C. Characteristics of this technology are that it is rechargeable and relatively high power. This technology was the basis for the advancements in rechargeable energy storage under this project. The ultracap performs reliably at 250°C and beyond and operates over a wide operating temperature range: -5°C to 250°C. The ultracap has significantly higher power density than lithium thionyl chloride batteries, a non-rechargeable incumbent used in oil and gas drilling today. Several hermetically sealed, prototype devices were tested in our laboratories at constant temperatures of 250°C showing no significant degradation over 2000 hours of operation. Other prototypes were tested at Sandia National Lab in the month of April, 2015 for a third party performance validation. These devices showed outstanding performance over 1000 hours of operation at three rated temperatures, 200°C, 225°C and 250°C, with negligible capacitance degradation and minimal equivalent series resistance (ESR) increase. Similarly, FastCAP’s ruggedized electronics have been proven and commercialized in oil and gas exploration operating to rated temperatures of 150°C. This technology was the basis for the advancements in downhole electronics under this project. Principal contributions here focused on design for manufacture innovations that have reduced the prototype build cycle time by a factor of 10x. The electronics have demonstrated a substantially reduced design cycle time by way of process and material selection innovations and have been qualified for 250°C / 10 Grms for at least 200 hours. FastCAP has also invented a rotary inertial energy generator (RIEG) to harvest various mechanical energy sources that exist downhole. This device is flow-independent and has been demonstrated as a proof of concept to survive geothermal well temperatures under this project. The herein energy harvester has been developed to provide operational power by harvesting rotational mechanical energy that exists downhole in geothermal drilling. The energy harvester has been tested at 250°C / 10 Grms for 200 hours. Deployment of these technologies in geothermal drilling and exploration applications could have an immediate and significant impact on the effectiveness and efficiency of drilling processes, particularly with regard to use of advanced logging and monitoring techniques. The ultimate goal of this work is to reduce drilling risk to make geothermal energy more attractive and viable to the customer. Generally speaking, we aim to support the transfer of MWD techniques from oil and gas to geothermal exploration with considerations toward the practical differences between the two. One of the most significant obstacles to the deployment of advanced drilling and production techniques in the geothermal context are limitations related to the maximum operating temperatures of downhole batteries used to provide power for downhole sensors, steering tools, telemetry equipment and other MWD/LWD technologies. FastCAP’s higher temperature ultracapacitor technology will provide power solutions for similar advanced drilling and production techniques, even in the harsher environments associated with geothermal energy production. This ultracapacitor will enable downhole power solutions for the geothermal industry capable of the same reliable and safe operation our team has demonstrated in the oil and gas context. Without batteries, geothermal MWD is left without a downhole power source. Some very high temperature turbines exist but provide unsteady, intermittent power and no power when the flow is off. In high loss formations common to geothermal exploration, it will be auspicious to support air drilling in which case there is no flow to power a turbine at all. In the best case, rechargeable energy storage will help to buffer unsteady power from non-battery power sources and in the worst case it will be needed to store energy from highly intermittent sources to provide a continuously operable power source to the tool.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