SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “engineered carbon support”

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 253 records · Page 14

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2005

Damage-Tolerant, Affordable Composite Engine Cases Designed and Fabricated

An integrated team of NASA personnel, Government contractors, industry partners, and university staff have developed an innovative new technology for commercial fan cases that will substantially influence the safety and efficiency of future turbine engines. This effective team, under the direction of the NASA Glenn Research Center and with the support of the Federal Aviation Administration, has matured a new class of carbon/polymer composites and demonstrated a 30- to 50-percent improvement in specific containment capacity (blade fragment kinetic energy/containment system weight). As the heaviest engine component, the engine case/containment system greatly affects both the safety and efficiency of aircraft engines. The ballistic impact research team has developed unique test facilities and methods for screening numerous candidate material systems to replace the traditional heavy, metallic engine cases. This research has culminated in the selection of a polymer matrix composite reinforced with triaxially braided carbon fibers and technology demonstration through the fabrication of prototype engine cases for three major commercial engine manufacturing companies.

Hopkins, Dale A.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber Engineering Development Unit Cabin Air Inlet Testing

This paper reviews a test series conducted on the Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber Engineering Development Unit, a ground test analog for the Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber Technology Demonstration currently operating on the International Space Station. For this test series conducted in mid-2022, an alternate FBCO2 inlet air location (direct from the cabin) was evaluated. This paper presents test results, rationale for observed performance changes, and possible ramifications for the flight FBCO2 Scrubber.

Life Support↗

DOE OSTI2023

Release of a High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) Steady State Multiphysics Model to the Virtual Test Bed

In response to climate change, global governments and private industry have established a common goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 \cite{osti_1865910}. This goal requires a reassessment of current energy demands and production methods. Reducing emissions at an affordable cost while maintaining grid reliability requires a nationwide collaborative effort among government and industry in the United States. Nuclear power is the leading low-carbon electricity generation method. In the past 50 years, the use of nuclear power has reduced carbon dioxide emissions by over 60 gigatons and has played a crucial role in the security of energy supply~\cite{IEA}. In the U.S., nuclear power accounts for 20\% of the electrical supply and provides energy reliably. Advanced reactors will operate at higher temperatures, operate more efficiently, utilize more energy stored within fuel, and reduce the amount of waste produced \cite{osti_1616270}. To face these challenges and goals, the U.S. Department of Energy has created an initiative to focus on the modeling and simulation tools to support future nuclear power plant design, licensing, and operations. The Virtual Test Bed (VTB)~\cite{vtb2023} was launched by the National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) in collaboration with the Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program to support the advanced nuclear reactor community. The VTB involves teams from both Idaho National Laboratory and Argonne National Laboratory and aims to provide example models for a broad range of both current and future advanced reactor designs. A feature of the VTB is the automatic testing of these models to ensure continued functionality as simulation tools are further developed. The VTB and the advanced reactor models documented there are important resources for this initiative. This work describes the inclusion of a new model on the VTB---a High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR) steady-state model \cite{LABOURE2023109838}.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Four Bed Carbon Dioxide Scrubber Engineering Development Unit Cabin Air Inlet Testing

Life Support↗

DOE OSTI2025

A versatile machine learning workflow for high-throughput analysis of supported metal catalyst particles

Accurate and efficient characterization of nanoparticles (NPs), particularly regarding particle size distribution, is essential for advancing our understanding of their structure-property relationship and facilitating their design for various applications. In this study, we introduce a novel two-stage artificial intelligence (AI)-driven workflow for NP analysis that leverages prompt engineering techniques from state-of-the-art single-stage object detection and large-scale vision transformer (ViT) architectures. This methodology is applied to transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning TEM (STEM) images of heterogeneous catalysts, enabling high-resolution, high-throughput analysis of particle size distributions for supported metal catalyst NPs. The model's performance in detecting and segmenting NPs is validated across diverse heterogeneous catalyst systems, including various metals (Ru, Cu, PtCo, and Pt), supports (silica (SiO 2 ), γ-alumina (γ-Al 2 O 3 ), and carbon black), and particle diameter size distributions with mean and standard deviations ranging from 1.6 ± 0.2 nm to 9.7 ± 4.6 nm. The proposed machine learning (ML) methodology achieved an average F1 overlap score of 0.91 ± 0.01 and demonstrated the ability to disentangle overlapping NPs anchored on catalytic support materials. The segmentation accuracy is further validated using the Hausdorff distance and robust Hausdorff distance metrics, with the 90th percent of the robust Hausdorff distance showing errors within 0.4 ± 0.1 nm to 1.4 ± 0.6 nm. In conclusion, our AI-assisted NP analysis workflow demonstrates robust generalization across diverse datasets and can be readily applied to similar NP segmentation tasks without requiring costly model retraining.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2025

