SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “manufacturing”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 235 records · Page 13

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2023

Modeling and Simulation of Advanced Manufacturing Techniques using MOOSE and MALAMUTE

Advanced manufacturing techniques offer increased geometry complexity, energy and material usage efficiency improvements, and an expanded palette of materials as compared to conventional manufacturing approaches. Advanced-manufacturing-produced parts can experience wide variations in the final microstructure, and these microstructure variations significantly impact the parts’ performance. In this chapter, we present recent code developments within Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) and in the MOOSE Application Library for Advanced Manufacturing UTilitiEs (MALAMUTE). Here we demonstrate applying these modeling and simulation codes to two advanced manufacturing process types: advanced sintering techniques and laser-based additive manufacturing techniques. The multiphysics and multiscale capabilities of these codes enable prediction of the microstructure evolution resulting from variations in the Advanced manufacturing process parameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2020

Clean Energy Manufacturing: Renewable Energy Technology Benchmarks

The manufacturing of clean energy technologies has become a global enterprise. An analysis of four clean energy technology manufacturing processes—wind turbine components, crystalline silicon solar photovoltaic modules, light-duty vehicle lithium-ion battery cells, and light-emitting diodes—was conducted to provide a reference point for comparison over time as this sector evolves. The manufacturing supply chain analysis included processing of raw materials, making required subcomponents, and assembling final products, using benchmarks that crossed 12 economies: Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Republic of China (Taiwan), the United Kingdom, and the United States. Larger economies, with extensive manufacturing supply chains and high prevailing wages, tend to retain more value added from clean energy manufacturing than small economies. Manufacturing of clean energy technologies drives extensive trade among economies to support the widely distributed supply chain links. Production of wind turbine components and photovoltaic modules is more centralized than production of light-emitting diodes and lithium-ion battery cells. Across the four clean energy technologies evaluated, there was generally an excess of manufacturing capacity relative to global supply.

benchmarks↗

DOE OSTI2019

Quantifying adoption rates and energy savings over time for advanced energy-efficient manufacturing technologies

Energy-efficient manufacturing technologies can reduce energy consumption and lower operating costs for manufacturing facilities, but up-front costs and increased process complexity frequently lead to manufacturers being reluctant to adopt such technologies. To avoid overestimating the benefits of advanced energy-efficient manufacturing technologies, it is necessary to account for how quickly and how widely the technology will be adopted by manufacturers. This work develops a method for estimating manufacturing technology adoption rates using quantitative technology characteristics including energetic, economic, and technical criteria that capture both incentives (such as energy and cost savings) and disincentives (such as increased process complexity) for technology adoption. This method is unique in that it can be applied before or after a technology reaches the market; other adoption rate estimation methods require sales data and can only be applied post-market. Eleven technology characteristics are considered, with each characteristic weighted to reflect its impact on the overall technology adoption rate. Technology characteristic data is used to estimate model parameters for the Bass diffusion curve, which quantifies the change in the number of new technology adopters in a population over time. Finally, energy savings at the sector level are calculated over time by multiplying the number of new technology adopters at each time step with the technology’s facility-level energy savings. The proposed method is demonstrated with an application to glass industry manufacturing technologies using technology data obtained from the U.S. Department of Energy's 2017 bandwidth study. The potential energy savings for each technology and the rate at which each technology is adopted in the sector are quantified and used to identify the technologies which offer the greatest cumulative sector-level energy savings over a period of 20 years.

advanced manufacturing↗

DOE OSTI2022

Characterizing manufacturing sector disruptions with targeted mitigation strategies

