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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 361 records · Page 20
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1993

Research and development of high thermal stability fuels

Increases in aircraft performance are leading to increases in the thermal stress on the primary aircraft coolant--the fuel. Fuel thermal stability limitations may offset future aircraft performance gains. The Air Force's Wright Laboratory is sponsoring several research programs to address this problem. The development of an additive package for JP-8 to improve its thermal stability is the primary focus of this paper. This program involves extensive testing of fuels and additives in a variety of test devices, culminating in tests in a fuel system simulator and engine tests. These tests involve Air Force personnel, on-site contractors (University of Dayton Research Institute, Systems Research Laboratories), Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Co., additive manufacturers, and Sandia National Laboratory. The test devices include several flowing and static tests, where the behavior of a fuel is investigated in a wide variety of environments. The study of several baseline fuels in these devices has led to some new insights into the mechanisms of fuel thermal (in)stability. It is becoming clear that a fuel's tendency to oxidize (to form peroxides, for example) is often inversely proportional to its tendency to form insoluble deposits.

T Edwards↗
NASA NTRS2011

Teledyne Energy Systems, Inc., Proton Exchange Member (PEM) Fuel Cell Engineering Model Powerplant. Test Report: Initial Benchmark Tests in the Original Orientation

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology is the leading candidate to replace the alkaline fuel cell technology, currently used on the Shuttle, for future space missions. During a 5-yr development program, a PEM fuel cell powerplant was developed. This report details the initial performance evaluation test results of the powerplant.

Loyselle, Patricia↗
NASA NTRS2013

Peak-Seeking Control For Reduced Fuel Consumption: Flight-Test Results For The Full-Scale Advanced Systems Testbed FA-18 Airplane

A peak-seeking control algorithm for real-time trim optimization for reduced fuel consumption has been developed by researchers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Dryden Flight Research Center to address the goals of the NASA Environmentally Responsible Aviation project to reduce fuel burn and emissions. The peak-seeking control algorithm is based on a steepest-descent algorithm using a time-varying Kalman filter to estimate the gradient of a performance function of fuel flow versus control surface positions. In real-time operation, deflections of symmetric ailerons, trailing-edge flaps, and leading-edge flaps of an F/A-18 airplane are used for optimization of fuel flow. Results from six research flights are presented herein. The optimization algorithm found a trim configuration that required approximately 3 percent less fuel flow than the baseline trim at the same flight condition. This presentation also focuses on the design of the flight experiment and the practical challenges of conducting the experiment.

flight optimization↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a Multi-Sensor Data Science System Used for Signature Development on Solvent Extraction Processes in support of safeguards- an overview

A new nuclear fuel cycle test bed is being built at Idaho National Laboratory to support the purification of special nuclear material recovered from used fuel. The test bed provides an opportunity to research process flow and the application of computational tools in solvent extraction processes. A deeper understanding of process and equipment behavior coupled with real time data collection can indicate whether a process failure is accidental or purposeful. The goal of this project is to develop a system that utilizes non-traditional measurement sources such as vibration, acoustics, current, light, flow, and temperature in conjunction with data-based, machine learning techniques that will allow for signal discovery. This multi-sensor data can support the development of safeguards by design and security by design measures for such a facility. Additionally, it can aid in early detection and identification of removed materials indicating diversion, which is essential for initiating material recovery and actor identification. This overview encompasses the current research and testing of sensors to develop a spectrum of process signatures. To be followed by planned experiments aimed to characterize said signatures and study potential feature extraction techniques to identify a fault in the system (i.e. flow diversion).

