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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1977

Large area Czochralski silicon

The overall cost effectiveness of the Czochralski process for producing large-area silicon was determined. The feasibility of growing several 12 cm diameter crystals sequentially at 12 cm/h during a furnace run and the subsequent slicing of the ingot using a multiblade slurry saw were investigated. The goal of the wafering process was a slice thickness of 0.25 mm with minimal kerf. A slice + kerf of 0.56 mm was achieved on 12 cm crystal using both 400 grit B4C and SiC abrasive slurries. Crystal growth experiments were performed at 12 cm diameter in a commercially available puller with both 10 and 12 kg melts. Several modifications to the puller hoz zone were required to achieve stable crystal growth over the entire crystal length and to prevent crystallinity loss a few centimeters down the crystal. The maximum practical growth rate for 12 cm crystal in this puller design was 10 cm/h, with 12 to 14 cm/h being the absolute maximum range at which melt freeze occurred.

Rea, S. N.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Decision Processes in Discrimination: Fundamental Misrepresentations of Signal Detection Theory

In the first part of this article, I describe a new approach to studying decision making in discrimination tasks that does not depend on the technical assumptions of signal detection theory (e.g., normality of the encoding distributions). Applying these new distribution-free tests to data from three experiments, I show that base rate and payoff manipulations had substantial effects on the participants' encoding distributions but no effect on their decision rules, which were uniformly unbiased in equal and unequal base rate conditions and in symmetric and asymmetric payoff conditions. In the second part of the article, I show that this seemingly paradoxical result is readily explained by the sequential sampling models of discrimination. I then propose a new, "model-free" test for response bias that seems to more properly identify both the nature and direction of the biases induced by the classical bias manipulations.

Balakrishnan, J. D.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Monitoring and Assimilation of MIPAS and SCIAMACHY Ozone Data

Preliminary results are presented from experiments that integrate ozone observations from two ENVISAT-borne instruments with the ozone data assimilation system developed at NASA's Data Assimilation Office (DAO). The data used are ozone total column provided by the Scanning Imaging Absorption Spectrometer for Atmospheric Chartography (SCIAMACHY) and stratospheric profiles from the Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS) instrument. The DAO's existing system sequentially assimilates the Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet/2 total and partial ozone column data. Incorporation of SCIAMACHY and MIPAS data is done in two stages. First, the observations are monitored. The monitoring consists of computing the differences between Envisat observations and the ozone system forecast, i.e. observed-minus-forecast (O-F) residuals. The O-F residuals are then analyzed using simple statistical methods to examine the spatial distribution of differences, which are large for SCIAMACHY near the terminator. In the second stage, the MIPAS data will be actively assimilated along with the SBW/2 observations; any preliminary results of note will be discussed.

Wargan, K.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupling Surface Flow with High-performance Subsurface Reactive Flow and Transport Code PFLOTRAN

Water exchange between the surface and subsurface is important for both water resource management and environmental protection. In this paper, we develop coupled surface and subsurface flow simulation capability in a parallel subsurface flow and reactive transport code PFLOTRAN. We sequentially couple the diffusion wave-based surface flow with the subsurface flow governedby the Richards equation in PFLOTRAN. These two flow domains are linked with a boundary condition switching method that ensures continuity of pressure and flux at the surface-subsurface interface. We verify the coupled code against other existing hydrologic models and observation data using a number of numerical experiments. The coupled hydrological model exhibits good performance in strong parallel scaling tests. The new coupled surface and subsurface simulator significantly advance community simulation capability towards improving integrated hydrologic and biogeochemical understanding of complex systems such as watersheds and river corridors. Keywords: Surface flow, Integrated hydrological modeling, Boundary condition switching, Parallel computing

Wu, Runjian↗
NASA NTRS1979

Synchronization of clocks by very-long-baseline interferometry

Two hydrogen-maser clocks, one at Haystack Observatory and one at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, were synchronized by means of observations of several extragalactic radio sources on March 28, and again on September 23, 1977. Observations were made sequentially in eight 360-kHz bands distributed between about 8.4 and 8.5 GHz with spacings designed to enable the group-delay difference between the signals received at the two observatories from a given source to be estimated unambiguously, within an uncertainty of less than 1 ns set by receiver noise. The epoch and the rate differences between the observatories' clocks for each experiment were estimated by analysis of observations that spanned several hours. The application of corrections for the contributions to the delays of the antennas, feeds, receiver systems, and recorders yielded absolute determinations of the clock epoch differences. During each experiment, portable cesium clocks were flown from the U.S. Naval Observatory to the observatories and back. The traveling-clock data, analyzed in each case after the VLBI synchronization had been completed, confirmed the VLBI results to within 18 and 14 ns for the first and second experiments, respectively.