It has become clear in recent decades that manufacturing supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions of varying geographical scales and intensities. These disruptions—whether intentional, accidental, or resulting from natural disasters—cause failures and capacity reductions to manufacturing infrastructure, with lasting effects that can cascade throughout the manufacturing network. An overall lack of understanding of solutions to mitigate disturbances has rendered the challenge of reducing manufacturing supply chain vulnerability even more difficult. Additionally, the variability of disruptions and their impacts complicates policy maker and stakeholder efforts to plan for specific disruptive scenarios. It is necessary to comprehend different kinds of disturbances and group them based on stakeholder-provided metrics to support planning processes and modeling efforts that promote adaptable, resilient manufacturing supply chains. This paper reviews existing methods for risk management in manufacturing supply chains and the economic and environmental impacts of disruptions. In addition, we develop a framework using agglomerative hierarchical clustering to classify disruptions using U.S. manufacturing network data between 2000 and 2021 and characteristic metrics defined in the literature. Our review identifies five groups of disruptions and discusses both general mitigation methods and strategies targeting each identified group. Further, we highlight gaps in the literature related to estimating and including environmental costs in disaster preparedness and mitigation planning. We also discuss the lack of easily available metrics to quantify environmental impacts of disruptions and how such metrics could be included into our methodology.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2024

Development of a Method for Shape Optimization for a Gas Turbine Fuel Injector Design Using Metal-Additive Manufacturing

Adjoint shape optimization has enabled physics-based optimal designs for aerodynamic surfaces. Additive manufacturing (AM) makes it possible to manufacture complex shapes. However, there has been a gap between optimal and manufacturable surfaces due to the inherent limitations of commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) codes to implement geometric constraints during adjoint computation. In such cases, the design sensitivities are exported and used to perform constrained shape modifications using parametric information stored in computer aided design (CAD) files to satisfy manufacturability constraints. However, modifying the design using adjoint methods in CFD solvers and performing constrained shape modification in CAD can lead to inconsistencies due to different shape parameterization schemes. This paper describes a method to enable the simultaneous optimization of the fluid domain and impose AM manufacturability constraints, resolving one of the key issues of geometry definition for isogeometric analysis. Similar to a grid convergence study, the proposed method verifies the consistencies between shape parameterization techniques present within commercial CAD and CFD software during mesh movement as a part of the adjoint shape optimization routine. By identifying the appropriate parameters essential to a shape optimization study, the error metric between the different parameterization techniques converges to demonstrate sufficient consistencies for justifiable exchange of data between CAD and CFD. For the identified shape optimization parameters, the error metric to measure the deviation between the two parameterization schemes lies within the AM laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) process tolerance. Additionally, comparison for subsequent objective function calculations between iterations of the optimization loop showed acceptable differences within 1% variation between the modified geometries obtained using the two parameterization schemes. This method provides justification for the use of multiphysics guided adjoint design sensitivities computed in CFD software to perform shape modifications in CAD to incorporate AM manufacturability constraints during the shape optimization loop such that optimal designs are also additively manufacturable.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Perspectives on multi-material additive manufacturing

The last two decades have seen enormous gains in industrial adoption of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies. Its layer-wise approach to fabrication offers designers the opportunity to create structures with unique performance advantages over their traditionally manufactured counterparts, and have created new manufacturing business models and supply chains. While today’s AM technologies have enabled the creation of new geometries, future AM systems that offer simultaneous processing of multiple materials in a single build open opportunities for new product functionality that cannot be achieved by traditional manufacturing methods. Advances in multi-material additive manufacturing, which integrate dissimilar material into a complex, three-dimensional object, is emerging but the advances have been sporadic. Moving beyond homogenous materials, adding multi-materials, gradient, functional and responsive materials, and materials with heterogeneous and graded properties means that a single additive process based on either energy delivery or material deposition alone may not be suitable. Finally, this perspective gives a brief overview of the current status, challenges, and future recommendations for multi-material additive manufacturing. The authors aim to expand the notion of multi-material additive manufacturing beyond combining materials with dissimilar properties, to combinations of materials at different length scales, material classes as well as multiple functionalities.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2021

Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing, 2014-2016

The Clean Energy Manufacturing Analysis Center (CEMAC), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), provides objective analysis and up-to-date data on global supply chains and manufacturing of clean energy technologies. This updated version of the Benchmarks of Global Clean Energy Manufacturing sheds light on several fundamental questions about the global clean technology manufacturing enterprise: How does clean energy technology manufacturing impact national economies? What are the economic opportunities across the manufacturing supply chain? What are the global dynamics of clean energy technology manufacturing?

