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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1992

High order parallel numerical schemes for solving incompressible flows

The use of parallel computers for numerically solving flow fields has gained much importance in recent years. This paper introduces a new high order numerical scheme for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) specifically designed for parallel computational environments. A distributed MIMD system gives the flexibility of treating different elements of the governing equations with totally different numerical schemes in different regions of the flow field. The parallel decomposition of the governing operator to be solved is the primary parallel split. The primary parallel split was studied using a hypercube like architecture having clusters of shared memory processors at each node. The approach is demonstrated using examples of simple steady state incompressible flows. Future studies should investigate the secondary split because, depending on the numerical scheme that each of the processors applies and the nature of the flow in the specific subdomain, it may be possible for a processor to seek better, or higher order, schemes for its particular subcase.

Lin, Avi↗
NASA NTRS1998

Design and Operating Characteristics of High-Speed, Small-Bore, Angular-Contact Ball Bearings

The computer program SHABERTH was used to analyze 35-mm-bore, angular-contact ball bearings designed and manufactured for high-speed turbomachinery applications. Parametric tests of the bearings were conducted on a high-speed, high-temperature bearing tester and were compared with the computer predictions. Four bearing and cage designs were studied. The bearings were lubricated either by jet lubrication or through the split inner ring with and without outer-ring cooling. The predicted bearing life decreased with increasing speed because of increased operating contact stresses caused by changes in contact angle and centrifugal load. For thrust loads only, the difference in calculated life for the 24 deg. and 30 deg. contact-angle bearings was insignificant. However, for combined loading, the 24 deg. contact-angle bearing gave longer life. For split-inner-ring bearings, optimal operating conditions were obtained with a 24 deg. contact angle and an inner-ring, land-guided cage, using outer-ring cooling in conjunction with low lubricant flow rates. Lower temperature and power losses were obtained with a single-outer-ring, land-guided cage for the 24 deg. contact-angle bearing having a relieved inner ring and partially relieved outer ring. Inner-ring temperatures were independent of lubrication mode and cage design. In comparison with measured values, reasonably good engineering correlation was obtained using the computer program SHABERTH for predicted bearing power loss and for inner- and outer-ring temperatures. The Parker formula for XCAV (used in SHABERTH, a measure of oil volume in the bearing cavity) may need to be refined to reflect bearing lubrication mode, cage design, and location of cage-controlling land.

Pinel, Stanley I.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resilient Operation of Networked Community Microgrids with High Solar Penetration

This project, funded by the US Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO), focused on the operation of microgrids as a coordinated network. The primary objective, which was successfully achieved, was to develop both control strategies and hardware solutions to support the resilient and efficient operation of networked microgrids with high solar penetration. The work was structured around the following four main tasks: • Development of distributed and scalable optimization algorithms for AC-coupled networked microgrids. • Design and implementation of a novel DC interconnection hardware to enable precise power exchange between microgrids. • Laboratory operational validation of the developed technologies using 480 V testbeds and commercially available hardware. • Field operational validation of the complete solution in Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, interconnecting two kW-scale, split-phase microgrids of Casa Pueblo’s microgrids. This project addressed multiple technical challenges across the domains of optimization, control, hardware interconnection, and protection. One of its key contributions was delivering tangible, real-world solutions for networking microgrids. In contrast to purely theoretical or simulation-based work, this project included full-scale hardware operational validation both in the lab and in the field. The work conducted as part of this project—in collaboration with the University of Puerto Rico; the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the University of Central Florida; and Casa Pueblo—has advanced the state of the art in networked microgrids. Key contributions include the development of distributed control strategies, practical solutions for real-world implementation challenges, and the introduction of a novel DC interlink approach for microgrid interconnection. The project featured both laboratory and field validation using commercial off-the-shelf components. The field deployment successfully validated that a group of microgrids can operate in a coordinated manner, enabling precise power flow between systems and mutual support during extreme events. This project resulted in 15 journal publications and 15 conference papers; 5 graduate students and 15 undergraduate students were supported. The codes of distributed optimization and forecasting were made open-source through OSTI.gov for distributed optimization and forecasting. All the publications are available in the ORNL-hosted project landing page. The DC interlink with state-of-charge balancing control was operationally validated in Adjuntas by interconnecting two real-world, 240 V split-phase microgrids. To the best knowledge of the team, this represents the first operational validation of AC microgrids interconnected via DC-interlinks. As a culmination of this project, a follow-on grant was awarded to support the technology transfer of the distributed optimization framework to a commercial microgrid controller, Stellar Edge, developed by the California-based company New Sun Road.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2011

