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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1975

A cost-effectiveness comparison of existing and Landsat-aided snow water content estimation systems

This study describes how Landsat imagery can be cost-effectively employed to augment an operational hydrologic model. Attention is directed toward the estimation of snow water content, a major predictor variable in the volumetric runoff forecasting model presently used by the California Department of Water Resources. A stratified double sampling scheme is supplemented with qualitative and quantitative analyses of existing operations to develop a comparison between the existing and satellite-aided approaches to snow water content estimation. Results show a decided advantage for the Landsat-aided approach.

Sharp, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Development and Validation of a Fast, Accurate and Cost-Effective Aeroservoelastic Method on Advanced Parallel Computing Systems

Progress to date towards the development and validation of a fast, accurate and cost-effective aeroelastic method for advanced parallel computing platforms such as the IBM SP2 and the SGI Origin 2000 is presented in this paper. The ENSAERO code, developed at the NASA-Ames Research Center has been selected for this effort. The code allows for the computation of aeroelastic responses by simultaneously integrating the Euler or Navier-Stokes equations and the modal structural equations of motion. To assess the computational performance and accuracy of the ENSAERO code, this paper reports the results of the Navier-Stokes simulations of the transonic flow over a flexible aeroelastic wing body configuration. In addition, a forced harmonic oscillation analysis in the frequency domain and an analysis in the time domain are done on a wing undergoing a rigid pitch and plunge motion. Finally, to demonstrate the ENSAERO flutter-analysis capability, aeroelastic Euler and Navier-Stokes computations on an L-1011 wind tunnel model including pylon, nacelle and empennage are underway. All computational solutions are compared with experimental data to assess the level of accuracy of ENSAERO. As the computations described above are performed, a meticulous log of computational performance in terms of wall clock time, execution speed, memory and disk storage is kept. Code scalability is also demonstrated by studying the impact of varying the number of processors on computational performance on the IBM SP2 and the Origin 2000 systems.

Goodwin, Sabine A.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Accelerated Design of Cost-Effective Thermal/Environmental Barrier Coatings based on High-Entropy Rare Earth Disilicates: A First-Principles Study

This project aims to design cost-effective thermal/environmental barrier coatings (TEBC) based on high entropy rare earth disilicates to protect SiC-based ceramic matrix composites from chemical and thermal attack for better performance of components in the hot section of gas turbine engines. To accelerate the alloy design, we utilize first-principles density functional theory (DFT) together with combinatorial chemistry methodology to predict key properties including phase stability, apparent bulk coefficient of thermal expansion (ABCTE), intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity, and temperature-dependent elastic constants. Specifically, this project focuses on β-RE2Si2O7 (RE=Yb, Y, Er, Lu, La, Ce,) with β-Yb2Si2O7 and β-Y2Si2O7 as the benchmark. Our DFT calculations predict that Er1/4Lu1/4Y3/4Yb3/4Si2O7 and Er1/2Lu1/2Y1/2Yb1/2Si2O7 have ultralow lattice thermal conductivity < 0.23 W/m/K at 1500 K and a good match of average ABCTE (5.1 - 5.2×10-6 K-1) with SiC. Owing to the low cost and abundant supply of Ce and La, the A- and G-La2Si2O7/Ce2Si2O7 disilicates are also studied. Our study shows that G-phase Ce2Si2O7 has an ultralow thermal conductivity (0.26 W/m/K at 1500 K) and the apparent bulk ABCTE (≈6.9×10-6 K-1) slightly higher than SiC, demonstrating great potential as low-cost high-performance T/EBC. However, La2Si2O7 and Ce2Si2O7 undergo an A-phase to G-phase polymorphic transition at around 1470 K.

environmental barrier coatings↗
NASA NTRS1993

More sense for less cents: Cost effective servicing of remote sensing satellites

This paper addresses the design considerations for Earth observation spacecraft bus and payload subsystems such that cost-effective spacecraft maintainability is enhanced through optimized reliability and the application of robotic on-orbit support. In the past, for most satellites, maintainability has been associated with the clever application of telemetry reconfiguration and the use of redundant systems as necessary over the life cycle of the spacecraft. This presentation addresses the opportunities and challenges of leveraging the extensive work already accomplished in the development of on-orbit servicing technologies.

