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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 NTRS2016

Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program, Version 6.0

The Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP) is a general purpose computer program for analyzing steady state and time-dependent flow rates, pressures, temperatures, and concentrations in a complex flow network. The program is capable of modeling real fluids with phase changes, compressibility, mixture thermodynamics, conjugate heat transfer between solid and fluid, fluid transients, pumps, compressors, and external body forces such as gravity and centrifugal. The thermofluid system to be analyzed is discretized into nodes, branches, and conductors. The scalar properties such as pressure, temperature, and concentrations are calculated at nodes. Mass flow rates and heat transfer rates are computed in branches and conductors. The graphical user interface allows users to build their models using the 'point, drag, and click' method; the users can also run their models and post-process the results in the same environment. Two thermodynamic property programs (GASP/WASP and GASPAK) provide required thermodynamic and thermophysical properties for 36 fluids: helium, methane, neon, nitrogen, carbon monoxide, oxygen, argon, carbon dioxide, fluorine, hydrogen, parahydrogen, water, kerosene (RP-1), isobutene, butane, deuterium, ethane, ethylene, hydrogen sulfide, krypton, propane, xenon, R-11, R-12, R-22, R-32, R-123, R-124, R-125, R-134A, R-152A, nitrogen trifluoride, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and air. The program also provides the options of using any incompressible fluid with constant density and viscosity or ideal gas. The users can also supply property tables for fluids that are not in the library. Twenty-four different resistance/source options are provided for modeling momentum sources or sinks in the branches. These options include pipe flow, flow through a restriction, noncircular duct, pipe flow with entrance and/or exit losses, thin sharp orifice, thick orifice, square edge reduction, square edge expansion, rotating annular duct, rotating radial duct, labyrinth seal, parallel plates, common fittings and valves, pump characteristics, pump power, valve with a given loss coefficient, Joule-Thompson device, control valve, heat exchanger core, parallel tube, and compressible orifice. The program has the provision of including additional resistance options through User Subroutines. GFSSP employs a finite volume formulation of mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations in conjunction with the thermodynamic equations of state for real fluids as well as energy conservation equations for the solid. The system of equations describing the fluid network is solved by a hybrid numerical method that is a combination of the Newton-Raphson and successive substitution methods. The application and verification of the code has been demonstrated through 30 example problems.

Majumdar, A. K.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Inclusive electron scattering in the resonance region off a hydrogen target with CLAS12

Inclusive electron scattering cross sections off a hydrogen target at a beam energy of 10.6 GeV have been measured with data collected from the CLAS12 spectrometer at Jefferson Laboratory. These first absolute cross sections from CLAS12 cover a wide kinematic area in invariant mass 𝑊 of the final state hadrons from the pion threshold up to 2.5 GeV for each bin in virtual photon four-momentum transfer squared 𝑄 2 from 2.55 to 10.4GeV 2 owing to the large scattering angle acceptance of the CLAS12 detector. Comparison of the cross sections with the resonant contributions computed from the CLAS results on the nucleon resonance electroexcitation amplitudes has demonstrated a promising opportunity to extend the information on their 𝑄 2 evolution up to 10 GeV 2 . Together these results from CLAS and CLAS12 offer good prospects for probing the nucleon parton distributions at large fractional parton momenta 𝑥 for 𝑊<2.5 GeV, while covering the range of distances where the transition from the strongly coupled to the perturbative regimes is expected.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

The Surprising Dynamics of the McLafferty Rearrangement

We report femtosecond time-resolved measurements of the McLafferty rearrange- ment following the strong-field tunnel ionization of 2-pentanone, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 4,4- dimethyl-2-pentanone. The pump–probe-dependent yields of the McLafferty product ion are fit to a biexponential function with fast (~100 fs) and slow (~10 ps) time constants, the latter of which is faster for the latter two compounds. Following nearly instantaneous ionization, the fast time scale is associated with rotation of the molecule to a six-membered cyclic intermediate that facilitates transfer of the γ-hydrogen, while the ~50–100 times longer time scale is associated with a π-bond rearrangement and bond cleavage between the α- and β-carbons to produce the enol cation. Furthermore, these experimental measurements are supported by ab initio molecular dynamics trajectories, which further confirm the time scale of this important stepwise reaction in mass spectrometry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2009

