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Results for “three-phase interface”

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

Overcoming the conversion reaction limitation at three-phase interfaces using mixed conductors towards energy-dense solid-state Li–S batteries

Lithium–sulfur (Li–S) all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) hold great promise for next-generation safe, durable and energy-dense battery technology. However, solid-state sulfur conversion reactions are kinetically sluggish and primarily constrained to the restricted three-phase boundary area of sulfur, carbon and solid electrolytes, making it challenging to achieve high sulfur utilization. Here, in this study, we develop and implement mixed ionic–electronic conductors (MIECs) in sulfur cathodes to replace conventional solid electrolytes and invoke conversion reactions at sulfur–MIEC interfaces in addition to traditional three-phase boundaries. Microscopic and tomographic analyses reveal the emergence of mixed-conducting domains embedded in sulfur at sulfur–MIEC boundaries, helping promote the thorough conversion of active sulfur into Li 2 S. Consequently, substantially improved active sulfur ratios (up to 87.3%) and conversion degrees (>94%) are achieved in Li–S ASSBs with high discharge capacity (>1,450 mAh g –1 ) and long cycle life (>1,000 cycles). The strategy is also applied to enhance the active material utilization of other conversion cathodes.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1970

Foaming-electrolyte fuel cell

Foam structure feeds fuel gas solution into electrolyte. Fuel gas reacts at static, three-phase interface between fuel gas, electrolyte, and electrode material. The foam forms an electrical contact between main body of electrolyte and the electrode, and aids in removal of by-products of the chemical reaction.

Nanis, L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hybrid Dynamic Modeling of Smart Inverter

This letter proposes a novel hybrid method for assessing grid-connected three-phase converter interfaced resources (CIR) dynamics with the IEEE standard 1547-2018 grid support functions (GSFs), which blends physics and data-driven techniques. First, the letter derives an analytical model of a CIR to represent the internal physics and data-driven model (DDM) using a system identification algorithm to represent the rest of the dynamics, including the GSF. The derived hybrid model combines the analytical model of CIR and DDM, which balances accuracy and flexibility and is compared with the detailed switched model. Furthermore, the efficacy of the proposed approach to represent the advanced CIR dynamics is substantiated by power hardware-in-the-loop experiment data where real measurements from a commercial CIR are used to cross-validate the proposed approach. Furthermore, the results indicate that despite simple, the hybrid model accurately reproduces the dynamics of the detailed CIR model with an acceptable accuracy.

Data-driven model↗
NASA NTRS1988

A versatile power converter for high-frequency link systems

A single-phase HF link appears to be an attractive alternative to the dc link commonly used in power conversion systems. Here, a power converter suitable for one-step conversion of the single-phase HF link voltage to the three-phase LF voltages typically required for interfacing with system sources and loads is proposed. The converter utilizes zero-voltage switching principles to minimize switching losses and an easy-to-implement technique of pulse-density modulation for the control of the amplitude, frequency, and waveshape of the synthesized LF signals. Adaptation of the proposed topology for power conversion to single-phase ac and dc voltage or current outputs is shown to be straightforward. The feasibility of the proposed power circuit and the control technique has been experimentally verified.

Sood, Pradeep K.↗
NASA NTRS1983

First-order wetting transition at a liquid-vapor interface

Evidence from reflectance and contact angle measurements is presented that three-phase mixtures of i-C3H7OH-C7F14 exhibit a first-order wetting phase transition at the liquid-vapor interface at 38 C. Equilibration phenomena support this interpretation. Ellipsometry was used to measure the apparent thickness of the intruding layer in the three-phase mixture. At temperatures slightly above the wetting temperature T(w), the intruding layer's thickness is several hundred angstroms and its variation with temperature is extremely weak. Below T(w), three-phase contact can occur between the vapor and both the upper and lower liquid phases; one of the angles which characterizes this contact has a very simple temperature dependence. The thickness of the intruding layer, monitored as the solutions approached equilibrium, is found to depend quite weakly on the height spanned by the upper liquid phase in the vicinity of a first-order wetting transition.

Schmidt, J. W.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Determination of the Fe-rich portion of the Fe-Ni-C phase diagram

The iron-enriched section of the phase diagram for the ternary alloy Fe-Ni-C of various compositions is determined at 773, 873, 923, and 1003 C. The two-phase tie lines and three-phase tie triangles are measured by electron microprobe analyses. Tie lines in samples without bulk equilibrium are obtained by extrapolated interface compositions under the assumption of local equilibrium at the interface. It is shown that Ni addition somewhat reduces carbon solubility in austenite while decreasing the stability of the carbide phase. In particular, the carbide is always poor in Ni relative to the coexisting metal phase(s).

