SEARCH · Engineering Papers
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.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
The goal of this milestone is to demonstrate readiness of the Sandia Parallel Aerodynamics Reentry Code (SPARC) and the Electro-Magnetic Plasma in Realistic Environments (EMPIRE) code for use on the forthcoming El Capitan exascale platform, which will enable simulation of weapons-relevant problems at unprecedented scale and fidelity.
The goal of this milestone is to demonstrate readiness of LLNL Next-Generation simulation capability for use on the forthcoming El Capitan exascale platform, which will enable simulation of weapons-relevant problems at unprecedented scale and fidelity.
Data Science Infrastructure (DSI) Project offers a standardized but flexible way of storing data and associated metadata to support AI/ML and data intensive scientific workflows: Establish requirements via use case interviews; Develop DSI framework to support flexible, secure, and accessible data stores tailored to researcher needs; Augment existing institutional frameworks for code management, performance testing and file indexing via automated DSI interfaces; Deploy DSI framework to support key use cases in collaboration with domain scientists.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
This report analyzes U.S. PV and BESS supply chains and costs in 2024, for PV module and battery technologies, structural and electrical balance of system (BOS) components, as well as PV recycling. The report concludes with an analysis of technology installation trends, government support for domestic manufacturing, manufacturing jobs, and the domestic content of PV systems installed in the United States in 2024.
A short-term technical study was performed by the MSC Earth Observations Division to determine the feasibility of the proposed Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service Automatic Remote Sensing/Compliance Determination System. For the study, the term automatic was interpreted as applying to an automated remote-sensing system that includes data acquisition, processing, and management.
Test hardware used as pathfinder for Thermal Standard test materials and methods
A vibration-based testing methodology has been developed that will assess fatigue behavior of the metallic material of construction for the Advanced Stirling Convertor displacer (planar) spring component. To minimize the testing duration, the test setup is designed for base-excitation of a multiplespecimen arrangement, driven in a high-frequency resonant mode; this allows completion of fatigue testing in an accelerated period. A high performance electro-dynamic exciter (shaker) is used to generate harmonic oscillation of cantilever beam specimens, which are clasped on the shaker armature with specially-designed clamp fixtures. The shaker operates in closed-loop control with dynamic specimen response feedback provided by a scanning laser vibrometer. A test coordinator function synchronizes the shaker controller and the laser vibrometer to complete the closed-loop scheme. The test coordinator also monitors structural health of the test specimens throughout the test period, recognizing any change in specimen dynamic behavior. As this may be due to fatigue crack initiation, the test coordinator terminates test progression and then acquires test data in an orderly manner. Design of the specimen and fixture geometry was completed by finite element analysis such that peak stress does not occur at the clamping fixture attachment points. Experimental stress evaluation was conducted to verify the specimen stress predictions. A successful application of the experimental methodology was demonstrated by validation tests with carbon steel specimens subjected to fully-reversed bending stress; high-cycle fatigue failures were induced in such specimens using higher-than-prototypical stresses
No abstract available
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has developed and tested engineered sorbents to separate and capture volatile fission products such iodine (I), xenon (Xe), and krypton (Kr) from off-gas streams. As noble gases, Xe and Kr can be difficult to capture and separate. Historically, cryogenic distillation has been used to execute the separation, but this method can pose significant hazards. INL has successfully developed two sorbents for Xe and Kr capture, silver mordenite polyacrylonitrile (AgZ-PAN) and hydrogen mordenite polyacrylonitrile (HZ-PAN). Adsorption studies to date successfully separated and captured Xe from carrier gas streams, but those studies focused primarily on initial separation and capture. In addition, the ability to concentrate Xe through multiple adsorption and desorption cycles has not been studied and therefore is the focus on this presentation. Concentrating Xe during desorption is ideal to produce Xe that can be used for commercial and research applications.
Sunpower Inc.'s Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) initiated development under contract to the NASA Glenn Research Center and after a series of successful demonstrations, the ASC began transitioning from a technology development project to a flight development project. The ASC has very high power conversion efficiency making it attractive for future Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) in order to make best use of the low plutonium-238 fuel inventory in the United States. In recent years, the ASC became part of the NASA and Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) Integrated Project. Sunpower held two parallel contracts to produce ASCs, one with the DOE and Lockheed Martin to produce the ASC-F flight convertors, and one with NASA Glenn for the production of ASC-E3 engineering units, the initial units of which served as production pathfinders. The integrated ASC technical team successfully overcame various technical challenges that led to the completion and delivery of the first two pairs of flightlike ASC-E3 by 2013. However, in late fall 2013, the DOE initiated termination of the Lockheed Martin ASRG flight development contract driven primarily by budget constraints. NASA continues to recognize the importance of high-efficiency ASC power conversion for RPS and continues investment in the technology including the continuation of ASC-E3 production at Sunpower and the assembly of the ASRG Engineering Unit #2. This paper provides a summary of ASC technical accomplishments, overview of tests at Glenn, plans for continued ASC production at Sunpower, and status of Stirling technology development.
In April 2009, NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) formed an integrated product team (IPT) to develop a Small Radioisotope Power System (SRPS) utilizing a single Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) with passive balancer for possible use by the International Lunar Network (ILN) program. The ILN program is studying the feasibility of implementing a multiple node seismometer network to investigate the internal lunar structure. A single ASC produces approximately 80 W(sub e) and could potentially supply sufficient power for that application. The IPT consists of Sunpower, Inc., to provide the single ASC with balancer, The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) to design an engineering model Single Convertor Controller (SCC) for an ASC with balancer, and NASA GRC to provide technical support to these tasks and to develop a simulated lunar lander test stand. A controller maintains stable operation of an ASC. It regulates the alternating current produced by the linear alternator of the convertor, provides a specified output voltage, and maintains operation at a steady piston amplitude and hot end temperature. JHU/APL also designed an ASC dynamic engine/alternator simulator to aid in the testing and troubleshooting of the SCC. This paper describes the requirements, design, and development of the SCC, including some of the key challenges and the solutions chosen to overcome those issues. In addition, it describes the plans to analyze the effectiveness of a passive balancer to minimize vibration from the ASC, characterize the effect of ASC vibration on a lunar lander, characterize the performance of the SCC, and integrate the single ASC, SCC, and lunar lander test stand to characterize performance of the overall system.