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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 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1978

Characterization of a swept-strut hydrogen fuel-injector for scramjet applications

Results of an experimental investigation of a swept-strut hydrogen fuel-injector simulating the center strut of a three strut scramjet module at Mach 6 flight conditions are presented. Detailed wall pressure distributions from over 100 separate tests with overall fuel flow from 0.1 to 1.3 times stoichiometric and test gas stagnation temperature from 1100 to 2400 K were recorded. The distance for pressure rise from the point of injection was found to increase with increasing test stagnation temperature. This trend indicates that chemical kinetics in the immediate region of perpendicular injection are not likely to be the mechanism controlling the onset of pressure rise. A fluid dynamic mechanism is suggested involving separation of the boundary layer downstream of injection which is forced upstream from the trailing edge by pressure rise due to combustion occurring in the base region of the strut. The results obtained indicate that the swept-strut fuel-injector concept can be adapted to a wide range of flight conditions by varying the amount of perpendicular fuel injection.

Northam, G. B.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Activities Overview

Fuel cell and hydrogen activities overview at NASA GRC will be presented to Robinson Research Institute. The collaborations with the institute on hydrogen aircraft project will be discussed.

fuel cell↗
NASA NTRS1993

Flow of Supercritical Hydrogen in a Uniformly Heated Circular Tube

Turbulent flow of supercritical hydrogen through a uniformly heated circular tube has been investigated using numerical methods, for the range of 4 x 10(exp 5) less than Re less than 3 x 10(exp 6), 5 less than or equal to q(sub W) less than or equal to 10 MW/sq m, 30 less than or equal to T(sub in) less than or equal to 90 K, and 5 less than or equal to P(sub in) less than or equal to 15 MPa. The purpose is to validate a turbulence model and calculation method for the design of active cooling systems of hydrogen-fueled hypersonic aircraft, where the hydrogen fuel a used as coolant. The PHOENICS software package was used for the computations, which required special provision for evaluation of the thermophysical properties of the supercritical hydrogen, and a low Reynolds number form of the k-epsilon turbulence model. Pressure drop and heat transfer data were compared with experiment and existing correlations and good agreement was demonstrated. For the pressure range considered here a "thermal spike" was observed and shown to be due to the secondary peak in specific heat, rather than the primary peak.

Youn, B.↗
NASA NTRS1933

Engine performance with a hydrogenated safety fuel

This report presents the results of an investigation to determine the engine performance obtained with a hydrogenated safety fuel developed to eliminate fire hazard. The tests were made on a single-cylinder universal test engine at compression ratios of 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0. Most of the tests were made with a fuel-injection system, although one set of runs was made with a carburetor when using gasoline to establish comparative performance. The tests show that the b.m.e.p. obtained with safety fuel when using a fuel-injection system is slightly higher than that obtained with gasoline when using a carburetor, although the fuel consumption with safety fuel is higher. When the fuel-injection system is used with each fuel and with normal engine temperatures the b.m.e.p. with safety fuel is from 2 to 4 percent lower than with gasoline and the fuel consumption about 25 to 30 percent higher. However, a few tests at an engine coolant temperature of 250 F have shown a specific fuel consumption approximating that obtained with gasoline with only a slight reduction in power. The idling of the test engine was satisfactory with the safety fuel. Starting was difficult with a cold engine but could be readily accomplished when the jacket water was hot. It is believed that the use of the safety fuel would practically eliminate crash fires.

Schey, Oscar W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermochemical processes for CO 2 hydrogenation to fuels and chemicals: Challenges and opportunities

This manuscript discusses the potential use of CO 2 as a carbon and oxygen carrier to return it to the carbon life cycle in the form of fuels or chemicals via thermochemical catalytic pathways. Theoretically, CO 2 hydrogenation can form a variety of fuels and chemicals. Practically, however, the selectivity, conversion, operating range, and kinetic limitations and operational cost determine the end product. Because of their high value and versatility as a chemical or fuel, small olefins (i.e., C 2 H 4 ) and methanol are often considered as target species. Whether alcohol or olefin formation, CH 4 and CO are the nature’s primary choices of CO 2 conversion. They can be formed over a wide operating temperature, pressure, and CO 2 :H 2 ratios. They are often competitive carbon species in olefin or methanol formation steps. Although they are less valuable as end products, they can be used as intermediate species. Secondary processes of CO and CH 4 to form chemicals and fuels can increase the overall CO 2 hydrogenation yield. Independent of the choice of end product, CO 2 hydrogenation requires hydrogen. Pure hydrogen derived mostly from fossil fuels adds to the overall process cost and also increases the CO 2 emissions. Hydrogen produced from water electrolysis is a renewable green pathway but is limited by the process efficiency and cost. As an alternative to pure hydrogen, low-value, small chain paraffins are suggested as the hydrogen carriers. Carbon dioxide–assisted oxidative dehydrogenation of paraffins to olefins process is a direct pathway to olefin formation. The paper discusses these potential pathways for CO 2 utilization based on theoretical analysis and recent advances in academia and industry.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Characteristic of cryogenic hydrogen flames from high-aspect ratio nozzles