Romig, A. D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Defect, Kinetics and Heat Transfer of CDTE Bridgman Growth without Wall Contact

A detached growth mechanism has been proposed, which is similar to that proposed by Duffar et al. and used to study the current detached growth system. From numerical results, we can conclude that detached growth will more likely appear if the growth and wetting angles are large and meniscus is flat. Detached thickness is dependent on growth angle, wetting angle, and gap width and shape of the fins. The model can also explain why the detached growth will not happen for metals in which the growth angle is almost zero. Since the growth angle of CdZnTe cannot be changed, to promote detached growth, the number density of the fins should be low and the wetting angle should be high. Also, a much smaller gap width of the fins should be used in the ground experiment and the detached gap width is much smaller. The shape of the fins has minor influence on detached growth. An integrated numerical model for detached solidification has been developed combining a global heat transfer sub-model and a wall contact sub-model. The global heat transfer sub-model accounts for heat and mass transfer in the multiphase system, convection in the melt, macro-segregation, and interface dynamics. The location and dynamics of the solidification interface are accurately tracked by a multizone adaptive grid generation scheme. The wall contact sub-model accounts for the meniscus dynamics at the three-phase boundary. Simulations have been performed for crystal growth in a conventional ampoule and a designed ampoule to understand the benefits of detached solidification and its impacts on crystalline structural quality, e.g., stoichiometry, macro-segregation, and stress. From simulation results, both the Grashof and Marangoni numbers will have significant effects on the shape of growth front, Zn concentration distribution, and radial segregation. The integrated model can be used in designing apparatus and determining the optimal geometry for detached solidification in space and on the ground.

Larson, D. J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Simplified micromechanical equations for thermal residual stress analysis of coated fiber composites

The fabrication of metal matrix composites poses unique problems to the materials engineer. The large thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the fiber and matrix leads to high tensile residual stresses at the fiber/matrix interface which could lead to premature matrix cracking during cooldown. Fiber coating could be used to reduce thermal residual stresses. A simple closed-form analysis, based on a three-phase composite cylinder model, was developed to calculate thermal residual stresses in a fiber/interface/matrix system. Guidelines, in the form of simple equations, for the selection of appropriate material properties of the fiber coating, were also derived to minimize thermal residual stresses in the matrix during fabrication.

Naik, Rajiv A.↗
NASA NTRS1982

Galileo Institute for Astronomy (IFA) charge-coupled device (CCD) system

A fully portable self-contained charge-coupled device system has been constructed for shared use with the Galileo Project Imaging Team. The detector currently incorporated in the system is a Texas Instruments 500 x 500 three-phase CCD that has been thinned to operate in the backside illuminated mode. The detector and camera mainframe electronics were provided by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The support electronics and control interfaces necessary to operate the mainframe were constructed. The data system, which is built around a DeAnza Visacom VC-5000 Image Processor with an imbedded LSI-11 minicomputer, was also integrated. The capability to do image processing in real-time at the telescope has proved to be extremely valuable. The overall system read noise has been measured at 25 electrons. Full-well capacity is 40,000 electrons. Some results from laboratory tests and initial observing runs at the Mauna Kea 2.2-m telescope are presented.

Hlivak, R. J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Novel Results Visualization for Dynamic PSA and New Modeling Features in EMRALD

The Event Modeling Risk Assessment Linked Diagram (EMRALD) tool, developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), was designed to simplify the creation of dynamic models and support various research projects. One of the primary goals of EMRALD was to provide visual methods for modeling. EMRALD consists of two main components: a web-based user interface for model development and a solve engine for running model simulations. Over time, it has evolved to meet the diverse needs of its users. Initially, EMRALD's results were simple text outputs with final key state percentages and uncertainty bounds. However, because EMRALD utilizes a three-phase discrete event simulation and tracks the paths of each simulation run leading to a key state, there is significant potential to analyze large sets of path results data, including state paths, events, and timing. Visualizing this data meaningfully posed a challenge. To address this, a novel time-based Sankey diagram was developed. EMRALD exports results data in a format that can be opened in this Sankey viewer, allowing users to visualize paths, occurrences, events, and probability data for the entire simulation run in a single diagram. Moreover, when EMRALD was first created, there were limited tools capable of meeting its graphical requirements, many of which are no longer supported. In 2024, a new web-based interface was developed using modern graphing tools, enabling additional modeling features. This paper discusses the new dynamic PSA results visualization capability and the enhanced modeling tools available in EMRALD.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS2004