Split-screen display system and standardized methods for ultrasound image acquisition and multi-frame data processing

A standardized acquisition methodology assists operators to accurately replicate high resolution B-mode ultrasound images obtained over several spaced-apart examinations utilizing a split-screen display in which the arterial ultrasound image from an earlier examination is displayed on one side of the screen while a real-time "live" ultrasound image from a current examination is displayed next to the earlier image on the opposite side of the screen. By viewing both images, whether simultaneously or alternately, while manually adjusting the ultrasound transducer, an operator is able to bring into view the real-time image that best matches a selected image from the earlier ultrasound examination. Utilizing this methodology, dynamic material properties of arterial structures, such as IMT and diameter, are measured in a standard region over successive image frames. Each frame of the sequence has its echo edge boundaries automatically determined by using the immediately prior frame's true echo edge coordinates as initial boundary conditions. Computerized echo edge recognition and tracking over multiple successive image frames enhances measurement of arterial diameter and IMT and allows for improved vascular dimension measurements, including vascular stiffness and IMT determinations.

Selzer, Robert H.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A thermochemical study of iron aluminate-based materials: a preferred class for isothermal water splitting

The use of hydrogen as a renewable fuel has been stymied by our inability to produce it cleanly and economically. The conventional solar thermochemical approach considers a two-step redox cycle with benchmark ceria or a perovskite in a temperature swing configuration, where reduction occurs at a temperature much higher than oxidation. Isothermal redox cycling is feasible and avoids the solid–solid heat recuperation and material stability challenges associated with temperature swing; yet, it has long been thought to be inefficient due to the thermodynamic unfavorability of operating the exothermic oxidation reaction at higher temperatures. Here, in this work, we show that this setback can be overcome with iron aluminate-based spinel solid solutions that preferentially exhibit large changes in oxygen content within the range of oxygen partial pressures expected in large-scale systems. We explain the experimental results with a defect model that assigns cation – not oxygen – vacancies as the predominant point defect responsible for their superior water-splitting ability. When operated isothermally at 1400 °C, the iron aluminate-based materials demonstrate a capacity for hydrogen production greater than 500 μmol g–1 and, as a result, remain viable even under high conversion conditions (i.e., pO 2 < 500 : 1 H 2 O : H 2 ), exceeding the hydrogen yields of ceria and two attractive perovskite candidates following a 400 °C (or less) temperature swing. Isothermal water splitting using iron aluminate-based materials opens the door for more simple, robust, and efficient production of renewable hydrogen.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Towards Spatial Control of Reaction Selectivity on Photocatalysts using Area Selective Atomic Layer Deposition on Model Dual Site Electrocatalyst Platform

Photocatalytic water splitting is a promising route to low-cost H2; however, this approach is currently limited by solar-to-hydrogen (STH) conversion efficiencies in the sub-10% range. Z-scheme water splitting, in which H2 and O2 evolving particles are operated in separate compartments and electronically coupled by a soluble redox mediator, offers improvements in STH efficiency but introduces high rates of undesired side and back reactions. Nanoscopic oxide coatings (e.g., CrOx, and SiOx) have previously been used to selectively block undesired reactants from reaching active sites; however, a coating encapsulating the entire photocatalyst particle limits activity as the particle can no longer facilitate both half reactions. In contrast to photodeposition, which may produce non-uniform overlayers due to the difficulty of controlling local electrochemical reactivity on the surface, area-selective atomic layer deposition (AS-ALD) can be used to deposit conformal ultrathin oxide coatings while preserving access to non-growth areas of a substrate surface. To develop this technique for Z-scheme photocatalysts, we performed AS-ALD of TiO2 on a dual site planar electrocatalyst based on interdigitated arrays of Pt and Au. Self-assembled monolayers of 1-octadecanethiol (ODT) were used to block growth on the Au array, resulting in a patterned surface in which only the Pt sites were encapsulated with TiO2. These electrocatalysts demonstrated localized reaction selectivity for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) over the TiO2/Pt sites, while the uncoated Au sites retained activity towards Fe(II)/Fe(III) redox (FeRR). Under independent potential control, these microelectrodes showed that selectively deposited TiO2 coatings can suppress the rate of back reactions on neighboring active sites by an order of magnitude compared to uncoated control samples.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1982

