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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 NTRS1986

A mixed pseudospectral/finite difference method for the axisymmetric flow in a heated, rotating spherical shell

For a Spacelab flight, a model experiment of the earth's atmospheric circulation has been proposed. This experiment is known as the Atmospheric General Circulation Experiment (AGCE). In the experiment concentric spheres will rotate as a solid body, while a dielectric fluid is confined in a portion of the gap between the spheres. A zero gravity environment will be required in the context of the simulation of the gravitational body force on the atmosphere. The present study is concerned with the development of pseudospectral/finite difference (PS/FD) model and its subsequent application to physical cases relevant to the AGCE. The model is based on a hybrid scheme involving a pseudospectral latitudinal formulation, and finite difference radial and time discretization. The advantages of the use of the hybrid PS/FD method compared to a pure second-order accurate finite difference (FD) method are discussed, taking into account the higher accuracy and efficiency of the PS/FD method.

Macaraeg, M. G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Environmental projects. Volume 1: Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) abatement program

Six large parabolic dish antennas are located at the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex north of Barstow, California. Some of the ancillary electrical equipment of thes Deep Space Stations, particularly transformers and power capicitors, were filled with stable, fire-retardant, dielectric fluids containing substances called polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs). Because the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that PCBs are environmental pollutants toxic to humans, all NASA centers have been asked to participate in a PCB-abatement program. Under the supervision of JPL's Office of Telecommunications and Data Acquisition, a two-year long PCB-abatement program has eliminated PCBs from the Goldstone Complex.

Kushner, L.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Microgravity experiments and numerical simulations of rotating convection in a hemispherical layer

Hart el al. (1986) has previously described Spacelab experiments on rotating convection in a hemispherical layer with a spherically symmetric body force. A body force is induced on the dielectric fluid (silicon oil) by applying an electrostatic potential across the gap. Various configurations of temperature forcings are applied on the inner and outer spherical boundaries, which along with the rotation rate and the strength of the body force define the external parameters for each experiment. The present paper will present a review of the past experimental results and some new results from a numerical model of previous and planned experiments.

Miller, Timothy L.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Microgravity Experiments and Numerical Modeling of Rotating Buoyant Convection in a Spherical Shell with Latitudinal Thermal Gradients

The results of numerical model calculations are compared with space laboratory experiments for rotating, thermally driven flow in a hemispherical shell, and various flow regimes are described. A spherically symmetric body force, analogous to gravity, is imposed in the radial direction through the use of a dielectric fluid and an electrostatic potential difference across the gap. The spherical boundaries are maintained at constant temperature profiles (with the pole and the inner sphere being the warmer surfaces), and the equatorial wall is an insulator. Typical parameter combinations result in highly nonlinear, but laminar, flow. For weak enough buoyant forcing, the flow is axisymmetric. It consists of a single meridional cell, rising in warm latitudes (in this case, near the pole) and sinking in cool latitudes, with prograde flow in the equatorial region and near the inner hemisphere for other latitudes, and retrograde motion elsewhere. For fast rotation, the first transition due to the instability of this simple flow is also axisymmetric, consisting of rings of convection in the polar region, which propagate poleward. The first nonaxisymmetric convection occurs at Rayleigh numbers which increase with rotation rate. The form of the convection near the transition also depends upon the rate of rotation. Selected flow patterns near the transition as well as those beyond it are studied numerically. For those cases where there exist laboratory experiments with which to compare, the numerical and experimental results agree very well.

Leslie, Fred W.↗
NASA NTRS2017

Gravity Effects in Microgap Flow Boiling

Increasing integration density of electronic components has exacerbated the thermal management challenges facing electronic system developers. The high power, heat flux, and volumetric heat generation of emerging devices are driving the transition from remote cooling, which relies on conduction and spreading, to embedded cooling, which facilitates direct contact between the heat-generating device and coolant flow. Microgap coolers employ the forced flow of dielectric fluids undergoing phase change in a heated channel between devices. While two phase microcoolers are used routinely in ground-based systems, the lack of acceptable models and correlations for microgravity operation has limited their use for spacecraft thermal management. Previous research has revealed that gravitational acceleration plays a diminishing role as the channel diameter shrinks, but there is considerable variation among the proposed gravity-insensitive channel dimensions and minimal research on rectangular ducts. Reliable criteria for achieving gravity-insensitive flow boiling performance would enable spaceflight systems to exploit this powerful thermal management technique and reduce development time and costs through reliance on ground-based testing. In the present effort, the authors have studied the effect of evaporator orientation on flow boiling performance of HFE7100 in a 218 m tall by 13.0 mm wide microgap cooler. Similar heat transfer coefficients and critical heat flux were achieved across five evaporator orientations, indicating that the effect of gravity was negligible.

