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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
DOE OSTI2022

Deployment of the HFIRCON transport and depletion tool for plutonium-238 production studies

Irradiation of {sup 237}Np-bearing targets in Oak Ridge National Laboratory's (ORNL) High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) results in the efficient production of {sup 238}Pu, which, in the form of heat source PuO{sub 2}, is used as a reliable power source for deep-space and planetary NASA missions. A technology demonstration subproject was initiated at ORNL in 2011 to develop and implement the technology required to establish a {sup 238}Pu supply chain. A systematic progression of NpO{sub 2}/Al cermet (20 vol.% NpO{sub 2}) activities to date has successfully demonstrated target fabrication, irradiation, and chemical recovery processes. Recent program tasks have included the development of the HFIRCON transport and depletion tool for efficient reactor physics analyses and the evaluation of increased NpO{sub 2} loadings (i.e., beyond 20 vol.%) and NpN-based targets. This paper documents the deployment of the HFIRCON code to assess various Np concentrations in NpO{sub 2}- and NpN-based targets in HFIR's inner small vertical experiment facilities. Results indicate that {sup 238}Pu production and quality can be enhanced with increased Np loadings; however, target conversion rates are reduced. The results recorded in this paper, thermal and material balance evaluations, and testing requirement planning will be used to determine whether increased NpO{sub 2} loadings or NpN-based targets will be further considered. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1983

Laboratory system for demonstrating spacecraft processing of multispectral image data

The various elements of the Information Adaptive System (IAS) program are discussed along with the design features, approaches, and algorithms employed within the system. This program was initiated by NASA in order to develop an adaptable data processing system which will accommodate high speed multispectral image data in the real-time spacecraft environment. The development of this system is examined, including the test and support equipment required to evaluate and demonstrate the operational performance of the system in terms of the applicability of the design to high speed onboard processing. In addition to a high throughput rate capability, this system will be flexible, programmable, and capable of adapting its operation to external commands and characteristics of the data stream.

Meredith, B. D.↗
NASA NTRS1989

High performance alloy electroforming

Electroformed copper and nickel are used in structural applications for advanced propellant combustion chambers. An improved process has been developed by Bell Aerospace Textron, Inc. wherein electroformed nickel-manganese alloy has demonstrated superior mechanical and thermal stability when compared to previously reported deposits from known nickel plating processes. Solution chemistry and parametric operating procedures are now established and material property data is established for deposition of thick, large complex shapes such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine. The critical operating variables are those governing the ratio of codeposited nickel and manganese. The deposition uniformity which in turn affects the manganese concentration distribution is affected by solution resistance and geometric effects as well as solution agitation. The manganese concentration in the deposit must be between 2000 and 3000 ppm for optimum physical properties to be realized. The study also includes data regarding deposition procedures for achieving excellent bond strength at an interface with copper, nickel-manganese or INCONEL 718. Applications for this electroformed material include fabrication of complex or re-entry shapes which would be difficult or impossible to form from high strength alloys such as INCONEL 718.

Malone, G. A.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Enhancement of Hydrophilic Characteristics of Non-Wetting Porous Substrates by Kaolinite Treatment

The use of porous media has enormous potential for thermal management and phase separation in terrestrial, micro, Lunar and Marian gravity environments. Recently, a porous media based gravity insensitive condensing heat exchanger for humidity control has been proposed and successfully demonstrated by the authors. A strongly hydrophilic porous substrate is essential for condensing and trapping water vapor from the airstreams. However, most porous media which have good thermal characteristics are poorly wetting to water. This poses a significant obstacle in the development of the porous media based condensing heat exchanger. In response to this problem, a clay based process was developed for improving the wettability of non-wetting and partially wetting porous media. It was demonstrated that poorly wetting porous graphite as well as porous stainless steel could be converted to a completely wetting porous substrate by kaolinite treatment. The process enhances the wettability of both the surface and the interior pores. The paper presents experimental results of enhanced wettability of the treated substrate in terms of imbibition rate and capillary pressure as a function of saturation. The long term stability of the treated surface is also investigated and discussed.