Virtual Engineering: Python framework for engineering process design

Virtual Engineering (VE) is a Python software framework designed to accelerate the research and development of engineering processes that are fundamentally defined by multiple unit operations executed in series. VE supports a wide variety of different multi-physics models and integrates them to simulate a complete end-to-end process. To automate the execution of this model sequence, VE provides (i) a robust method to communicate between models, (ii) a high-level, user-friendly interface to set model parameters and enable optimization, and (iii) an overall model-agnostic approach that allows new computational units to be swapped in and out of workflows. Although the VE framework was developed to support the biochemical conversion of biomass to fuel, we have designed each component to easily accommodate new domains and unit models.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2024

Oxygen Vacancies Alter Methanol Oxidation Pathways on NiOOH

A thorough comprehension of the mechanism underlying the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) on Ni-based catalysts is critical for future electrocatalytic design and development. However, the mechanism of MOR on these materials remains a matter of controversy. Herein, we combine in situ surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (SEIRAS) and density functional theory (DFT) calculations to identify the active sites and determine the mechanism of MOR on monometallic Ni-based catalysts in alkaline media. The SEIRAS results show that formate and (bi)carbonate are formed after the commencement of the MOR with potential-dependent relative distributions. These spectroscopic results are in good agreement with the DFT-computed reaction profiles over an oxygen vacancy, suggesting that the MOR mainly proceeds through the formate-involving pathway, in which the early consumption of methanol yields formate as the major product, while increasing potential drives further oxidation of formate to (bi)carbonate. We also find a parallel pathway for the generation of (bi)carbonate at high potentials that bypasses the formation of formate. The two main pathways are thermodynamically more feasible than the one predominantly reported in the literature for MOR on NiOOH that involves CHO and/or CO as key intermediates. These DFT results are supported by spectroscopic evidence showing that no band associated with CHO or CO can be detected by SEIRAS, which is attributed to the nature of the oxygen vacancies as the active sites, suppressing deep dehydrogenation of CH 2 O to CHO. Furthermore, this work thus shows the promising role of defect engineering in promoting the electrocatalytic MOR activity and selectivity.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS1985

The evolution of CELSS for lunar bases

A bioregenerative life support system designed to address the fundamental requirements of a functioning independent lunar base is presented in full. Issues to be discussed are associated with CELSS weight, volume and cost of operation. The fundamental CELSS component is a small, highly automated module containing plants which photosynthesize and provide the crew with food, water and oxygen. Hydrogen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide will be initially brought in from earth, recycled and their waste products conserved. As the insufficiency of buffers necessitates stringent cybernetic control, a stable state will be maintained by computer control. Through genetic engineering and carbon dioxide, temperature, and nutrient manipulation, plant productivity can be increased, while the area necessary for growth and illumination energy decreased. In addition, photosynthetic efficiency can be enhanced through lamp design, fiber optics and the use of appropriate wavelengths. Crop maintenance will be performed by robotics, as a means of preventing plant ailments.

Macelroy, R. D.↗

NASA NTRS2008

Jet Propulsion Laboratory: Annual Report 2007

Many milestones are celebrated in the business of space exploration, but one of them that arrived this year has particular meaning for us. Half a century ago, on January 31, 1958, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible for creating America's first satellite, Explorer 1, and joined with the Army to launch it into orbit. That makes 2007 the 50th year we have been sending robotic craft from Earth to explore space. No other event before or since has had such a profound effect on JPL's basic identity, setting it on the path to become the world's leader in robotic solar system exploration. It is not lost on historians that Explorer 1, besides being America's first satellite, was also the first spacecraft from any country to deliver scientific results in its case, the discovery of the Van Allen Radiation Belts that surround Earth. Science, of course, has been the prime motivator for all the dozens of missions that we have lofted into space in the half-century since then. JPL has sent spacecraft to every planet in the solar system from Mercury to Neptune, some of them very sophisticated machines. But in one way or another, they all owe their heritage to the 31-pound bullet-shaped probe JPL shot into space in 1958. Although we have ranged far and wide across the solar system, we have a very strong contingent of satellites and instruments dedicated, like Explorer, to the environment of our home planet. JPL missions have been providing much of the data to establish the facts of global warming - most especially, the melting of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. During the past year, JPL and our parent organization, the California Institute of Technology, have created a task force to focus the special capabilities of the Laboratory and campus on ways to better understand the physics of global change. While Earth is a chaotic and dynamic system capable of large natural variations, evidence is mounting that human activities are playing an increasingly important role. A central piece of this effort is a search for novel energy sources to replace fossil fuels, the combustion of which adds carbon dioxide to our atmosphere. All of this is supported by our worldwide Deep Space Network, which provides the communication link between spacecraft and the ground. In addition, missions are infused with technologies developed by researchers working on projects for non-NASA sponsors as well as on pure research.

Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)↗

DOE OSTI2024

Mortar-based Cohesive Zone Model with Application to TRISO Particle Debonding

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program aims to develop predictive capabilities by applying computational methods to the analysis and design of advanced reactor and fuel cycle systems. This program has been providing engineering-scale support for the development of BISON, a high-fidelity and high-resolution fuel performance tool. This report outlines work towards the development of an integrated, mortar-based cohesive zone framework with mechanical contact. We model debonding of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) layers using a mortar approach, extending the framework used for mechanical contact, using weighted quantities. A bilinear mixed mode traction approach, already used in Jiang et al. (2021), is applied analogously herein to model debonding between TRISO particle layers. The examples include the debonding of the inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) from the silicon carbide (SiC) layers, as well as partial and full debonding of the buffer from the IPyC layers. Both 2D and 3D examples are utilized to demonstrate the superior numerical performance of the new mortar approach, which allows for modeling arbitrarily meshed interfaces (i.e., non-matching discretizations).

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Nano-Engineered Catalyst Supported on Ceramic Hollow Fibers for the Utilization of CO 2 in Dry Reforming to Produce Syngas

The objective of this project was to develop a novel catalytic reactor containing nano-engineered catalysts for the utilization of CO 2 (captured from coal-fired power plants and other CO 2 emitting sources) in dry methane reforming (DMR) (CO 2 + CH 4 → 2 H 2 + 2 CO) to produce synthesis gas (syngas). The technology aims to reduce CO2 emissions by developing beneficial uses for CO 2 from coal-fired power plants. It also offers an alternative to mitigate CO 2 emissions in areas where geologic storage may not be an optimal solution and/or utilization could significantly offset the costs of carbon capture and sequestration. The nano-engineered Ni-based catalyst was prepared by atomic layer deposition (ALD). The Ni particles were as small as ~2-4 nm. The nano-engineered catalyst showed CH 4 conversion >95%, H 2 /CO ratio in the range of 0.7-1.0, and CH 4 reforming rate as high as 2,500 L/h/gNi at 850 ºC and pressure of 15-25 psia. The Ni-based ALD catalyst also showed good stability in DMR reaction during a 200-h continuous operation at 850 °C. This is due to strong bonding between the nanoparticles and substrates since the Ni nanoparticles were chemically bonded to the substrate during the ALD process. The high thermal stability maintains the high dispersion of Ni nanoparticles, which can inhibit coke formation because their step edges are small enough to limit carbon nucleation and growth. Technoeconomic analysis (TEA) indicates the levelized cost of syngas (LCOS) is $172/ton with our technology, which is lower than the equivalent (molar) cost of hydrogen produced by steam methane reforming (SMR) or autothermal reforming (ATR). The major operating cost is natural gas feed and fuel, and the levelized cost is highly sensitive to the price of natural gas and relatively insensitive to the CAPEX. Revenues from syngas could have a significant impact on the net cost of electricity (COE), depending on the cost of natural gas and the selling price of syngas, estimated at $36 per MWh if the syngas were sold at $195 per ton. Following DOE NETL’s guidance, a lifecycle analysis (LCA) was conducted to compare with SMR. The functional unit for the basis of comparison was defined as 1kg carbon monoxide in the product stream. The global warming potential (GWP) of our process was found to be 40% lower than the state-of-the-art SMR process. The sensitivity analysis confirms the emissions are most sensitive to the natural gas fuel requirements to deliver heat to the process.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

DOE OSTI2025

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) – Illinois Rare Earth Novel Extraction and Supply (IRENES)

