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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 451 records · Page 25
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2016

2016 International Land Model Benchmarking (ILAMB) Workshop Report

As earth system models (ESMs) become increasingly complex, there is a growing need for comprehensive and multi-faceted evaluation of model projections. To advance understanding of terrestrial biogeochemical processes and their interactions with hydrology and climate under conditions of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide, new analysis methods are required that use observations to constrain model predictions, inform model development, and identify needed measurements and field experiments. Better representations of biogeochemistryclimate feedbacks and ecosystem processes in these models are essential for reducing the acknowledged substantial uncertainties in 21st century climate change projections.

earth system models (ESMs)↗
NASA NTRS1979

Risk analysis approach

The assessment of the carbon fiber hazard is outlined. Program objectives, requirements of the risk analysis, and elements associated with the physical phenomena of the accidental release are described.

Huston, R. J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Rail Decarbonization Alternatives: Framework and Application

The Northwestern University Freight Rail Infrastructure & Energy Network Decarbonization (NUFRIEND) framework is a comprehensive industry-oriented tool for simulating the deployment of new energy technologies including biofuels, e-fuels, battery-electric, and hydrogen locomotives. By classifying fuel types into two categories based on deployment requirements, the associated optimal charging/fueling facility location and sizing problem are solved with a five-step framework. Life-cycle analysis (LCA) and techno-economic analysis (TEA) are used to estimate carbon reduction, capital investments, cost of carbon reduction, and operational impacts, enabling sensitivity analysis with operational and technological parameters. Here, the framework is illustrated on lower-carbon drop-in fuels as well as battery-electric technology deployments for the US Eastern and Western Class I railroad networks. Drop-in fuel deployments are modeled as admixtures with diesel in existing locomotives, while battery-electric deployments are shown for varying technology penetration levels and locomotive ranges. When mixed in a 50% ratio with diesel, results show biodiesel’s capacity to reduce emissions at 36% with a cost of $\$$ 0.13 per kilogram of CO 2 reduced, while e-fuels offer a potential reduction of 50% of emissions at a cost of $\$$ 0.22 per kilogram of CO 2 reduced. Battery-electric results for 50% deployment over all ton-miles highlight the value of future innovations in battery energy densities as scenarios assuming 800-mi range locomotives show an estimated emissions reduction of 46% with a cost of $\$$ 0.06 per kilogram of CO 2 reduced, compared with 16% emissions reduction at a cost of $\$$ 0.11 per kilogram of CO 2 reduced for 400-mi range locomotives. The NUFRIEND framework provides a systematic method for comparing different alternative energy technologies and identifying potential challenges and benefits in their future deployments.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Wellbore injectivity response to step-rate CO 2 injection: Coupled thermo-poro-elastic analysis in a vertically heterogeneous formation

Safe and permanent carbon geological storages require an elaborate analysis of geomechanical stability. Subsurface injection of CO 2 changes the local temperature and pore pressure and, further, alters the stress due to thermo-poro-elastic responses. A permanent CO 2 storage testing was conducted in the water leg of Cranfield reservoir in Mississippi, USA, where hosted CO 2 enhanced-oil recovery activities. During CO 2 injection, the injection rate was ramped up twice but the bottom-hole pressure did not increase with the imposed injection rates as expected. This unexpected field observation suggests the possibility of an open-mode fracture development at the injector. However, the injector response and potential fracture development have not been rigorously interpreted with detailed near-wellbore temperature and pore pressure change upon the CO 2 injection. In this study, we performed history matching of CO 2 injection using coupled thermo-poro-elastic reservoir simulation to examine the possibility of fracturing. We built a reservoir model including vertical heterogeneity in both petrophysical and geomechanical properties estimated from well-logging analysis and laboratory experiments. The simulation results show that CO 2 injection changes stresses and support the hypothesis of development of an open-mode fracture at the injector during the Cranfield test. The near-injector region exhibits a large temperature reduction up to 55 °C with ensuing effective horizontal stress reduction up to 9.1 MPa. However, a caprock integrity issue is unlikely because of the horizontal stress contrast within layers and low hydraulic communication with the injection zone. This work indicates that the injectant temperature should be considered in the design of high-rate CO 2 injector.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

