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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 OSTI2023

Nuclear fusion powered Titan aircraft

This paper discusses a system for Titan exploration enabled by nuclear fusion power. Titan is one of the most interesting locations in the solar system with a thick atmosphere, surface oceans, under-ice oceans and complex terrain. This paper provides a conceptual design of a fusion-powered system to explore many parts of Titan and enable the use of high-power instruments. The design includes a fusion-powered orbital transfer vehicle and an electric Titan science aircraft. A Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) propulsive engine could bring a sizable spacecraft to Titan orbit in less than two years. A second fusion reactor, configured as a closed-loop power generator, would be used for an electric Titan science aircraft. Both reactors are based on the Princeton Field-Reversed Configuration (PFRC) concept which combines an FRC with a magnetic mirror. PFRC uses a novel radio-frequency plasma heating system and deuterium-helium-3 fuel. A lower temperature plasma flows around the closed-field FRC region removing the fusion products. In the DFD propulsive configuration, this secondary flow permits direct and variable thrust and exhaust velocity. The science aircraft would do a powered entry to Titan and then have the capability to fly anywhere on the moon at subsonic speeds. The DFD-powered transfer vehicle would allow the in-orbit transfer stage to change inclination as needed to cover different areas of the surface.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Switching of Protonation Sites in Hydrated Nicotine via a Grotthuss Mechanism

The switching of the protonation sites in hydrated nicotine, probed by experimental infrared (IR) spectroscopy and theoretical ab initio calculations, is facilitated via a Grotthuss instead of a bimolecular proton transfer (vehicle) mechanism at the experimental temperature (T = 130 K) as unambiguously confirmed by experiments with deuterated water. In contrast, the bimolecular vehicle mechanism is preferred at higher temperatures (T = 300 K) as determined by theory. Further, the Grotthuss mechanism for the concerted proton transfer results in the production of nicotine’s bioactive and addictive pyrrolidine-protonated (Pyrro-H + ) protomer with just 5 water molecules. Theoretical analysis suggests that the concerted proton transfer occurs via hydrogen-bonded bridges consisting of a 3 water molecule “core” that connects the pyridine protonated (Pyri-H + ) with the pyrrolidine-protonated (Pyrro-H + ) protomers. Additional water molecules attached as acceptors to the hydrogen-bonded “core” bridge result in lowering the reaction barrier of the concerted proton transfer down to less than 6 kcal/mol, which is consistent with the experimental observations.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quasi-steady testing approach for high-power Hall thrusters

Hall effect thrusters operating at power levels in excess of several hundreds of kilowatts have been identified as enabling technologies for applications such as lunar tugs, large satellite orbital transfer vehicles, and solar system exploration. These large thrusters introduce significant testing challenges due to the propellant flow rate exceeding the pumping speed available in most laboratories. Even with proposed upgrades in mind, the likelihood that multiple vacuum facilities will exist in the near future to allow long duration testing of high-power Hall thrusters operating at power levels in excess of 100 kW remains extremely low. In this article, we numerically explore the feasibility of testing Hall thrusters in a quasi-steady mode defined by pulsing the mass flow rate between a nominal and a low value. Here, our simulations indicate that sub-second durations available before the chamber reaches critical pressure are sufficiently long to achieve the steady-state current and flow field distributions, allowing us to characterize thruster performance and the near plume region.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Dynamic Capacitive Wireless Power Transfer System for Electric Vehicles (CRADA Final Report)

Road transportation accounts for 23% of our nation's total energy consumption, 59% of our petroleum consumption and 22% of our total emissions. Electric vehicles (EVs) have much higher well-to-wheel efficiency compared to gasoline vehicles and can reduce our dependence on oil, minimize emissions, improve local air quality and provide a platform for technological innovation and economic growth. While major progress has been made in the development of electric vehicles, their penetration remains under 1 The main hurdles in their widespread adoption are high cost, limited range and long charging times, due to limitations in battery technology. An approach to overcome these hurdles is to substantially reduce the on-board energy storage and instead deliver power wirelessly to the vehicle while it is in motion dynamic wireless power transfer (WPT). For EV charging applications, researchers have traditionally focused on inductive WPT. An issue with inductive WPT systems is that for magnetic flux guidance and shielding, they require ferrite cores, making them expensive, bulky and difficult to embed in the roadway. Under an ARPA-E IDEAS grant, the CU Boulder team has recently developed an alternative approach to WPT based on capacitive coupling that is much smaller, lighter, less expensive, and easier to embed in the roadway than inductive WPT; and have demonstrated a 1.2-kW 6.78-MHz version of this capacitive WPT system on a stationary platform. Under this seed grant program, preliminary work will be carried out on a dynamic capacitive WPT system to prepare a strong proposal for the ARPA-E OPEN 2018 FOA.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Integrated Magnetics for Multiport Inductive and Conductive Power Transfer Architecture for Electric Vehicles