Study of Electro-Cyclonic Filtration and Pneumatic Transfer of Lunar Regolith Simulants under 1/6-g and 1-g Gravity Conditions

NASA has built a prototype oxygen production plant to process the lunar regolith using the hydrogen reduction chemical process. This plant is known as "ROxygen - making oxygen from moon rocks". The ROxygen regolith transfer team has identified the flow and transfer characteristics of lunar regolith simulant to be a concern for lunar oxygen production efforts. It is important to ISRU lunar exploration efforts to develop hardware designs that can demonstrate the ability to flow and transfer a given mass of regolith simulant to a desired vertical height under lunar gravity conditions in order to introduce it into a reactor. We will present results obtained under both 1/6-g and 1-g gravity conditions for a system that can pneumatically convey 16.5 kg of lunar regolith simulant (NU-LHT-2M, Mauna Kea Tephra, and JSC-1A) from a flat-bottom supply hopper to a simulated ISRU reactor (dual-chambered receiving hopper) where the granular material is separated from the convey gas (air) using a series of cyclone separators, one of which is an electrically enhanced cyclone separator (electrocyclone). The results of our study include (1) the mass flow rate as a function of input air pressure for lunar regolith simulants that are conveyed pneumatically as a dusty gas in a vertical direction against gravity under lunar gravity conditions (for NU-LHT-2M and Mauna Kea Tephra), and under earth gravity conditions (for NU-LHT-2M, Mauna Kea Tephra and JSC-1A), and (2) the efficiency of the cyclone/electrocyclone filtration system in separating the convey gas (air) from the granular particulates as a function of particle size.

Mantovani, James G.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Radiative transfer in the dynamic atmospheres of long period variable stars

An iterative procedure is presented for determining the thermal structure and dynamics of Mira-type stellar atmospheres, where the non-LTE radiative transfer code PANDORA is used in conjunction with the Bowen hydrodynamics code of Iowa State University. Preliminary results are reported for an atmospheric model of a pulsating AGB star of 1 solar mass, 240 solar radii, Teff = 3000 K, and a period of 320 days. At the present time, H, H(-), Mg I, and Mg II radiative transfer calculations have been completed and synthetic spectra are shown for H-alpha. The radiative transfer calculations demonstrate that cooling in the innermost shock of the original Bowen model is underestimated due to the omission of various hydrogen transitions. These initial results suggest that the main shock of the Bowen models are too hot and/or too deep.

Luttermoser, Donald G.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Commercialization and Human Settlement of the Moon and Cislunar Space – A Look Ahead at the Possibilities over the Next 50 Years