Clark, T. A.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Conditions for Interference Versus Facilitation During Sequential Sensorimotor Adaptation

We investigated how sensorimotor adaptation acquired during one experimental session influenced the adaptation in a subsequent session. The subjects' task was to track a visual target using a joystick-controlled cursor, while the relationship between joystick and cursor position was manipulated to introduce a sensorimotor discordance. Each subject participated in two sessions, separated by a pause of 2 min to 1 month duration. We found that adaptation was achieved within minutes, and persisted in the memory for at least a month, with only a small decay (experiment A). When the discordances administered in the two sessions were in mutual conflict, we found evidence for task interference (experiment B). However, when the discordances were independent, we found facilitation rather than interference (experiment C); the latter finding could not be explained by the use of an "easier" discordance in the second session (experiment D). We conclude that interference is due to an incompatibility between task requirements, and not to a competition of tasks for short-term memory. We further conclude that the ability to adapt to a sensorimotor discordance.

Bock, Otmar↗
DOE OSTI2026

Complex and Unusual Excited-State Relaxation Dynamics of 9,9′-Bifluorenylidene Revealed by Comprehensive Time-Resolved Spectroscopy and MRSF-TDDFT Calculations

Design of novel photochemical molecular motors often requires molecular building blocks that exhibit rather unusual photoactivity, for which conventional analyses of spectroscopic data can lead to conflicting interpretations. We here systematically investigated the excited-state relaxation dynamics of one such molecule, 9,9′-bifluorenylidene (BF), through comprehensive and complementary integration of ultrafast transient absorption (TA) and femtosecond stimulated Raman (FSRS) spectroscopies and first-principles mixed-reference spin-flip time-dependent density functional theory (MRSF-TDDFT). TA and FSRS identified two sequentially formed transients following photoexcitation. The decay kinetics of the two intermediates differ in response to excitation wavelengths and the viscosity/polarity of solvents. MRSF-TDDFT calculations reveal a direct, barrierless internal-conversion pathway from the bright Franck−Condon state to a dark S1 minimum, where the excited-state population is transiently trapped, accounting for the first transient species observed in spectroscopic experiments. Further tracking down along the PES with MRSF-TDDFT mapped out two nonradiative relaxation pathways via conical intersections that connect the dark S 1 state to three configurations in the ground-state manifolds, within which a ring structure with a C8−C8′ bond and the vibrationally excited ground-state BF were identified from spectroscopic and kinetic data. The complexity of relaxation kinetics was attributed to the flexible torsional and twisting motions about the C9−C9′ bridge bond enabled by the diradical character of the S 1 state. These findings clarify unusual photoactive relaxation dynamics stemming from a novel correlation between structural flexibility and shifting electronic characteristics, and they demonstrate the importance of integrating spectroscopic and advanced electronic structure calculation studies for judicious clarification of complex, competing relaxation pathways of excited states.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS2019

Surrogate Modeling and Optimization of a Combustor with an Interdigitated Flushwall Injector

Design and Analysis of Computer Experiments (DACE) methods are applied and used to perform surrogate modeling and optimization of a simplified combustor flowpath with an interdigitated flushwall injector. The objectives of the optimization are the thrust potential and combustion efficiency, which are evaluated across a range of flight Mach numbers, duct heights, spanwise spacings, and injection angles. The focus of this work is to highlight the application of a sequential learning approach, in order to learn about the responses of the objective functions over the design space and to identify local regions of interest for further analysis. This approach is contrasted to a previous effort where only a single sampling set was used to fit surrogate models and perform optimization. The optimal solutions resulting from the previous and present approaches are different, due to surrogate model-guided local refinement of the design space allowed by the sequential learning method. The values of the global error estimates between the previous and present approaches are comparable, but the sequential method proved more computationally cost-effective. Further refinement in the optimal regions might be needed to improve predictive capability of surrogate models and to obtain the optimal solutions sets.