XPS analysis of molecular contamination and sp 2 amorphous carbon on oxidized (100) diamond

The efficacy of oxygen (O) surface terminations on diamond is an important factor for the performance and stability for diamond-based quantum sensors and electronics. Given the wide breadth of O-termination techniques, it can be difficult to discern which method would yield the highest and most consistent O coverage. Furthermore, the interpretation of surface characterization techniques is complicated by surface morphology and purity, which if not accounted for will yield inconsistent determination of the oxygen coverage. We present a comprehensive approach to consistently prepare and analyze oxygen termination of surfaces on (100) single-crystalline diamond. We report on x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization of diamond surfaces treated with six oxidation methods that include various wet chemical oxidation techniques, photochemical oxidation with UV illumination, and steam oxidation using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Our analysis entails a rigorous XPS peak-fitting procedure for measuring the functionalization of O-terminated diamond. The findings herein have provided molecular-level insights on oxidized surfaces in (100) diamond, including the demonstration of clear correlation between the measured oxygen atomic percentage and the presence of molecular contaminants containing nitrogen, silicon, and sulfur. We also provide a comparison of the sp 2 carbon content with the O1s atomic percentage and discern a correlation with the diamond samples treated with dry oxidation which eventually tapers off at a max O1s atomic percentage value of 7.09 ± 0.40%. Given these results, we conclude that the dry oxidation methods yield some of the highest oxygen amounts, with the ALD water vapor technique proving to be the cleanest technique out of all the oxidation methods explored in this work.

XPS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Energy and Techno-Economic Analysis of Bio-Based and Low-Carbon Chemicals and Fuels Production Processes

This presentation will highlight that to decarbonize the fuel and chemicals industry, we must reduce energy usage and decarbonize process heating, which also extends to bio-based and low-carbon chemicals and fuel production processes. Two examples will be given. The first is to compare separation technologies to concentrate 2,3-butanediol (BDO), a biomass-derived intermediate for producing sustainable aviation fuel for commercial aviation decarbonization. The other example shows that decarbonizing methanol production offers numerous beneficial routes toward industrial decarbonization as it is a versatile compound, finding utility as both a fuel and a chemical intermediate. Techno-economic and life cycle analyses provide integrated analysis technical approaches to evaluate the R&D that enables industrial decarbonization.

BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Image Processing Techniques to Identify and Quantify Spatiotemporal Carbon Cycle Extremes

Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activities through fossil fuel emissions and land use changes have increased climate extremes such as heat waves and droughts that have led to and are expected to increase the occurrence of carbon cycle extremes. Carbon cycle extremes represent large anomalies in the carbon cycle that are associated with gains or losses in carbon uptake. Carbon cycle extremes could be continuous in space and time and cross political boundaries. Here, we present a methodology to identify large spatiotemporal extremes (STEs) in the terrestrial carbon cycle using image processing tools for feature detection. We characterized the STE events based on neighborhood structures that are three-dimensional adjacency matrices for the detection of spatiotemporal manifolds of carbon cycle extremes. We found that the area affected and carbon loss during negative carbon cycle extremes were consistent with continuous neighborhood structures. In the gross primary production data we used, 100 carbon cycle STEs accounted for more than 75% of all the negative carbon cycle extremes. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the magnitude of carbon cycle STEs and attribution of those STEs to climate drivers as a function of neighborhood structures for two observational datasets and an Earth system model simulation.