Khan, Lutful I.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dual-Purpose Canister Filling Demonstration Project Progress Report

This report discusses the progress made at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory to support direct disposal of dual-purpose canisters (DPCs). Acceptable filler materials should demonstrate that the probability of criticality in DPCs during the disposal timeframe is below the probability threshold for inclusion in a repository performance assessment. This effort, which will ultimately result in a full-scale demonstration, includes computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling developed to gauge the filling process and to uncover any unforeseen issues. Filling simulations of the lower region (mouse holes) of a prototypic DPC show successfully simulate filling of the void space inside the canister and a smooth, even progression of the liquid level. Flow through a pipe that is similar to the drainpipe in a DPC is being investigated separately to gain valuable insight of the flow regime inside a pipe. Three physical experiments validating the computational filling model have been completed using surrogate liquids. One experiment using molten metal has been completed and the results demonstrate adequate filling of the canister void spaces. Although the scale experiment observed some void spaces related to shrinkage of the metal during cooling, the volume filled is expected to be sufficient to meet the purpose of moderator exclusion. Further experiments will scale up the geometry, moving towards a full-sized DPC demonstration, and provide a more rigorous investigation of candidate filler materials.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Western States Building Energy & Controls Apprenticeship (BECA) Program

How does this project help to understand the challenges of workforce development in the commercial building energy management industry? The purpose of this project was to create a replicable, scalable, and portable apprenticeship program for building energy management and controls. This paper will demonstrate how local processes can be more adaptable and inclusive than federal processes in achieving workforce development goals. Our work provides insights into the technical effectiveness of the program, enabling others to achieve greater success in their workforce development initiatives. The project required more time and financial resources than initially anticipated and spent a year in a no-cost extension working to accomplish the Statement of Project Objectives. The original goal was to create an Industry Related Apprenticeship Program (IRAP). The development of this apprenticeship presented challenges due to the lack of existing programs for reference and the absence of relevant industry classification codes by the Department of Labor (DOL). Notably, the role of a commercial building energy analyst is not recognized by the DOL. The SIC (industry codes) do not have a good description of this job. There are many that may fall into related categories, but none are the actual duties of an energy analyst. Discussions with the DOL indicated that substantial groundwork was necessary before a national apprenticeship program could be implemented, causing delays in the program’s commencement. As a result, students experienced longer wait times before starting their apprenticeship component. The apprenticeship program officially launched on September 14, 2021. The success of the State of Oregon’s apprenticeship program, the first of its kind in the state, underscored the flexibility and effectiveness of local initiatives compared to federal efforts. The COVID-19 pandemic also significantly impacted the project’s success. Beginning in March 2020, the pandemic led to widespread closures of schools and colleges by fall 2020. By September 2021, when the apprenticeship option became available, enrollment in colleges and universities nationwide had decreased, affecting student participation in the program. Moreover, as employers transitioned their employees to remote work, there was limited interaction with external personnel, influencing the willingness of training agents (employers) to integrate additional workers into their teams. This paper addresses several challenges encountered during the project, with the hope that future workforce development efforts will benefit from these experiences. We Final Technical Report 4 | Page encourage others to engage with state and federal agencies to enhance and update pathways for workforce development and apprenticeship programs.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS1989

Automated reuseable components system study results

The Automated Reusable Components System (ARCS) was developed under a Phase 1 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) contract for the U.S. Army CECOM. The objectives of the ARCS program were: (1) to investigate issues associated with automated reuse of software components, identify alternative approaches, and select promising technologies, and (2) to develop tools that support component classification and retrieval. The approach followed was to research emerging techniques and experimental applications associated with reusable software libraries, to investigate the more mature information retrieval technologies for applicability, and to investigate the applicability of specialized technologies to improve the effectiveness of a reusable component library. Various classification schemes and retrieval techniques were identified and evaluated for potential application in an automated library system for reusable components. Strategies for library organization and management, component submittal and storage, and component search and retrieval were developed. A prototype ARCS was built to demonstrate the feasibility of automating the reuse process. The prototype was created using a subset of the classification and retrieval techniques that were investigated. The demonstration system was exercised and evaluated using reusable Ada components selected from the public domain. A requirements specification for a production-quality ARCS was also developed.

Gilroy, Kathy↗
NASA NTRS2015

Superlattice Infrared Photodetector Research at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory

III-V semiconductors offer a highly effective platform for the development of sophisticated heterostructure-based MWIR and LWIR detectors, as exemplified by the high-performance double heterostructure (DH) nBn, XBn, and type- II superlattice infrared detectors. A key enabling design element is the unipolar barrier, which is used to implement the complementary barrier infra-red detector (CBIRD) design for increasing the collection efficiency of photo-generated carriers, and reducing dark current generation without impeding photocurrent flow. Heterostructure superlattice detectors that make effective use of unipolar barriers have demonstrated strong reduction of generation-recombination (G-R) dark current due to Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) processes. In the last several years we solely focused on the development of antimonide based IR detectors. Recently, we demonstrated RoA values over 14,000 Ohm sq cm for a 9.9 micron cutoff device by incorporating electron-blocking and hole-blocking unipolar barriers. This device has shown 300K BLIP operation with f/2 optics at 87 K with blackbody D* of 1.1x10(exp 11) cm Hz1/2/W.