The AGT 101 advanced automotive gas turbine

A development program is described whose goal is the accumulation of the technology base needed by the U.S. automotive industry for the production of automotive gas turbine powertrains. Such gas turbine designs must exhibit reduced fuel consumption, a multi-fuel capability, and low exhaust emissions. The AGT101 powertrain described is a 74.6 kW, regenerated single-shaft gas turbine, operating at a maximum inlet temperature of 1644 K and coupled to a split differential gearbox and automatic overdrive transmission. The engine's single stage centrifugal compressor and single stage radial inflow turbine are mounted on a common shaft, and will operate at a maximum rotor speed of 100,000 rpm. All high temperature components, including the turbine rotor, are ceramic.

Rackley, R. A.↗
NASA NTRS2018

Modeling and Control Design for a Turboelectric Single Aisle Aircraft Propulsion System

A nonlinear dynamic model with full flight envelope controller is developed for the propulsion system of a partially turboelectric single-aisle aircraft. The propulsion system model consists of two turbofan engines with a large percentage of power extraction, feeding an electric tail fan for boundary layer ingestion. The dynamic model is compared against an existing steady state design model. An electrical system model using a simple power flow approach is integrated into existing modeling tools used for dynamic simulation of the turbomachinery of the vehicle. In addition to the simple power flow model of the electrical system, a more detailed model is used for comparison at a key vehicle transient flight condition. The controller is a gain scheduled proportional-integral type that is examined throughout the flight envelope for performance metrics such as rise time and operability margins. Potential improvements in efficiency for the vehicle are explored by adjusting the power split between the energy used for thrust by the turbofans and that extracted to supply power to the tail fan. Finally, an operability study of the vehicle is conducted using a 900 nautical mile mission profile for a nominal vehicle configuration, a deteriorated propulsion system at the end of its operating life, and an optimized power schedule with improved efficiency.

Turboelectric↗
DOE OSTI2025

Crystal fields, exchange and dipolar interactions, and noncollinear magnons of erbium oxide

Here, we simulate the properties of magnons in erbium oxide, a noncollinear antiferromagnet, from an effective single-ion Hamiltonian, including exchange and long-range dipolar interactions. We parametrize the crystal-field splitting of Er 2 ⁢O 3 using Steven's operators and obtain the effective symmetry-dependent exchange constants between different erbium ions quenched by the crystal field at different symmetry sites. We apply the Holstein-Primakoff transformation to the noncollinear spin system and employ paraunitary diagonalization for the effective spin Hamiltonian. The addition of the dipolar interaction to the exchange magnon dispersion changes the magnon bands drastically. The long-range nature of the dipolar interaction provides challenges to convergence, however, we find that the averaged and normalized difference in the magnon dispersion is less than an averaged factor of 10 −6 if the dipolar interaction is included out to the 40th nearest neighbor.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Excerpt from Oxygen Monitor Clean Testing Report Performed in 2010