Sharma, Bharat↗
NASA NTRS1981

Computations of ion diffusion coefficients from the Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck equation

The Boltzmann-Fokker-Planck equation is solved with the Chapman-Enskog method of analysis for the velocity distribution functions of helium, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The analysis is a perturbation scheme based on the assumption of a collision-dominated gas, and the calculations are carried out to first order. The elements considered are treated as trace constituents in an electron-proton gas. From the resulting distribution functions, diffusion coefficients are computed which are found to be 20-30% less than those obtained by Chapman and Burgers. In addition, it is shown that the return current of cold electrons needed to maintain quasi-neutrality in a plasma with a temperature gradient contributes a term in the thermal diffusion coefficient omitted erroneously in previous works. This added term resolves the longstanding controversy over the discrepancy between the coefficients of Chapman and Burgers, which are seen to be completely equivalent in the light of this analysis. The viscosity coefficient for an electron-proton gas is also computed and found to be 7% less than that obtained by Braginskii.

Roussel-Dupre, R.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Intramolecular carbon isotope signals reflect metabolite allocation in plants

Abstract Stable isotopes at natural abundance are key tools to study physiological processes occurring outside the temporal scope of manipulation and monitoring experiments. Whole-molecule carbon isotope ratios (13C/12C) enable assessments of plant carbon uptake yet conceal information about carbon allocation. Here, we identify an intramolecular 13C/12C signal at tree-ring glucose C-5 and C-6 and develop experimentally testable theories on its origin. More specifically, we assess the potential of processes within C3 metabolism for signal introduction based (inter alia) on constraints on signal propagation posed by metabolic networks. We propose that the intramolecular signal reports carbon allocation into major metabolic pathways in actively photosynthesizing leaf cells including the anaplerotic, shikimate, and non-mevalonate pathway. We support our theoretical framework by linking it to previously reported whole-molecule 13C/12C increases in cellulose of ozone-treated Betula pendula and a highly significant relationship between the intramolecular signal and tropospheric ozone concentration. Our theory postulates a pronounced preference for leaf cytosolic triose-phosphate isomerase to catalyse the forward reaction in vivo (dihydroxyacetone phosphate to glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate). In conclusion, intramolecular 13C/12C analysis resolves information about carbon uptake and allocation enabling more comprehensive assessments of carbon metabolism than whole-molecule 13C/12C analysis.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1986

Surface characterization in composite and titanium bonding

The failure surface analysis of adhesively bonded carbon fiber composites is described. The emphasis is on the bonding of composites when the surface has been made intentionally resin-rich. Also discussed is surface analysis of both commercially available and pretreated carbon fibers. The interaction of the fibers with polysulfone is described.

Devilbiss, T. A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Core Analysis E-Reports Produced for the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration for Wells 13-10A, 13-14, and 32-8 of the Farnsworth Unit, Texas

The submission is three electronic reports (e-reports) produced by Terra Tek, a former Schlumberger company, for and under the oversight of the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP). The SWP designed and implemented a coring and core analysis program in conjunction with the previous field operator Chaparral Energy, L.L.C. The main SWP contacts who oversaw the coring and core analysis program, including geologic core descriptions and sample selection for testing by the Terra Tek, are listed below in the Authors section. The three reports are for Wells 13-10A, 13-14, and 32-8 of the Farnsworth Unit, TX, a site of the SWP's CO2 storage and enhanced oil recovery project. The e-reports include many data types that are not listed in full detail here, but may include: geomechanical, geochemical, and petrophysical measurements; white light and UV core photos; spectral gamma logs on the core; and Heterogeneous Rock Analysis logs. Fracture core review reports are included for Wells 13-14 and 32-8. The three e-reports each have many subfolders with the various types of data in spreadsheets, pdfs, image files, or other formats. The main e-reports for each well are listed by the well name. The sub-folder “E-Report” for each well has a Report.html file, which, when opened, will have hyperlinks to the various data sets and information. The files in the zipped folder will need to be extracted for the Report.html files to work properly. These authors thank Joseph Hall, a geologist formerly of Chaparral Energy, L.L.C., for assistance in designing the coring program, his geologic expertise of the Farnsworth Unit, and his assistance with characterizing the core. Christopher Gillespie, of Terra Tek at the time, managed the myriad geomechanical, geochemical, and petrophysical measurements provided by Terra Tek for this project. The core from which the samples were collected for this project are housed at the Subsurface Data and Core Libraries of the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, Socorro, New Mexico, USA. Funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) through the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP) under Award No. DE-FC26-05NT42591. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525. These e-reports describe objective technical results and analysis. Any subjective views or opinions that might be expressed in the reports do not necessarily represent the views of the US Department of Energy or the United States Government.