Unintentional leaks at hydrogen fueling stations have the potential to form hydrogen jet flames, which pose a risk to people and infrastructure. The heat flux from these jet flames are often used to develop separation distances between hydrogen components and buildings, lot-lines, etc. The heat flux and visible flame length is well understood for releases from round nozzles, but real unintended leaks would be expected to be from higher aspect-ratio cracks. Here, we measured the visible flame length and heat-flux characteristics of cryogenic hydrogen flames from high-aspect ratio nozzles. Heat flux measurements from 5 radiometers were used to assess the single-point vs the multi-point methods for interpretation of heat flux sensor data, finding the axial distance of the sensor for a single-point heat flux measurement to be important. We compare the flame length and heat flux data to flames of both cryogenic and compressed hydrogen from round nozzles. The aspect ratio of the release does not affect the flame length or heat flux significantly, for a given mass flow under the range of conditions studied. The engineering correlations presented in this work enable the prediction of flame length and heat flux which can be used to assess risk at hydrogen fueling stations with liquid hydrogen and develop science-based separation distances for these stations.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS2010

Advancements in Dual-Pump Broadband CARS for Supersonic Combustion Measurements

Space- and time-resolved measurements of temperature and species mole fractions of nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen were obtained with a dual-pump coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) system in hydrogen-fueled supersonic combustion free jet flows. These measurements were taken to provide time-resolved fluid properties of turbulent supersonic combustion for use in the creation and verification of computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models. CFD models of turbulent supersonic combustion flow currently facilitate the design of air-breathing supersonic combustion ramjet (scramjet) engines. Measurements were made in supersonic axi-symmetric free jets of two scales. First, the measurement system was tested in a laboratory environment using a laboratory-scale burner (approx.10 mm at nozzle exit). The flow structures of the laboratory-burner were too small to be resolved with the CARS measurements volume, but the composition and temperature of the jet allowed the performance of the system to be evaluated. Subsequently, the system was tested in a burner that was approximately 6 times larger, whose length scales are better resolved by the CARS measurement volume. During both these measurements, weaknesses of the CARS system, such as sensitivity to vibrations and beam steering and inability to measure temperature or species concentrations in hydrogen fuel injection regions were indentified. Solutions were then implemented in improved CARS systems. One of these improved systems is a dual-pump broadband CARS technique called, Width Increased Dual-pump Enhanced CARS (WIDECARS). The two lowest rotational energy levels of hydrogen detectable by WIDECARS are H2 S(3) and H2 S(4). The detection of these lines gives the system the capability to measure temperature and species concentrations in regions of the flow containing pure hydrogen fuel at room temperature. WIDECARS is also designed for measurements of all the major species (except water) in supersonic combustion flows fueled with hydrogen and hydrogen/ethylene mixtures (N2, O2, H2, C2H4, CO, and CO2). This instrument can characterize supersonic combustion fueled with surrogate fuel mixtures of hydrogen and ethylene. This information can lead to a better understanding of the chemistry and performance of supersonic combustion fueled with cracked jet propulsion (JP)-type fuel.

Tedder, Sarah Augusta Umberger↗
NASA NTRS1985

Combustion gas properties. Part 3: Hydrogen gas fuel and dry air

A series of computations has been made to produce the equilibrium temperature and gas composition for hydrogen gas fuel and dry air. The computed tables and figures provide combustion gas property data for pressures from 0.5 to 50 atmospheres and equivalence ratios from 0 to 2.0. Only sample tables and figures are provided in this report.

Wear, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS2004

High Power Density Motors

With the growing concerns of global warming, the need for pollution-free vehicles is ever increasing. Pollution-free flight is one of NASA's goals for the 21" Century. , One method of approaching that goal is hydrogen-fueled aircraft that use fuel cells or turbo- generators to develop electric power that can drive electric motors that turn the aircraft's propulsive fans or propellers. Hydrogen fuel would likely be carried as a liquid, stored in tanks at its boiling point of 20.5 K (-422.5 F). Conventional electric motors, however, are far too heavy (for a given horsepower) to use on aircraft. Fortunately the liquid hydrogen fuel can provide essentially free refrigeration that can be used to cool the windings of motors before the hydrogen is used for fuel. Either High Temperature Superconductors (HTS) or high purity metals such as copper or aluminum may be used in the motor windings. Superconductors have essentially zero electrical resistance to steady current. The electrical resistance of high purity aluminum or copper near liquid hydrogen temperature can be l/lOO* or less of the room temperature resistance. These conductors could provide higher motor efficiency than normal room-temperature motors achieve. But much more importantly, these conductors can carry ten to a hundred times more current than copper conductors do in normal motors operating at room temperature. This is a consequence of the low electrical resistance and of good heat transfer coefficients in boiling LH2. Thus the conductors can produce higher magnetic field strengths and consequently higher motor torque and power. Designs, analysis and actual cryogenic motor tests show that such cryogenic motors could produce three or more times as much power per unit weight as turbine engines can, whereas conventional motors produce only 1/5 as much power per weight as turbine engines. This summer work has been done with Litz wire to maximize the current density. The current is limited by the amount of heat it generates. By increasing the heat transfer out of the wire, the wires can carry a larger current and therefore produce more force. This was done by increasing the surface area of the wire to allow more coolant to flow over it. Litz wire was used because it can carry high frequency current. It also can be deformed into configurations that would increase the surface area. The best configuration was determined by heat transfer and force plots that were generated using Maxwell 2D. Future work will be done by testing and measuring the thrust force produced by the wires in a magnetic field.