Rajiv R Shenoy↗
DOE OSTI2025

CRN Modeling of Ammonia RQL Combustion using a Partially-Stirred Reactor Approach

Ammonia is a promising alternative to hydrogen with high energy density and favorable storage and transport characteristics. However low flammability and a propensity for high nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions make direct utilization challenging. Recently, two-stage rich-quench-lean (RQL) combustion strategies have shown promise in achieving low NOx emissions with ammonia. In this approach, the rich stage serves to oxidize a portion of the fuel, while thermally decomposing as much of the remaining ammonia as possible, generating hydrogen. In the second (lean) stage, air is rapidly introduced, burning out the hydrogen and residual ammonia. Two-stage RQL combustion of ammonia has been investigated in the open literature both experimentally and numerically. In general, idealized chemical reactor network (CRN) models predict NOx concentrations below that of 2D/3D computational fluid dynamics models and experiments. The primary drivers of these discrepancies may be largely attributed to finite rate mixing non-adiabatic operation. The typical CRN model is comprised of a perfectly-stirred-reactor (PSR), followed by a plug-flow-reactor (PFR), meant to represent the flame, and post-flame zones, respectively. In the two-stage RQL approach two PSR-PFR networks are arranged sequentially, corresponding to the rich and lean stages, with secondary air injection in between. In the authors’ past work, this arrangement has demonstrated the significant sensitivity of exit NOx to the rich stage equivalence ratio, while the amount of secondary air injection was shown to be less critical. In this paper, the CRN model is extended to (1) include the impacts of heat loss and (2) utilize a partially-stirred-reactor (PaSR) approach to study the impacts of mixing on emissions performance. Varying amounts of heat loss are applied to the rich relaxation zone to understand emissions performance and changes to optimization of equivalence ratio and residence time. Premixed and non-premixed configurations are considered in the rich stage PaSR, with varying degrees of mixing intensity to study the interaction between mixing, transport, and kinetic timescales. Critically, the impact of mixing between hot products and secondary air injection is studied to understand practical injector needs. Results show unburnt ammonia leaving the rich stage as a primary contributor to NOx emissions – driven both by increased heat loss and reduced mixing rates. Furthermore, heat losses have shown to create conditions which are conducive to increased N2O formation in the lean stage. The results of this study will be considered in the context of developing optimized two-stage RQL combustors for ammonia..

advanced gas turbines↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ab Initio Direct Dynamics

The reactivity and dynamics of molecular systems can be explored computationally by classical trajectory calculations. The traditional approach involves fitting a functional form of a potential energy surface (PES) to the energies from a large number of electronic structure calculations and then integrating numerous trajectories on this fitted PES to model the molecular dynamics. The ever-decreasing cost of computing and continuing advances in computational chemistry software have made it possible to use electronic structure calculations directly in molecular dynamics simulations without first having to construct a fitted PES. In this “on-the-fly” approach, every time the energy and its derivatives are needed for the integration of the equations of motion, they are obtained directly from quantum chemical calculations. This approach started to become practical in the mid-1990s as a result of increased availability of inexpensive computer resources and improved computational chemistry software. The application of direct dynamics calculations has grown rapidly over the last 25 years and would require a lengthy review article. The present Account is limited to some of our contributions to methods development and various applications. To improve the efficiency of direct dynamics calculations, we developed a Hessian-based predictor-corrector algorithm for integrating classical trajectories. Hessian updating made this even more efficient. Furthermore, this approach was also used to improve algorithms for following the steepest descent reaction paths. For larger molecular systems, we developed an extended Lagrangian approach in which the electronic structure is propagated along with the molecular structure. Strong field chemistry is a rapidly growing area, and to improve the accuracy of molecular dynamics in intense laser fields, we included the time-varying electric field in a novel predictor-corrector trajectory integration algorithm. Since intense laser fields can excite and ionize molecules, we extended our studies to include electron dynamics. Specifically, we developed code for time-dependent configuration interaction electron dynamics to simulate strong field ionization by intense laser pulses. Our initial application of ab initio direct dynamics in 1994 was to CH 2 O → H 2 + CO; the calculated vibrational distributions in the products were in very good agreement with experiment. In the intervening years, we have used direct dynamics to explore energy partitioning in various dissociation reactions, unimolecular dissociations yielding three fragments, reactions with branching after the transition state, nonstatistical dynamics of chemically activated molecules, dynamics of molecular fragmentation by intense infrared laser pulses, selective activation of specific dissociation channels by aligned intense infrared laser fields, angular dependence of strong field ionization, and simulation of sequential double ionization.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Fracture Characterization Via AI‐Assisted Analysis of Temperature Logs