Over 50 years have passed since the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted in April 1968. In the film, Dr. Heywood Floyd flies to a large artificial gravity space station orbiting Earth aboard a commercial space plane. He then embarks on a commuter flight to the Moon arriving there 25hours later. Today, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the images portrayed in 2001 still remain well beyond our capabilities. This paper examines key technologies and systems (in-situ resource utilization, fission power, advanced chemical and nuclear propulsion),and orbiting infrastructure elements (providing a propellant depot and cargo transfer function),that could be developed by NASA and the private sector in future decades allowing the operational capabilities presented in 2001 to be achieved, albeit on a more spartan scale. Lunar derived propellants (LDPs) will be essential to reducing the launch mass requirements from Earth and developing a reusable lunar transportation system (LTS) that can allow initial outposts to evolve into settlements supporting a variety of commercial activities like in-situ propellant production. Deposits of icy regolith found within permanently shadowed craters at the lunar pole scan supply the feedstock material to produce liquid oxygen (LO2) and hydrogen (LH2) propellan tneeded by surface-based lunar landing vehicles (LLVs) using chemical rocket engines. Along the Moon's nearside equatorial corridor, iron oxide-rich volcanic glass beads from vast pyroclasticdeposits, together with mare regolith, can provide the materials to produce lunar-derived LO2plus other important solar wind implanted (SWI) volatiles, including H2 and helium-3. Mega watt classfission power systems will be essential for providing continuous "24/7" power to LLVs will provide cargo and passenger "orbit-to-surface" access and willalso be used to transport LDP to Space Transportation Nodes (STNs) located in lunar polar(LPO) and equatorial orbits (LLO). Spaced-based, reusable lunar transfer vehicles (LTVs),operating between STNs in low Earth orbit (LEO), LLO, and LPO, and able to refuel with LDPs,can offer unique mission capabilities including short transit time crewed cargo transports. Even acommuter shuttle service similar to that portrayed in 2001 appears possible, allowing 1-way trip times to and from the Moon as short as 24 hours. The performance of LTVs using both RL10B-2chemical rockets, and a variant of the nuclear thermal rocket (NTR), the LO2-Augmented NTR(LANTR), are examined and compared. The bipropellant LANTR engine utilizes its divergent nozzle section as an afterburner into which oxygen is injected and supersonically combusted with reactor-heated hydrogen emerging from the engine's sonic throat. If only 1% of the LDP obtained from icy regolith, volcanic glass, and SWI volatile deposits were available for use in lunar orbit,such a supply could support routine commuter flights to the Moon for many thousands of years!This paper provides a look ahead at what might be possible in the not too distant future,quantifies the operational characteristics of key in-space and surface technologies and systems,and provides conceptual designs for the various architectural elements discussed.

Borowski, Stanley K.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Concept for a lunar He-3 transporter using an in-orbit modified shuttle external tank

A concept is presented for the transport of gaseous He-3 in temperature equilibrium with the liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in a modified lunar shuttle external tank. The concept first describes the internal modifications to accommodate He-3, and then, the external modifications to incorporate a propulsion system and an aerobrake. Estimates of the system masses and an assessment of propulsion requirements show the round trip capability. The concept also includes a description of the lunar orbit servicing and transfer operations.

Butterfield, A. J.↗
NASA NTRS1977

Mining the Apollo and Amor asteroids

Earth-approaching asteroids could provide raw materials for space manufacturing. For certain asteroids the total energy per unit mass for the transfer of asteroidal resources to a manufacturing site in high earth orbit is comparable to that for lunar materials. For logistical reasons the cost may be many times less. Optical studies suggest that these asteroids have compositions corresponding to those of carbonaceous and ordinary chondrites, with some containing large quantities of iron and nickel; other are thought to contain carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen, elements that appear to be lacking on the moon. The prospect that several new candidate asteroids will be discovered over the next few years increases the likelihood that a variety of asteroidal resource materials can be retrieved on low-energy missions.

Oleary, B.↗
NASA NTRS1990

Thermal structure of neutral winds from young stellar objects

The physical processes that control the thermal structure of lightly ionized winds from cool protostars are discussed. Attention is concentrated on the hydrogen gas, and the heating, cooling, and chemical processes that affect the neutral and ionic species of atomic and molecular hydrogen are examined. Warm silicate dust may condense out of the cooling wind and may heat the gas through collisions. Singly ionized sodium atoms, which do not recombine for the mass-loss rates considered, set a lower limit to the ionization fraction in the wind. Magnetic fields, which are presumed to accelerate the wind, couple directly to the ionic component of the gas and transfer momentum and energy to the neutral component through collisions. This process of ambipolar diffusion is found to be the dominant source of heat input to the gas.