This report presents the physical and chemical characterization of breaker and sorter reject materials sourced from the Prairie State Generation facility, as part of the Illinois Rare Earth Novel Extraction and Supply (IRENES) project. Key analyses include particle size distribution, density, angle of repose, proximate and ultimate composition, mineralogy, and elemental content. Breaker reject material was found to be coarser and higher in ash content (~80%) with lower calorific value, while sorter reject showed finer distribution, lower ash (~68%), and higher carbon and energy content. XRD and XRF analyses confirmed the presence of REE-bearing minerals and relevant oxides, supporting process design and beneficiation strategy development for critical mineral recovery.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

NASA NTRS1986

Quality assurance procedures for environmental control and monitoring in plant growth facilities. Report of the North Central Regional 101 Committee on Growth Chamber Use

This report includes procedures for ensuring the quality of the environment provided for plant growth in controlled environment facilities. Biologists and engineers may use these procedures for ensuring quality control during experiments or for ensuring quality control in the design of plant growth facilities. Environmental monitoring prior to and during experiments is included in these procedures. Specific recommendations cover control, acquisition, and calibration for sensor types for the separate parameters of radiation (light), temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, and air movement.

NASA Discipline Number 61-10↗

NASA NTRS2015

Space Synthetic Biology Project

Synthetic biology is an effort to make genetic engineering more useful by standardizing sections of genetic code. By standardizing genetic components, biological engineering will become much more similar to traditional fields of engineering, in which well-defined components and subsystems are readily available in markets. Specifications of the behavior of those components and subsystems can be used to model a system which incorporates them. Then, the behavior of the novel system can be simulated and optimized. Finally, the components and subsystems can be purchased and assembled to create the optimized system, which most often will exhibit behavior similar to that indicated by the model. The Space Synthetic Biology project began in 2012 as a multi-Center effort. The purpose of this project was to harness Synthetic Biology principals to enable NASA's missions. A central target for application was to Environmental Control & Life Support (ECLS). Engineers from NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's (MSFC's) ECLS Systems Development Branch (ES62) were brought into the project to contribute expertise in operational ECLS systems. Project lead scientists chose to pursue the development of bioelectrochemical technologies to spacecraft life support. Therefore, the ECLS element of the project became essentially an effort to develop a bioelectrochemical ECLS subsystem. Bioelectrochemical systems exploit the ability of many microorganisms to drive their metabolisms by direct or indirect utilization of electrical potential gradients. Whereas many microorganisms are capable of deriving the energy required for the processes of interest (such as carbon dioxide (CO2) fixation) from sunlight, it is believed that subsystems utilizing electrotrophs will exhibit smaller mass, volume, and power requirements than those that derive their energy from sunlight. In the first 2 years of the project, MSFC personnel conducted modeling, simulation, and conceptual design efforts to assist the project in selecting the best approaches to the application of bioelectrochemical technologies to ECLS. Figure 1 shows results of simulation of charge transport in an experimental system. Figure 2 shows one of five conceptual designs for ECLS subsystems based on bioelectrochemical reactors. Also during the first 2 years, some work was undertaken to gather fundamental data (conductivities, overpotentials) relevant to the modeling efforts.

Howard, David↗

NASA NTRS2011

NASA Tech Briefs, November 2011

The topics include: 1) Flight Test Results from the Rake Airflow Gage Experiment on the F-15B; 2) Telemetry and Science Data Software System; 3) CropEx Web-Based Agricultural Monitoring and Decision Support; 4) High-Performance Data Analysis Tools for Sun-Earth Connection Missions; 5) Experiment in Onboard Synthetic Aperture Radar Data Processing; 6) Microfabrication of a High-Throughput Nanochannel Delivery/Filtration System; 7) Improved Design and Fabrication of Hydrated-Salt Pills; 8) Monolithic Flexure Pre-Stressed Ultrasonic Horns; 9) Cryogenic Quenching Process for Electronic Part Screening; 10) Broadband Via-Less Microwave Crossover Using Microstrip-CPW Transitions; 11) Wheel-Based Ice Sensors for Road Vehicles; 12) G-DYN Multibody Dynamics Engine; 13) Multibody Simulation Software Testbed for Small-Body Exploration and Sampling; 14) Propulsive Reaction Control System Model; 15) Licklider Transmission Protocol Implementation; 16) Core Recursive Hierarchical Image Segmentation; 17) Two-Stage Centrifugal Fan; 18) Combined Structural and Trajectory Control of Variable-Geometry Planetary Entry Systems; 19) Pressure Regulator With Internal Ejector Circulation Pump, Flow and Pressure Measurement Porting, and Fuel Cell System Integration Options; 20) Temperature-Sensitive Coating Sensor Based on Hematite; 21) Standardization of a Volumetric Displacement Measurement for Two-Body Abrasion Scratch Test Data Analysis; 22) Detection of Carbon Monoxide Using Polymer-Carbon Composite Films; 23) Substituted Quaternary Ammonium Salts Improve Low-Temperature Performance of Double-Layer Capacitors; 24) Sustainably Sourced, Thermally Resistant, Radiation Hard Biopolymer; 25) Integrated Lens Antennas for Multi-Pixel Receivers; 26) 180-GHz Interferometric Imager; 27) Maturation of Structural Health Management Systems for Solid Rocket Motors; 28) Validating Phasing and Geometry of Large Focal Plane Arrays; 29) Transverse Pupil Shifts for Adaptive Optics Non-Common Path Calibration; 30) Qualification of Fiber Optic Cables for Martian Extreme Temperature Environments; 31) Solid-State Spectral Light Source System; 32) Multiple-Event, Single-Photon Counting Imaging Sensor; 33) Surface Modeling to Support Small-Body Spacecraft Exploration and Proximity Operations; and 34) Achieving Exact and Constant Turnaround Ratio in a DDS-Based Coherent Transponder.