Caprock↗
NASA NTRS1988

Faunal and erosional events in the Eastern Tethyan Sea across the K/T boundary

A regional pattern of three closely spaced erosional events at and above the K/T boundary was determined from six Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary sections in the Negev of Israel. The sections were collected from locations throughout the central and northern Negev. All sections are lithologically similar. The Maastrichtian consists of a sequence of limestone beds intercalated with thin marly beds. In some sections, the last limestone bed is followed by 1 to 2 m of calcareous marls grading upwards into several meters of grey shale. In other sections the limestone bed is followed directly by grey shale with the contact containing particles of limestone and marl. A 5 to 20 cm thick dark grey organic-rich clay layer is present about 1.5 to 2.5 m above the base of the grey shale. The grey shale grades upwards into increasingly carbonate rich marls. No unconformities are apparent in field outcrops. During field collection the dark grey clay layer was believed to represent the K/T boundary clay. Microfossil analysis however identified the boundary at the base of the grey shale. The black shale represents a low productivity anoxic event similar to, but younger than, the K/T boundary clay in other K/T boundary sections. High resolution planktic foraminiferal and carbonate analysis of these sections (at 5 to 10 cm intervals) yield surprising results. The K/T boundary is marked by an erosional event which removed part or all of the uppermost Maastrichtian marls above the last limestone bed. Percent carbonate data for four Negev sections are illustrated and show the regional similarities in carbonate sedimentation. Faunal and carbonate data from the Negev sections thus show three closely spaced short erosional events at the K/T boundary and within the first 50,000 to 100,000 years of the Danian. These K/T boundary erosional events may represent global climatic or paleoceanographic events.

Keller, G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Comparative Analysis of Radial and Random Microstructures of Mesophase Pitch Carbon Fibers

Carbon fibers (CF) with radial and random microstructures are produced. Here, these fibers are subjected to identical treatment before being mechanically tested and analyzed with Weibull analysis, with the results revealing a statistically significant difference in tensile strengths of 2.23 GPa for random CF and 1.69 GPa for radial CF. Raman mapping probed the crystalline structure perpendicular to the fiber axis and found a uniform structure, while wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction showed a significant difference of 7.5 Å in the crystallites’ basal lengths parallel to the fiber. Small‐angle X‐ray scattering is completed parallel to the fiber for the first time. A cross‐section Guinier plot of the 1D azimuthal integration is generated assuming symmetric scattering, and the parallel scatterers are found to have a similar length scale to the crystallite's length, validating the testing method. Finally, transmission electron microscopy is completed on the longitudinal cross‐section of each fiber. The radial carbon fiber is found to have a core–shell structure, as evidenced further by fast Fourier transform images. Through all studies, it is shown that the structure developed during mesophase pitch spinning altered the microstructure, thus impacting the mechanical properties, confirming a direct relationship between processing, structure, and properties.

Scherschel, Alexander [Univ. of Virginia, Charlott↗
NASA NTRS1981

Carbon scrubber

Inorganic carbon is removed from samples to be analyzed for "total organic carbon". In automated water analysis systems, semipermeable membrane separates two sample streams, one treated with acid, other with base. Carbonate and bicarbonated ions are converted to dissolved CO2 by acid; reverse process occurs in basic stream. Only CO2 is passed by membrane, from acid treated stream to base treated stream. Acidic stream emerges free of all inorganic carbon.