Ruden, Steven P.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Commercial and Human Settlement of the Moon and Cislunar Space – A Look Ahead at the Possibilities over the Next 50 Years

Over 50 years have passed since the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey debuted in April 1968. In the film, Dr. Heywood Floyd flies to a large artificial gravity space station orbiting Earth aboard a commercial space plane. He then embarks on a commuter flight to the Moon arriving there 25 hours later. Today, on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, the images portrayed in 2001 still remain well beyond our capabilities. This paper examines key technologies and systems (in-situ resource utilization, fission power, advanced chemical and nuclear propulsion), and orbiting infrastructure elements (providing a propellant depot and cargo transfer function), that could be developed by NASA and the private sector in future decades allowing the operational capabilities presented in 2001 to be achieved, albeit on a more spartan scale. Lunar-derived propellants (LDPs) will be essential to reducing the launch mass requirements from Earth and developing a reusable lunar transportation system (LTS) that can allow initial outposts to evolve into settlements supporting a variety of commercial activities like in-situ propellant production. Deposits of icy regolith found within permanently shadowed craters at the lunar poles can supply the feedstock material to produce liquid oxygen (LO2) and hydrogen (LH2) propellant needed by surface-based lunar landing vehicles (LLVs) using chemical rocket engines. Along the Moon’s nearside equatorial corridor, iron oxide-rich volcanic glass beads from vast pyroclastic deposits, together with mare regolith, can provide the materials to produce lunar-derived LO2 plus other important solar wind implanted (SWI) volatiles, including H2 and helium-3. Megawatt-class fission power systems will be essential for providing continuous “24/7” power to processing plants, evolving human settlements, and other commercial activities that develop on the Moon and in orbit. Reusable LLVs will provide cargo and passenger “orbit-to-surface” access and will also be used to transport LDP to Space Transportation Nodes (STNs) located in lunar polar (LPO) and equatorial orbits (LLO). Spaced-based, reusable lunar transfer vehicles (LTVs), operating between STNs in low Earth orbit (LEO), LLO, and LPO, and able to refuel with LDPs, can offer unique mission capabilities including short transit time crewed cargo transports. Even a commuter shuttle service similar to that portrayed in 2001 appears possible, allowing 1-way trip times to and from the Moon as short as 24 hours. The performance of LTVs using both RL10B-2 chemical rockets, and a variant of the nuclear thermal rocket (NTR), the LO2-Augmented NTR (LANTR), are examined and compared. The bipropellant LANTR engine utilizes its divergent nozzle section as an afterburner into which oxygen is injected and supersonically combusted with reactor-heated hydrogen emerging from the engine’s sonic throat. If only 1% of the LDP obtained from icy regolith, volcanic glass, and SWI volatile deposits were available for use in lunar orbit, such a supply could support routine commuter flights to the Moon for many thousands of years! This paper provides a look ahead at what might be possible in the not too distant future, quantifies the operational characteristics of key in-space and surface technologies and systems, and provides conceptual designs for the various architectural elements discussed.

Borowski, Stanley K.↗
NASA NTRS1971

A general stagnation-point convective heating equation for arbitrary gas mixtures

The stagnation-point convective heat transfer to an axisymmetric blunt body for arbitrary gases in chemical equilibrium was investigated. The gases considered were base gases of nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, helium, neon, argon, carbon dioxide, ammonia, and methane and 22 gas mixtures composed of the base gases. Enthalpies ranged from 2.3 to 116.2 MJ/kg, pressures ranged from 0.001 to 100 atmospheres, and the wall temperatures were 300 and 1111 K. A general equation for the stagnation-point convective heat transfer in base gases and gas mixtures was derived and is a function of the mass fraction, the molecular weight, and a transport parameter of the base gases. The relation compares well with present boundary-layer computer results and with other analytical and experimental results. In addition, the analysis verified that the convective heat transfer in gas mixtures can be determined from a summation relation involving the heat transfer coefficients of the base gases. The basic technique developed for the prediction of stagnation-point convective heating to an axisymmetric blunt body could be applied to other heat transfer problems.