microscale↗
NASA NTRS2017

Gravity Effects in Microgap Flow Boiling

Increasing integration density of electronic components has exacerbated the thermal management challenges facing electronic system developers. The high power, heat flux, and volumetric heat generation of emerging devices are driving the transition from remote cooling, which relies on conduction and spreading, to embedded cooling, which facilitates direct contact between the heat-generating device and coolant flow. Microgap coolers employ the forced flow of dielectric fluids undergoing phase change in a heated channel between devices. While two phase microcoolers are used routinely in ground-based systems, the lack of acceptable models and correlations for microgravity operation has limited their use for spacecraft thermal management. Previous research has revealed that gravitational acceleration plays a diminishing role as the channel diameter shrinks, but there is considerable variation among the proposed gravity-insensitive channel dimensions and minimal research on rectangular ducts. Reliable criteria for achieving gravity-insensitive flow boiling performance would enable spaceflight systems to exploit this powerful thermal management technique and reduce development time and costs through reliance on ground-based testing. In the present effort, the authors have studied the effect of evaporator orientation on flow boiling performance of HFE7100 in a 218 m tall by 13.0 mm wide microgap cooler. Similar heat transfer coefficients and critical heat flux were achieved across five evaporator orientations, indicating that the effect of gravity was negligible.

microscale↗
NASA NTRS2018

Orientation Effects in Two-Phase Microgap Flow

The high power density of emerging electronic devices is driving the transition from remote cooling, which relies on con-duction and spreading, to embedded cooling, which extracts dissipated heat on-site. Two-phase microgap coolers employ the forced flow of dielectric fluids undergoing phase change in a heated channel within or between devices. Such coolers must work reliably in all orientations for a variety of applications (e.g., vehicle-based equipment), as well as in microgravity and high-g for other applications (e.g., spacecraft and aircraft). The lack of acceptable models and correlations for orientation- and gravity-independent operation has limited the use of two-phase coolers in such applications. Previous research has revealed that gravita-tional acceleration plays a diminishing role in establishing flow regimes and transport rates as the channel size shrinks, but there is considerable variation among the proposed microscale criteria and limited research on two-phase flows in low aspect ratio mi-crogap channels. Reliable criteria for achieving orientation- and gravity-independent flow boiling would enable emerging sys-tems to exploit this thermal management technique and streamline the technology development process. As a first step toward understanding the effect of gravity on two-phase microgap flow and transport, in the present effort the authors have studied the effect of evaporator orientation and mass flux on near-saturated flow boiling of HFE7100 in a 1.01 mm tall by 13.0 mm wide by 12.7 mm long microgap channel. Orientation-independence, defined as achieving similar critical heat fluxes, heat transfer coefficients, and flow regimes across evaporator orientations, was achieved for mass fluxes of 400 kg/m2-s and greater. The present results are compared to pub-lished criteria for achieving gravity-independence.

orientation↗
NASA NTRS2018

Orientation Effects in Two-Phase Microgap Flow

The high power density of emerging electronic devices is driving the transition from remote cooling, which relies onconduction and spreading, to embedded cooling, which extracts dissipated heat on-site. Two-phase microgap coolersemploy the forced flow of dielectric fluids undergoing phase change in a heated channel within or between devices. Such coolers must work reliably in all orientations for a variety of applications (e.g., vehicle-based equipment), as well as in microgravity and high-g for other applications (e.g., spacecraft and aircraft). The lack of acceptable models andcorrelations for orientation- and gravity-independent operation has limited the use of two-phase coolers in suchapplications. Previous research has revealed that gravitational acceleration plays a diminishing role in establishing flow regimes and transport rates as the channel size shrinks, but there is considerable variation among the proposed microscale criteria and limited research on two-phase flows in low aspect ratio microgap channels. Reliable criteria for achieving orientation- and gravity-independent flow boiling would enable emerging systems to exploit this thermal management technique and streamline the technology development process.