The Rosemount X-STREAM Series X2GP is a paramagnetic oxygen analyzer with a 0-25% oxygen measurement range. It claims a drift less than 2% of span (0.10% volume oxygen) per week, and a response time of less than 5 seconds (for the analyzer to report 90% of a step change). Our test equipment was set-up such that the same gas was running through each oxygen analyzer at the same time. This allowed Calibration Error, Calibration Drift, and Loss of Power Testing to be run on all monitors at the same time, eliminating any variability between the analyzers from tolerances in the gas cylinder, ambient temperature, ambient pressure, test duration, etc. An APTech pressure regulator was placed on the gas cylinder manifold and a 23 psia Paroscientific pressure transducer measured the regulator’s outlet pressure. This did not give the inlet pressure on any one analyzer but outlet pressure from the manifold before the stream was split. The APTech pressure regulator was used to keep operating conditions consistent. A DWYER rotameter was installed on each oxygen monitor’s outlet piping. With the exception of Variation of Flow Rate Testing, the rotameter was left fully open for all testing. The flow rate through each oxygen monitor was controlled by a Swagelok needle valve that was installed on each analyzer’s inlet piping. Additionally, a filter was installed in the each monitor’s inlet piping to keep particles from the measurement cells and a Swagelok ball valve was installed on each monitor’s outlet piping to isolate each monitor between tests. No pumps were installed. Each of the cylinders used was at a pressure greater than ambient room barometric pressure. This pressure differential was used to move gas through the testing equipment. The flow rate through each analyzer was controlled by the Swagelok needle valve installed on each analyzer’s inlet piping. Finally, for all tests, a Paroscientific Digiquartz Barometer was used to measure ambient room barometric pressure and a Fluke Thermo-hygrometer was used to measure ambient room temperature.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
NASA NTRS1971

Space shuttle data handling and communications considerations.

Operational and development flight instrumentation, data handling subsystems and communication requirements of the space shuttle orbiter are discussed. Emphasis is made on data gathering methods, crew display data, computer processing, recording, and telemetry by means of a digital data bus. Also considered are overall communication conceptual system aspects and design features allowing a proper specification of telemetry encoders and instrumentation recorders. An adaptive bit rate concept is proposed to handle the telemetry bit rates which vary with the amount of operational and experimental data to be transmitted. A split-phase encoding technique is proposed for telemetry to cope with the excessive bit jitter and low bit transition density which may affect television performance.

Stoker, C. J.↗
NASA NTRS1965

Preliminary Study of Steep Instrument Approach of Three Conventional Aircraft

Preliminary studies of steep instrument approaches have been conducted with three conventional aircraft. Six-degree approach paths were found to be acceptable. A margin of 3 deg to 4 deg in maximum glide slope was available to allow for flight-path corrections. Control of the lateral-directional axis was the most difficult problem for pilots making either steep or conventional approaches; split-axis control reduced the pilot workload during this operation.

Hall, Albert W.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Analysis of Complex Valve and Feed Systems

A numerical framework for analysis of complex valve systems supports testing of propulsive systems by simulating key valve and control system components in the test loop. In particular, it is designed to enhance the analysis capability in terms of identifying system transients and quantifying the valve response to these transients. This system has analysis capability for simulating valve motion in complex systems operating in diverse flow regimes ranging from compressible gases to cryogenic liquids. A key feature is the hybrid, unstructured framework with sub-models for grid movement and phase change including cryogenic cavitations. The multi-element unstructured framework offers improved predictions of valve performance characteristics under steady conditions for structurally complex valves such as pressure regulator valve. Unsteady simulations of valve motion using this computational approach have been carried out for various valves in operation at Stennis Space Center such as the split-body valve and the 10-in. (approx.25.4-cm) LOX (liquid oxygen) valve and the 4-in. (approx.10 cm) Y-pattern valve (liquid nitrogen). Such simulations make use of variable grid topologies, thereby permitting solution accuracy and resolving important flow physics in the seat region of the moving valve. An advantage to this software includes possible reduction in testing costs incurred due to disruptions relating to unexpected flow transients or functioning of valve/flow control systems. Prediction of the flow anomalies leading to system vibrations, flow resonance, and valve stall can help in valve scheduling and significantly reduce the need for activation tests. This framework has been evaluated for its ability to predict performance metrics like flow coefficient for cavitating venturis and valve coefficient curves, and could be a valuable tool in predicting and understanding anomalous behavior of system components at rocket propulsion testing and design sites.