Sutton, K.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Technology Demonstration Missions

Technology Demonstration Missions (TDM) is in its third year of execution, being initiated in 2010 and baselined in January of 2012. There are 11 projects that NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has contributed to or led: (1) Evolvable Cryogenics (eCryo): Cyrogenic Propellant Storage and Transfer Engineering Development Unit (EDU), a proof of manufacturability effort, used to enhance knowledge and technology related to handling cryogenic propellants, specifically liquid hydrogen. (2) Composites for Exploration Upper Stage (CEUS): Design, build, test, and address flight certification of a large composite shell suitable for the second stage of the Space Launch System (SLS). (3) Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC): Spaceflight to demo small, low-mass atomic clock that can provide unprecedented stability for deep space navigation. (4) Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM): Demo of high-performance, green propellant propulsion system suitable for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA)-class spacecraft. (5) Human Exploration Telerobotics (HET): Demonstrating how telerobotics, remote control of a variety of robotic systems, can take routine, highly repetitive, dangerous or long-duration tasks out of human hands. (6) Laser Communication Relay Demo (LCRD): Demo to advance optical communications technology toward infusion into deep space and near Earth operational systems, while growing the capabilities of industry sources. (7) Low Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD): Demo new supersonic inflatable decelerator and parachute technologies to enable Mars landings of larger payloads with greater precision at a wider range of altitudes. (8) Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Entry Descent & Landing Instrumentation (MEDLI): Demo of embedded sensors embedded in the MSL heat shield, designed to record the heat and atmospheric pressure experienced during the spacecraft's high-speed, hot entry in the Martian atmosphere. (9) Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP): 50-kW class spacecraft that uses flexible blanket solar arrays for power generation and an electric propulsion system that delivers payload from low-Earth orbit to higher orbits. (10) Solar Sail Demonstration (SSD): Demo to validate sail deployment techniques for solar sails that are propelled by the pressure of sunlight. (11) Terrestrial HIAD Orbit Reentry (THOR): Demo of a 3.7-m Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) entry vehicle to test second generation aerothermal performance and modeling.

McDougal, John↗
NASA NTRS2019

Oxidation of the Mantle Wedge by H+ in Aqueous Fluids: A New Interdisciplinary Approach

The observation that arc magmas are the most oxidized on Earth have led petrologists to question whether the subduction process might cause oxidation of the sub-arc mantle source. A strong correlation between the input of slab-derived aqueous fluid and Fe3(+)/ΣFe in arc magmas has led to the hypothesis that slab fluids may facilitiate the transfer of redox potential from oxidized slab material to mantle wedge and subsequently to primary arc melts. Despite this intuitive link, identifying an efficient and ubiquitous chemical process to transfer oxidation state in slab fluids has been challenging. Pure H2O alone is an inefficient oxidizer in the mantle, necessitating another oxidant within the fluid. Commonly invoked components include S or C, which are likely heterogeneously distributed within subducting slabs, and direct transfer of Fe3(+), which is only possible in very solute-rich fluids. Here we present a new mechanism to explain the oxidation of the sub-arc mantle by slab-derived aqueous fluid, wherein dissolved H(+)(aq) is reduced to H2(aq). Redox equilibrium is satisfied by electron transfer from Fe2(+)(s), which is oxidized in the rock to Fe3(+)(s) in the reaction: 2Fe2(+)(s) + 2H(+)(aq) = 2Fe3(+)(s) + H2(aq). This simple reaction was previously overlooked due to the assumption that all H must be bound by H2O molecules (i.e., no dissolved H), applicable to a pure H2O fluid, but not one with a solute load as addressed here. The application of thermodynamic modeling tools from aqueous geochemistry (DEW, EQ3/6) to mantle petrology predicts this reaction between mantle rock and slab fluid with our own experimentally constrained chemistry and fO2 (QFM+2). Mass transfer model results show an increase in Fe3(+)/ΣFe in mantle rock from MORB- like (0.15) to arc-like (0.2–0.3) values at reasonable fluid fluxes, co-incident with increasing H2 activity in the fluid. This can explain the stark correlation between slab fluid input into the mantle wedge and the observed fO2 of arc magmas. Moreover, it does not require diffusion of hydrogen out of the system. Instead, H2 remains dissolved in fluid in equilibrium with oxidized mantle rock.