This paper proposes a shared magnetic arrangement for an electric-vehicle charger that supports both conductive and inductive charging while preserving independent power control at the two ports. In the proposed implementation, the high-frequency transformer used for the conductive path and the resonant inductor required by the inductive path are realized in an integrated form. By combining the magnetic structure and primary-side converter hardware, the charger can deliver improved hardware utilization and higher power density without a corresponding increase in cost or implementation complexity. The paper describes the magnetic realization and presents finite-element and circuit-level simulation results to confirm minimal interaction between the two charging paths. The study demonstrates that the proposed charger is a viable option for flexible, high-power EV charging systems.

Mukherjee, Subho [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000672297925)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Overview of Electrically Conductive and Active Shielding for Wireless Power Transfer with a Polyphase Wireless Electric Vehicle Charging Study

The development and deployment of wireless power transfer (WPT) is increasing across industries including applications in healthcare, sensing and telecommunications, and electric vehicle charging due to its increased mobility and convenience. An important aspect of wireless power transfer is shielding to limit the intensity of electromagnetic fields (EMF) within external regions to protect users and nearby technology. Within this paper, the classifications and recent developments in shielding technologies are reviewed with discussion on potential benefits and drawbacks towards application for wireless charging of electric vehicles (EV). Additionally, a design study is proposed and simulated in 3D FEA for a novel active shield to substantially reduce magnetic field emissions of a high-power, high-frequency rotating-field 3-phase electromagnetic coupler for quickly charging electric vehicles. The active shield, designed to reduce Z-axis emissions, was found to be highly effective, reducing maximum EMF emissions by 83% in aligned static operation and by 50% with lateral misalignment. Active shielding was also found to strongly mitigate the impact of lateral misalignment at each studied partial alignment.

Lewis, Donovin D.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Designing Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer Corridors for Heavy Duty Battery Electric Commercial Freight Vehicles

The use of wireless power transfer systems, consisting of inductive electrical coils on the vehicle and the power source may be designed for dynamic operations where the vehicle will absorb energy at highway speeds from transmitting coils in the road. This has the potential to reduce the onboard energy storage requirements for vehicles while enabling significantly longer missions. This paper presents an approach to architecting a dynamic wireless power transfer corridor for heavy duty battery electric commercial freight vehicles. By considering the interplay of roadway power capacity, roadway and vehicle coil coverage, seasonal road traffic loading, freight vehicle class and weight, vehicle mobility energy requirements, on-board battery chemistry, non-electrified roadway vehicle range requirements, grid capacity, substation locations, and variations in electricity costs, we minimize the vehicle TCO by architecting the electrified roadway and the vehicle battery simultaneously. The idea optimizes battery size and chemistry so that the depth of discharge between recharge events and expected life are balanced, thus fully utilizing the energy available throughout the course of the battery system's life. The approach is illustrated by applying it to the I-75 freight corridor, where the framework developed may be expanded and applied to a larger interstate system, expanded regional corridor, or other transportation network.

Sujan, Vivek↗
DOE OSTI2021

RouteE: A Vehicle Energy Consumption Prediction Engine

The emergence of connected and automated vehicles and smart cities technologies create the opportunity for new mobility modes and routing decision tools, among many others. To achieve maximum mobility and minimum energy consumption, it is critical to understand the energy cost of decisions and optimize accordingly. The Route Energy prediction model (RouteE) enables accurate estimation of energy consumption for a variety of vehicle types over trips or sub-trips where detailed drive cycle data are unavailable. Applications include vehicle route selection, energy accounting and optimization in transportation simulation, and corridor energy analyses, among others. The software is a Python package that includes a variety of pre-trained models from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). However, RouteE also enables users to train custom models using their own data sets, making it a robust and valuable tool for both fast calculations and rigorous, data-rich research efforts. The pre-trained RouteE models are established using NREL's Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator paired with approximately 1 million miles of drive cycle data from the Transportation Secure Data Center, resulting in energy consumption behavior estimates over a representative sample of driving conditions for the United States. Validations have been performed using on-road fuel consumption data for conventional and electrified vehicle powertrains. Transferring the results of the on-road validation to a larger set of real-world origin-destination pairs, it is estimated that implementing the present methodology in a green-routing application would accurately select the route that consumes the least fuel 90% of the time. The novel machine learning techniques used in RouteE make it a flexible and robust tool for a variety of transportation applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Smart Droplets Stabilized by Designer Surfactants: From Biomimicry to Active Motion to Materials Healing

