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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 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2019

Research Performance Progress Report - DOE Solar Program, Soft Costs, National Lab Projects: Promotion of PV Soft Cost Reductions in the Southeastern US

Beginning in 2014, the installed solar capacity in South Carolina (SC) grew from less than 20 megawatts to more than 300 megawatts today. Concurrently, the number of customer-sited, load-centered solar generation is expected to grow from less than 500 statewide to as many as 10,000 by 2021. This growth is the direct result of a landmark state policy initiative, Act 236, passed by the South Carolina General Assembly and signed into law by the Governor in June of 2014. Today, local policy makers in South Carolina are ill-equipped to handle the onslaught of solar permitting and zoning requests expected to come with such quick growth of an emerging market. Similarly, the state’s building inspectors, first responders, and tax assessors know little about photovoltaic (PV) technology and best practices. Finally, South Carolina’s workforce and workforce trainers continue to be underprepared to benefit from the tremendous opportunity created by the passage of Act 236. Each of these deficits in knowledge of and preparedness for solar PV translates into higher “soft costs” of installed solar PV in South Carolina.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Battery Testing FY 2017 Annual Progress Report

Abuse tests are designed to determine the safe operating limits of HEV\PHEV energy storage devices. Testing is intended to achieve certain worst-case scenarios to yield quantitative data on cell\module\pack response, allowing for failure mode determination and guiding developers toward improved materials and designs. Standard abuse tests with defined start and end conditions are performed on all devices to provide comparison between technologies. New tests and protocols are developed and evaluated to more closely simulate real-world failure conditions. When scaling from cell to the battery level, a detailed understanding of cell interactions provides insight on safety performance. Single point failures from a cell or group of cells can be initiated by a number of triggers including internal short circuit, misuse or abuse, or component failure at the battery or system level. Propagation of a single failure event (regardless of the initiation trigger) through an entire battery, system, or vehicle is an unacceptable outcome with regards to EV battery safety. In this FY, our work has focused on evaluating the propagation of a single cell thermal runaway event through a battery using a variety of design considerations with an emphasis on passive thermal management impacts. This has been coupled with thermal modeling by NREL for these testing conditions. In addition, alternative failure initiation methods have been evaluated to provide direct comparisons of possible energy injection between modes. This data was compiled to better identify what propagation test method is appropriate given certain battery designs. Expanding the analysis of short circuit current during failure propagation has been done for EV relevant chemistries. Ongoing test development and validation to obtain these values has been achieved. While robust mechanical models for vehicles and vehicle components exist, there is a gap for mechanical modeling of EV batteries. The challenge with developing a mechanical model for a battery is the heterogeneous nature of the materials and components (polymers, metals, metal oxides, liquids). Our work will provide empirical data on the mechanical behavior of batteries under compressive load to understand how a battery may behave in a vehicle crash scenario. This work is performed in collaboration with the U.S. Council for Automotive Research (USCAR) and Computer Aided Engineering of Batteries (CAEBAT). These programs have supported the design and development of a drop tower testing apparatus to close the gap between cell/string level testing and full scale crash testing with true dynamic rate effects.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2018

Model Development and Analysis of Clean and Efficient Engine Combustion FY 2018 Annual Progress Report

Simulations of 1D laminar flames using detailed kinetic mechanisms are useful in a wide variety of engine combustion applications. The most common use is in the computation of laminar flame speeds, which are useful for chemical mechanism validation, as inputs to turbulent flame speed correlations, and to predict knocking in spark-ignition engines. Other applications include generation of flamelet libraries for CFD simulations and prediction of combustion dynamics in micro-flow reactors. These fundamental combustion simulations are an important component in the study of realistic transportation fuel models in boosted spark-ignition and multi-mode engine configurations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mortandad Canyon seismic modeling (Progress Report)

The goal of this project is to assess site amplification for LANL through modeling of site and topography effects. Such assessment is difficult due to the lack of data documenting site effects for large normal faulting earthquakes such as the Pajarito Fault System that was found to be governing the seismic hazard at LANL. LANL site is also characterized by unique geologic settings, a series of mesa at the edge of the huge volcanic complex of the Jemez caldera. The latter has produced a series of successive and intertwined deposits of volcanic flow and sedimentary layer. Such layering of material with different elastic properties is expected to create large amplification effects magnified further by the presence at the surface of tuff materials. In 2014, a seismic campaign was performed in the Mortandad Canyon with a network of sensors on and near a local mesa. That campaign was designed to provide experimental data to estimation and prediction of amplification and site effects at LANL. An analysis on the seismic noise records of that campaign shows evidence of amplification of the seismic amplitude for the stations on the top of the mesa. Our goal is to reproduce the effect observed (both retrieving the resonance frequencies and amplification levels). We also plan to test if amplification effects observed for seismic noise can be extended to shaking produced by earthquakes. We are using a 3D modeling tool based on the Spectral Element Method (SEM) that is a particular type of high-order finite element modeling. Two types of seismic sources will be considered: (1) earthquakes for purpose of seismic hazard evaluation, (2) ambient noise. We show 2 series of numerical computations: (1) seismic waves are generated by random sources to simulate ambient noise. (2) seismic waves are planar waves to simulate a distant earthquake. We plan in the future to model rupture scenario on the Pajarito Fault System.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