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

X-ray Computed Tomography as a Metrology Technique for the Analysis of Additively Manufactured Material

X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) is an analytical technique used in materials science to non-destructively characterize features in a variety materials like polymer, metals, composites, and explosives. It also has the capability of imaging additively manufacture, machine and assembled parts. The non-destructive imaging allows for the analysis of features (voids and cracks), which give a fundamental understanding of the material characteristics. Additionally, X-ray CT can obtain accurate measurements of dimensional and topographic variations due to different stimuli and assess the accuracy of material production. This study focuses on parts manufactured via metal additive manufacturing (AM). Although AM produces parts faster and easier, the printing process can produce defects (pores and surface roughness) that undermine the part’s mechanical properties and performance. The analysis of 3D printed objects has an asset in that the material has an STL file from which the item was printed, which is not available in many manufactured materials (i.e., foams) due to stochastic structures. For this study, the print accuracy of four additively manufactured cylinders will be assessed via X-ray CTto approximate the surface roughness and visualize any major morphological changes to assess the dimensional accuracy of complex additively manufactured parts. It was concluded that using X-ray CT to measure surface roughness was affective because reasonable surface roughness values were measured. Additionally, itwas determined that small-scale features can be produced via additive manufacturing with strong dimensional accuracy so long as the features are highly complex with sharp grooves.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2024

Design and Manufacturing of High Performance, Reduced Charge Heat Exchangers

Air-to-fluid heat exchangers (HXs) play a critical role as the main heat transfer component in Heating, Ventilation, Air-Conditioning, and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems. However, their airside thermal resistance significantly inhibits their overall performance. Furthermore, these HXs must be continually more compact to meet the latest refrigerant charge limits to reduce emissions. Recent literature suggests that traditional HX geometries (e.g., round or flat tubes with fins), have reached their limits, and more sophisticated shape- and topology-optimized designs are required to achieve the next jump in performance. This research sheds light on the next generation of air-to-refrigerant HXs and aims to address several practical issues to commercialization such as novelty challenges (improved performance for significant charge reduction; modeling expertise & time investment), manufacturing challenges (non-round tube manufacturing; tube-header integration; product qualification, e.g., burst pressure testing, extreme operational environment, etc.), and operational challenges (flow maldistribution, fouling & wetting, noise & vibration). For example, a >20% improvement on one (or more) HX-level performance metrics (e.g., envelope volume, airside pressure drop, face area, capacity, refrigerant charge, weight, cost, etc.) must be achieved before a HX design is considered for commercialization. We present a new, comprehensive and experimentally validated air-to-refrigerant HX optimization framework with simultaneous thermal-hydraulic performance and mechanical strength considerations for novel, non-round, shape- and topology-optimized tubes capable of optimizing single and two-phase HX designs for any refrigerant choice and performance requirement with significant engineering time savings compared to conventional design practices. The framework was exercised for a wide range of applications and refrigerants, resulting in HXs which achieved greater than 20% improved performance, 20% reductions in size, and 25% reductions in refrigerant charge. To enable non-round tube bundle use in next generation HVAC&R equipment, novel manufacturing techniques were investigated, including the development of conventional manufacturing methods for small diameter, non-round tubes and novel tube-header integration strategies. In total, ten HX prototypes were manufactured, nine using conventional methods directly attributed to this project and one using advanced additive manufacturing methods. The five-year manufacturing feasibility of the proposed HXs was found to have a good outlook. The non-round tube HX simulated performance was validated through comprehensive experimental testing, including nine in-house component-level tests, one independent component-level test at an industry partner laboratory, and in-house system-level tests of using a commercially-available, residential packaged A/C unit which was retrofitted with a non-round tube prototype HX. It was found that HX designs proposed by the new framework can successfully predict experimental thermal-hydraulic performance within ±10-20% the first time with no manual design changes, eliminating the need for time-consuming and expensive prototyping efforts. This work will accelerate design and time to market for next generation HXs while simultaneously facilitating industry transition to new refrigerants at lower charge.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

