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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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Computer program for current profile and trajectory analysis for cesium contact thrustor leading to integral focus configuration of multistrip contact engines for long space missions
Preactivated MFI zeolite nanosheet plates (ZNPs) with large areas (~2.0 × 2.0 μm 2 ) and nanometer thicknesses (~60 nm) were prepared directly in liquid-dispersed state. The individual ZNP was a stack of 4-nm-thick single crystalline zeolite nanosheets (ZNs) interlinked by Si–O–Si bonds between neighboring ZN surfaces. The dispersed open-pore ZNPs allowed formulating suspensions for tiling ZNP membranes on polymer substrates without requiring post-coating activation. A pinhole-free ZNP-tiled (ZNPT) membrane has been achieved on macroporous PVDF film by a self-repairing vacuum-assisted filtration coating method. The resultant ZNPT layer was ~500 nm-thick consisting of about 7 ZNP layers with inter-ZNP width and inter-ZNP entrance porosity around 9 nm and 2%, respectively. The ZNPT-PVDF membrane exhibited high selectivity to proton transport over vanadyl ion and low resistances to proton conduction in aqueous solutions. The membrane also demonstrated to function as an efficient ion separator for the vanadium redox flow battery. The reported synthesis of preactivated ZNP suspension may overcome the major hurdle to realizing polymer-supported ZN membranes, which is the inefficiency of existing methods in obtaining readily dispersible open-pore ZNs. Finally, the ZNPT-PVDF membrane can be a more affordable and sustainable alternative to the Nafion-based ion separation membranes.
Electric engines for spacecraft propulsion and the missions for electrically propelled spacecraft
Experimental investigation of the properties of the plasma inside an operating kaufman-type electron bombardment engine, with langmuir probes
Development of a 30-cm mercury electron bombardment Engineering Model ion thruster has successfully brought the thruster from the status of a laboratory experimental device to a point approaching flight readiness. This paper describes the development progress of the Engineering Model (EM) thruster in four areas: (1) design features and fabrication approaches, (2) performance verification and thruster to thruster variations, (3) structural integrity, and (4) interface definition. The design of major subassemblies, including the cathode-isolator-vaporizer (CIV), main isolator-vaporizer (MIV), neutralizer isolator-vaporizer (NIV), ion optical system, and discharge chamber/outer housing is discussed along with experimental results.
External electric field and plasma assisted combustion show great potential for combustion enhancement, e.g., emission and ignition control. To understand soot suppression by external electric fields and flame ignition in spark ignition engines, flame ion chemistry needs to be investigated and developed. In this work, comprehensive and systematic investigations of neutral and ion chemistry are conducted in premixed rich methane flames. Cations are measured by quadrupole molecular beam mass spectrometry (MBMS), and neutrals are measured by synchrotron vacuum ultra violet photoionization time of flight MBMS (SVUV-PI-TOF-MBMS). The molecular formula and dominant isomers of various measured cations are identified based on literature survey and quantum chemistry calculations. Experimentally, we found that H 3 O + is the dominant cation in slightly rich flame (Φ = 1.5), but C 3 H 3 + is the most significant in very rich flames (Φ = 1.8 and 2.0). An updated ion chemistry model is proposed and used to explain the effects of changing equivalence ratio. To further verify key ion-neutral reaction pathways, measured neutral profiles are compared with cation profiles experimentally. Furthermore, detailed cation and neutral measurements and numerical simulations by this work help to understand and develop ion chemistry models. Deficiencies in our current understanding of ion chemistry are also highlighted to motivate further research.
Understanding the mechanisms of damage formation in materials irradiated with energetic ions is essential for the field of ion-beam materials modification and engineering. Utilizing incident ions, electrons, photons, and positrons, various analysis techniques, including Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS), electron RBS, Raman spectroscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffraction, small-angle X-ray scattering, and positron annihilation spectroscopy, are routinely used or gaining increasing attention in characterizing ion beam modified materials. The distinctive information, recent developments, and some perspectives in these techniques are reviewed in this paper. Applications of these techniques are discussed to demonstrate their unique ability for studying ion-solid interactions and the corresponding radiation effects in modified depths ranging from a few nm to a few tens of μm, and to provide information on electronic and atomic structure of the materials, defect configuration and concentration, as well as phase stability, amorphization and recrystallization processes. Finally, such knowledge contributes to our fundamental understanding over a wide range of extreme conditions essential for enhancing material performance and also for design and synthesis of new materials to address a broad variety of future energy applications.