FY2018 Analysis Annual Progress Report

During fiscal year 2018 (FY 2018), the U.S. Department of Energy Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) funded analysis projects supportive of VTO’s goals to pursue early stage research in vehicle and mobility system technologies to improve energy efficiency, increase energy reliability and security, improve transportation affordability, and promote economic growth. VTO analysis projects result in a foundation of data, analytical models, and applied analyses that provide insights into critical transportation energy problems and assist in research investment prioritization and portfolio planning.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Advanced Combustion Engines and Fuels 2018 Annual Progress Report

The Advanced Combustion Engines and Fuels Program supports the Vehicle Technology Office’s goal and focuses early-stage research and development (R&D) to improve understanding of the combustion processes, fuel properties, and emission control technologies while generating knowledge and insight necessary for industry to develop the next generation of engines and fuels.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Materials 2018 Annual Progress Report

The Materials Technology Program supports the Vehicles Technologies Office’s mission to help consumers and businesses reduce their transportation energy costs while meeting or exceeding vehicle performance expectations. The propulsion materials research portfolio seeks to develop higher performance materials that can withstand increasingly extreme environments and address the future properties needs of a variety of high-efficiency powertrain types, sizes, fueling concepts, and combustion modes. Advanced lightweight materials enable improvements in fuel economy by providing properties that are equal to or better than traditional materials at a lower weight. Because it takes less energy to accelerate a lighter object, replacing cast-iron and traditional steel components with lightweight materials such as high-strength steel, magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), and polymer composites can directly reduce a vehicle’s fuel consumption. Materials technology activities focus on the following cost and performance targets: (1) enable a 25% weight reduction for light-duty (LD) vehicles including body, chassis, and interior as compared to a model year 2012 baseline at no more than a $\$$5/lb-saved increase in cost; and (2) validate a 25% improvement in high-temperature (300°C) development of engine exhaust catalyst materials strength relative to components made with 2010 baseline cast Al alloys (A319 or A356) for improved efficiency LD engines.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2019

First Annual Progress Report on the Procurement and Post-Irradiation Examination of the Selected Samples of Alloy 800H and Grade 92 and 91 Steels

Ferritic-martensitic steel Grade 92, with Grade 91 as a reference, together with austenitic stainless steel (or Incoloy Alloy) 800H and its grain-boundary-engineered version 800H-TMP (Thermo-Mechanical Processing), is investigated in this project. A total of fifteen Grade 92 samples from two or three heats, four T91 samples from two heats, and six 800H and six 800H-TMP samples from one heat were selected, which were primarily irradiated in the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) of Idaho National Laboratory (INL), with the rest in the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), BOR-60 of Russia, and Phénix reactor of France. The samples were irradiated in the temperature range of 241 to 720°C and a dose range of 1.28 to ~70 displacements per atom. All the INL and ORNL samples and part of the LANL (Los Alamos National Laboratory) samples have been received at the Irradiated Materials Examination and Testing (IMET) hot cell facility. The selected ORNL samples include six Grade 92 and two 800H samples, which were irradiated in the HFIR to 0.46–14.66 dpa at 400 to ~720°C. The Grade 92 is an optimized heat and named as G92-2b. The two 800H samples have one sample as the standard solution-annealed condition and the other sample as a TMP condition with a maximized fraction of low-Σ coincidence site lattice (CSL) boundaries. Tensile test of the G92-2b samples were conducted at room temperature in the IMET hot cell. The lower temperature irradiation at 400–496.7°C to 0.52–14.66 dpa resulted in minimal changes in tensile properties. However, the higher temperature irradiation at ~683.3–720°C to 0.46–14.63 dpa tended to reduce yield and tensile strength by about –136 to –311 MPa and plastic elongation by –1 to –3% with the increasing dose. The 800H and 800H-TMP samples were tensile-tested at their irradiation temperature 580°C in the IMET hot cell, which showed >40% increase in yield and tensile strength with nearly 9% reduction in elongation for 800H-TMP compared with 800H. Three of the G92-2b samples, i.e., GB04 (7.44 dpa at ~490°C), GB05 (14.66 dpa at 496.7°C), and GB12 (14.63 dpa at ~720°C), were examined at the LAMDA for Vickers hardness measurements and microstructural characterization by SEM and TEM. Vickers hardness was successfully measured on GB12, which was reduced by is – (112.4 ± 12.3) HV1 from the control sample. However, the Vickers hardness measurements were failed on GB04 and GB05 because the samples were polished too thin to prevent the interference from the substrate (epoxy). The other half of the GB04 and GB05 will be polished for the hardness measurements, as well as nanoindentation studies. Fractography by SEM indicated increased numbers of ductile dimples (or voids) with the increasing irradiation dose, while significantly increased numbers and sizes of dimples with the increasing irradiation temperature. TEM characterization exhibited the presence of Cr 23 C 6 , VN, and Laves precipitates at boundaries and matrix, which showed pronounced precipitate-dislocation interactions (pinning effect). Dense dislocations but limited dislocation loops were observed in the samples, which noticeably reduced in GB12. Additionally, some tiny partially amorphized spherical domains were observed in GB12, which had a normal body-centered cubic lattice parameter of 9Cr steels at the surround regions but ~11% smaller than the lattice parameter of the matrix away from the amorphized spherical domains. Further characterization will be pursued to clarify the new findings.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Terry Turbopump Analytical Modeling Efforts in Fiscal Year 2017 (Progress Report)