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
NASA NTRS1986

Long term deposit formation in aviation turbine fuel at elevated temperature

An experimental characterization is conducted for the relationships between deposit mass, operating time, and temperature, in coking associated with aviation fuels under conditions simulating those typical of turbine engine fuel systems. Jet A and Suntech A fuels were tested in stainless steel tubing heated to 420-750 K, over test durations of between 3 and 730 hr and at fuel velocities of 0.07-1.3 m/sec. Deposit rates are noted to be a strong function of tube temperature; for a given set of test conditions, deposition rates for Suntech A exceed those of Jet A by a factor of 10. Deposition rates increased markedly with test duration for both fuels. The heated tube data obtained are used to develop a global chemical kinetic model for fuel oxidation and carbon deposition.

Giovanetti, A. J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Defect Recognition for Eddy Current Testing of Spent Nuclear Fuel Canister using Convolutional Neural Network

This paper proposes an accurate and robust defect detection solution for 304L and 306L stainless steel (SS) weld. In the proposed solution, Eddy current testing (ECT) is employed to generate 2-dimensional (2D) data for samples under test with defects. The 2D data can be treated as images for deep learning-based defect detection. Since convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are powerful in processing images, CNN is employed in this study for defect detection. Experiments are conducted on a submerged arc welding (SAW) 304L SS weld sample with an artificial crack generated by waterjet cutting. The ECT data on this seeded fault sample is utilized to verify the proposed solution. For this purpose, the ECT measurement are separated as from Fault area and Normal area, which are used for CNN training. After training, the testing data is used for verification. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed solution.

Niu, Guangxing↗
DOE OSTI2025

Role of Accelerated Burnup Irradiation Testing in Support of Accelerated Fuel Qualification

Accelerated fuel qualification has gained attention as a means to reduce the time needed to realize new nuclear fuel concepts and expand the operating windows of existing fuel forms. A key component of this approach is accelerated burnup irradiation testing. Although the concept of accelerated burnup has been familiar to the community for many decades, the specifics about how the increasing fission rate may be used as a qualification tool have not yet been elucidated. The present work provides a vision of how accelerated fission rate testing can enable accelerated fuel qualification. Technology readiness levels (TRLs) are reintroduced to demarcate the stages of traditional fuel qualification, and accelerated fuel qualification is presented in this context. The critical steps needed to achieve each TRL are reframed within the context of modern nuclear materials research and development, as revolutionary fuel concepts are more common than previous eras. The practical impacts of accelerated fuel qualification approaches as applied to contemporary fuel qualification efforts are illustrated. Examples are given to illustrate how accelerated burnup irradiations are being used currently and could be applied in the future to support qualification and licensure. Finally, outstanding challenges in the application of accelerated burnup methods to nuclear fuel qualification are summarized, with priority placed on understanding how fission rate impacts diffusion, microstructure evolution, and other critical mechanisms that dictate fuel performance.

Accelerated fuel qualification↗
NASA NTRS2018

Outgas and Vacuum Storage Testing for MAV Hybrid Fuel Grain

As a part of the Mars Ascent Vehicle mission, NASA MSFC has formulated a new hybrid fuel grain from a paraffin blend, named SP-7. As a part of the necessary preparation for the mission, this material must be tested for any outgassing behavior or other property changes due to vacuum exposure. This type of testing had not yet been conducted for this material. The goal of this project was to set up and begin automated analysis of this material, which would then run over the course of a year. To accomplish this goal, a few primary objectives were necessary-construction of a vacuum chamber to house the test, implementation of an automated gas analyzer system, preparation of SP-7 samples, and test initialization.

Mars Ascent Vehicle↗
NASA NTRS2017

Characterization, Operation and Analysis of Test Motors Containing Aluminized Hybrid Fuels

