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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
DOE OSTI2025

Descriptors for Cu facets for CO2 reduction reaction activity

Computation screening is crucial for designing efficient electrochemical catalysts for carbon dioxide (CO2R) reduction to valuable hydrocarbons and oxygenates. Herein, leveraging density functional theory calculations of the CO adsorption energy ΔE_CO on seventeen Cu terminations, we discover a strong linear correlation between ΔE_CO and the recently experimentally measured CO2R electrochemical currents (ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 11, 6578–6588). Examining the ab initio thermodynamics of the early critical intermediates CO*, COH*, and CHO*, we find that CO* → CHO* is the thermodynamically preferred step, and notably shows a volcano trend with the experimental currents where the maximum CO2R current corresponds to the moderate CHO* formation energy. Importantly, we show that increasing the step and kink density of the Cu termination not only enhances CO adsorption strength but also modulates the CO* → CHO* pathway, as respectively exemplified in the (941) and (741) facets. We also explain why (741) is exceptional with high CO2R activity as measured experimentally due to its relatively low activity toward the hydrogen evolution reaction compared with the other Cu surfaces. Beyond the general CO adsorption energy that only shows a linear trend with CO2R activity, we show that the reaction CO* → CHO* free energy is a descriptor that displays a volcano relationship with the overall CO2R activity on Cu facets.

machine learning↗
NASA NTRS1974

Rough surface scattering based on facet model

A model for the radar return from bare ground was developed to calculate the radar cross section of bare ground and the effect of the frequency averaging on the reduction of the variance of the return. It is shown that, by assuming that the distribution of the slope to be Gaussian and that the distribution of the length of the facet to be in the form of the positive side of a Gaussian distribution, the results are in good agreement with experimental data collected by an 8- to 18-GHz radar spectrometer system. It is also shown that information on the exact correlation length of the small structure on the ground is not necessary; an effective correlation length may be calculated based on the facet model and the wavelength of the incident wave.

Khamsi, H. R.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Faceting and roughening in quasicrystals

The question whether quasi-crystal shapes should be faceted is studied in a simple model of quasi-crystalline order. At T = 0, the model is proved to yield a completely faceted equilibrium shape in both two and three dimensions. At T greater than 0, an interface model is derived for a two-dimensional Penrose tiling. By mapping it onto a one-dimensional quasi-periodic Schroedinger equation, it is shown that the roughness exponent varies continuously with T at low T.

Garg, Anupam↗
NASA NTRS1991

Development of an improved mirror facet for space applications

A fabrication technique was successfully developed for a metallic aluminum honeycomb, high-accuracy, lightweight, and long-life solar concentrator (mirror) for Advanced Solar Dynamic Space Power Systems. The program scope was limited to the development, fabrication, evaluation, and delivery of a solar concentrator facet (petal) that was sized for a 2-meter deployable solar concentrator. A surface accuracy of 1.0 mrad was achieved. The development incorporated tooling design, material selection, facet forming, adhesive selection, testing, and analysis. Techniques for applying levelizing, reflective, and protective optical coatings were also developed.

Schertz, Paul↗
NASA NTRS2008

A Faceted Shape Model Approach to Altimetry and Velocimetry for Irregularly Shaped Bodies

Range and velocity sensors based on lidar or radar with multiple beams are often used to measure the altitude and velocity, respectively, of a spacecraft above a targetbody. A difficulty that arises when navigating about small bodies such as asteroids or comets, is that the notion of altitude is largely obscured by the irregular shape of the target surface. This paper develops a method to incorporate the multibeam altimeter and Doppler velocimeter measurements into the on-board spacecraft state estimator by using information from a faceted shape model representation of the target body surface.

state estimation↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-faceted framework for extrapolating early age flexural strength to facilitate rapid lifting/handling of high-volume fly ash precast members