Interpretation of Ion Irradiation and Neutron Irradiation Damage in Additively Manufactured 316 Stainless Steel using Multiscale Modeling

The accelerated adoption of nuclear energy necessitates advanced manufacturing technologies, such as additive manufacturing, to meet heightened supply chain requirements and support innovative reactor technologies. Due to the unique microstructural characteristics of additively manufactured materials under distinct solidification conditions, comprehensive evaluation of their performance in reactor environments is essential. The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program under the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy focuses on understanding the irradiation performance and damage evolution of laser powder bed fusion 316 stainless steel, with an emphasis on integrating ion and neutron irradiation data to accelerate the development and qualification of materials for advanced nuclear reactor applications. While ion irradiation is a cost- and time-effective method, modeling and simulation are required to interpret the data for the broader range of irradiation conditions encountered in advanced reactors. In fiscal year 2025, integrated multiscale modeling and simulations were conducted to assess irradiation damage in additively manufactured 316 stainless steel. Key outcomes include predictions of chromium enrichment at grain boundaries, nickel enrichment at dislocation cell walls and void surfaces, and heterogeneous void evolution under ion and neutron irradiation conditions. Cluster dynamics simulations revealed the coarsening of voids at high irradiation temperatures and the suppression of void growth by high network dislocation density, while also demonstrating significant growth and coarsening of voids and self-interstitial atom loops at low dose rates. Machine learning-accelerated atomistic simulations highlighted the impact of the local environment and chromium concentration on vacancy diffusivity, providing key insights on the influence of composition on void swelling and radiation-induced segregation. Additionally, molecular dynamics simulations demonstrated the presence of defect production bias and a significant effect of carbon content on defect cluster behavior. These combined efforts aim to predict the performance of additively manufactured materials under various reactor conditions, supporting their qualification for nuclear reactor applications by interpreting ion irradiation data. This report underscores the potential of integrated multiscale modeling to analyze ion irradiation data in the effort to accelerate the qualification of additively manufactured materials for nuclear reactor components.

316 stainless steel↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Investigation of Additive Manufactured GRCop-42 Alloy Developed by Directed Energy Deposition Methods

GRCop is an alloy family constructed of copper, chromium, and niobium and was developed by NASA for high heat flux applications. GRCop-alloys were specifically formulated for the requirements in channel-cooled main combustion chambers allowing for repeat use in high heat flux environments[1]. GRCop-84 was evolved using additive manufacturing techniques under a NASA development program. To further increase thermal conductivity while maintaining material strength characteristics, the percentage of alloying elements were cut in half and GRCop-42 was developed. In recent years, NASA has successfully additively manufactured GRCop-42 with comparable material characteristics to extrudedGRCop-42 using a Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) process. Benefits of this process include fabrication of intricate internal cooling channels as well as a decrease in manufacturing time. However, there are some large disadvantages in using this process. The nature of the powder bed process imposes a strict volume constraint as well as an excessive amount of material inventory required. A Directed Energy Deposition (DED) process addresses these limitations while also speeding up the manufacturing process. With little data on how DED performs with GRCop-42, an investigation into the mechanical properties was conducted. More specifically, Blown Powder Directed Energy Deposition (BPD), was used to compare material properties to that of the L-PBF manufactured GRCop-42. The DED manufactured material was found to have less than 0.1% porosity. Tensile tests concluded that the DED manufactured GRCop-42 had lower tensile strengths at room temperature. The results point towards a process capable of producing fully dense parts capable of meeting mechanical strength requirements with some possible refinement of printing parameters.