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Materials and Processes Department, with support from the Propulsion Systems Department, has renewed the development and maintenance of a hybrid test bed for exposing ablative thermal protection materials to an environment similar to that seen in solid rocket motors (SRM). The Solid Fuel Torch (SFT), operated during the Space Shuttle program, utilized gaseous oxygen for oxidizer and an aluminized hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) fuel grain to expose a converging section of phenolic material to a 400 psi, 2-phase flow combustion environment. The configuration allows for up to a 2 foot long, 5 inch diameter fuel grain cartridge. Wanting to now test rubber insulation materials with a turn-back feature to mimic the geometry of an aft dome being impinged by alumina particles, the throat area has now been increased by several times to afford flow similarity. Combined with the desire to maintain a higher operating pressure, the oxidizer flow rate is being increased by a factor of 10. Out of these changes has arisen the need to characterize the fuel/oxidizer combination in a higher mass flux condition than has been previously tested at MSFC, and at which the literature has little to no reporting as well. Testing for fuel regression rate comprised a two-level, full factorial design available over Aluminum loading level, mass flow rate, pressure, and diameter. The data taken significantly surpasses the previous available data on regression rate of aluminized HTPB fuel burning with gaseous oxygen. It encompasses higher mass fluxes, and appears to generate more consistent data. The good test article and facility design and testing work of the Penn State HPCL combined with careful analysis of the data and good planning has made this possible. This should be able to assist with developing rate laws that are useful both for research planning and for developing flight system sizing relationships that can help optimize hybrid rocket concepts for trade studies. The successful approach of this DOE and test setup is applicable to other propellant combinations as well.

Kibbey, Timothy P.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Characterization, Operation and Analysis of Test Motors Containing Aluminized Hybrid Fuels

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center's Materials and Processes Department, with support from the Propulsion Systems Department, has renewed the development and maintenance of a hybrid test bed for exposing ablative thermal protection materials to an environment similar to that seen in solid rocket motors (SRM). The Solid Fuel Torch (SFT), operated during the Space Shuttle program, utilized gaseous oxygen for oxidizer and an aluminized hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) fuel grain to expose a converging section of phenolic material to a 400 psi, 2-phase flow combustion environment. The configuration allows for up to a 2 foot long, 5 inch diameter fuel grain cartridge. Wanting to now test rubber insulation materials with a turn-back feature to mimic the geometry of an aft dome being impinged by alumina particles, the throat area has now been increased by several times to afford flow similarity. Combined with the desire to maintain a higher operating pressure, the oxidizer flow rate is being increased by a factor of 10. Out of these changes has arisen the need to characterize the fuel/oxidizer combination in a higher mass flux condition than has been previously tested at MSFC, and at which the literature has little to no reporting as well. Testing for fuel regression rate comprised a two-level, full factorial design available over Aluminum loading level, mass flow rate, pressure, and diameter. The data taken significantly surpasses the previous available data on regression rate of aluminized HTPB fuel burning with gaseous oxygen. It encompasses higher mass fluxes, and appears to generate more consistent data. The good test article and facility design and testing work of the Penn State HPCL combined with careful analysis of the data and good planning has made this possible. This should be able to assist with developing rate laws that are useful both for research planning and for developing flight system sizing relationships that can help optimize hybrid rocket concepts for trade studies. The successful approach of this DOE and test setup is applicable to other propellant combinations as well.

Kibbey, Timothy P.↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Perspective on Biomass-Derived Biofuels: From Catalyst Design Principles to Fuel Properties

The hazards to health and the environment associated with the transportation sector include smog, particulate matter, and greenhouse gas emissions. Conversion of lignocellulosic biomass into biofuels has the potential to provide significant amounts of infrastructure-compatible liquid transportation fuels that reduce those hazardous materials. However, the development of these technologies is inefficient, due to: (i) the lack of a priori fuel property consideration, (ii) poor shared vocabulary between process chemists and fuel engineers, and (iii) modern and future engines operating outside the range of traditional autoignition metrics such as octane or cetane numbers. In this perspective, we describe an approach where we follow a “fuel-property first” design methodology with a sequence of (i) identifying the desirable fuel properties for modern engines, (ii) defining molecules capable of delivering those properties, and (iii) designing catalysts and processes that can produce those molecules from a candidate feedstock in a specific conversion process. Computational techniques need to be leveraged to minimize expenses and experimental efforts on low-promise options. This concept is illustrated with current research information available for biomass conversion to fuels via catalytic fast pyrolysis and hydrotreating; outstanding challenges and research tools necessary for a successful outcome are presented.

BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) Operations, Maintenance, and Testing - FY2025

This report documents the operations, maintenance, and improvements that were performed at the Mechanisms Engineering Test Loop (METL) and its supporting infrastructure during FY2024. The METL facility had a very successful seventh year of operations while supporting the testing of multiple test article experiments in the facility. The METL facility continued supporting the Gear Test Assembly (GTA) testing and the Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) with the full testing with both the primary and secondary systems. Work to accommodate two additional experiments, a flow sensor test article (F-STAr) gripper test and a fuel handling gripper test article (GrTA) continued as they are expected to undergo testing in METL in FY2025. In addition, a new 18” test article, the Sample Testing Basket (STB) was used a few times to provide screening tests for sodium service materials. A fifth test vessel was installed in the location of Test Vessel 6, and a wet vapor nitrogen sodium processing system was developed and initially tested.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

CalTestBed - Twelve Benefit Co - Understanding Degradation of Water Management Properties in Gas Diffusion Layers (CRADA Final Report)

The research between Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and Twelve Benefit Co. enhanced Twelve’s understanding of how chemical changes to the gas diffusion layer lead to failure of their CO 2 electrolyzers. During the CRADA period, LBNL team tested Twelve’s gas diffusion layer samples (GDL), some with microporous layer (MPL) and some without MPL using the water-air capillary pressure setup. LBNL team also tested microporous layer samples using the fuel cell test stands and compared those results with commercial GDL and MPL. Understanding the hydrophobicity of the material, along with electrochemical performance is the key to determining Twelve’s ability to scale their platform. Further improvements to Twelve’s CO 2 electrolyzer can enhance the net zero emissions with their technology.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2003

Fuel Reformer Nozzle Development

The fellowship work this summer will be in support of the development of a fuel mixer for a liquid fuel reformer that is upstream of a fuel cell. Tasks for the summer shall consist of design of a fuel mixer, setup of the laser diagnostics for determining the degree of fuel mixing, and testing of the fuel mixer. The fuel mixer shall be a venturi section with fuel injected at or near the throat, and an air swirler upstream of the venturi. Data to determine the performance of the mixer shall be taken using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA).

Lai, Ming-Chia D.↗
NASA NTRS2001

PAGEMS

Glenn Research Center has extensive instrumentation developed for measuring particulate and gaseous emissions. The Particulate and Gaseous Emissions Measurement System (PAGEMS) is a mobile facility housing advanced instrumentation used for measuring combustion particulates and gaseous species. Particulates sizes ranging from 10 nm to 10 mm can be measured along with SO2, NO, NO2, CO, CO2, THC and O2 . Measurements can be made from subatmospheric up to 60 atm. Representative data from two engine tests will be discussed. In one test, the fuel sulfur content was changed, while the other test (T-63 engine) used various fuel additives. Probe design is essential to acquiring accurate particulate data. I will discuss the AEDC designed particulate probe, and the results of a University of Minnesota calibration study using the probe. Another suite of instrumentation, a tunable diode laser (TDL), enables in-situ real time gaseous species measurements. Representative TDL data from a T-38 aircraft will be presented. In conclusion, near term measurement opportunities will be discussed.

