Cost-reduction analysis for a solar-heating system
Details on solar-heating system installed in Huntsville, Alabama are presented. Estimated cost savings and recommendations for system are proposed.
Reid, W. L.↗
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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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Economic Analysis of an Electric Thermal Energy Storage System Using Solid Particles for Grid Electricity Storage
As renewable power generation becomes the mainstream new-built energy source, energy storage will become an indispensable need to complement the uncertainty of renewable resources to firm the power supply. When phasing out fossil-fuel power plants to meet the carbon neutral utility target in the midcentury around the world, large capacity of energy storage will be needed to provide reliable grid power. The renewable power integration with storage can support future carbon-free utility and has several significant impacts including increasing the value of renewable generation to the grid, improving the peak-load response, and balancing the electricity supply and demand. Long-duration energy storage (10–100 hours duration) can potentially complement the reduction of fossil-fuel baseload generation that otherwise would risk grid security when a large portion of grid power comes from variable renewable sources. Current energy storage methods based on pumped storage hydropower or batteries have many limitations. Thermal energy storage (TES) has unique advantages in scale and siting flexibility to provide grid-scale storage capacity. A particle-based TES system has promising cost and performance for the future growing energy storage needs. This paper introduces the system and components required for the particle TES to be technically and economically competitive. A technoeconomic analysis based on preliminary component designs and performance shows that the particle TES integrated with an efficient air-Brayton combined cycle power system can provide power for several days by low-cost, high-performance storage cycles. It addresses grid storage needs by enabling large-scale grid integration of intermittent renewables like wind and solar, thereby increasing their grid value. The design specifications and cost estimations of major components in a commercial scale system are presented in this paper. The cost model provides insights for further development and cost comparison with competing technologies.
27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗
Best Practices at the End of Photovoltaic System Performance Period
Responsible and cost-effective dissolution of photovoltaic (PV) system hardware at the end of the performance period has emerged as an important business and environmental consideration. Alternatives include extending the performance period and existing contracts for power purchase, lease, and utility interconnect; refurbishing the plant by correcting any deficiencies; repowering the plant with new PV modules and inverters; or decommissioning the plant and removing all the hardware from the site. Often key decisions are made very early in the project development and might require decommissioning by some certain date after the end of a power purchase agreement. To “abandon in place” is not an alternative acceptable to landowners and regulators, so any financial prospectus should include costs associated with decommissioning, even if those costs are deferred by extending operations, refurbishment, or repowering. Decommissioning costs are driven by regulations regarding the handling and disposal of waste, with reuse and recycling of PV modules and other components preferred as a way to reduce both costs and environmental impact. Each alternative is discussed with order-of-magnitude costs, and recommendations are provided considering site-specific details of that situation, such as estimated costs to refurbish or repower, projected revenue from continued operations, and tax considerations.
14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
LANSCE Facility Longevity Assessment
This LANSCE Facility Longevity Assessment examined 34 total systems critical to the operation of the LANSCE accelerator complex. These systems are primarily owned, operated, and maintained by AOT Division. Based on the criteria used in this assessment, there are 12 AOT Division systems that are potential high risk as related to longterm LANSCE operations. These systems may also impact the success of LAMP. Also summarized in this report are the facility activities planned over the next decade. These include general facility maintenance and infrastructure upgrades, as well as planned electrical system upgrades. The LANSCE Facility Operations (LFO) Division is responsible for this activity scope and budget planning. Most of the planned activities are general in nature and should have little impact on accelerator operations or LAMP activities as currently envisioned. However, close coordination with between AOT, LFO, and LAMP would be prudent. A next step should be to develop an actionable plan to address the high-risk systems. Potential criteria for developing such a plan could include: (1) Evaluating the global impact of the system (operations, program, safety, etc.), (2) Ranking by impact (ranked now by risk), (3) Estimating cost to implement the corrective actions (Is there already a plan or not?), and (4) Estimating the time required for corrective actions. An alternative could include integration of the assessment data into both the Asset Management System and the Maintenance Analytics Risk Register.