Fracture Mechanics Analysis of an Annular Crack in a Three-concentric-cylinder Composite Model

A boundary-value problem governing a three-phase concentric-cylinder model was analytically modeled to analyze annular interfacial crack problems with Love s strain functions in order to find the stress intensity factors (SIFs) and strain energy release rates (SERRs) at the tips of an interface crack in a nonhomogeneous medium. The complex form of a singular integral equation (SIE) of the second kind was formulated using Bessel s functions in the Fourier domain, and the SIF and total SERR were calculated using Jacoby polynomials. For the validity of the SIF equations to be established, the SIE of the three-concentric-cylinder model was reduced to the SIE for a two-concentric-cylinder model, and the results were compared with the previous results of Erdogan. A preliminary set of parametric studies was carried out to show the effect of interphase properties on the SERR. The method presented here provides insight about the effect of interphase properties on the crack driving force.

Kuguoglu, Latife H.↗
NASA NTRS1994

Toward an automated signature recognition toolkit for mission operations

Signature recognition is the problem of identifying an event or events from its time series. The generic problem has numerous applications to science and engineering. At NASA's Johnson Space Center, for example, mission control personnel, using electronic displays and strip chart recorders, monitor telemetry data from three-phase electrical buses on the Space Shuttle and maintain records of device activation and deactivation. Since few electrical devices have sensors to indicate their actual status, changes of state are inferred from characteristic current and voltage fluctuations. Controllers recognize these events both by examining the waveform signatures and by listening to audio channels between ground and crew. Recently the authors have developed a prototype system that identifies major electrical events from the telemetry and displays them on a workstation. Eventually the system will be able to identify accurately the signatures of over fifty distinct events in real time, while contending with noise, intermittent loss of signal, overlapping events, and other complications. This system is just one of many possible signature recognition applications in Mission Control. While much of the technology underlying these applications is the same, each application has unique data characteristics, and every control position has its own interface and performance requirements. There is a need, therefore, for CASE tools that can reduce the time to implement a running signature recognition application from months to weeks or days. This paper describes our work to date and our future plans.

Cleghorn, T.↗
NASA NTRS2004

Volume and Mass Estimation of Three-Phase High Power Transformers for Space Applications

Spacecraft historically have had sub-1kW(sub e), electrical requirements for GN&C, science, and communications: Galileo at 600W(sub e), and Cassini at 900W(sub e), for example. Because most missions have had the same order of magnitude power requirements, the Power Distribution Systems (PDS) use existing, space-qualified technology and are DC. As science payload and mission duration requirements increase, however, the required electrical power increases. Subsequently, this requires a change from a passive energy conversion (solar arrays and batteries) to dynamic (alternator, solar dynamic, etc.), because dynamic conversion has higher thermal and conversion efficiencies, has higher power densities, and scales more readily to higher power levels. Furthermore, increased power requirements and physical distribution lengths are best served with high-voltage, multi-phase AC to maintain distribution efficiency and minimize voltage drops. The generated AC-voltage must be stepped-up (or down) to interface with various subsystems or electrical hardware. Part of the trade-space design for AC distribution systems is volume and mass estimation of high-power transformers. The volume and mass are functions of the power rating, operating frequency, the ambient and allowable temperature rise, the types and amount of heat transfer available, the core material and shape, the required flux density in a core, the maximum current density, etc. McLyman has tabulated the performance of a number of transformers cores and derived a "cookbook" methodology to determine the volume of transformers, whereas Schawrze had derived an empirical method to estimate the mass of single-phase transformers. Based on the work of McLyman and Schwarze, it is the intent herein to derive an empirical solution to the volume and mass estimation of three-phase, laminated EI-core power transformers, having radiated and conducted heat transfer mechanisms available. Estimation of the mounting hardware, connectors, etc. is not included.