Iacovino, Kayla↗
DOE OSTI2023

Light-driven hydrogen evolution via a novel pincer/no pincer mechanism including a possible concerted proton electron transfer

The road to efficient molecular catalysts for artificial photosynthesis requires a great deal of basic research to address the challenges of anthropogenic global warming. An unexpected result of such research is a novel pincer/no pincer mechanism discovered for the DFT-calculated catalytic cycle of PNP-C2 complexes. Structural parameters from theoretical modeling are supported by single crystal X-ray data for the corresponding complexes. Using the examples of [M(II)Cl(PNP-C2-R)] + (M = Pd 2+ , Ni 2+ ; R = CH 3 , H; PNP-C2 = N,N-bis{(di(2-methoxy-phenyl)phosphanyl)ethyl}-N-alkylamine) this pincer/no pincer mechanism is supported by differential pulse voltammetric, cyclic voltammetric, UV-Vis spectroscopic (combined with voltammetry) and 31 P nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic studies. The efficiency of hydrogen evolution during artificial photosynthesis depends significantly on the ratio of photosensitiser and water reduction catalysts. At first sight, the results from irradiation experiments (gas chromatography and mass spectrometry) seem obvious, but show a considerable impact of secondary and tertiary amines within the pincer structure. The best result obtained for the palladium pincer complex was with a secondary amine as a proton relay, delivering a turnover number of 2237 after only 2.5 hours. In contrast the analogous water reduction catalyst with a methylated (tertiary) amine instead of a secondary one gives only 972 turnovers under the same experimental conditions, over the same time. For all photocatalytic measurements the amount of hydrogen is approximately 2.5-times higher when a secondary amine is used as the proton relay. The influences of these different amines on the activity of water reduction catalysts during irradiation experiments in H 2 O or D 2 O lead to evidence of a kinetic isotope effect, supporting a possible concerted proton electron transfer. DFT calculations of reaction enthalpies, activation energies and intrinsic reaction coordinates of the catalytic cycle support the high efficiency of the presented catalysts. In particular, results from secondary amines suggest new candidates as examples of the rarely known concerted proton electron transfer.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Synthetic observables for electron-capture supernovae and low-mass core collapse supernovae

Stars in the mass range from 8 M ⊙ to 10 M⊙ are expected to produce one of two types of supernovae (SNe), either electron-capture supernovae (ECSNe) or core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), depending on their previous evolution. Either of the associated progenitors retain extended and massive hydrogen-rich envelopes and the observables of these SNe are, therefore, expected to be similar. In this study, we explore the differences in these two types of SNe. Specifically, we investigate three different progenitor models: a solar-metallicity ECSN progenitor with an initial mass of 8.8 M ⊙ , a zero-metallicity progenitor with 9.6 M ⊙ , and a solar-metallicity progenitor with 9 M ⊙ , carrying out radiative transfer simulations for these progenitors. Here, we present the resulting light curves for these models. The models exhibit very low photospheric velocity variations of about 2000 km s -1 ; therefore, this may serve as a convenient indicator of low-mass SNe. The ECSN has very unique light curves in broad-bands, especially the U band, and does not resemble any currently observed SN. This ECSN progenitor being part of a binary will lose its envelope for which reason the light curve becomes short and undetectable. The SN from the 9.6 M ⊙ progenitor exhibits also quite an unusual light curve, explained by the absence of metals in the initial composition. The artificially iron-polluted 9.6 M ⊙ model demonstrates light curves closer to normal SNe IIP. The SN from the 9 M ⊙ progenitor remains the best candidate for so-called low-luminosity SNe IIP like SN 1999br and SN 2005cs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1991