43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
Hybrid Solar System (Final Scientific/Technical Report)
GTI Energy (GTI) teamed with the University of California at Merced (UCM) to scaleup the hybrid solar system (HSS) technology for demonstrating its performance at the US Gypsum (USG) plant in Plaster City, California. The technology integrates two-stage concentrating solar collector with matching particle thermal transport and storage (TSS) system to deliver cost-effective, and on-demand distributed high temperature industrial process heat up to 600°C with solar thermal, in this case to a gypsum kettle, to reduce its fuel use and carbon footprint. Current solar technologies, which reach these temperatures, are not distributable (towers) or cost-effective (dish). The research team developed a conceptual system design for host site retrofit, including preliminary heat balance, process flow diagram, particle to process heat exchanger and equipment placements at the site. Subsequently, parallel efforts were carried out at UCM to design, build and test a 12 m long commercial scale prototype concentrating thermal-only collector system and at GTI to design, build and test a matching 650°C capable particle TTS system. The nominal 50 kWth collector consists of a parabolic trough and three 4 m long two-stage receivers in series. Prior to on-sun testing, a 4 m long receiver was fabricated and successfully tested at 650 °C in a laboratory setting for 100 hrs of continuous operation showing less than 15% radiation loss. A 7 m wide x 17 m long parabolic trough was then installed at UCM for on-sun testing of the 12 m long receiver, and concurrently several 4 m long receivers were built. The optics of the parabolic trough were calibrated, and on-sun test were carried out on 12 m long receivers. During tests, the intense solar radiation (53x) caused the absorber tubes in the receivers to bend, reducing the overall optical efficiency. To address the bending issue, a self-consistent algorithm that includes ray tracing, thermal and deformation models was developed to perform thermal stress analysis on absorbers for parabolic solar collectors. Results obtained with this algorithm showed a dramatic rise in deformation as absorber tube length increases. A combined efficiency parameter that includes the occluded area for the mounts was developed to obtain an optimized tube length obtained. Based on the results, a length of 2.7 m for the absorber + 0.2 m for the coupler was chosen to minimize any bending and optimize optical efficiency while maintaining ease of mounting. The associated particle TTS system was designed, built and successfully tested at GTI. It includes storage, receiving and lock hoppers and piping that simulates the transfer of captured solar energy to an actual industrial furnace. Tests over 77 charge-discharge cycles demonstrated <2% particle degradation, with no problematic particle accumulations and no flow interruptions. The piping pressure drop was about 5 psi. The team also worked with Stanley Consultants (Stanley) to prepare conceptual and preliminary engineering packages to facilitate follow-on development and commercialization efforts. These include process and instrumentation diagram’s (P&ID’s), general arrangements, electrical one-line, project definitions document, equipment data sheets, schedule, and construction cost estimate for 2 MWth system. Updated HSS technology commercialization and customer engagement plans and detailed costs and evaluated market trade-offs and manufacturing.
03 NATURAL GAS↗
Preliminary design of a shuttle docking and cargo handling system
Work performed prior to concept selection, concept evaluation, and the preliminary design are summarized. The initial work included selection of the requirements and guidelines used to formulate concepts; analysis to determine detailed requirements for reach, velocity, torque, etc.; formulation of the alternative concepts; the evaluation and ranking of the concepts; and the selection of a concept. The man-in-the-loop simulation performed with a six degree of freedom moving base simulator and a three degree of freedom manipulator arm are described. The analysis and tradeoffs of those design parameters which are the key to the preliminary design are described. Estimates for a future development program are presented, including a schedule and manpower breakdown and cost estimate. The system design parameters, with a weight and power breakdown are summarized.