orientation↗
NASA NTRS2019

Gravity Effects in Two-Phase Microgap Flow

The high power density of emerging electronic devices is driving the transition from remote cooling, which relies on conduction and spreading, to embedded cooling, which extracts dissipated heat on-site. Two-phase microgap coolers employ the forced flow of dielectric fluids undergoing phase change in a heated channel within or between devices. Such coolers must work reliably in all orientations for a variety of applications (e.g., vehicle-based equipment), as well as in microgravity and high-g for aerospace applications, but the lack of acceptable models and correlations for orientation- and gravity-independent operation has limited their use. Reliable criteria for achieving orientation- and gravity-independent flow boiling would enable emerging systems to exploit this thermal management technique and streamline the technology development process. As a first step toward understanding the effect of gravity in two-phase microgap flow and transport, in an earlier effort, the authors studied the effects of evaporator orientation, mass flux, and heat flux on flow boiling of HFE7100 in a 1.01 mm tall by 13.0 mm wide by 12.7 mm long microgap channel. Orientation-independence, defined as achieving similar critical heat fluxes, heat transfer coefficients, and flow regimes across orientations, was achieved for mass fluxes of 400 kg/sq.m-s and greater (corresponding to a Froude number of about 0.8). In the present effort, the authors have studied the effects of gravity, mass flux, and subcooling on flow boiling of HFE7100 in a 0.17 mm tall by 13.0 mm wide by 12.7 mm long microgap channel. The Flow Boiling in Microgap Coolers payload experienced about three minutes of weightlessness and shorter periods of high-g (up to about 5 g) during two recent flights aboard the Blue Origin New Shepard reusable launch vehicle. The results from the flight experiments will be presented and compared with published criteria for achieving gravity-independence.

Robinson, Franklin L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ceramic Heat Pipe for Thermal Management of a High Frequency Inductor

As the power density of electric machines and power electronics continues to increase to meet the demands of more electric aircraft, the thermal management of these devices becomes increasingly important. Ideally, the thermal management solution of the device should have high thermal conductivity and be electrically insulating so that it can be directly integrated with the device in question. Technical ceramics are a class of materials that meet these two requirements. Direct liquid cooling by submerging electric components in a dielectric fluid is an alternate option, but adds system complexity and may incur pumping loss. In this work, the thermal management solution for a high frequency inductor is presented. A conventional wicked heat pipe is designed that is made from a solid ceramic case with a sintered ceramic wick. This heat pipe can provide structural support for the core and windings and is electrically insulating, so it does not incur any additional eddy current losses from the high frequency magnetic fields. It does not require additional pumping power, because conventional wicked heat pipes are passive devices. In this paper, the manufacturing process of the ceramic heat pipe is also presented. It is shown that the sintering of large diameter spherical ceramic particles is difficult due to their high specific surface area and low surface free energy. To overcome this difficulty, a flux material was used to initiate liquid phase sintering. The results of the sintering trials show that for the 120 μm diameter α-Al2O3powder selected for the wick, the combination of 1650°C sintering temperature and the addition of 5 wt% talc sintered the porous matrix together sufficiently for use as a heat pipe wic

High-frequency Inductor↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Ceramic Heat Pipe for Thermal Management of a High Frequency Inductor

As the power density of electric machines and power electronics continues to increase to meet the demands of more electric aircraft, the thermal management of these devices becomes increasingly important. Ideally, the thermal management solution of the device should have high thermal conductivity and be electrically insulating so that it can be directly integrated with the device in question. Technical ceramics are a class of materials that meet these two requirements. Direct liquid cooling by submerging electric components in a dielectric fluid is an alternate option, but adds system complexity and may incur pumping loss. In this work, the thermal management solution for a high frequency inductor is presented. A conventional wicked heat pipe is designed that is made from a solid ceramic case with a sintered ceramic wick. This heat pipe can provide structural support for the core and windings and is electrically insulating, so it does not incur any additional eddy current losses from the high frequency magnetic fields. It does not require additional pumping power, because conventional wicked heat pipes are passive devices. In this paper, the manufacturing process of the ceramic heat pipe is also presented. It is shown that the sintering of large diameter spherical ceramic particles is difficult due to their high specific surface area and low surface free energy. To overcome this difficulty, a flux material was used to initiate liquid phase sintering. The results of the sintering trials show that for the 120 μm diameter α-Al2O3 powder selected for the wick, the combination of 1650°C sintering temperature and the addition of 5 wt% talc sintered the porous matrix together sufficiently for use as a heat pipe wick.