Non-LTE analysis of the Ofpe/WN9 star HDE 269227 (R84)

The paper presents the results of a spectral analysis of the Ofpe/WN9 star HD 269227 (R84), which assumes a spherically expanding atmosphere to find solutions for equations of radiative transfer. The spectra of hydrogen and helium were predicted with a non-LTE model. Six stellar parameters were determined for R84. The shape of the velocity law is empirically found, since it can be probed from the terminal velocity of the wind. The six stellar parameters are further employed in a hydrodynamic model where stellar wind is assumed to be directed by radiation pressure, duplicating the mass-loss rate and the terminal wind velocity. The velocity laws found by computation and analysis are found to agree, supporting the theory of radiation-driven stellar wind. R84 is surmised to be a post-red supergiant which lost half of its initial mass, possibly during the red-supergiant phase. This mass loss is also suggested by its spectroscopic similarity to S Doradus.

Schmutz, Werner↗
DOE OSTI2020

Tritium Transport Phenomena in Molten-Salt Reactors

In this work, we review phenomena relevant to tritium transport in molten-salt reactors, which produce tritium from lithium and beryllium salts at significantly higher levels than other reactor types. Modeling of such phenomena began following MSRE operations, and these early models attempted to predict measured tritium distributions in the MSRE, accounting for turbulent mass-transport processes (using established heat transfer correlations), permeation through a variety of metal structures such as heat exchanger tubes, and transport to and from bubbles introduced into the salt by gas sparging. The models reasonably reproduced the MSRE data, but did so best when the permeability of structures was reduced by about a factor of 1,000. This issue does not appear to have been conclusively resolved, and all of the more recent attempts to model tritium transport in molten salts appear to make use of the same methodology. MSRE remains, however, essentially our only source of integral tritium transport data relevant to MSRs. Here, we generalize the MSRE approach to permeation in order to include potential rate-limiting effects at interfaces, as well the effects of added hydrogen. Appropriately non-dimensionalized, this system of equations identifies two dimensionless numbers whose relative values clearly delineate the conditions under which mass transport, surface effects, permeation, and hydrogen swamping are expected to become rate-limiting. We also describe the preliminary conceptual design of a forced convection FLiBe loop, into which tritium would be introduced for the purpose of providing validation data for such a model. The primary purpose of this is to investigate the coupled transport phenomena described above and identify those that are rate-limiting in MSRs. Additional test section configurations are described that would address other transport phenomena relevant to MSRs, including bubbly flows and graphite interactions.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS2010

Dual Use of Packaging on the Moon: Logistics-2-Living

This paper describes a modular packaging system for logistics that can be reconfigured into internal outfitting for a lunar outpost, including desks, chairs, partitions, cabinets, and radiation shielding. Logistics include clothes, equipment, food, and other consumables needed to sustain the crew for the duration of the mission. A significant mass penalty is required for the packaging and handling of logistics for re-supply of short to long-term space missions that must be brought out of the gravity well on a launch vehicle. Once the supplies have been exhausted, the packaging material is typically of no further use and is discarded. If a scheme can be developed that reuses the logistics packaging, the mass penalty can be reduced. In this research, a modular packaging system has been devised as a kit-of-parts that can be used for both handling logistics supplies, and then reconfigured into desks, chairs, partitions, cabinets, and radiation shielding. The system is derived from a standard International Space Station (ISS)-type Cargo Transfer Bag (CTB), using soft, unfoldable box-like containers with stiff metal inserts. The empty hydrogen-impregnated CTBs can be used as-is for cabinets, opened up for use as partitions, or draped over the habitat as layers of radiation shielding. Stiff metal inserts can be reconfigured into desks and other useful outfitting.

recycle and reuse↗