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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 55 records · Page 3
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2002

Thin-film Organic-based Solar Cells for Space Power

Recent advances in dye-sensitized and organic polymer solar cells have lead NASA to investigate the potential of these devices for space power generation. Dye-sensitized solar cells were exposed to simulated low-earth orbit conditions and their performance evaluated. All cells were characterized under simulated air mass zero (AM0) illumination. Complete cells were exposed to pressures less than 1 x 10(exp -7) torr for over a month, with no sign of sealant failure or electrolyte leakage. Cells from Solaronix SA were rapid thermal cycled under simulated low-earth orbit conditions. The cells were cycled 100 times from -80 C to 80 C, which is equivalent to 6 days in orbit. The best cell had a 4.6 percent loss in efficiency as a result of the thermal cycling. In a separate project, novel -Bridge-Donor-Bridge- Acceptor- (-BDBA-) type conjugated block copolymer systems have been synthesized and characterized by photoluminescence (PL). In comparison to pristine donor or acceptor, the PL emissions of final -B-D-B-A- block copolymer films were quenched over 99 percent. Effective and efficient photo induced electron transfer and charge separation occurs due to the interfaces of micro phase separated donor and acceptor blocks. The system is very promising for a variety high efficiency light harvesting applications. Under an SBIR contract, fullerene-doped polymer-based photovoltaic devices were fabricated and characterized. The best devices showed overall power efficiencies of approx. 0.14 percent under white light. Devices fabricated from 2 percent solids content solutions in chlorobenzene gave the best results. Presently, device lifetimes are too short to be practical for space applications.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗
NASA NTRS2001

Thin-Film Organic-Based Solar Cells for Space Power

Recent advances in dye-sensitized and organic polymer solar cells have lead NASA to investigate the potential of these devices for space power generation. Dye-sensitaized solar cells were exposed to simulated low-earth orbit conditions and their performance evaluated. All cells were characterized under simulated air mass zero (AM0) illumination. Complete cells were exposed to pressures less than 1 x 10 (exp -7)torr for over a month, with no sign of sealant failure or electrolyte leakage. Cells from Solaronix SA were rapid thermal cycled under simulated low-earth orbit conditions. The cells were cycled 100 times from -80 C to 80 C, which is equivalent to 6 days in orbit. The best cell had a 4.6% loss in efficiency as a result of the thermal cycling. In a separate project, novel -Bridge-Donor-Bridge-Acceptor- (-BDBA-) type conjugated block copolymer systems have been synthesized and characterized by photoluminescence (PL). In comparison to pristine donor or acceptor, the PL emissions of final -B-D-B-A- block copolymer films were quenched over 99%. Effective and efficient photo induced electron transfer and charge separation occurs due to the interfaces of micro phase separated donor and acceptor blocks. The system is very promising for a variety high efficiency light harvesting applications. Under an SBIR contract, fullerene-doped polymer-based photovoltaic devices were fabricated and characterized. The best devices showed overall power efficiencies of approximately 0.14% under white light. Devices fabricated from 2% solids content solutions in chlorobenzene gave the best results. Presently, device lifetimes are too short to be practical for space applications.

Bailey, Sheila G.↗
NASA NTRS2005

CORROSION PREVENTION OF COLD ROLLED STEEL USING WATER DISPERSIBLE LIGNOSULFONIC ACID DOPED POLYANILINE

The invention provides coatings useful for preventing corrosion of metals. The coatings comprise a film-forming resin and conductive polymers comprising linearly conjugated pi-systems and residues of sulfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid or derivatives of sulfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid. The invention also provides a latex formulation of the coatings, and articles of manufacture comprising a metal substrate and a coating in contact with the metal substrate.