Bulzan, Dan↗
NASA NTRS2007

Testing in Support of Fission Surface Power System Qualification

The strategy for qualifying a FSP system could have a significant programmatic impact. The US has not qualified a space fission power system since launch of the SNAP-10A in 1965. This paper explores cost-effective options for obtaining data that would be needed for flight qualification of a fission system. Qualification data could be obtained from both nuclear and non-nuclear testing. The ability to perform highly realistic nonnuclear testing has advanced significantly throughout the past four decades. Instrumented thermal simulators were developed during the 1970s and 1980s to assist in the development, operation, and assessment of terrestrial fission systems. Instrumented thermal simulators optimized for assisting in the development, operation, and assessment of modern FSP systems have been under development (and utilized) since 1998. These thermal simulators enable heat from fission to be closely mimicked (axial power profile, radial power profile, temperature, heat flux, etc.) and extensive data to be taken from the core region. For transient testing, pin power during a transient is calculated based on the reactivity feedback that would occur given measured values of test article temperature and/or dimensional changes. The reactivity feedback coefficients needed for the test are either calculated or measured using cold/warm zero-power criticals. In this way non-nuclear testing can be used to provide very realistic information related to nuclear operation. Non-nuclear testing can be used at all levels, including component, subsystem, and integrated system testing. FSP fuels and materials are typically chosen to ensure very high confidence in operation at design burnups, fluences, and temperatures. However, facilities exist (e.g. ATR, HFIR) for affordably performing in-pile fuel and materials irradiations, if such testing is desired. Ex-core materials and components (such as alternator materials, control drum drives, etc.) could be irradiated in university or DOE reactors to ensure adequate radiation resistance. Facilities also exist for performing warm and cold zero-power criticals.

Houts, Mike↗
NASA NTRS2011

Characterization of Deficiencies in the Frequency Domain Forced Response Analysis Technique for Supersonic Turbine Bladed Disks

Turbine blades in rocket and jet engine turbomachinery experience enormous harmonic loading conditions. These loads result from the integer number of upstream and downstream stator vanes as well as the other turbine stages. Assessing the blade structural integrity is a complex task requiring an initial characterization of whether resonance is possible and then performing a forced response analysis if that condition is met. The standard technique for forced response analysis in rocket engines is to decompose a CFD-generated flow field into its harmonic components, and to then perform a frequency response analysis at the problematic natural frequencies. Recent CFD analysis and water-flow testing at NASA/MSFC, though, indicates that this technique may miss substantial harmonic and non-harmonic excitation sources that become present in complex flows. A substantial effort has been made to account for this denser spatial Fourier content in frequency response analysis (described in another paper by the author), but the question still remains whether the frequency response analysis itself is capable of capturing the excitation content sufficiently. Two studies comparing frequency response analysis with transient response analysis, therefore, of bladed-disks undergoing this complex flow environment have been performed. The first is of a bladed disk with each blade modeled by simple beam elements. Six loading cases were generated by varying a baseline harmonic excitation in different ways based upon cold-flow testing from Heritage Fuel Air Turbine Test. It was hypothesized that the randomness and other variation from the standard harmonic excitation would reduce the blade structural response, but the results showed little reduction. The second study was of a realistic model of a bladed-disk excited by the same CFD used in the J2X engine program. It was hypothesized that enforcing periodicity in the CFD (inherent in the frequency response technique) would overestimate the response. The results instead showed that the transient analysis results were up to 10% higher for "clean" nodal diameter excitations and six times larger for "messy" excitations, where substantial Fourier content around the main harmonic exists. Because the bulk of resonance problems are due to the "clean" excitations, a 10% underprediction is not necessarily a problem, especially since the average response in the transient is similar to the frequency response result, and so in a realistic finite life calculation, the life would be same. However, in the rare cases when the "messy" excitations harmonics are identified as the source of potential resonance concerns, this research does indicate that frequency response analysis is inadequate for accurate characterization of blade structural capability.

Brown, Andrew M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Fuel Design and Fabrication: Research Reactor Fuel

The objective of this chapter is to inform the reader on the essential aspects of design and fabrication of nuclear fuel systems utilized in research and test reactors. Fuel attributes of interest include mechanical, physical, and thermal properties as well as overall manufacturability. The chapter focuses primarily on plate-type fuels utilized in the highest power research reactors where design and function are critical to operational safety and successfully meeting each reactor’s unique mission.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