Lee, Jeannie↗
NASA NTRS1993

A cost-effective methodology for the design of massively-parallel VLSI functional units

In this paper we propose a generalized methodology for the design of cost-effective massively-parallel VLSI Functional Units. This methodology is based on a technique of generating and reducing a massive bit-array on the mask-programmable PAcube VLSI array. This methodology unifies (maintains identical data flow and control) the execution of complex arithmetic functions on PAcube arrays. It is highly regular, expandable and uniform with respect to problem-size and wordlength, thereby reducing the communication complexity. The memory-functional unit interface is regular and expandable. Using this technique functional units of dedicated processors can be mask-programmed on the naked PAcube arrays, reducing the turn-around time. The production cost of such dedicated processors can be drastically reduced since the naked PAcube arrays can be mass-produced. Analysis of the the performance of functional units designed by our method yields promising results.

Venkateswaran, N.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Predicting cost-effective carbon fiber precursors: Unraveling the functionalities of oxygen and nitrogen-containing groups during carbonization from ReaxFF simulations

Blends of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and poly(p-phenylene-2,6-benzobisoxazole) (PBO) as precursors may offer an opportunity to reduce the cost of carbon fiber (CF) production. The all-carbon ring formations and volatile gas production during the heating and carbonization for 9 PAN/PBO blend precursors with varying mixing ratios are studied via the ReaxFF reactive molecular dynamics simulations. Evolutions of oxygen-containing (O-containing) and nitrogen-containing (N-containing) groups are detailed, in order to reveal the reaction mechanisms of the O and N-based CF precursors. Particularly, the O-containing groups are identified to be more efficient for initiating the carbonization, whereas N-containing groups are far longer retained in the graphitic materials and play a key role in capturing and converting carbon radical species into the graphitic networks. Additionally, the PAN/PBO blend precursor with a mole ratio of 1:1 is compared with the pre-oxidized PAN, PAN, and PBO. As a result, it is found that the PAN/PBO blends could be a promising alternative for the cost-effective PAN-based CF precursors, since they can decrease the cost of the CF production by means of: (a) eliminating the pre-oxidation process, (b) having considerable all-carbon ring formations within a short period, and (c) having a relatively fast conversion rate, reaching 95% 6-membered carbon ring formation.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1975

An analysis of the accuracy and cost-effectiveness of a cropland inventory utilizing remote sensing techniques

Cropland inventories utilizing high altitude and Landsat imagery were conducted in Kern County, California. It was found that in terms of the overall mean relative and absolute inventory accuracies, a Landsat multidate analysis yielded the most optimum results, i.e., 98% accuracy. The 1:125,000 CIR high altitude inventory is a serious alternative which can be very accurate (97% or more) if imagery is available for a specific study area. The operational remote sensing cropland inventories documented in this study are considered cost-effective. When compared to conventional survey costs of $62-66 per 10,000 acres, the Landsat and high-altitude inventories required only 3-5% of this amount, i.e., $1.97-2.98.

Jensen, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Remote sensing images, DEM, and point clouds associated with “Accuracy evaluation of cost-effective 3D reconstruction approaches for hydrobiogeochemical processes in non-perennial stream riverbeds”