This document details the computational fluid dynamic and system-level modeling, including a mechanistic representation of a turbine/pump, for Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2. Until this recent effort, mechanistic modeling had been confined to an otherwise coarse model of Fukushima Daiichi Unit 2 laden with manipulations of boundary conditions that substituted for detailed representations of the reactor, drywell, and wetwell. This work has provided insights in modeling uncertainties and provides confirmation for experimental efforts for the Terry turbopump.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2018

MagMicro with Ultra-High Energy Resolution (Progress Report Q4 FY18)

We are performing extensive simulations of the MMC detector response to optimize their energy resolution, detection efficiency and count rate based on the data we took in FY17/18. The optimized layout separates the MMC detector chip from the SQUID preamplifier chips coupled to the MMCs through Al wire bonds to avoid heating the MMC with the power dissipation of the SQUID. The goal is to design MMC gamma detectors with a limiting energy resolution below ~25 eV FWHM up to >100 keV and ~1 ms decay times for maximum count rates of several tens of counts/s per pixel. The simulations, which were done at the Supercomputing Center of the University of New Mexico, are taking significantly longer than expected. The difficulty is that the device performance depends intricately on the design parameters, and each simulation is quite involved because it needs to cover the frequency range well into the GHz range to account for the ac Josephson effect. This is delaying the start of the detector array fabrication, and we have not been able to complete the fabrication and the testing of the 32-pixel MMC arrays by September 30. We have therefore requested a no-cost extension of the project to March 31, 2019.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Progress Report on Modified Burst Testing and Alternative Test Methodologies

Performance of accident-tolerant fuel candidates must be assessed during the pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) phase of a design-basis reactivity-initiated accident (RIA). Therefore, in this report, we describe Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 research activities on the development of separate-effects testing for ATF cladding candidate iron-chromium-aluminum (FeCrAl) tube specimens under loading conditions comparable to the PCMI. The first section of this report provides modified-burst test (MBT) results of unirradiated FeCrAl tubes at various pressurization-rates and an RIA-relevant temperature (275°C). The failure strain of FeCrAl was observed and calculated using a high-speed digital-image correlation (DIC) technique developed recently under the Department of Energy (DOE)’s Advanced Fuel Campaign (AFC). To overcome the complexities of performing MBT in a hot-cell environment on irradiated samples, a “plane-strain tension” (PST) test was proposed as an alternative methodology for PCMI testing. The relevance of the PST test as an alternative to MBT for irradiated specimens was explicated using the data available in the literature. The design of hot-cell compatible PST fixtures and a specific holder for PST hot-cell specimen machining were developed.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Improving Fission Products at CARIBU: Near Field Detection (Q3/FY19 Quarterly Progress Report)

In the last quarter, Miguel Bencomo joined our group as a postdoc. Miguel got his PhD degree from Texas A&M University last December, where he was working on precision beta decay measurements, using techniques similar to the approach we use to measure branching ratios. We have been training him on how to use our analysis and simulation tools, as well as bringing him up to speed on the technical details of our experiment. The analysis and writing the manuscript for 95 Zr has been completed and are waiting for a feedback from Texas A&M collaborators. This process has been slightly delayed due to vacations and their obligations to other experiments at Texas A&M. We have begun working with Benjamin Schroeder (PhD student from Texas A&M), he is currently learning our analysis tools and looking at decay data of 95 Zr. Ben has just finalized his Master thesis and is very well positioned to start working with us, by first learning our analysis technique on 95 Zr proof-of-principle data, and next be responsible for analysis 156 Eu data that we plan to take later this year.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Gamma-ray Mirrors (Quarterly Progress Report Q2 FY2019)