GRCop-42↗

NASA NTRS2026

Manufacturing Process Development of a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Composite Shaft for Electric Motors

Electric aircraft applications require electric motors with increased specific power and efficiency. Composite structural components in motors are a potential solution for reducing motor mass, reducing magnetic losses, and limiting undesired conduction paths for fault, electromagnetic interference, or common-mode currents. In this report, manufacturing trials for a high-speed carbon fiber reinforced polymer composite motor shaft are presented. Four prototype shafts were produced using a hybrid biaxial/triaxial fabric that was circumferentially wrapped onto an additively manufactured high-temperature washout mandrel. An additional traditional overbraid approach was also evaluated and shows promise for high-rate, high-performance parts using automated manufacturing. This paper discusses the shaft design, manufacturing methods explored, material selection, the manufacturing trials, and the lessons learned. The results of this manufacturing investigation show feasibility for manufacturing composite shafts for electric motors.

Electric moto shaft↗

DOE OSTI2025

Manufacturing Cost Analysis for PEM Electrolyzers and Perspectives for Future Cost Reduction

Electrolyzer capital costs strongly influence the total levelized cost of hydrogen production and have implications for hydrogen deployment. Current electrolyzer costs are high, and large cost reductions may be needed to achieve competitive hydrogen costs and targets. Understanding pathways for cost reduction via R&D and deployment is a critical research area for informed energy planning and enabling hydrogen use. This work presents bottom-up cost estimates of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) electrolyzer systems tied to design specifications and discusses perspectives for cost reduction opportunities based on ongoing research. We use a detailed manufacturing and process model for a 1 MW PEM electrolyzer stack and balance of plant (BOP) for rigorous cost estimation. This allows for robust estimates of component and manufacturing costs and examination of key cost contributors. Stack costs are dominated by material costs such as iridium and platinum catalysts, especially at high manufacturing rates; power electronics and hydrogen purification equipment are the largest contributors to BOP cost. At higher manufacturing rates, better equipment utilization could reduce stack costs significantly, and we estimate that experience and bulk purchasing will allow for cost reductions to some BOP components. Still, many well-established BOP technologies and stack material costs are less likely to see significant cost reductions at high manufacturing rates. As such, manufacturing scale is limited in how much it can reduce electrolyzer costs, and additional advances for cost reduction may be needed to achieve cost targets. It will likely take many combined strategies to achieve significant cost reductions for electrolyzers and enable low-cost hydrogen production. We can use our manufacturing cost model to quantify potential cost reductions from the considerations described above and demonstrate pathways to lower cost electrolyzers. This allows for better understanding of cost reduction strategies and enables more informed research, development, and deployment for electrolyzers.

cost↗

DOE OSTI2026

Securing The Future: 2026 Manufacturing & Critical Infrastructure Threat Landscape

This report outlines the current state of manufacturing weaknesses introduced by the complexities of modern environments, including cloud services and Internet of Things (IoT) devices, with particular attention paid to the unique vulnerabilities encountered by SMMs. It also highlights CyManII’s strategic initiatives and collaborative solutions to mitigate these risks and strengthen the cybersecurity posture of the manufacturing ecosystem. Utilizing data from 2025 to inform forward-looking mitigation strategies, this report provides manufacturers with a clear understanding of both current and emerging cybersecurity threats, as well as practical opportunities to strengthen their cyber ecosystems. The following sections detail key vulnerabilities and threat vectors, along with actionable mitigation strategies, many of which have been developed or piloted through CyManII-led efforts. A thorough understanding of these risks and mitigation strategies is essential for manufacturers seeking to strengthen the security and resilience of their manufacturing operations.