Abstract Fractures control fluid flow, mass transport, and heat transfer in a geothermal reservoir. This makes accurate characterization of fracture networks a prerequisite for optimal design and control of a reservoir's exploitation. We develop a deep‐learning procedure to identify fracture locations via interpretation of temporally and spatially continuous downhole temperature measurements. A long short‐term memory fully convolutional network (LSTM‐FCN) is used both to capture long‐term dependencies in sequential temperature data and to distill local features around fractures. A wellbore and fractured‐reservoir thermal model is established to generate temperature data for network training. The trained LSTM‐FCN exhibits a unique ability to detect multiple fractures intersecting a borehole. We use the LSTM‐FCN algorithm to evaluate the effectiveness of different‐stage wellbore temperature measurements on fracture detection in a complex fractured system. Our experiments reveal that the use of various‐stage temperature information as an input feature set improves the robustness of fracture detection to noise interference. This study indicates the practical feasibility of obtaining accurate fracture‐network reconstructions from temperature signals, at reasonable computational cost.

Yang, Xiaoyu↗
DOE OSTI2026

Extended Accelerated Stress Testing of Lamination-Free Edge-Sealed Photovoltaic Minimodules

Lamination-free minimodules are constructed with silicon solar cells between glass sheets and an edge seal of polyisobutylene and silicone. These samples are stressed using a repeated sequential testing sequence including ultraviolet-containing simulated solar spectrum light exposure at elevated temperature, damp heat, humidity freeze, and thermal cycling adapted from the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) TS 63209-2:2022. The minimodule performance throughout the stressing is characterized by flash testing and electroluminescence imaging. Results are compared to conventional laminated minimodules using the same type of solar cells. The lamination-free minimodules experience up to 8% power loss compared to roughly 3% for the laminated versions. However, those losses, dominated by current and fill factor, are caused by glass soiling and busbar ribbon separation on the cells. When glass is replaced and the stressed cells are contacted with probes bypassing the delaminated ribbons, the initial performance is recovered, and overall losses of the lamination-free samples become negligible.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2012

Multi-Scale Three-Dimensional Variational Data Assimilation System for Coastal Ocean Prediction

A multi-scale three-dimensional variational data assimilation system (MS-3DVAR) has been formulated and the associated software system has been developed for improving high-resolution coastal ocean prediction. This system helps improve coastal ocean prediction skill, and has been used in support of operational coastal ocean forecasting systems and field experiments. The system has been developed to improve the capability of data assimilation for assimilating, simultaneously and effectively, sparse vertical profiles and high-resolution remote sensing surface measurements into coastal ocean models, as well as constraining model biases. In this system, the cost function is decomposed into two separate units for the large- and small-scale components, respectively. As such, data assimilation is implemented sequentially from large to small scales, the background error covariance is constructed to be scale-dependent, and a scale-dependent dynamic balance is incorporated. This scheme then allows effective constraining large scales and model bias through assimilating sparse vertical profiles, and small scales through assimilating high-resolution surface measurements. This MS-3DVAR enhances the capability of the traditional 3DVAR for assimilating highly heterogeneously distributed observations, such as along-track satellite altimetry data, and particularly maximizing the extraction of information from limited numbers of vertical profile observations.