Our main activity this quarter was focused on carrying out the experimental campaign with our mirror system at the Irradiated Fuel Examination Laboratory (IFEL) at ORNL. The experimental campaign took place from January 22 to February 7, 2019.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Quantum Nature and Mass of the Neutrino: FY19 Annual Laboratory Continuation Progress Report

Over the last 100 years we have learned a much about the neutrino, but there remain interesting questions about this weakly interacting particle. In particular, at LLNL we are developing experiments to measure short baseline oscillation, the mass and the quantum nature of the neutrino, the latter two are within the scope of DOE-SC NP and are the subject of this report. The 2015 long range plan recommended tonne-scale neutrinoless double beta decay experiments as the top new project priority and this experiment will target the quantum nature of the neutrino. The LLNL team is motivated and focused on developing the best technology for this experiment which is a liquid xenon time project chamber called nEXO. On a longer time scale, LLNL is also developing technology to measure the neutrino mass with tritium decay experiments.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Progress Report on the Investigation of Separable Floating Layers in Hanford Double-Shell Tank Supernates

A review of studies performed the last four years at 222-S Laboratory on separable floating solids including demonstration of the formation of a floating layer in the organic-bound simulated solids and investigation of floating solids found in AN-101 and AW-104 as well as carbonate precipitation floating on the surface of AN-107 grab samples. Demonstrated that semivolatile organic analysis can detect separable organics including tributyl phosphate, degradation products of Quintolubric hydraulic fluid, and hydrocarbon as tentatively identified compounds. In addition, an evaluation of the relationship of small organic acids to the total organic carbon is discussed in selected double-shell tank supernate. A systematic approach is presented to monitor separable organics and insoluble particulates in the double-shell tank waste.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2019

Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy for High-Resolution Imaging of Hydrogen in Steel and Aluminum Alloys (Q3 Progress Report)

SRNL is working with Sandia NL, Pacific Northwest NL and Oak Ridge NL in the H-Mat consortium with the objective of developing materials with a higher resistance to hydrogen attack. Understanding the mechanism of hydrogen interactions in metal alloys is continually a topic of interest for applications which involve the long-term storage of hydrogen. Atomic hydrogen segregates to regions of extended defects, such as grain and phase boundaries, and can cause stress and premature cracking through a process known as hydrogen embrittlement. Advanced microstructural imaging techniques, with minimal sample preparation needs, that are capable of resolving hydrogen segregation at the nanometer scale is needed. Current imaging technologies to aid in understanding the effects of hydrogen in metals involve primarily fractography after mechanical testing. Hydrogen segregated at the surface and particularly at surface defect sites changes the local work function of the material. This can be measured by Kelvin Probe Force Microscopy, KPFM, a variant of atomic force microscopy (AFM). KPFM produces surface potential images and is capable of measuring the local change in work function of surfaces with very high spatial resolution. The spatial resolution of KPFM is optimally ~5 nm, yielding very high hydrogen concentration/microstructure coloration capabilities. By locating the presence of hydrogen and its relationship with extended defects, it may be possible to develop microstructures less susceptible to hydrogen embrittlement. The objective of this effort is to assess the utility of KPFM to determine the H 2 concentration profiles surrounding complex microstructural features in high strength steel and aluminum alloys subjected to high pressure hydrogen exposure.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2019

MagMicro with Ultra-High Energy Resolution (FY19 Q3 Progress Report)

The fabrication of the MMC detector arrays involves two photolithographic procedures. The first is to fabricate the Nb magnetization coil and pick-up coils, the SQUID preamplifiers and the associated wiring. This is done on a full 4” Si wafer, which is subsequently diced into ~0.5 cm2 SQUID chips and ~1 cm2 detector chips. The detector chips are then processed separately by depositing and patterning the paramagnetic Ag:Er sensor and support structures and then electroplating the Au absorber. In Q3, we have successfully completed the full wafer processing for the 32-pixel MMC detector arrays, diced the 4” wafer into the smaller chips and tested the individual components. The coils have the required critical current, the heat switches have a critical temperature in the desired range, and the SQUIDs have the required low noise. Unfortunately, the sputter deposition of the paramagnetic Ag:Er sensor failed several times. We spent considerable time to trace the problem to contaminations of the purifier for the Ar sputtering gas that had been exposed to atmosphere for an extended time during an earlier clean room upgrade. We then determined that the purifier is not essential for high-quality Ag:Er sensor films (Fig. 1), and successfully deposited the Ag:Er sensor film on the ~1 cm 2 detector chip.

42 ENGINEERING↗