Maintaining adequate early-age structural performance for precast concrete components has grown in importance as more sustainable mix designs become more widespread. Achieving high-early flexural strength is particularly crucial to facilitate rapid removal of hardened concrete components from formwork, often within 24 h after fresh concrete placement. Limited research has assessed the effectiveness of traditional design methods in correlating flexural strength with compressive strength for next-generation mix designs, or demonstrated extrapolation of such material performance to larger-scale structural tests. This paper presents a multi-faceted framework to reassess early-age flexural strength for concretes made with relatively high proportions of fly ash from both fresh and harvested sources. Here, the framework provides several pathways, from which the user can select based upon available resources and the specific application, to improve accuracy of early-age cracking moment calculations. Furthermore, the scope includes evaluation of strength performance under curing conditions emulative of those in a precast facility, recommending modulus of rupture equations which are more performance-driven than current design provisions, and experimental tests on prefabricated concrete beams to validate the proposed methodologies. Correlations of early-age strength with both concrete age and maturity measurements compare the effectiveness of utilizing in-situ data to further enhance the prediction methods. Ultimately, the proposed framework helped reduce errors when calculating cracking moment capacity at early ages by tailoring calculations to reflect mix-dependent behavior. Furthermore, most estimates of cracking moment were within 25 % of their corresponding experimental test results, thus promoting confidence for using these strategies with high-volume fly ash precast structures.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Power conversion in SnS photocathodes made by electrochemical growth is limited by recombination at (002) buried facets

Herzenbergite α-SnS is a promising p-type semiconductor for photovoltaic and solar fuel applications, but current devices are plagued by substantial photovoltage losses. Here we use vibrating Kelvin probe surface photovoltage for the first time to study the recombination losses in microcrystalline SnS photoelectrodes. α-SnS films of varied crystal orientation, size, and shape are obtained by electrochemical growth from aqueous tin( II ) chloride and sodium thiosulfate solutions near room temperature. After application of a CdS passivation layer, the films function as photocathodes for the methylviologen reduction reaction. Photoelectrochemical and surface photovoltage measurements reveal that the performance of these devices is sensitively controlled by mainly the SnS crystal orientation and to a lesser extent by the grain size. For example, the highest charge recombination rates of 8.97 × 10 14 s −1 cm −2 and lowest photocurrent (0.73 mA cm −2 ) and lowest photovoltage (0.12 V) occur for SnS films containing 500 nm crystals with irregular shapes and SnS lattices tilted away from the (001) orientation. On the other hand, the best performance (1.62 mA cm −2 , 0.16 V, 3.32 × 10 12 s −1 cm −2 ) is seen for 1100 nm fully (001) oriented SnS nanoplates. Furthermore, these findings agree with improved charge carrier mobility in the 001 direction and they also show that charge recombination in SnS films occurs mainly at dangling Sn–S bonds at buried (002) facets. Such buried interfaces need to be suppressed for optimized solar energy conversion with SnS.

Najaf, Zainab [University of California, Davis, CA↗
DOE OSTI2025

Diffusion coefficients predicting facet-dependent crystallization in amorphous silicon nitride

Amorphous silicon nitride is a common material in microelectronics devices, which acts as an insulating barrier. Extended annealing times at elevated temperature can initiate crystallization of α-Si 3 ⁢ N 4 , which does not possess the same barrier properties. Molecular dynamics can resolve the fundamental mechanism for α-Si 3 ⁢N 4 crystallization and the influence of local environments. Here, we compare two interatomic potentials and conclude that these models predict structural features (e.g., angular distributions and densities) which span the range of experimental measurements. We confirmed these models reproduce experimental estimates of activation energy and leveraged these models to identify crystallization drivers. We conclude that near-T g , facet-dependent silicon nitride crystal growth rates can be predicted directly by either bulk or interfacial diffusion properties.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
NASA NTRS1976

Faceted solar energy collectors

Two concepts enhance efficiency and flexibility of solar collectors: faceting collector surface and adding coloring agent to working fluid. Collector can be placed on existing structures and oriented to take advantage of position of sun. By adding coloring agent to working fluid, total absorbance can be increased and altered if required.

Segna, D. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Hinge specification for a square-faceted tetrahedral truss

A square-faceted tetrahedral truss is geometrically analyzed. Expressions are developed for single degree of freedom hinges which allow packaging of the structure into a configuration in which all members are parallel and closely packed in a square pattern. Deployment is sequential, thus providing control over the structure during deployment.

Adams, L. R.↗