focal planes↗
DOE OSTI2021

Promoting the Furan Ring‐Opening Reaction to Access New Donor–Acceptor Stenhouse Adducts with Hexafluoroisopropanol

Abstract Donor–acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs) are visible‐light‐responsive photoswitches with a variety of emerging applications in photoresponsive materials. Their two‐step modular synthesis, centered on the nucleophilic ring opening of an activated furan, makes DASAs readily accessible. However, the use of less reactive donors or acceptors renders the process slow and low yielding, which has limited their development. We demonstrate here that 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoro‐2‐propanol (HFIP) promotes the ring‐opening reaction and stabilizes the open isomer, allowing greatly reduced reaction times and increased yields for known derivatives. In addition, it provides access to previously unattainable DASA‐based photoswitches and DASA–polymer conjugates. The role of HFIP and the photochromic properties of a set of new DASAs is probed using a combination of 1 H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The use of sterically hindered, electron‐poor amines enabled the dark equilibrium to be decoupled from closed‐isomer half‐lives for the first time.

Clerc, Michèle↗
DOE OSTI2021

Promoting the Furan Ring‐Opening Reaction to Access New Donor–Acceptor Stenhouse Adducts with Hexafluoroisopropanol

Abstract Donor–acceptor Stenhouse adducts (DASAs) are visible‐light‐responsive photoswitches with a variety of emerging applications in photoresponsive materials. Their two‐step modular synthesis, centered on the nucleophilic ring opening of an activated furan, makes DASAs readily accessible. However, the use of less reactive donors or acceptors renders the process slow and low yielding, which has limited their development. We demonstrate here that 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoro‐2‐propanol (HFIP) promotes the ring‐opening reaction and stabilizes the open isomer, allowing greatly reduced reaction times and increased yields for known derivatives. In addition, it provides access to previously unattainable DASA‐based photoswitches and DASA–polymer conjugates. The role of HFIP and the photochromic properties of a set of new DASAs is probed using a combination of 1 H NMR and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The use of sterically hindered, electron‐poor amines enabled the dark equilibrium to be decoupled from closed‐isomer half‐lives for the first time.

Clerc, Michèle↗
DOE OSTI2025

Stress accommodation in nanoscale dolan bridges designed for superconducting qubits

Josephson junctions are the principal circuit element in numerous superconducting quantum information devices and can be readily integrated into large-scale electronics. However, device integration at the wafer scale necessarily depends on having a reliable, high-fidelity, and high-yield fabrication method for creating Josephson junctions. When creating Al/AlO x based superconducting qubits, the standard Josephson junction fabrication method relies on a sub-micron suspended resist bridge, known as a Dolan bridge, which tends to be particularly fragile and can often times fracture during the resist development process, ultimately resulting in device failure. In this work, we demonstrate a unique Josephson junction lithography mask design that incorporates stress-relief channels. Our simulation results show that the addition of stress-relief channels reduces the lateral stress in the Dolan bridge by more than 70% for all the bridge geometries investigated. In practice, our novel mask design significantly increased the survivability of the bridge during device processing, resulting in 100% yield for over 100 Josephson junctions fabricated.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Single-shot electrical detection of short-wavelength magnon pulse transmission in a magnonic thin-film waveguide

Abstract The advance of magnon spintronics requires understanding of time-domain magnon pulse transmission in order to develop high-speed information processing protocols. In this work, we demonstrate single-shot electrical detection of narrow-band magnon pulse transmission in a yttrium iron garnet thin-film delay line. The high signal-to-background ratio of magnon transmission band allows us to directly probe the magnon transmission electrically using a fast oscilloscope and to study its spectral evolution using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the time-domain transmitted signal. At elevated input power, we show a magnon transmission reduction and a spectral distortion, which can be understood by the nonlinear magnon excitation in the transmission band defined by the antenna geometry. In addition, we also find that the higher- (lower-) frequency magnon spectral component exhibits a lower (higher) magnon group velocity, showing a dispersion agreeing with the Damon-Eshbach dependence. Our results provide important guidance of magnon pulse engineering for their applications in spin wave computing and coherent magnon information processing.

