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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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Risk assessment, safety analysis of the automotive stirling engine (ASE) mod I, design criteria and materials properties for the ASE mod I and reference engines, combustion are flower development, and the mod I engine starter motor are discussed. The stirling engine system, external heat system, hot engine system, cold engine system, and engine drive system are also discussed.
The results of orbital flight tests (OFT) of the Space Shuttle are reviewed, and modifications planned for upcoming operational flights are discussed. The performance of the solid rocket boosters, external tank, main engines, structural system, propulsion system, reaction control system, electric power system, heat rejection system, hydraulic system, avionics, and other systems is described and evaluated as generally highly satisfactory. Payload servicing and deployment were also successfully demonstrated by OFT. Additional facilities planned for the operational flights are briefly described, and improvements that will make the Challenger spacecraft lighter than Columbia, provide it with more thrust, and give it a larger payload are summarized. Some software modifications being introduced are also mentioned.
Two-phase heat-transfer system delivers coolant to equipment as liquid and removes it as vapor. Alternatively, system heats equipment by delivering vapor and removing condensed liquid. Two-phase scheme effective for heat transfer over long distances. Heat-transfer plates remove heat from or supply heat to equipment. If temperature of plate is high, valve opens liquid-supply line to plate, and cooling results. If plate temperature is low, valve opens liquid-suction line to plate, and heating ensues.
A lower stage chemisorption refrigeration system physically and functionally coupled to an upper stage physical adsorption refrigeration system is disclosed. Waste heat generated by the lower stage cycle is regenerated to fuel the upper stage cycle thereby greatly improving the energy efficiency of a two-stage sorption refrigerator. The two stages are joined by disposing a first pressurization chamber providing a high pressure flow of a first refrigerant for the lower stage refrigeration cycle within a second pressurization chamber providing a high pressure flow of a second refrigerant for the upper stage refrigeration cycle. The first pressurization chamber is separated from the second pressurization chamber by a gas-gap thermal switch which at times is filled with a thermoconductive fluid to allow conduction of heat from the first pressurization chamber to the second pressurization chamber.
Time dependent convective flows during crystal growth of doped semiconductors lead to fluctuations of the composition, so called dopant striations. In general, it is difficult to decide which is the main mechanism for the generation of these striations, it might be either the fluctuation of the concentration field in the melt and the extent of the solute boundary layer ahead of the solid-liquid interface or a variation of the growth velocity. Direct access to the concentration field is rather complicated to achieve, especially considering the high process temperature and the chemical activity of liquid silicon. The contribution of growth rate fluctuations to the formation of compositional fluctuations can be determined by measuring microscopic growth rates. The classical method of current pulses requires electrical feed-throughs and good electrical contacts, both are critical issues for the growth of high purity silicon crystals. Using a radiation based heating system, the heating power can be modulated very fast and effectively. We added to the normal heater power a sinusoidal off-set in the frequency range of 1 to 10 Hz, generating a narrow spaced weak rippling in the grown crystals which are superposed to the dopant striations caused by natural and by thermocapillary convection. The pulling speed was varied between 1 and 4mm/min. The microscope images of etched crystals slices have been analyzed by peak-search algorithms (measuring the spacing between each artificially induced marker) and by FFT. Performing growth experiments under a time-dependent flow regime, fluctuations of the microscopic growth velocity of Delta(v)/v(sub average) up to 50% have been measured. Damping the time-dependent convection by the use of an axial, static magnetic field of 500mT, the microscopic growth rate became constant within the resolution limit of this method. The results will be discussed using analytical methods for the calculation of microscopic growth velocity and by comparing them with measurements of temperature fluctuations in the melt during growth experiments itself.
The Direct Fusion Drive (DFD) is a nuclear fusion engine that produces both thrust and electric power. It employs a field reversed configuration with an odd-parity rotating magnetic field heating system to heat the plasma to fusion temperatures. The engine uses deuterium and helium-3 as fuel and additional deuterium that is heated in the scrape-off layer for thrust augmentation. In this way variable exhaust velocity and thrust is obtained.
In various embodiments, the present invention relates to heat dissipation systems including a hygroscopic working fluid and methods of using the same. In various embodiments, the present invention provides a method for heat dissipation using a hygroscopic working fluid. The method can include transferring thermal energy from a heated process fluid to the hygroscopic working fluid in a process heat exchanger, to form a cooled process fluid. The method can include condensing liquid from a feed gas on a heat transfer surface of a feed gas heat exchanger in contact with the cooled process fluid, to form a cooled feed gas, the heated process fluid, and a condensate. The method can include dissipating thermal energy from the hygroscopic working fluid to a cooling gas composition with a fluid-air contactor. The method can include transferring moisture between the hygroscopic working fluid and the cooling gas composition with the fluid-air contactor. The method can include adding at least part of the condensate to the hygroscopic working fluid.
The working fluid for externally-mounted, space-based two-phase heat transport systems is considered. A sequence of screening criteria involving freezing and critical point temperatures and latent heat of vaporization and vapor density are applied to a data base of 860 fluids. The thermal performance of the 52 fluids which pass this preliminary screening are then ranked according to their impact on the weight of a reference system. Upon considering other nonthermal criteria (flammability, toxicity, and chemical stability) a final set of 10 preferred fluids is obtained. The effects of variations in system parameters is investigated for these 10 fluids by means of a factorial design.
Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc. (ACT) is collaborating with NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) to develop a heat pipe-based thermal delivery system to efficiently manage the waste heat generated onboard an electric aircraft. The heat pipe system will interface with NASA GRC’s thermoacoustic heat pump in order to recycle waste heat by transporting thermal energy to various end users onboard the aircraft. This paper discusses the layout of theoretical heat pipe networks for a MW-class commercial electric aircraft. This is followed by a discussion of progress made on the development of a novel two-phase heat transport system with solid-state thermal switching and control capabilities.
This report is a compilation of the work that has been done on the grant DE-EE0002805 entitled "Finite Volume Based Computer Program for Ground Source Heat Pump Systems." The goal of this project was to develop a detailed computer simulation tool for GSHP (ground source heat pump) heating and cooling systems. Two such tools were developed as part of this DOE (Department of Energy) grant; the first is a two-dimensional computer program called GEO2D and the second is a three-dimensional computer program called GEO3D. Both of these simulation tools provide an extensive array of results to the user. A unique aspect of both these simulation tools is the complete temperature profile information calculated and presented. Complete temperature profiles throughout the ground, casing, tube wall, and fluid are provided as a function of time.
The ARIES Collaborative, a U.S. Department of Energy Building America research team, partnered with NeighborWorks America affiliate Homeowners' Rehab Inc. (HRI) of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to study improvements to the central hydronic heating system in one of the nonprofit's housing developments. The heating controls in the three-building, 42-unit Columbia Cambridge Alliance for Spanish Tenants housing development were upgraded. Fuel use in the development was excessive compared to similar properties. A poorly insulated thermal envelope contributed to high energy bills, but adding wall insulation was not cost-effective or practical. The more cost-effective option was improving heating system efficiency, which faced several obstacles, including inflexible boiler controls and failed thermostatic radiator valves. Boiler controls were replaced with systems that offer temperature setbacks and one that controls heat based on apartment temperature in addition to outdoor temperature. Utility bill analysis shows that post-retrofit weather-normalized heating energy use was reduced by 10%-31% (average of 19%). Indoor temperature cutoff reduced boiler runtime (and therefore heating fuel consumption) by 28% in the one building in which it was implemented. Nearly all savings were obtained during night which had a lower indoor temperature cut off (68°F) than day (73° F). This implies that the outdoor reset curve was appropriately adjusted for this building for daytime operation. Nighttime setback of heating system supply water temperature had no discernable impact on boiler runtime or gas bills.
Superfluidity properties of heated finite Fermi systems are studied in the static fluctuation approximation, which is an original method. This method relies on a single and controlled approximation, which permits taking correctly into account quasiparticle correlations and thereby going beyond the independent-quasiparticle model. A closed self-consistent set of equations for calculating correlation functions at finite temperature is obtained for a finite Fermi system described by the Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer Hamiltonian. An equation for the energy gap is found with allowance for fluctuation effects. It is shown that the phase transition to the supefluid state is smeared upon the inclusion of fluctuations.
The design and development of eight prototype solar heating and combined heating and cooling systems is discussed. The program management and systems engineering are reported, and operational test sites are identified.
The plan schedule and status of multiple objectives to be achieved in the development, manufacture, installation, and maintenance of two solar heated hot water prototype systems and two heat exchangers are reported. A computer program developed to resolve problems and evaluate system performance is described.
A thermal design concept of attaching the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) hot side directly to the radiator and maximizing the number of TECs to cool multiple detectors in space is presented. It minimizes the temperature drop between the TECs and radiator. An ethane constant conductance heat pipe transfers heat from the detectors to a TEC cold plate which the cold side of the TECs is attached to. This thermal design concept minimizes the size of TEC heat rejection systems. Hence it reduces the problem of accommodating the radiator within a required envelope. It also reduces the mass of the TEC heat rejection system. Thermal testing of a demonstration unit in vacuum verified the thermal performance of the thermal design concept.
Sorption systems traditionally fall into two categories: closed (heat pumps and chillers) and open (dehumidification). Recent work has explored the possibility of semi-open systems, which can perform heat pumping or chilling while utilizing ambient humidity as the working fluid of the cycle, and are still capable of being driven by solar, waste, or combustion heat sources. The efficiencies of closed and open systems are well characterized, and can typically be determined from four temperature s. In this work, the performance potential of semi-open systems is explored by adapting expressions for the efficiency of closed and open systems to the novel semi-open systems. A key new parameter is introduced, which involves five temperatures, since both the ambient dry bulb and ambient dew point are used. Furthermore, this additional temperature is necessary to capture the open absorber performance in terms of both the absorption of humidity and sensible heat transfer with surrounding air.
This fact sheet features an R&D project that will develop a modeling platform that can quantify the value of a district energy system and its potential for waste heat recovery. The new software analysis platform will evaluate and optimize district energy systems to better utilize low-temperature waste heat from nearby commercial and industrial buildings. The platform will help project developers and engineers easily quantify the potential value and cost savings of community energy systems for both producers and consumers of waste heat.
Effect of mission attitude timelines on consumables requirements for proposed shuttle orbiter heat rejection systems