Viswanathan, Tito↗
NASA NTRS2006

Computational Spectroscopy of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons In Support of Laboratory Astrophysics

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are strong candidates for the molecular carriers of the unidentified infrared bands (UIR) and the diffuse interstellar bands (DIBs). In order to test the PAH hypothesis, we have systematically measured the vibronic spectra of a number of jet-cooled neutral and ionized PAHs in the near ultraviolet (UV) to visible spectral ranges using the cavity ring-down spectroscopy. To support this experimental effort, we have carried out theoretical studies of the spectra obtained in our measurements. Ab initio and (time-dependent) density.functiona1 theory calculations are performed to obtain the geometries, energetics, vibrational frequencies, transition dipole moments, and normal coordinates of these PAH molecules. Franck-Condon (FC) calculations and/or vibronic calculations are then performed using the calculated normal coordinates and vibrational frequencies to simulate the vibronic spectra. It is found that vibronic interactions in these conjugated pi electron systems are often strong enough to cause significant deviations from the Born-Oppenheimer (BO) approximation. For vibronic transitions that are well described by the BO approximation, the vibronic band profiles are simulated by calculating the rotational structure of the vibronic transitions. Vibronic oscillator strength factors are calculated in the frame of the FC approximation from the electronic transition dipole moments and the FC factors. This computational effort together with our experimental measurements provides, for the first time, powerful tools for comparison with space-based data and, hence, a powerful approach to understand the spectroscopy of interstellar PAH analogs and the nature of the UIR and DIBs.

Tan, Xiaofeng↗
NASA NTRS2007

Corrosion Prevention of Cold Rolled Steel Using Water Dispersible Lignosulfonic Acid Doped Polyaniline

The invention provides coatings useful for preventing corrosion of metals. The coatings comprise a film-forming resin and conductive polymers comprising linearly conjugated x-systems and residues of sulfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid or derivatives of solfonated lignin or a sulfonated polyflavonoid. The invention also provides a latex formulation of the coatings, and articles of manufacture comprising a metal substrate and a coating in contact with the metal substrate.

Viswanathan, Tito↗
NASA NTRS1992

Global positioning system measurements of deformations associated with the 1987 Superstition Hills earthquake - Evidence for conjugate faulting

Large station displacements observed from Imperial Valley Global Positioning System (GPS) compaigns are attributed to the November 24, 1987 Superstition Hills earthquake sequence. Thirty sites from a 42 station GPS network established in 1986 were reoccupied during 1988 and/or 1990. Displacements at three sites within 3 kilometers of the surface rupture approach 0.5 m. Eight additional stations within 20 km of the seismic zone are displaced at least 10 cm. This is the first occurrence of a large earthquake (M(sub S) 6.6) within a preexisting GPS network. Best-fitting uniform slip models of rectangular dislocations in an elastic half-space indicate 130 + or - 8 cm right-lateral displacement along the northwest-trending Superstition Hills fault and 30 + or - 10 cm left-lateral displacement along the conjugate northeast-trending Elmore Ranch fault. The geodetic moments are 9.4 x 10 (exp 25) dyne-cm and 2.3 x 10 (exp 25) dyne-cm for the Superstition Hills and Elmore Ranch faults, respectively, consistent with teleseismic source parameters. The data also suggest the post seismic slip along the Superstition Hills fault is concentrated at shallow depths. Distributed slip solutions using Singular Value Decomposition indicate near uniform displacement along the Elmore Ranch fault and concentrated slip to the northwest and southeast along the Superstition Hills fault. A significant component of non-seismic displacement is observed across the Imperial Valley, which is attributed in part to interseismic plate-boundary deformation.

Larsen, Shawn↗
NASA NTRS1984

Research in computer science

Several short summaries of the work performed during this reporting period are presented. Topics discussed in this document include: (1) resilient seeded errors via simple techniques; (2) knowledge representation for engineering design; (3) analysis of faults in a multiversion software experiment; (4) implementation of parallel programming environment; (5) symbolic execution of concurrent programs; (6) two computer graphics systems for visualization of pressure distribution and convective density particles; (7) design of a source code management system; (8) vectorizing incomplete conjugate gradient on the Cyber 203/205; (9) extensions of domain testing theory and; (10) performance analyzer for the pisces system.