3D Printing↗

DOE OSTI2021

Spinning the digital thread with hybrid manufacturing

Integrated process monitoring and feedback capabilities for hybrid manufacturing have shown potential as a test platform for the development and implementation of the digital thread. Additionally, hybrid manufacturing alleviates the implementation of the digital thread as fewer systems are involved for a broader base of manufacturing operations. Researchers have developed coordinated process monitoring architectures to capture and leverage various existing data streams in the hybrid manufacturing process and improve the quality of manufactured components. This work is fundamentally different because it shows how common communication structures that exist on any commercial CNC can be used to enhance CNC based manufacturing processes.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

Toolpath considerations for hybrid additive manufacturing

Hybrid additive manufacturing combines both additive and subtractive manufacturing processes to fabricate geometrically complex, dimensionally accurate parts that are difficult to make using either additive or subtractive manufacturing alone. Industrial applications for hybrid additive manufacturing include direct manufacturing (building whole parts), feature addition (adding onto existing parts), and remanufacturing or repair operations. To coordinate the additive and subtractive processes, computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software must generate distinct toolpaths for each process. Each application requires different considerations and inputs when generating the toolpaths. For example, when building a part with an internal cavity that would otherwise be unmanufacturable due to reach or access limitations, a CAM must determine which layer(s) of deposition are appropriate to machine to create the internal cavity. This chapter explores the area of toolpath generation for hybrid manufacturing by discussing the necessary considerations that are unique to a hybrid process.

Feldhausen, Thomas↗

DOE OSTI2024

Property Variations in Modern REBCO Coated Conductors from Multiple Manufacturers

The complex, multilayer structure of REBCO Coated Conductor (CC) poses significant challenges in the fabrication of high magnetic field devices where large stresses may initiate various forms of damage. Our goal is to peer below the cartoon representations of CC so that, amongst other things, we might better understand whether a CC from one manufacturer is interchangeable with that from another. This involves knowledge of a broad range of electromagnetic, geometric, microstructural, and J c (θ,B,T) properties, and their variations that collectively pose challenges for the fault tolerance of REBCO CC devices. Accordingly, comparative measurements of J c , visualization of flux penetration with Magneto-Optical Imaging (MOI), tape geometry from Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) of polished cross-sections, and extensive optical microscopy was performed on recently purchased samples from multiple manufacturers. Our analyses reveal many deviations from or characteristics absent from manufacturers’ specifications, while a comparison of different manufacturers’ mechanically and laser slit tapes shows a diverse array of slitting characteristics amongst the manufacturers and variation in properties those made to the same specification. Laser slit tapes from several manufacturers reveal ablated edges with damaged regions extending up to 50 μm, comparable to the damaged region found in the mechanically slit CC of this study. Overall, the aim of this study is to flesh out appropriate ways to understand the real conductor below the manufacturers’ cartoons to avoid surprises in our REBCO CC coil development program. The goal of this work was to perform a broad array of characterizations of the type needed for validation of purpose for making high field magnets: to our surprise we found a wide range of properties which greatly impact the mechanical strength and electromagnetic performance of solenoids composed of these conductors and reinforced the need for a broad characterization program for each conductor prior to its implementation.

Bradford, G.↗

DOE OSTI2020

Performance of Public Film Cooling Geometries Produced Through Additive Manufacturing

Abstract Film cooling is an essential cooling technology to allow modern gas turbines to operate at high temperatures. For years, researchers in this community have worked to improve the effectiveness of film cooling configurations by maximizing the coolant coverage and minimizing the heat flux from the hot gas into the part. Working toward this goal has generated many promising film cooling concepts with unique shapes and configurations. However, until recently, many of these designs were challenging to manufacture in actual turbine hardware due to limitations with legacy manufacturing methods. Now, with the advances in additive manufacturing, it is possible to create turbine parts using high-temperature nickel alloys that feature detailed and unique geometry features. Armed with this new manufacturing power, this study aims to build and test the promising designs from the public literature that were previously difficult or impossible to implement. In this study, different cooling hole designs were manufactured in test coupons using a laser powder bed fusion process. Each nickel alloy coupon featured a single row of engine scale cooling holes, fed by a microchannel. To evaluate performance, the overall cooling effectiveness of each coupon was measured using a matched Biot test at engine relevant conditions. The results showed that certain hole shapes are better suited for additive manufacturing than others and that the manufacturing process can cause significant deviations from the performance reported in the literature.

Engineering↗