Source record↗
Comparative evaluation of three alternative power cycles for waste heat recovery from the exhaust of adiabatic diesel engines
Three alternative power cycles were compared in application as an exhaust-gas heat-recovery system for use with advanced adiabatic diesel engines. The power cycle alternatives considered were steam Rankine, organic Rankine with RC-1 as the working fluid, and variations of an air Brayton cycle. The comparison was made in terms of fuel economy and economic payback potential for heavy-duty trucks operating in line-haul service. The results indicate that, in terms of engine rated specific fuel consumption, a diesel/alternative-power-cycle engine offers a significant improvement over the turbocompound diesel used as the baseline for comparison. The maximum imporvement resulted from the use of a Rankine cycle heat-recovery system in series with turbocompounding. The air Brayton cycle alternatives studied, which included both simple-cycle and compression-intercooled configurations, were less effective and provided about half the fuel consumption improvement of the Rankine cycle alternatives under the same conditions. Capital and maintenance cost estimates were also developed for each of the heat-recovery power cycle systems. These costs were integrated with the fuel savings to identify the time required for net annual savings to pay back the initial capital investment. The sensitivity of capital payback time to arbitrary increases in fuel price, not accompanied by corresponding hardware cost inflation, was also examined. The results indicate that a fuel price increase is required for the alternative power cycles to pay back capital within an acceptable time period.
Bailey, M. M.↗
Orbital Spacecraft Consumables Resupply System (OSCRS). Volume 1: Executive summary
The objective was to establish an earth storable fluid tanker concept which satisfies the initial resupply requirements for the Gamma Ray Observatory (GRO) at a reasonable front end cost while providing growth potential for foreseeable future earth storable fluid resupply mission requirements. The estimated costs required to design, develop, qualify, fabricate, and deliver a flight tanker and its associated control avionics, ground support equipment (GSE), and processing facilities, and the contractors costs to support the first operations mission are reviewed.
Source record↗
A quiet flow Ludwieg tube for study of transition in compressible boundary layers: Design and feasibility
Since Ludwieg tubes have been around for many years, and NASA has already established the feasibility of creating quiet-flow wind tunnels, the major question addressed was the cost of the proposed facility. Cost estimates were obtained for major system components, and new designs which allowed fabrication at lower cost were developed. A large fraction of the facility cost comes from the fabrication of the highly polished quiet-flow supersonic nozzle. Methods for the design of this nozzle were studied at length in an attempt to find an effective but less expensive design. Progress was sufficient to show that a quality facility can be fabricated at a reasonable cost.
Schneider, Steven P.↗
Economic Analysis of a Novel Thermal Energy Storage System Using Solid Particles for Grid Electricity Storage: Preprint
As renewable power generation becomes the mainstream new-built energy source, energy storage will become an indispensable need to complement the uncertainty of renewable resources to firm the power supply. When phasing out fossil-fuel power plants to meet the carbon neutral utility target in the midcentury around the world, large capacity of energy storage will be needed to provide reliable grid power. The integration of renewable power and storage to support future carbon-free utility has several significant and positive impacts including expanding the renewable generation into the grid, improving the peak-load response, and balancing the electricity supply and demand. Long-duration energy storage (10–100 hours duration) can potentially complement the reduction of fossil-fuel baseload generation that otherwise would risk grid security when a large portion of grid power comes from variable renewable sources. Current energy storage methods based on pumped storage hydropower or batteries have many limitations. Thermal energy storage (TES) has unique advantages in scale and siting flexibility to provide grid-scale storage capacity. A particle-based TES system has promising cost and performance for the future growing energy storage needs. This paper introduces the system and components required for the particle TES to be technically and economically competitive. A technoeconomic analysis based on preliminary component designs and performance shows that the particle TES integrated with an efficient air-Brayton combined cycle power system can provide power for several days by low-cost, high-performance storage cycles. It addresses grid storage needs by enabling large-scale grid integration of intermittent renewables like wind and solar, thereby increasing their grid value. The design specifications and cost estimations of major components in a commercial scale system are presented in this paper. The cost model provides insights for further development and cost comparison with competing technologies.
27 ARPA - Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy↗
Costing at the Speed of Light: How Your Concurrent Engineering Design Team can Bootstrap Your Organizations Programmatic Capabilities
What do you do when it is necessary to generate reasonable cost estimates at the earliest Concept Maturity Levels and you have never flown any similar missions before? This paper describes the current and future Team X cost processes and methods, how they are being used to expand our data frontiers and cost modelling capabilities, and how this enables the ability to estimate early and estimate often.
