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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
NASA NTRS1993

Water-Conserving Plant-Growth System

Report presents further information about plant-growth apparatus described in "Tubular Membrane Plant-Growth Unit" (KSC-11375). Apparatus provides nutrient solution to roots of seedlings without flooding. Conserves water by helping to prevent evaporation from plant bed. Solution supplied only as utilized by seedlings. Device developed for supporting plant growth in space, also has applications for growing plants with minimum of water, such as in arid environments.

Dreschel, Thomas W.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Financial feasibility of water conservation in agriculture

Global water use for food production needs to be reduced to remain within planetary boundaries, yet the financial feasibility of crucial measures to reduce water use is poorly quantified. Here, we introduce a novel method to compare the costs of water conservation measures with the added value that reallocation of water savings might generate if used for expansion of irrigation. Based on detailed water accounting through the use of a high-resolution hydrology-crop model, we modify the traditional cost curve approach with an improved estimation of demand, increasing marginal cost per water conservation measure combination and add a correction to control for impacts on downstream water availability. We apply the method to three major river basins in the Indo-Gangetic plain (Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra), a major global food producing region but increasingly water stressed. Our analysis shows that at basin level only about 10% (Brahmaputra) to just over 20% (Indus and Ganges) of potential water savings would be realised; the equilibrium price for water is too low to make the majority of water conservation measures cost effective. The associated expansion of irrigated area is moderate, about 7% in the Indus basin, 5% in the Ganges and negligible in the Brahmaputra, but farmers' gross profit increases more substantially, by 11%. Increasing the volumetric cost of irrigation water influences supply and demand in a similar way and has little influence on water reallocation. Controlling for the impact on return flows is important and more than halves the amount of water available for reallocation.

Geography / Land Utilization↗
NASA NTRS1993

Variable-Volume Flushing (V-VF) device for water conservation in toilets

Thirty five percent of residential indoor water used is flushed down the toilet. Five out of six flushes are for liquid waste only, which requires only a fraction of the water needed for solid waste. Designers of current low-flush toilets (3.5-gal. flush) and ultra-low-flush toilets (1.5-gal. flush) did not consider the vastly reduced amount of water needed to flush liquid waste versus solid waste. Consequently, these toilets are less practical than desired and can be improved upon for water conservation. This paper describes a variable-volume flushing (V-VF) device that is more reliable than the currently used flushing devices (it will not leak), is simple, more economical, and more water conserving (allowing one to choose the amount of water to use for flushing solid and liquid waste).

Jasper, Louis J., Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Kennedy Space Center’s Energy and Water Conservation Program

America Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Space Coast Section - Our presenter will be Jennifer Hill, PE, LEED AP, Energy Manager for NASA at Kennedy Space Center. Ms. Hill will present on the NASA KSC Energy Program, providing an overview of KSC’s energy program and of projects that have been implemented to reduce energy and water intensity, increase renewable energy usage, and to improve resilience in support of the NASA KSC Mission.

Jennifer Hill↗
NASA NTRS2005

Development of a Real-Time GPS/Seismic Displacement Meter: Applications to Civilian Infrastructure in Orange and Western Riverside Counties, California

We propose a three-year applications project that will develop an Integrated Real-Time GPS/Seismic System and deploy it in Orange and Western Riverside Counties, spanning three major strike-slip faults in southern California (San Andreas, San Jacinto, and Elsinore) and significant populations and civilian infrastructure. The system relying on existing GPS and seismic networks will collect and analyze GPS and seismic data for the purpose of estimating and disseminating real-time positions and total ground displacements (dynamic, as well as static) during all phases of the seismic cycle, from fractions of seconds to years. Besides its intrinsic scientific use as a real-time displacement meter (transducer), the GPS/Seismic System will be a powerful tool for local and state decision makers for risk mitigation, disaster management, and structural monitoring (dams, bridges, and buildings). Furthermore, the GPS/Seismic System will become an integral part of California's spatial referencing and positioning infrastructure, which is complicated by tectonic motion, seismic displacements, and land subsidence. Finally, the GPS/Seismic system will also be applicable to navigation in any environment (land, sea, or air) by combining precise real-time instantaneous GPS positioning with inertial navigation systems. This development will take place under the umbrella of the California Spatial Reference Center, in partnership with local (Counties, Riverside County Flood and Water Conservation District, Metropolitan Water District), state (Caltrans), and Federal agencies (NGS, NASA, USGS), the geophysics community (SCIGN/SCEC2), and the private sector (RBF Consulting). The project will leverage considerable funding, resources, and R&D from SCIGN, CSRC and two NSF-funded IT projects at UCSD and SDSU: RoadNet (Real-Time Observatories, Applications and Data Management Network) and the High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN). These two projects are funded to develop both the wireless networks and the integrated, seamless, and transparent information management system that will deliver seismic, geodetic, oceanographic, hydrological, ecological, and physical data to a variety of end users in real-time in the San Diego region. CSRC is interested in providing users access to real-time, accurate GPS data for a wide variety of applications including RTK surveying/GIS and positioning of moving platforms such as aircraft and emergency vehicles. SCIGN is interested in upgrading sites to high-frequency real-time operations for rapid earthquake response and GPS seismology. The successful outcome of the project will allow the implementation of similar systems elsewhere, particularly in plate boundary zones with significant populations and civilian infrastructure. CSRC would like to deploy the GPS/Seismic System in other parts of California, in particular San Diego, Los Angeles County and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Bock, Yehuda↗
NASA NTRS2020