Song, Moojune↗
DOE OSTI2020

Abstract for CRADA between the National Energy Technology Laboratory and General Motors (AGMT-0876)

Lightweight aluminum shape castings have widespread applications for structural components in the automotive, aerospace, and general engineering industries because of their excellent castability, corrosion resistance, and particularly high strength-to-weight ratio in the heat-treated condition. In the automotive industry, cast aluminum alloys have been increasingly used to replace cast iron and steel in vehicle applications such as engine blocks, cylinder heads, intake manifolds, brackets, housings, chassis, transmission parts, and suspension systems to reduce mass. As many of the aluminum shape castings used in automobiles involve cyclic loading, fatigue properties of the castings are critical to their success. The increasing use of lightweight aluminum cast components in critical structures thus requires improved integrity, with more reliable and quantifiable performance. The objective of this project is to demonstrate and further develop GM’s patent-pending, novel casting process, “Pressure-Assistant Precision Sand Casting (PAPSC) for producing flawless cast aluminum cylinder heads with minimum manufacturing and energy costs”. The approach is to leverage NETL’s experience in producing high-quality metal castings through various microstructure control and defect elimination technologies as well as comprehensive quantification of microstructure characteristics and mechanical properties. A baseline (production) alloy together with the melt treatment will be initially evaluated with the new PAPSC process to develop and validate the process window for producing flawless cast aluminum heads.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Verification and validation of developed short-term forecasting models

Recent advancements in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies provide an opportunity for leveraging data-driven algorithms to predict future nuclear power plant (NPP) operating conditions by using recorded plant process data. Successfully implementing these models can lead to cost-reducing, conditioned-based predictive maintenance through optimized maintenance schedules and a reduction of unnecessary maintenance activities. This report discusses the verification and validation of short-term forecasting processes (i.e., data cleaning, feature selection, model optimization, and forecasting) developed in previous reports. The verification and validation (V&V) process demonstrates the expected precision and accuracy when the ML model encounters new datasets from different systems. Shapley additive explanations were used as the primary means of feature selection across these different data set. Individual models were trained for each data set, then validated through a cross-validation procedure. In this report, two different ML models were tasked to predict variables from three different plant process data sets with varying prediction horizons. The results indicate that support vector regression (SVR) outperformed long short-term memory (LSTM) neural networks in regard to each data set and each prediction horizon in this study, but further tuning and optimization could improve long short-term memory results. However, each forecasting model showed reduced performance as the prediction horizon was extended from 1 hour to 1 day ahead. Research is ongoing to evaluate the optimal input variable space, which is based on a given set of process parameters, to further improve forecasting accuracy.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1978

Status report the SRC-1 and SRC-2 processes

Bench-scale and pilot plant development of solvent refined coal (SRC) processes is reviewed. Large SRC demonstration plants are described. Commercialization of the process is envisioned for the 1980's.

Chenoweth, G. E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Automation of surface observations program

At present, surface weather observing methods are still largely manual and labor intensive. Through the nationwide implementation of Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS), this situation can be improved. Two ASOS capability levels are planned. The first is a basic-level system which will automatically observe the weather parameters essential for aviation operations and will operate either with or without supplemental contributions by an observer. The second is a more fully automated, stand-alone system which will observe and report the full range of weather parameters and will operate primarily in the unattended mode. Approximately 250 systems are planned by the end of the decade. When deployed, these systems will generate the standard hourly and special long-line transmitted weather observations, as well as provide continuous weather information direct to airport users. Specific ASOS configurations will vary depending upon whether the operation is unattended, minimally attended, or fully attended. The major functions of ASOS are data collection, data processing, product distribution, and system control. The program phases of development, demonstration, production system acquisition, and operational implementation are described.

Short, Steve E.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Development of gallium arsenide high-speed, low-power serial parallel interface modules: Executive summary

Final report to NASA LeRC on the development of gallium arsenide (GaAS) high-speed, low power serial/parallel interface modules. The report discusses the development and test of a family of 16, 32 and 64 bit parallel to serial and serial to parallel integrated circuits using a self aligned gate MESFET technology developed at the Honeywell Sensors and Signal Processing Laboratory. Lab testing demonstrated 1.3 GHz clock rates at a power of 300 mW. This work was accomplished under contract number NAS3-24676.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1990

Navigation accuracies for GPS demonstration on Topex/Poseidon

When Topex/Poseidon, is launched in June 1992, the joint United States/French oceanographic satellite mission will carry a developmental Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver on board to support the planned GPS demonstration experiment. The navigation operations aspect of the demonstration will develop software and operational procedures for the GPS Data Processing Facility (GDPF) at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. This paper presents simulations and covariance analysis of operational scenarios in support of the GDPF. Multi-orbit filter techniques using GPS carrier phase and P-code pseudo-range are studied both to tune the filter parameters and to determine feasible arc lengths for use in operations. In addition, a baseline operational scenario is presented with performance results given in terms of end-to-end processing times and computational loading based on a prototype version of the operational software.

Williams, B. G.↗