This data package is associated with the publication “Accuracy evaluation of cost-effective 3D reconstruction approaches for hydrobiogeochemical processes in non-perennial stream riverbeds” published in Frontiers in Environmental Science, Environmental Informatics and Remote Sensing (Bao et al., 2026; doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2026.1725258). This data package includes the drone photos for a section of Umtanum Creek in Washington, Unted States. The photos were used to reconstruct the 3-dimensional (3D) digital elevation model (DEM) of the riverbed for the investigated stream section. The reconstruction results from four approaches are provided: (1) unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV, colloquially known as drone) imagery-based Structure-from-Motion (SfM), (2) a machine learning-based 3D reconstruction model, Visual Geometry Grounded Deep Structure from Motion (VGGSfM), (3) Visual Geometry Grounded Transformer for long sequence of images (VGGT-Long), and (4) handheld smartphone LiDAR scanning. The ground truth measurements by tripod-mounted optical level kit and ground control points GPS locations for evaluating the accuracy of the four reconstruction approaches are also provided in this data package. A preliminary version of this data package was published in October 2025 at the time of manuscript submission. It was updated in March 2026, at the time of manuscript acceptance, to include additional metadata (this readme, data dictionary, and file level metadata). The data did not change. For details on how to navigate data packages generated by this project, see https://data.ess-dive.lbl.gov/portals/PNNLRiverCorridorSFA/About. In addition to a readme, this data package also includes a file-level metadata (FLMD) file that describes each file and a data dictionary (DD) that describes all column/row headers and variable definitions. This dataset is comprised of (1) 8 folders; (2) the detailed flight configuration html files; (3) field metadata; (4) a readme; (5) a data dictionary; and (6) file-level metadata. The folders “2024_10_18_d01” and “2024_10_18_d02” contain the original drone photos for the two drone flights (d01 and d02) on October 18, 2024. The reconstruction results from each of the approaches are in the folders called “ODM_SfM”, “VGGSfM”, “VGGTLong”, and “LiDAR”. The ground truth measurements are in the folder called “optical_level_kit”. Lastly, results comparing the different approaches are in the folder called “comparisons”. All files are .csv, .html, .jpg, .obj, .txt, and .npy. For information on using the .obj and .npy files, see the readme files within the same folder as the files.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1979

Ion propulsion cost effectivity

Ion propulsion modules employing 8 cm thrusters and 30 cm thrusters were studied for Multimission Modular Spacecraft (MMS) applications. Recurring and non-recurring cost elements were generated for these modules. As a result, ion propulsion cost drivers were identified to be Shuttle charges, solar array, power processing, and thruster costs. Cost effective design approaches included short length module configurations, array power sharing, operation at reduced thruster input power (reduced solar array size), simplified power processing units, and power processor output switching.

Zafran, S.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Breaking the Cost Curve: Applying Lessons Learned from the James Webb Space Telescope Development to Build More Cost-Effective Large Space Telescopes in the Future

This paper looks at the key programmatic and technical drivers of the James Webb Space Telescope and assesses ways to building more cost-effective telescopes in the future. The paper evaluates the top level programmatics for JWST along with the key technical drivers from design through integration and testing. Actual data and metrics from JWST are studied to identify what ultimately drove cost on JWST. Finally, the paper assesses areas where applying lessons learned can reduce costs on future observatories and will provide better insights into critical areas to optimize for cost.

ATLAST↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cost-effective, Thin-film SOFCs for Reliable Power Generation (Final Report)

The project was aimed at developing and demonstrating an advanced solid-oxide fuel cell (SOFC) technology to cost-effectively and reliably generate electricity directly from hydrocarbon fuels (e.g., natural gas and coal-derived syngas) for distributed and central generation applications. The studied technology was built on a planar, porous metal-supported SOFC (MS-SOFC) with a unique thin-film structure having its anode intimately supported on a metal substrate. The porous metal support with graded porosity was fabricated from a low-cost scalable phase-inversion tape casting method. Anode, thin-film electrolyte, and cathode were sequentially deposited on the porous metal substrate using atmospheric plasma spray (APS). In this study, it was shown that the composition of the casting slurry could significantly influence the morphology of the metal support fabricated using the phase-inversion tape-casting method. Increasing the solid loading in the slurry favored the formation and growth of finger-like pores to a point, but the presence of excessive solid loading increased the viscosity of the casting slurry, restraining the growth of finger-like pores. With the increase in the amount of the binder polyethersulfone (PESf) in the slurry, well grown finger-like pores and a thin sponge-like layer were formed. Since the parameters of the APS process have a significant effect on the microstructure of coatings, which in turn affects or determines the SOFC cell performance, a series of metal-supported solid oxide fuel cells with a four-layer cell configuration of 430L/Ni-ScSZ/ScSZ/LSCF have been fabricated by a combination of phase inversion tape casting and APS techniques. Electrochemical testing of the cells fabricated from different deposition APS conditions revealed significant differences in cell performance.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Integration of phage and yeast display platforms: A reliable and cost effective approach for binning of peptides as displayed on-phage