Ortega, J. M.↗
NASA NTRS2007

Numerical Modeling of Propellant Boil-Off in a Cryogenic Storage Tank

A numerical model to predict boil-off of stored propellant in large spherical cryogenic tanks has been developed. Accurate prediction of tank boil-off rates for different thermal insulation systems was the goal of this collaboration effort. The Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program, integrating flow analysis and conjugate heat transfer for solving complex fluid system problems, was used to create the model. Calculation of tank boil-off rate requires simultaneous simulation of heat transfer processes among liquid propellant, vapor ullage space, and tank structure. The reference tank for the boil-off model was the 850,000 gallon liquid hydrogen tank at Launch Complex 39B (LC- 39B) at Kennedy Space Center, which is under study for future infrastructure improvements to support the Constellation program. The methodology employed in the numerical model was validated using a sub-scale model and tank. Experimental test data from a 1/15th scale version of the LC-39B tank using both liquid hydrogen and liquid nitrogen were used to anchor the analytical predictions of the sub-scale model. Favorable correlations between sub-scale model and experimental test data have provided confidence in full-scale tank boil-off predictions. These methods are now being used in the preliminary design for other cases including future launch vehicles

Majumdar, A. K.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Two-mirror projection systems for simulating telescopes

Optical instruments designed for use with large telescopes need to be tested before being installed at their work site. This is especially true for space-based instruments. To perform these tests, an auxiliary optical system is required which simulates the telescope exit pupil. Two-mirror projection systems can be used for this purpose. In this paper the first-order geometric properties and third-order aberrations of the general two-mirror system used at finite conjugates are examined. Relations are given in terms of five design parameters: object distance, image distance, exit pupil size, and the two mirror magnifications. A particular application of these relations is presented for a system designed to simulate the HST, for ground testing of the next generation of scientific instruments to be installed in the observatory. We show that a sufficient number of degrees of freedom are available to meet requirements when both mirrors are conics.

Hannan, Paul G.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Lithospheric dynamics near plate boundaries

The progress report on research conducted between 15 Mar. - 14 Sep. 1992 is presented. The focus of the research during the first grant year has been on several problems broadly related to the nature and dynamics of time-dependent deformation and stress along major seismic zones, with an emphasis on western North America but with additional work on seismic zones in oceanic lithosphere as well. The principal findings of our research to date are described in the accompanying papers and abstract. Topics covered include: (1) Global Positioning System measurements of deformations associated with the 1987 Superstition Hills earthquake: evidence for conjugate faulting; (2) Global Positioning System measurements of strain accumulation across the Imperial Valley, California: 1986-1989; (3) present-day crustal deformation in the Salton Trough, southern California; (4) oceanic transform earthquakes with unusual mechanisms or locations: relation to fault geometry and state of stress in the lithosphere; and (5) crustal strain and the 1992 Mojave Desert earthquakes.

Solomon, Sean C.↗
NASA NTRS1990

A combined finite element-boundary element formulation for solution of two-dimensional problems via CGFFT

A method for the computation of electromagnetic scattering from arbitrary two-dimensional bodies is presented. The method combines the finite element and boundary element methods leading to a system for solution via the conjugate gradient Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) algorithm. Two forms of boundaries aimed at reducing the storage requirement of the boundary integral are investigated. It is shown that the boundary integral becomes convolutional when a circular enclosure is chosen, resulting in reduced storage requirement when the system is solved via the conjugate gradient FFT method. The same holds for the ogival enclosure, except that some of the boundary integrals are not convolutional and must be carefully treated to maintain O(N) memory requirement. Results for several circular and ogival structures are presented and shown to be in excellent agreement with those obtained by traditional methods.

Collins, Jeffery D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Revisiting the Role of Entropy for Charge Separation in 1D Pi-Conjugated Semiconductors