Source record↗

DOE OSTI2025

Sustainable Tire Production: Catalytic Upgrading of Ethanol into Butadiene (CRADA 636) Abstract

Bridgestone aims to minimize resource depletion and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by using 100% sustainable materials by 2050. As part of this goal Bridgestone is working to develop a first-of-kind end-of-life recycling process for tire material circularity and the decarbonization of new tire production. Used tires can be gasified to produce intermediate syngas (H 2 + CO) that can be further converted into ethanol using mature technology. The ethanol can then be converted into butadiene, a key precursor of new tires, using patented PNNL technology, enabling circularity for end-of-life tires. Indeed, PNNL has developed a new patented thermocatalytic-based technology for the conversion of ethanol into butadiene that allows for high carbon efficiency and improved catalyst longevity compared to World War II baseline catalyst. The objective here is to continue the development of this processing with the goal of commercial deployment. This includes development of engineered catalysts (e.g., extrudates) and their evaluation under industrially relevant conditions for deployment of a pilot scale. If successful, Bridgestone will subsequently utilize this catalyst technology at pilot and then commercialization scale creating jobs in both construction sector and industry sector in a chosen location that promotes greater diversity, equity, and inclusion through key policies, training, and recruiting practices. Taken together, this work will support the U.S. Department of Energy goal for production of renewable chemicals with > 70% GHG emissions reduction relative to petroleum-derived counterparts and supporting > 1 MMT/ yr CO 2 e emissions reduction by 2030.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1981

High temperature durable catalyst development

A program has been carried out to develop a catalytic reactor capable of operation in environments representative of those anticipated for advanced automotive gas turbine engines. A reactor consisting of a graded cell honeycomb support with a combination of noble metal and metal oxide catalyst coatings was built and successfully operated for 1000 hr. At an air preheat temperature of 740 K and a propane/air ratio of 0.028 by mass, the adiabatic flame temperature was held at about 1700 K. The graded cell monolithic reaction measured 5 cm in diameter by 10.2 cm in length and was operated at a reference velocity of 14.0 m/s at 1 atm. Measured NOx levels remained below 5 ppm, while unburned hydrocarbon concentrations registered near zero and carbon monoxide levels were nominally below 20 ppm.

Snow, G. C.↗

NASA NTRS2017

Design Study for the Asteroid Redirect Vehicle (ARV) Composite Primary Bulkhead

A design study was undertaken of a carbon fiber primary bulkhead for a large solar electric propulsion (SEP) spacecraft. The bulkhead design, supporting up to 16 t of xenon propellant, progressed from one consisting of many simple parts with many complex joints, to one consisting of a few complex parts with a few simple joints. The unique capabilities of composites led to a topology that transitioned loads from bending to in-plane tension and shear, with low part count. This significantly improved bulkhead manufacturability, cost, and mass. The stiffness-driven structure utilized high-modulus M55J fiber unidirectional prepregs. A full-scale engineering demonstration unit (EDU) of the concept was used to demonstrate manufacturability of the concept. Actual labor data was obtained, which could be extrapolated to a full bulkhead. The effort demonstrated the practicality of using high-modulus fiber (HMF) composites for unique shape topologies that minimize mass and cost. The lessons are applicable to primary and secondary aerospace structures that are stiffness driven.

Cressman, Thomas O.↗