Li, Zhijin↗
NASA NTRS1987

Guidance simulation and test support for differential GPS flight experiment

Three separate tasks which supported the test preparation, test operations, and post test analysis of the NASA Ames flight test evaluation of the differential Global Positioning System (GPS) are presented. Task 1 consisted of a navigation filter design, coding, and testing to optimally make use of GPS in a differential mode. The filter can be configured to accept inputs from external censors such as an accelerometer and a barometric or radar altimeter. The filter runs in real time onboard a NASA helicopter. It processes raw pseudo and delta range measurements from a single channel sequential GPS receiver. The Kalman filter software interfaces are described in detail, followed by a description of the filter algorithm, including the basic propagation and measurement update equations. The performance during flight tests is reviewed and discussed. Task 2 describes a refinement performed on the lateral and vertical steering algorithms developed on a previous contract. The refinements include modification of the internal logic to allow more diverse inflight initialization procedures, further data smoothing and compensation for system induced time delays. Task 3 describes the TAU Corp participation in the analysis of the real time Kalman navigation filter. The performance was compared to that of the Z-set filter in flight and to the laser tracker position data during post test analysis. This analysis allowed a more optimum selection of the parameters of the filter.

Geier, G. J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Trace Metal Content and Speciation, Water and Soil Chemistry, and Methane Production for a Wetland in Missouri (September 2015) and in Florida (January 2016)

Data is associated with a manuscript in preparation for submission to explore whether low trace metal availability inhibits methane production in freshwater wetland soils. Reported data are from two field sites, one in Missouri and the second in Florida (see location data). At each site, surface water compositions and properties and soil compositions are reported. Trace metal availability is assessed via sequential chemical extractions, Ni K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy, and X-ray microfluorescence imaging. Soil mineralogy is determined via powder X-ray diffraction. Multi-energy X-ray microfluorescence imaging as well as bulk and microscale S K-edge XANES spectra assess sulfur speciation in the soils. This package also reports data from trace metal amendment experiments, specifically methane (CH4) production versus time in soil incubations, the dissolved trace metal concentrations in these incubations, and the Ni K-edge XANES and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectra of soils to which increasing concentrations of Ni were added. A final version of this package will be published upon acceptance of the associated manuscript.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1976

Prediction of convective activity using a system of parasitic-nested numerical models

A limited area, three dimensional, moist, primitive equation (PE) model is developed to test the sensitivity of quantitative precipitation forecasts to the initial relative humidity distribution. Special emphasis is placed on the squall-line region. To accomplish the desired goal, time dependent lateral boundaries and a general convective parameterization scheme suitable for mid-latitude systems were developed. The sequential plume convective parameterization scheme presented is designed to have the versatility necessary in mid-latitudes and to be applicable for short-range forecasts. The results indicate that the scheme is able to function in the frontally forced squallline region, in the gently rising altostratus region ahead of the approaching low center, and in the over-riding region ahead of the warm front. Three experiments are discussed.

Perkey, D. J.↗
NASA NTRS1976

Atmospheric, Magnetospheric, and Plasmas in Space (AMPS) spacelab payload definition study, technical summary document

Some 60 instrument candidates and 80 possible science investigations were evaluated. The early analysis emphasized the science aspect in terms of the functional requirements for each of the potential experiments identified by the AMPS science working group. These requirements were then used for the grouping of instruments into practical payloads which would fit the capabilities of the Shuttle/Spacelab. This analysis resulted in the definition of eleven different AMPS configurations. The data were then used to define a typical set of requirements for a flexible AMPS laboratory. The data gathered to this point showed that a planned sequential buildup of the laboratory would be necessary to meet both physical and funding limitations. This led to the definition of five strawman payloads by the science working group, which were used to establish a conceptual laboratory and to define preliminary design of a configuration which could satisfy AMPS needs during the early program period.

Keeley, J. T.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Analytic redundancy management for large flexible structures

An analytic redundancy management approach for on-line component failure detection is described and illustrated using a simulation of the NASA Langley Spacecaft Control Laboratory Experiment (SCOLE) research facility. The SCOLE experimental apparatus simulated is a functional model of the Space Shuttle with a large, flexible, offset-feed antenna cantilevered from the payload bay. This approach uses a single, active, Kalman filter selected from a bank of filters, each element of which was previously designed to accommodate a specific failure condition. The residuals of this active filter are processed through a sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) filter to identify the failure state of the system and, hence, closing the failure accommodation loop, to select the active filter. Results are presented that illustrate the ability of the system to detect and recover from failures introduced in the angular rate and linear acceleration sensors on the SCOLE facility.

Shenhar, J.↗