Ramirez, Matthew↗
Cost projections for Redox Energy storage systems
A preliminary design and system cost analysis was performed for the redox energy storage system. A conceptual design and cost estimate was prepared for each of two energy applications: (1) electric utility 100-MWh requirement (10-MW for ten hours) for energy storage for utility load leveling application, and (2) a 500-kWh requirement (10-kW for 50 hours) for use with a variety of residential or commercial applications, including stand alone solar photovoltaic systems. The conceptual designs were based on cell performance levels, system design parameters, and special material costs. These data were combined with estimated thermodynamic and hydraulic analysis to provide preliminary system designs. Results indicate that the redox cell stack to be amenable to mass production techniques with a relatively low material cost.
Michaels, K.↗
Ceramic automotive Stirling engine program
The Ceramic Automotive Stirling Engine Program evaluated the application of advanced ceramic materials to an automotive Stirling engine. The objective of the program was to evaluate the technical feasibility of utilizing advanced ceramics to increase peak engine operating temperature, and to evaluate the performance benefits of such an increase. Manufacturing cost estimates were also developed for various ceramic engine components and compared with conventional metallic engine component costs.
Source record↗
Designing for Cost
Designing for cost is a state of mind. Of course, a lot of technical knowledge is required and the use of appropriate tools will improve the process. Unfortunately, the extensive use of weight based cost estimating relationships has generated a perception in the aerospace community that the primary way to reduce cost is to reduce weight. Wrong! Based upon an approximation of an industry accepted formula, the PRICE H (tm) production-production equation, Dean demonstrated theoretically that the optimal trajectory for cost reduction is predominantly in the direction of system complexity reduction, not system weight reduction. Thus the phrase "keep it simple" is a primary state of mind required for reducing cost throughout the design process.
Dean, Edwin B.↗
Cost studies for commercial fuselage crown designs
Studies were conducted to evaluate the cost and weight potential of advanced composite design concepts in the crown region of a commercial transport. Two designs from each of three design families were developed using an integrated design-build team. A range of design concepts and manufacturing processes were included to allow isolation and comparison of cost centers. Detailed manufacturing/assembly plans were developed as the basis for cost estimates. Each of the six designs was found to have advantages over the 1995 aluminum benchmark in cost and weight trade studies. Large quadrant panels and cobonded frames were found to save significant assembly labor costs. Comparisons of high- and intermediate-performance fiber systems were made for skin and stringer applications. Advanced tow placement was found to be an efficient process for skin lay up. Further analysis revealed attractive processes for stringers and frames. Optimized designs were informally developed for each design family, combining the most attractive concepts and processes within that family. A single optimized design was selected as the most promising, and the potential for further optimization was estimated. Technical issues and barriers were identified.
Walker, T. H.↗
X-1 to X-Wings: Developing a Parametric Cost Model
In todays cost-constrained environment, NASA needs an X-Plane database and parametric cost model that can quickly provide rough order of magnitude predictions of cost from initial concept to first fight of potential X-Plane aircraft. This paper takes a look at the steps taken in developing such a model and reports the results. The challenges encountered in the collection of historical data and recommendations for future database management are discussed. A step-by-step discussion of the development of Cost Estimating Relationships (CERs) is then covered.
parametric cost model↗
Cost and size estimates for an electrochemical bulk energy storage concept
Preliminary capital cost and size estimates were made for an electrochemical bulk energy storage concept for a redox-flow-cell system. Preliminary calculations showed that the redox-flow-cell system has great promise as a bulk energy storage system for power load leveling. The size of the system was estimated to be less than 2 percent of the size of a comparable pumped hydroelectric storage plant.
Warshay, M.↗
Cost analysis of water recovery systems
Cost and performance data from Gemini, Skylab, and other aerospace and biotechnology programs were analyzed to identify major cost elements required to establish cost estimating relationships for advanced life support subsystems for long range planning in support of earth orbital programs. Cost analysis are presented for five leading water reclamation systems; (1) RITE waste management-water system;(2) reverse osmosis system;(3) multifiltration system;(4) vapor compression system; and(5) closed air evaporation system with electrolytic pretreatment.
Yakut, M. M.↗