Frant, M. S.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Carbon Limited Soils of Iceland: Analogs for Identifying Carbon-Mineral Interactions in Gale Crater, Mars Surface Materials

The Mars Science Laboratory’s Curiosity rover mission to Gale Crater, Mars has a goal to search for organic carbon and corresponding evidence of ancient microbiology preserved in clay mineral-rich sedimentary deposits [1]. No clear correlation of clay mineral (smectite) abundances with the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) carbon detections (up to 2000 ppm C) [2] has been established, suggesting other phases may preserve organic C in martian sediments. Terrestrial volcanic glass soils can accumulate C due to the C-complexing abilities of poorly crystalline Al- and Fe-oxyhydroxides [3]. The Xray amorphous component (20 to 73 wt. %) in Gale Crater materials [4,5] has received little consideration regarding organic C preservation in Gale Crater. The objectives of this work are to 1) Evaluate C content and level of soil development of basaltic glass-bearing Icelandic soils to determine the role that poorly crystalline phases have in complexing organic C in carbon limited soils and 2) Determine if evolved gas analysis (EGA) of well-characterized Mars analog basaltic materials from Iceland can be used to interpret SAM data to understand the nature of organic-C mineral/geochemical associations in Gale materials.

B. Sutter↗
NASA NTRS2016

Microbial Habitability in Gale Crater: Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) Instrument Detection of Microbial Essential Carbon and Nitrogen

Chemical analyses of Mars soils and sediments from previous landed missions have demonstrated that Mars surface materials possessed major (e.g., P, K, Ca, Mg, S) and minor (e.g., Fe, Mn, Zn, Ni, Cl) elements essential to support microbial life. However, the detection of microbial essential organic-carbon (C) and nitrate have been more elusive until the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover mission. Nitrate and organic-C in Gale Crater, Mars have been detected by the Sample Analysis at Mars (SAM) instrument onboard the MSL Curiosity rover. Eolian fines and drilled sedimentary rock samples were heated in the SAM oven from approximately 30 to 860 degrees Centigrade where evolved gases (e.g., nitrous oxide (NO) and CO2) were released and analyzed by SAM’s quadrupole mass spectrometer (MS). The temperatures of evolved NO was assigned to nitrate while evolved CO2 was assigned to organic-C and carbonate. The CO2 releases in several samples occurred below 450 degrees Centigrade suggesting organic-C dominated in those samples. As much as 7 micromoles NO3-N per gram and 200 micromoles CO2-C per gram have been detected in the Gale Crater materials. These N and C levels coupled with assumed microbial biomass (9 x 10 (sup -7) micrograms per cell) C (0.5 micrograms C per micrograms cell) and N (0.14 micrograms N per micrograms cell) requirements, suggests that less than 1 percent and less than 10 percent of Gale Crater C and N, respectively, would be required if available, to accommodate biomass requirements of 1 by 10 (sup 5) cells per gram sediment. While nitrogen is the limiting nutrient, the potential exists that sufficient N and organic-C were present to support limited heterotrophic microbial populations that may have existed on ancient Mars.

Sutter, B.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Cement and concrete as carbon sinks: Transforming a climate challenge into a carbon storage opportunity

Cement and concrete, while traditionally recognized as the main contributors to anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, also have untapped capacity to serve as substantial and scalable carbon sinks. This perspective examines how engineered mineral carbonation can transform cement-based materials into functional carbon storage systems, generating both environmental and economic value. We review the fundamental mechanisms of CO 2 uptake in cementitious systems, highlighting current limitations in reaction kinetics, phase control, and durability under varying environmental conditions. Emphasis is placed on the utilization of alkaline industrial residues and emerging magnesium-based cements, which offer synergistic pathways for carbon sequestration and circular resource use. We further assess the performance trade-offs associated with CO 2 uptake and the feasibility of deploying these technologies on industrial scales. A strategic roadmap is proposed that integrates scientific innovation, regulatory alignment, and carbon accounting in the life cycle to accelerate the adoption of carbon-storing concrete. This perspective provides a comprehensive framework to advance cement and concrete as engineered carbon sinks and supports the transition to a climate-positive construction industry.

Carbon storage↗