Kimnach, Greg L.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Shining light on nanoscale ‘vine-on-stick’ eutectic structures in the Al-Ce-Ni system

Multiphase eutectics often comprise entangled solid phases with nanoscale periodicity, making it difficult to unravel their 3D connectivity using conventional 2D techniques. Among such systems, the three-phase eutectic Al-Al 11 Ce 3 -Al 3 Ni stands out for its ultrafine (∼100 nm) interphase spacing and promising creep resistance, yet its microstructure remains relatively unexplored despite its potential for high-temperature applications. Here, we use scanning hard X-ray microscopy with an unprecedented ∼10 nm pixel size to resolve its 3D morphology. Reconstructions reveal a novel “vine-on-stick” motif, wherein Al 11 Ce 3 wraps around Al 3 Ni pillars. Analysis of phase tortuosities confirms that Al 11 Ce 3 exhibits more convoluted morphologies than Al 3 Ni. No orientation relationship was observed between the two intermetallics, suggesting that growth is controlled by local solute gradients rather than epitaxy. Fragmentation of intermetallics along their longitudinal axis suggests a Rayleigh-type breakup mechanism in solid state. The “vine-on-stick” pattern may generalize to other alloy systems with variable interfacial anisotropies and low mutual solubilities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Implementation of Advanced Grid Support Functionalities by Smart Operation of Residential Loads with low Cost Converter Interface

This paper investigates a grid-supportive load concept for small-scale residential appliances, focusing on a residential refrigerator. Power consumption is adjusted based on grid conditions to achieve IEEE-1547 grid support functions. Two key aspects are presented: a low-cost refrigerator converter with Lyapunov energy function-based local controllers for speed control, and the impact on a standard microgrid system, demonstrating advanced grid support from the load side. This method enhances grid resilience and reliability and can be extended to other residential loads. The study contributes to efficient and robust grid-supportive load management systems, showing promising performance. This approach has the potential to improve overall grid stability and can be adapted for various types of residential appliances. The modeling and simulations in MATLAB/Simulink and PLECS confirm the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed solution. Future work will explore real-world implementation and scalability of this concept for broader applications.

grid supportive loads (GSL)↗
DOE OSTI2026

GRIDAPPSD/distopf (33583-E)

DistOPF is an open-source Python package providing a three-phase, asymmetric optimal power flow (OPF) tool specifically designed for distribution systems. The key inventive features include: - Asymmetrical 3-phase OPF modeling for distribution systems with unbalanced phases - Comprehensive control optimization supporting both active (P) and reactive (Q) power control variables - Built-in visualization and validation tools - Standard test system benchmarking platform for algorithm development and comparison - Modular CSV-based input system using Pandas DataFrames for flexible model specification - Standard power distribution model importer enabling direct conversion from CIM and OpenDSS format to optimization-ready models - Multiple solve interface compatibility (PYOMO, CVXPY, SciPy) with automatic solver selection based on problem type

Gray, Nathan [Pacific Northwest National Laborator↗
NASA NTRS1978

Numerical analyses for treating diffusion in single-, two- and three-phase binary alloy systems

Numerical solutions were applicable for planar, cylindrical, or spherical geometries with any diffusion-zone size and any continuous variation of the diffusion coefficient with concentration. Special techniques were included in the analyses to account for differences in molal volumes, initiation and growth of an intermediate phase, disappearance of a phase, and the presence of an initial composition profile in the specimen. A major improvement in solution accuracy was achieved in the two phase analysis by employing a mass conservation criterion to establish the location of the interface rather than the conventional interface-flux-balance criterion. In the three phase analysis, computation time was minimized without sacrificing solution accuracy by treating the three phase problem as a two phase problem when the thickness of the intermediate phase was less than a preset small value. Three computer codes were developed to perform these analyses.

Tenney, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Resonant AC power system proof-of-concept test program

Proof-of-concept testing was performed on a 20-kHz, resonant power system breadboard from 1981 through 1985. The testing began with the evaluation of a single, 1.0-kW resonant inverter and progressed to the testing of breadboard systems with higher power levels and more capability. The final breadboard configuration tested was a 25.0-kW breadboard with six inverters providing power to three user-interface modules over a 50-meter, 20-kHz bus. The breadboard demonstrated the ability to synchronize multiple resonant inverters to power a common bus. Single-phase and three-phase 20-kHz power distribution was demonstrated. Simple conversion of 20-kHz to dc and variable-frequency ac was demonstrated as was bidirectional power flow between 20-kHz and dc. Steady state measurements of efficiency, power-factor tolerance, and conducted emissions and conducted susceptibility were made. In addition, transient responses were recorded for such conditions as start up, shut down, load changes. The results showed the 20-kHz resonant system to be a desirable technology for a spacecraft power management and distribution system with multiple users and a utility-type bus.

Wappes, Loran J.↗