The science and technologies of emulsion droplets have been a long‐term focus of extensive research endeavors for their practical utility across a breadth of industries, including pharmaceutical products, oil recovery processes, and the food sciences. However, with advances in materials chemistry and characterization tools, new emerging areas are arising with a focus on “smart droplets”. The versatility of emulsion droplets across is based on their ability to partition and create isolated systems with properties defined by the liquid–liquid interface, while preparative routes allow manipulation of droplet size, stability, and encapsulated contents. As described in this article, significant efforts are being devoted to creating new types of droplets by “activating” this interface through the incorporation of reactive structures that trigger droplet response to applied or environmental stimuli (e.g., pH, temperature, salt, or external fields). Moreover, parallels between droplets and live cells inspire efforts to conceive systems that resemble biological motifs or that can produce cellular behaviors that imitate biology (e.g., swarming, communication, or motion). Here, the authors highlight recent advances in smart droplets, with emphasis on organic, polymer, and/or particle surfactants that give rise to inter‐droplet communication (via aggregation, fusion, division, or mass transfer), droplet vehicles for controlled delivery, autonomous droplet motion, and tunable emulsion inversion. Especially emphasized is the macromolecular design to produce reactive and functional surfactants, which are crucial to responsive droplet behavior and their underlying mechanisms. More generally, the exquisite interplay between materials science and biology inspires the review of this research area that provides unique opportunities for insight and inspiration into the capabilities of new droplet designs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bidirectional LCC-LCC -Compensated 20 kW Wireless Power Transfer System for Medium-Duty Vehicle Charging

This paper presents the design and demonstration of a bidirectional 20 kW wireless charging system (WCS) with a significantly large airgap (11 inches) and asymmetrical input-output voltage levels. Analytical and experimental sensitivity analyses of the WCS resonant tank were conducted to verify the optimal operating region under the load and frequency variation. The inverter and rectifier were designed with switching components, the charging pads were designed with double-D (DD) coils, and the tuning networks were designed with an LCC-LCC tuning circuit. The grid and vehicle side tuning circuits were designed separately to achieve a ~1:2 gain for the asymmetrical input (800 V dc ) and output (350 V dc ) voltage. The proposed WCS was designed, simulated, and tested to verify the efficiency, power transfer capacity, and sensitivity under load variation. The experimental results show that, at 20-kW output power, the achieved grid to vehicle dc-dc efficiency was 96.1%, and vehicle to grid dc-dc efficiency was 96.2%. The proposed system is the largest-airgap bidirectional WCS with the highest efficiency and power density.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2026

Performance Characterization of InCharge™ ICE-66 V2X Bidirectional DC Fast Charger

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology extends the role of Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle’s (PHEV) and Battery Electric Vehicle’s (BEV) batteries beyond transportation by enabling bidirectional power transfer between the vehicle's onboard energy storage and the utility grid. Modern battery-powered vehicles are equipped with high-capacity battery packs that remain stationary and underutilized for the majority of their operational life. A vehicle used for daily commuting may be parked and connected to charging infrastructure for 18–20 hours per day, representing a significant untapped energy resource. When considered at scale, the aggregated storage capacity of a modest fleet of 10–15 vehicles within a single parking facility can reach the MWh range, sufficient to partially offset peak demand for a mid-size commercial building or contribute meaningful ancillary services to the local grid. The ability to charge during off-peak periods when electricity prices are low and discharge during peak demand when prices are high positions EV batteries as distributed energy arbitrage assets, with the potential to offset vehicle ownership and charging costs. Beyond energy arbitrage, V2G-capable assets can provide ancillary grid services through active and reactive power injections. Active power supports grid frequency regulation, while reactive power supports local voltage regulation. Together, these capabilities establish V2G as a technically promising and economically relevant pathway toward greater integration of battery-powered vehicles into the broader energy system.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Thermal Analysis of a 100 kW Polyphase Wireless Power Transfer System

Charging Electric Vehicles (EVs) fast and safely has a crucial role in the future of the EV technology. High-power Wireless Power Transfer (WPT) helps to significantly decrease the charging time. However, when the power transfer levels increase, thermal management becomes a significant challenge. The thermal design of the WPT systems needs more consideration in the design and implementation steps. This paper presents a thermal analysis of a 100 kW high-power WPT system. The thermal performance of the proposed design was evaluated at different power levels by considering the magnetic design and loss analysis. Finite Element Analysis (FEA) of the proposed design was performed and the thermal images of the implemented system were taken to prove the simulation results. The results show that, a liquid cooling design is needed for a high-power WPT systems for the long-time continuous operations of the charging pads.