Kascak, Daniel J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hydrogen and Electric Charging Infrastructure for Heavy-Duty Trucks: A Nationally Scalable Megaregion Assessment

Decarbonizing regional and long-haul freight is challenging due to the limitations of battery-electric commercial vehicles and infrastructure constraints. Hydrogen fuel cell medium- and heavy-duty vehicles (MHDVs) offer a viable alternative, aligning with the decarbonization goals of the Department of Energy and commercial entities. Historically, alternative fuels like compressed natural gas and liquefied propane gas have faced slow adoption due to barriers like infrastructure availability. To avoid similar issues, effective planning and deploying zero-emission hydrogen fueling infrastructure is crucial. This research develops deployment plans for affordable, accessible, and sustainable hydrogen refueling stations, supporting stakeholders in the decarbonized commercial vehicle freight system. It aims to benefit underserved and rural energy-stressed communities by improving air quality, reducing noise pollution, and enhancing energy resiliency. This research also provides a blueprint for replacing diesel in over-the-road Class 8 freight truck applications with hydrogen fueling solutions. The study focuses on the Texas Triangle Megaregion (I-45, I-35, and I-10), the I-10 corridor between San Antonio, TX, and Los Angeles, CA, and the I-5/CA-99 corridors between Los Angeles, CA, and San Francisco, CA. This area represents a significant portion of U.S. heavy-duty freight movement, carrying ~8.5% of the national freight volume. Using the OR-AGENT (Optimal Regional Architecture Generation for Efficient National Transport) modeling framework, the study conducts an advanced assessment of commercial vehicles, road and freight networks, and energy systems. The framework integrates data on freight mobility, traffic, weather, and energy pathways to deliver a region-specific, optimized vehicles powertrain architectures, infrastructure deployment solutions, operational logistics, and energy pathways. By considering all vehicle origin-destination pairs utilizing these corridors and all feasible fueling station location options, the framework's genetic algorithm identifies the minimum number and optimal locations of hydrogen refueling stations, ensuring no vehicle is stranded. It also determines fuel schedules and quantities at each station. A roadmap for station deployment based on multiple adoption trajectories ensures a strategic rollout of hydrogen refueling infrastructure.

Sujan, Vivek [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000269882342)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Performance and cost of fuel cells for off-road heavy-duty vehicles

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered off-road vehicles can replace hydrocarbon-powered off-road vehicles to reduce carbon dioxide and criteria pollutant emissions in the agriculture, construction, and mining industries. Vehicle manufacturers and customers recognize health and environmental benefits of emissions reductions but are ultimately compelled by the total cost of ownership of their vehicles. In this study, we conduct a technoeconomic evaluation for three hallmark off-road vehicles, tractors, wheel loaders, and excavators, comparing vehicles with hydrogen fuel cell + battery hybrid powertrains to traditional diesel powertrains. Stakeholder-valued performance metrics include fuel cell engine power, engine durability, hydrogen consumption rate, hydrogen storage system volume, and energy-regenerative drivetrain efficiency. The total cost of ownership includes capital, operating and maintenance, fuel, and fuel storage costs. State-of-the-art fuel cell powered wheel loaders and excavators are currently cost competitive with diesel platforms. If targeted improvements to cost, performance, and durability improvements of fuel cell stacks and storage systems are achieved, fuel cell systems would be cost competitive for tractors and significantly lower total cost of ownership options for wheel loaders and excavators.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
NASA NTRS2001

Hyper-X Mach 10 Engine Flowpath Development: Fifth Entry Test Conditions and Methodology

A series of Hyper-X Mach 10 flowpath ground tests are underway to obtain engine performance and operation data and to confirm and refine the flowpath design methods. The model used is a full-scale height, partial-width replica of the Hyper-X Research Vehicle propulsive flowpath with truncated forebody and aftbody. This is the fifth test entry for this model in the NASA-HYPULSE facility at GASL. For this entry the facility nozzle and model forebody were modified to better simulate the engine inflow conditions at the target flight conditions. The forebody was modified to be a wide flat plate with no flow fences, the facility nozzle Mach number was increased, and the model was positioned to be tested in a semi-direct-connect arrangement. This paper presents a review of the test conditions, model calibrations, and a description of steady flow confirmation. The test series included runs using hydrogen fuel, and a silane-in-hydrogen fuel mixture. Other test parameters included the model mounting angle (relative to the tunnel flow), and the test gas oxygen fraction to account for the presence of [NO] in the test gas at the M10 conditions.

Bakos, R. J.↗