High frequency inductor↗
NASA NTRS2023

Stand Alone Electrical Equipment PRL 227a (Formerly PRL 227 LOC3) Confirmatory Sampling Report Addendum

HydroGeoLogic, Inc. (HGL) prepared this Confirmatory Sampling Report Addendum (CSRA) for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. PRL 227a Location of Concern (LOC) 3 is located on 10th Street, west of the former Vertical Processing Facility (M7-1469), SWMU 077. The Load Break Switches (LBS) were installed in 1986 and are suspected to have formerly contained dielectric fluid that contained polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The LBS were replaced in 1993 with new LBSs that do not contain PCBs. The LBS are located on a concrete pad surrounded by grass that is mowed and maintained. A total of 330 soil samples were collected between June 2020 and December 2022 from 88 locations at depths ranging from 0-0.5 to 19-20 ft bls. In general, soil samples collected from depths less than 5 ft were collected via hand auger and samples collected beyond 5 ft bls were collected using a direct-push technology drill rig. Soil samples collected from greater than 5 ft bls to 20 ft bls were collected to confirm PCBs were not present at depth in the aquifer matrix. Delineation samples were collected using an approximately 20 ft horizontal spacing. PCB impacted soil has been completely delineated to the State of Florida residential soil cleanup target level (SCTL) at PRL 227a horizontally and vertically. PCB concentrations have been identified above the residential and industrial SCTL as well as concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm requiring coordination with EPA and disposal at a facility authorized under TSCA. Based upon the CSRA sampling, an interim measure is recommended to remove PCB impacted soil above the residential SCTL. The total volume of PCB impacted soil to be removed is 591.6 cubic yards. This includes approximately 9.3 cubic yards of soil with PCB concentrations greater than or equal to 50 ppm. An interim measure work plan is included as an attachment to this report.

electrical equipment↗
NASA NTRS1992

Role of dielectric constant in electrohydrodynamics of conducting fluids

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) flows are driven by the interaction of an electric field with variations in electric conductivity or dielectric constant. In reported EHD experiments on the deformation of drops of immiscible dielectric fluids, the role of conductivity has tended to overshadow the role of dielectric constant. Often, large conductivity contrasts were convenient because the conductivities of the dielectric fluid were relatively uncertain. As a result, the observed effects were always qualitatively the same as if there had been no contrast in dielectric constant. Our early experiments studying the EHC deformations of cylindrical streams readily showed the conductivity effect but the dielectric constant effect was not discernible. We have modified our flow chamber and improved our method of observation and can now see an unequivocal dielectric constant effect which is in agreement with the prior theory. In this paper we first give a brief description of the physics of charge buildup at the interface of an immersed spherical drop or flowing cylindrical sample stream and then show how these charge distributions lead to interface distortions and accompanying viscous flows which constitute EHD. We next review theory and experiment describing the deformation of spherical drops. We show that in the reported drop deformation experiments, the contrast in dielectric constant was never sufficient to reverse the deformation due to the conductivity contrast. We review our work describing the deformation of a cylindrical stream of one fluid flowing in a parallel flow of another, and we compare the deformation equations with those for spherical drops. Finally, we show a definite experimental dielectric constant effect for cylindrical stream of aqueous polystyrene latex suspension. The dielectric constant varies with the frequency of the imposed electric field, and the associated EHD flow change is very apparent.

Rhodes, Percy H.↗
DOE OSTI2025

InDEEP, DEEC-Tec, and Direct Generation Synergies for Ocean Wave Energy: Wave Energy Scotland's Direct Generation Programme Review

The presentation highlights: (i) how DEEC-Tec, advanced through the U.S. DOE's InDEEP Prize, holds the potential to redefine ocean wave energy conversion through modular, embedded energy conversion; (ii) a global scan that identified 158 participants and 35 promising concepts, showcasing strong international momentum; (iii) InDEEP's innovation-first approach and how it complements Wave Energy Scotland's structured Direct Generation research; and (iv) the ongoing and possible future collaborative pathways for co-funded trials, joint metric/standards developments, and maturation of these technologies toward and real-world deployment.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