Aydin, Emrullah↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy and Emission Prediction for Mixed-Vehicle Transit Fleets Using Multi-task and Inductive Transfer Learning

Public transit agencies are focused on making their fixed-line bus systems more energy efficient by introducing electric (EV) and hybrid (HV) vehicles to their fleets. However, because of the high upfront cost of these vehicles, most agencies are tasked with managing a mixed-fleet of internal combustion vehicles (ICEVs), EVs, and HVs. In managing mixed-fleets, agencies require accurate predictions of energy use for optimizing the assignment of vehicles to transit routes, scheduling charging, and ensuring that emission standards are met. The current state-of-the-art is to develop separate neural network models to predict energy consumption for each vehicle class. Although different vehicle classes’ energy consumption depends on a varied set of covariates, we hypothesize that there are broader generalizable patterns that govern energy consumption and emissions. In this paper, we seek to extract these patterns to aid learning to address two problems faced by transit agencies. First, in the case of a transit agency which operates many ICEVs, HVs, and EVs, we use multi-task learning (MTL) to improve accuracy of forecasting energy consumption. Second, in the case where there is a significant variation in vehicles in each category, we use inductive transfer learning (ITL) to improve predictive accuracy for vehicle class models with insufficient data. As this work is to be deployed by our partner agency, we also provide an online pipeline for joining the various sensor streams for fixed-line transit energy prediction. Here, we find that our approach outperforms vehicle-specific baselines in both the MTL and ITL settings.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Misalignment Tolerant Magnetic Coupler Design and Implementation for Wireless Charging of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

Wireless power transfer technology is getting more attention these days as a part of expanded battery charging infrastructure and network at a wide range of power levels. Charging Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is one wireless charging application, and charging their batteries can be challenging because they have short flight times and are frequently charged. For wireless charging of UAVs, the misalignment performance of the magnetic coupler pads is critical because landing on a charging pad at a perfectly aligned position is difficult and can be time-consuming. Different coil shapes and system structures have been proposed in the literature to overcome this challenge. A new design with a high misalignment tolerance is needed; therefore, to fill this gap, a wireless power transfer system has been designed for a 250 W UAV battery charging system with a new magnetic coupler design. A 3D model of the proposed design was created, and finite element simulations were performed. To prove the proposed design, the magnetic coupler prototypes were developed, and experimental results are presented herein. The misalignment tolerance of the proposed system was observed for various rotational positions of the secondary coil, from 0° to 360°. The results demonstrate that DC–DC efficiency varies between 80% and 85% within full 360° rotation of the receiver coil. This result enables the proposed system to address the misalignment problem for wireless charging of UAVs.

UAVs↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modular Design of Receiver Side Power Electronics for 200 kW High Power Dynamic Wireless Charging System

Dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) can provide energy to EVs in motion and extend the drive range. By upscaling the charging power to 200 kW (High Power DWPT), the percentage of electrified roadway reduces and the solution becomes cost-effective. However, coil coupling-coefficient variation during vehicle movement fluctuates the transferred power which is unfavorable for vehicle battery. Secondary regulation design can smooth the power but the converter design becomes very challenging due to requirement in high power, high efficiency, fast control, as well as high power density since the unit will be onboard. This paper provides the modular design approach of a 200 kW secondary side unit to achieve high performance and scalability. The DC/DC converter using SiC devices demonstrated 98.3% efficiency.

Xue, Lincoln↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimizing liquid free ionomer binders for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells for heavy duty vehicles

This report documents tech transfer from Penn State to Ionomer Solutions LLC for high-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cells. High-temperature polymer electrolyte membrane (HT-PEM) fuel cells are enticing power plants for heavy-duty vehicle (HDV) transportation because their elevated temperature operation fosters greater heat rejection through larger temperature differentials. In 2021, over 6 million battery electric light duty vehicles (LDVs) were sold. Conversely, only 19,000 LDVs using fuel cell power trains were sold in 2021. Given the meteoric rise of battery-based powertrains for LDVs and its projected growth, stakeholders for fuel cell technology for transportation have shifted their focus towards HDVs rather than LDVs given fuel cells specific and volumetric energy density advantage over batteries when the vehicle is large, heavy, and/or needs to move large distances before refueling.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