A Global End-Member Approach to Derive aCDOM(440) from Near-Surface Optical Measurements

This study establishes an optical inversion scheme for deriving the absorption coefficient of colored (or chromophoric, depending on the literature) dissolved organic material (CDOM) at the 440 nm wavelength, which can be applied to global water masses with near-equal efficacy. The approach uses a ratio of diffuse attenuation coefficient spectral end members, i.e., a short and long wavelength pair. The global perspective is established by sampling "extremely" clear water plus a generalized extent in turbidity and optical properties that each span three decades of dynamic range. A unique data set was collected in oceanic, coastal, and inland waters (as shallow as 0.6 m) from the North Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, Hawaii, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the east and west coasts of the United States. The data were partitioned using subjective categorizations to define a validation quality subset of conservative water masses, i.e., the inflow and outflow of properties constrain the range in the gradient of a constituent, plus 15 subcategories of water masses that were not evolving conservatively. The dependence on subcategories was confirmed with an objective methodology based on cluster analysis techniques. The latter defined five distinct classes with validation quality data present in all classes, but which also decreased in percent composition as a function of increasing class number and optical complexity. Four different algorithms based on different validation quality end members were validated with accuracies of 1.–6.2 %, wherein pairs with the largest spectral span were most accurate. Although algorithm accuracy decreased with the inclusion of more subcategories containing non-conservative water masses, changes to the algorithm fit were small when a preponderance of subcategories were included. The high accuracy for all end-member algorithms was the result of data acquisition and data processing improvements, e.g., increased vertical sampling resolution to less than 1mm and a boundary constraint to mitigate wave focusing effects, respectively. An independent evaluation with a historical database confirmed the consistency of the algorithmic approach and its application to quality assurance, e.g., to flag data outside expected ranges, identify suspect spectra, and objectively determine the in-water extrapolation interval by converging agreement for all applicable end-member algorithms. The legacy data exhibit degraded performance (as 44 % uncertainty) due to a lack of high-quality near-surface observations, especially for clear waters wherein wave-focusing effects are problematic. The novel optical approach allows the in situ estimation of an in-water constituent in keeping with the accuracy obtained in the laboratory.

Stanford B Hooker↗
NASA NTRS2016

Design, Development, and Testing of a Water Vapor Exchanger for Spacecraft Life Support Systems

Thermal and environmental control systems for future exploration spacecraft must meet challenging requirements for efficient operation and conservation of resources. Maximizing the use of regenerative systems and conserving water are critical considerations. This paper describes the design, development, and testing of an innovative water vapor exchanger (WVX) that can minimize the amount of water absorbed in, and vented from, regenerative CO2 removal systems. Key design requirements for the WVX are high air flow capacity (suitable for a crew of six), very high water recovery, and very low pressure losses. We developed fabrication and assembly methods that enable high-efficiency mass transfer in a uniform and stable array of Nafion tubes. We also developed analysis and design methods to compute mass transfer and pressure losses. We built and tested subscale units sized for flow rates of 2 and 5 cu ft/min (3.4–8.5 cu m/hr). Durability testing demonstrated that a stable core geometry was sustained over many humid/dry cycles. Pressure losses were very low (less than 0.5 in. H2O (125 Pa) total) and met requirements at prototypical flow rates. We measured water recovery efficiency across a range of flow rates and humidity levels that simulate the range of possible cabin conditions. We measured water recovery efficiencies in the range of 80 to 90%, with the best efficiency at lower flow rates and higher cabin humidity levels. We compared performance of the WVX with similar units built using an unstructured Nafion tube bundle. The WVX achieves higher water recovery efficiency with nearly an order of magnitude lower pressure drop than unstructured tube bundles. These results show that the WVX provides uniform flow through flow channels for both the humid and dry streams and can meet requirements for service on future exploration spacecraft. The WVX technology will be best suited for long-duration exploration vehicles that require regenerative CO2 removal systems while needing to conserve water.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2022

The Future: Nasa’s Surface Biology and Geology Mission and the Dark (Aquatic) Side