Hundreds of target specific peptides are routinely discovered by peptide display platforms. However, due to the high cost of peptide synthesis only a limited number of peptides are chemically made for further analysis. Here we describe an accurate and cost effective method to bin peptides on-phage based on binding region(s), without any requirement for peptide or protein synthesis. This approach, which integrates phage and yeast display platforms, requires display of target and its alanine variants on yeast. Flow cytometry was used to detect binding of peptides on-phage to the target on yeast. Once hits were identified, they were synthesized to confirm their binding region(s) by HDX (Hydrogen deuterium exchange) and crystallography. Moreover, we have successfully shown that this approach can be implemented as part of a panning process to deplete non-functional peptides. This technique can be applied to any target that can be successfully displayed on yeast; it narrows down the number of peptides requiring synthesis; and its utilization during selection results in enrichment of peptide population against defined binding regions on the target.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Improving the Cost-Effectiveness of Algal CO2 Utilization by Synergistic Integration With Power Plant and Wastewater Treatment Operations

Creating an economic demand for carbon utilization products will require lowering the overall cost of the products to compete within the current market. Photosynthetic uptake of carbon dioxide is an emerging pathway for product development in the animal feed market that globally amounts to over 400 Billion USD and is expected to continue growing. This project aims to continue the development of a process that utilizes carbon dioxide while increasing the cost competitiveness of algae as an animal feed product. The overall goal of the project is to demonstrate an engineering-scale open raceway pond algae cultivation system (180 m2) including integration of technologies that utilize coal-fired power plant CO2 and wastewater nutrient inputs. The system is designed to maximize the cost-effectiveness and environmental benefits of algal biomass production for commodity animal feed.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

National Cost-Effectiveness of the Residential Provisions of the 2018 IECC

As part of the U.S. Department of Energy Building Energy Codes Program's support for the development and implementation of model building energy codes and standards for new residential buildings, DOE analyzes each new edition of the International Energy Conservation Code to assess its cost effectiveness relative to the prior edition. This report estimates the incremental cost to comply with the 2018 IECC relative to the 2015 IECC, the associated energy savings, and the life-cycle cost savings.

2018 iecc↗
DOE OSTI2023

Scalable and Cost-Effective Roll-To-Roll Additive Manufacturing of Highly Durable and Thermal Insulating Silica-Carbon Aerogel (Final Report)

The research objective of this project is to demonstrate low cost silica aerogel insulation materials with high R-value and low installed price of R7.5/inch, and $0.94/ft2-inch, respectively, which can meet the cost and performance targets of the Department of Energy’s 2030 Building Technology Office Emerging Technologies program. The main tasks of this project include the following three topics: a) Low-cost silica gel precursor: Repeat silica sol gel chemical approach which is reproducible and scalable. Also explore suitability of water-glass on silica aerogel system to further control cost efficiency. In addition, our aim is to synthesize hollow silica using low-cost precursors. Sodium silicate (water glass) was chosen as our silica source because of its availability and low price compared to the other precursors; b) In situ ambient pressure-drying (APD) and surface modification: confirm and improve silica aerogel under cost-effective continuous ambient pressure-drying and investigate silica aerogel performance under time and temperature dependence; c) Roll-to-Roll (R2R) manufacturing with the targeted structure, thermal and mechanical characteristics: evaluate 3D printing with silica aerogel precursor to modify aerogel formation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1979

Cost-effective technology advancement directions for electric propulsion transportation systems in earth-orbital missions

The directions that electric propulsion technology should take to meet the primary propulsion requirements for earth-orbital missions in the most cost effective manner are determined. The mission set requirements, state of the art electric propulsion technology and the baseline system characterized by it, adequacy of the baseline system to meet the mission set requirements, cost optimum electric propulsion system characteristics for the mission set, and sensitivities of mission costs and design points to system level electric propulsion parameters are discussed. The impact on overall costs than specific masses or costs of propulsion and power systems is evaluated.

Regetz, J. D., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1995

Evaluating the cost effectiveness of environmental projects: Case studies in aerospace and defense

Using the replacement technology of high pressure waterjet decoating systems as an example, a simple methodology is presented for developing a cost effectiveness model. The model uses a four-step process to formulate an economic justification designed for presentation to decision makers as an assessment of the value of the replacement technology over conventional methods. Three case studies from major U.S. and international airlines are used to illustrate the methodology and resulting model. Tax and depreciation impacts are also presented as potential additions to the model.

Shunk, James F.↗