Ahuja, Vineet↗
NASA NTRS2003

Solution-Adaptive Program for Computing 2D/Axi Viscous Flow

A computer program solves the Navier- Stokes equations governing the flow of a viscous, compressible fluid in an axisymmetric or two-dimensional (2D) setting. To obtain solutions more accurate than those generated by prior such programs that utilize regular and/or fixed computational meshes, this program utilizes unstructured (that is, irregular triangular) computational meshes that are automatically adapted to solutions. The adaptation can refine to regions of high change in gradient or can be driven by a novel residual minimization technique. Starting from an initial mesh and a corresponding data structure, the adaptation of the mesh is controlled by use of minimization functional. Other improvements over prior such programs include the following: (1) Boundary conditions are imposed weakly; that is, following initial specification of solution values at boundary nodes, these values are relaxed in time by means of the same formulations as those used for interior nodes. (2) Eigenvalues are limited in order to suppress expansion shocks. (3) An upwind fluctuation-splitting distribution scheme applied to inviscid flux requires fewer operations and produces less artificial dissipation than does a finite-volume scheme, leading to greater accuracy of solutions.

Wood, William A.↗
NASA NTRS1983

Methodology for interpretation of SST retrievals using the AVHRR split window algorithm

Intercomparisons of sea surface temperature (SST) products derived from the operational NOAA-7 AVHRR-II algorithm and in situ observations are made. The 1982 data sets consist of ship survey data during the winter from the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB), ship and buoy measurements during April and September in the Gulf of Mexico and shipboard observations during April off the N.W. Spanish coast. The analyses included single pixel comparisons and the warmest pixel technique for 2 x 2 pixel and 10 x 10 pixel areas. The reason for using multi-pixel areas was for avoiding cloud contaminated pixels in the vicinity of the field measurements. Care must be taken when applying the warmest pixel technique near oceanic fronts. The Gulf of Mexico results clearly indicate a persistent degradation in algorithm accuracy due to El Chichon aerosols. The MAB and Spanish data sets indicate that very accurate estimates can be achieved if care is taken to avoid clouds and oceanic fronts.

Barbieri, R. W.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Observation of plaid-like spin splitting in a noncoplanar antiferromagnet

Spatial, momentum and energy separation of electronic spins in condensed matter systems guides the development of novel devices where spin-polarized current is generated and manipulated. Recent attention on a set of previously overlooked symmetry operations in magnetic materials leads to the emergence of a new type of spin splitting, enabling giant and momentum-dependent spin polarization of energy bands on selected antiferromagnets. Despite the ever-growing theoretical predictions, the direct spectroscopic proof of such spin splitting is still lacking. Here, we provide solid spectroscopic and computational evidence for the existence of such materials. In the noncoplanar antiferromagnet MnTe 2 , the in-plane components of spin are found to be antisymmetric about the high-symmetry planes of the Brillouin zone, comprising a plaid-like spin texture in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ground state. Such an unconventional spin pattern, further found to diminish at the high- temperature paramagnetic state, stems from the intrinsic AFM order instead of spin- orbit coupling (SOC). Furthermore, our finding demonstrates a new type of quadratic spin texture induced by time-reversal breaking, placing AFM spintronics on a firm basis and paving the way for studying exotic quantum phenomena in related materials.

Electronic devices↗
DOE OSTI2022

Interpolation as a means of shift selection for multilevel Monte Carlo with lattice displacements

The calculation of disconnected diagram contributions to physical signals is a computationally expensive task in Lattice QCD. To extract the physical signal, the trace of the inverse Lattice Dirac operator, a large sparse matrix, must be stochastically estimated. Because the variance of the stochastic estimator is typically large, variance reduction techniques must be employed. Multilevel Monte Carlo (MLMC) methods reduce the variance of the trace estimator by utilizing a telescoping sequence of estimators. Frequency Splitting is one such method that uses a sequence of inverses of shifted operators to estimate the trace of the inverse of the lattice Dirac operator, however there is no a priori way to select the shifts that minimize the cost of the multilevel trace estimation. We present a sampling and interpolation scheme that is able to predict the variances associated with Frequency Splitting under displacements of the underlying space time lattice. The interpolation scheme is able to predict the variances to high accuracy and therefore choose shifts that correspond to an approximate minimum of the cost for the trace estimation. We show that Frequency Splitting with the chosen shifts displays significant speedups over multigrid deflation

Whyte, Travis↗