Free carrier generation in organic donor/acceptor heterojunctions and redox-doped organic semiconductors is poorly understood, since assumed tight electron-hole binding conflicts with observed high free carrier yields. Cornerstone analyses that have guided the field for over 15 years predict that entropy can stabilize free charges in 2D and 3D pi-conjugated semiconductors but not in 1D systems. Here, the impact of entropy on charge generation in 1D pi-conjugated semiconductors is revisited by exploiting a greatly simplified system where enthalpy considerations alone should not allow for free charge generation. Noncontact solution-phase microwave conductivity is used to investigate the carrier density-dependent conductivity and dielectric constant in isolated chemically doped semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes in a low-dielectric solvent. Dopant chemical structure dramatically influences the carrier density-dependent complex conductivity, with bulky dopants facilitating carrier escape even at carrier densities below one carrier per nanotube. Three distinct numerical calculations show that entropic stabilization dramatically lowers the Gibbs energy barrier for free charge generation, explaining the high yield of free carriers, even in 1D. This renewed understanding of entropy's role in carrier generation has important implications for designing organic electronic devices-such as solar cells and thermoelectric energy harvesters-for enhanced carrier yield, conductivity, and performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2016

C/NOFS Remote Sensing of Ionospheric Reflectance

Alfvn waves play critical roles in the electrodynamic coupling of plasmas at magnetically conjugate regions in near-Earth space. Associated electric (E*) and magnetic (dec B*) field perturbations sampled by sensors on satellites in low-Earth orbits are generally super positions of incident and reflected waves. However, lack of knowledge about ionospheric reflection coefficients (alpha) hinders understanding of generator outputs and load absorption of Alfvn wave energies. Here we demonstrate a new method for estimating using satellite measurements of ambient E* and dec B* then apply it to a case in which the Communication Navigation Outage Forecasting System (CNOFS) satellite flew conjugate to the field of view of a 630.0 nm all-sky imager at El Leoncito, Argentina, while medium-scale traveling ionosphere disturbances were detected in its field of view. In regions of relatively large amplitudes of E* and B*,calculated values ranged between 0.67 and 0.88. This implies that due to impedance mismatches, the generator ionosphere puts out significantly more electromagnetic energy than the load can absorb. Our analysis also uncovered caveats concerning the methods range of applicability in regions of low E* and B*. The method can be validated in future satellite-based auroral studies where energetic particle precipitation fluxes can be used to make independent estimates of alpha.

Burke, W. J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Ultrafast Correlation Energy Estimator

A virtually no-cost method is proposed that can compute the correlation energies of general, covalently bonded, organic, and inorganic molecules (including conjugated π-electron systems) with a well-defined dominant Lewis structure at the accuracy of 99.5% of the near-exact values determined by the coupled-cluster singles, doubles, and perturbative triples [CCSD(T)] in the complete-basis-set (CBS) limit. This Correlation Energy Per Bond (CEPB) method assigns a partial correlation energy to each bond type (characterized by the identities of the two atoms forming the bond and its integer bond order) and to a lone pair, regardless of the bond length, bond angle, sp-hybridization, π-electron conjugation, ionicity, noncovalent interactions, etc. At its current stage, the method is mainly suitable for near-equilibrium geometries. The correlation energies per bond are determined by a fit to the CCSD(T)/CBS benchmarks. It can neither improve the equilibrium structures nor discern conformers or positional isomers, yet its accuracy for reaction energies rivals that of the second-order Møller–Plesset perturbation theory, which is far more expensive. Its promising performance underscores the possibility that surprisingly compact, chemically intuitive molecular fragments exist into which correlation energies can be partitioned, leading to various ultrafast correlation-energy estimators tailored to different purposes.

Binding energy↗
NASA NTRS1983

The High Spectral Resolution Lidar

The High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) system was developed for the remote measurement of atmospheric optical properties. Measurements are obtained by the separation of the backscattered signal into aerosol and molecular channels using a high spectral resolution Fabry-Perot optical interferometer to separate the aerosol contributions to backscatter near the laser wavelength from the Doppler-shifted molecular component of the backscatter. The transmitter consists of an optically pumped pulsed dye laser of the oscillator-amplifier design which emits at 467.88 nm, with a bandwidth of less than 0.3 pm. The transmitter and receiver share a common Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, although they do not share the same field stop, but rather two conjugate stops. The HSRL system uses a computer-controlled dual-channel photon-counting data acquisition system providing for stable measurements at very low power levels and an excellent dynamic range. The system has been used to obtain airborne measurements of height profiles of aerosol and molecular backscatter cross sections.