With the release of NASA’s Earth System Observatory (ESO) measurement targets that includes studying the Earth’s Surface Biology and Geology (SBG), a global visible to shortwave infrared imaging spectrometer and a multispectral thermal infrared imager have been planned to launch in the late 2020s. This mission will enable unprecedented interdisciplinary science and applications relevant to studying the biology and geology of the Earth's surface. Measurement targets are directly aligned for studying coastal and inland waters ecosystems and water quality, including coralreef ecosystems, snow and ice, mineralogy, volcanology, biology, ecology, biodiversity, and components of radiative forcing from the surface such as greenhouse gas emissions. The observations not only have scientific value in studying feedbacks and interactions of surface processes (e.g., harmful algal blooms, domoic acid, oil spills, and other hazardous events), but also societal benefit – with the capacity to support real-world decision-making such as response to theseevents and inland water conservation, protection of drinking water quality for public and environmental health, and habitat conservation. The work presented here outlines the conducted mission and architecture study and the initiation of science performance trades (signal sensitivity; spectral, spatial, and temporal resolution; and atmospheric effects) informing the design of the SBG segment of the ESO providing the most value to myriad science and applications as possible. Science and applications synergies and algorithms with the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, and ocean Ecosystem (PACE) and the Geostationary Littoral Imaging and Monitoring Radiometer (GLIMR) is opportunistic for advancing aquatics research and applications.

THE FUTURE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Use of thermal inertia determined by HCMM to predict nocturnal cold prone areas in Florida

Transparencies, prints, and computer compatible tapes of temperature differential and thermal inertia for the winter of 1978 to 1979 were obtained. Thermal inertial differences in the South Florida depicted include: drained organic soils of the Everglades agricultural area, undrained organic soils of the managed water conservation areas of the South Florida water management district, the urbanized area around Miami, Lake Okeechobee, and the mineral soil west of the Everglades agricultural area. The range of wetlands and uplands conditions within the Suwanee River basin was also identified. It is shown that the combination of wetlands uplands surface features of Florida yield a wide range of surface temperatures related to wetness of the surface features.

Allen, L. H., Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Calculator for Agricultural Water Use Fractions in California

Improved quantification of agricultural water use efficiency is a primary focus of California's Water Conservation Act. The California Department of Water Resources (CDWR), after extensive stakeholder consultation, has published methods and indicators to help identify opportunities for improved efficiency of irrigation management at various spatial scales. Additional 2017 legislation directs water suppliers to quantify water use efficiency using the CDWR metrics to support preparation of agricultural water management plans. The IrriQuest calculator derives the Crop Consumptive Use Fraction (CCUF), a foundational metric relating seasonal crop evapotranspiration (ET) to total applied water. Satellite normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) data are used to develop fractional canopy cover timeseries. Additional key inputs include daily reference ET, irrigation volume, irrigation method, precipitation, soil texture and crop type. IrriQuest estimates of seasonal crop ET show less than 10% mean absolute error compared to ground-based measurements of several annual and perennial crops monitored by sensor deployment in commercial fields. Two additional indicators build on CCUF. The Agronomic Water Use Fraction adds consideration of water applied for beneficial purposes such as pre-plant soil preparation, soil salinity management, and climate control. Total Water Use Fraction additionally accounts for water applied for environmental purposes such as maintenance of wetland and riparian habitat. A convenient on-line portal is under development for CCUF estimation and a standalone spreadsheet is available for computation of all three use fractions.

Calculator↗
NASA NTRS2014

Multifunctional Cooling Garment for Space Suit Environmental Control

Future manned space exploration missions will require space suits with capabilities beyond the current state of the art. Portable Life Support Systems for these future space suits face daunting challenges, since they must maintain healthy and comfortable conditions inside the suit for longduration missions while minimizing weight and water venting. We have demonstrated the feasibility of an innovative, multipurpose garment for thermal and humidity control inside a space suit pressure garment that is simple, rugged, compact, and lightweight. The garment is a based on a conventional liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG) that has been modified to directly absorb latent heat as well as sensible heat. This hybrid garment will prevent buildup of condensation inside the pressure garment, prevent loss of water by absorption in regenerable CO2 removal beds, and conserve water through use of advanced lithium chloride absorber/radiator (LCAR) technology for nonventing heat rejection. We have shown the feasibility of this approach by sizing the critical components for the hybrid garment, developing fabrication methods, building and testing a proof-of-concept system, and demonstrating by test that its performance is suitable for use in space suit life support systems.

Izenson, Michael G.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Multifunctional Cooling Garment for Space Suit Environmental Control

Future manned space exploration missions will require space suits with capabilities beyond the current state of the art. Portable Life Support Systems for these future space suits face daunting challenges, since they must maintain healthy and comfortable conditions inside the suit for long-duration missions while minimizing weight and water venting. We have demonstrated the feasibility of an innovative, multipurpose garment for thermal and humidity control inside a space suit pressure garment that is simple, rugged, compact, and lightweight. The garment is a based on a conventional liquid cooling and ventilation garment (LCVG) that has been modified to directly absorb latent heat as well as sensible heat. This hybrid garment will prevent buildup of condensation inside the pressure garment, prevent loss of water by absorption in regenerable CO2 removal beds, and conserve water through use of advanced lithium chloride absorber/radiator (LCAR) technology for nonventing heat rejection. We have shown the feasibility of this approach by sizing the critical components for the hybrid garment, developing fabrication methods, building and testing a proof-of-concept system, and demonstrating by test that its performance is suitable for use in space suit life support systems.

Izenson, Michael↗