Eloranta, E. W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

EVALUATION OF OPERATION TEMPERATURES UNDER NATURAL CONVECTION HELIUM FLOW IN A CONFINED CAVITY

The Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is a high-power accelerator-based pulsed neutron source led by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) to achieve high fluxes of neutrons for scientific experiments. Active and passive cooling of the systems and parts forming the SNS have been considered to warrant the safe operation of the facility. The diverse cooling systems make use of conjugated heat transfer mechanisms to provide a stable operation temperature for all components in the machine. Thermal power deposited into stainless-steel piping lines due to particle radiation may reach values of up to 1.2 W/cc in the regions located closer to the center of the lower IRP. These energy deposition levels, in not actively cooled components, such as the transfer-line-outer-vacuum-layer may increase the temperature of the component beyond design requirement limitations. The evaluation of the operation temperatures for the former components relies in the assumption that a low-pressure helium atmosphere provides enough heat removal capacity based on natural convection phenomena. In this work, the evaluation of steady state temperatures in components such as the CMS transfer lines has been evaluated using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), analytical correlations and experimental measurements. The companion experiments were conducted in a closed helium system at pressures varying from 1.1 to 1.5 bar. A copper rod was affixed horizontally between viewing windows and heated at constant power, and measurements were made of both the rod temperature and ambient temperature via a system fiberoptic distributed temperature sensors and RTDs. It was found that the measured heat transfer coefficients agree well with the predictions of Churchill and Chu correlations across the range of cases considered. Additionally, the ambient helium volume above the rod was imaged via background oriented schlieren (BOS), and these data was used to determine the line-averaged density gradients in this region. These gradients were compared to simulation data to validate the predictions of natural convection simulations.

Dominguez-Ontiveros, Elvis [ORNL] (ORCID:000000018↗
NASA NTRS1993

The North Atlantic circulation in the early 1980s - An estimate from inversion of a finite-difference model

A finite-difference model of the North Atlantic is constructed for the purpose of making an estimate of the circulation through an inverse calculation. The data base is eclectic, and includes hydrography, oxygen, nutrients, current meter and float records, atmospheric momentum, heat and water vapor transfers, as well as estimates of certain integral fluxes. Owing to the available hydrographic database, the model resolution is restricted to 1 deg at best, and is much coarser in many aspects. This limited resolution is a major obstacle to accurate estimates of climatological fluxes. In its final form, there are about 9000 constraints in 29,000 formal unknowns plus 9000 noise unknowns. The system is solved as a tapered least-squares system by a sparse conjugate gradient algorithm. With the exception of a few float velocities, all constraints are found to be consistent within error estimates. The model produces estimates of large-scale fluxes and flux divergences for all conventional properties including heat and nutrients as well as carbon dioxide and alkalinity. Meridional fluxes of carbon are found to be indistinguishable from zero, whereas the North Atlantic tends to export nutrients to the south, but carry heat to the north. Traditional oceanographic depictions of the circulation through combination of nonsynoptic data into steady models may have reached their useful limit in the present calculation, as the conflicts between the data and physical requirements become quantitatively apparent.

Martel, Francoise↗
NASA NTRS1992

The effect of gravity modulation on thermosolutal convection in an infinite layer of fluid

The effect of time-periodic vertical gravity modulation on the onset of thermosolutal convection in an infinite horizontal layer with stress-free boundaries is investigated using Floquet theory for the linear stability analysis. Situations for which the fluid layer is stably stratified in either the fingering or diffusive regimes of double-diffusive convection are considered. Results are presented both with and without steady background acceleration. Modulation may stabilize an unstable base solution or destabilize a stable base solution. In addition to synchronous and subharmonic response to the modulation frequency, instability in the double diffusive system can occur via a complex conjugate mode. In the diffusive regime, where oscillatory onset occurs in the unmodulated system, regions of resonant instability occur and exhibit strong coupling with the unmodulated oscillatory frequency. The response to modulation of the fundamental instability of the unmodulated system is described both analytically and numerically; in the double-diffusive system this mode persists under subcritical conditions as a high-frequency lobe.

Saunders, B. V.↗