Ion thrusters are low thrust, high specific impulse devices with required operational lifetimes on the order of 10,000 to 100,000 hr. The NEXT ion thruster is the latest generation of ion thrusters under development. The NEXT ion thruster currently has a qualification level propellant throughput requirement of 450 kg of xenon, which corresponds to roughly 22,000 hr of operation at the highest throttling point. Currently, a NEXT engineering model ion thruster with prototype model ion optics is undergoing a long duration test to determine wear characteristics and establish propellant throughput capability. The NEXT thruster includes many improvements over previous generations of ion thrusters, but two of its component improvements have a larger effect on thruster lifetime. These include the ion optics with tighter tolerances, a masked region and better gap control, and the discharge cathode keeper material change to graphite. Data from the NEXT 2000 hr wear test, the NEXT long duration test, and further analysis is used to determine the expected lifetime of the NEXT ion thruster. This paper will review the predictions for all of the anticipated failure mechanisms. The mechanisms will include wear of the ion optics and cathode s orifice plate and keeper from the plasma, depletion of low work function material in each cathode s insert, and spalling of material in the discharge chamber leading to arcing. Based on the analysis of the NEXT ion thruster, the first failure mode for operation above a specific impulse of 2000 sec is expected to be the structural failure of the ion optics at 750 kg of propellant throughput, 1.7 times the qualification requirement. An assessment based on mission analyses for operation below a specific impulse of 2000 sec indicates that the NEXT thruster is capable of double the propellant throughput required by these missions.
Beam neutralization tests of electron bombardment engine model in simulated space environment
The effects of ion beam injection in the magnetosphere are considered. The beam's parameters are those characteristic of the ion propulsion engines envisioned for use in solar power satellite placement (Hanley and Guttman, 1978). Specifically, from a detailed analysis of the beam's propagation through the magnetosphere it is shown that the bulk of the ion beam is not stopped in the magnetosphere. However, the relatively small fraction of the beam which is deposited via the beam's sheath loss may give rise to a large distortion in the magnetospheric plasma population. Possible loss mechanisms from the magnetosphere for this artificial energetic ion component are evaluated. Electron Coulomb scattering yields the shortest lifetime throughout most of the plasmasphere provided that plasmasphere heating by beam ions is not too intense. Charge exchange dominates beyond the plasmasphere. The effects of pitch angle scattering due to beam ion turbulence may appreciably shorten beam ion lifetimes throughout the magnetosphere
Salt permeability and ionic conductivity are critical properties for membranes in water purification and energy applications. Both properties depend on individual ion sorption and diffusion coefficients, which are significantly influenced by polymer chemical and physical parameters such as fixed charge concentration and membrane water content. However, systematic studies connecting polymer structure to ion transport properties are still lacking. In this study, a series of uncharged and charged membranes were synthesized using poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) as a cross-linker and 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid (AMPS) as a charged monomer. Membrane fixed charge concentration and water uptake were systematically varied by adjusting AMPS content in the pre-polymerization mixture. Salt sorption and permeability coefficients and ionic conductivity of these membranes were measured as a function of NaCl solution concentration (0.01–1 M). Combining the solution-diffusion model and Nernst-Planck equation, individual ion diffusion coefficients were calculated. Experimental Na + diffusion coefficients for all materials were well described by the Mackie and Meares tortuosity model, highlighting the strong influence of water content on ion diffusivity in both uncharged and charged polymers. Model predictions for Cl – diffusion coefficients agree reasonably well with experimental values, with some deviations occurring in more highly charged membranes. Finally, this discrepancy might result from interactions not captured by the Mackie and Meares model (e.g., fixed charge-ion interactions).
A U.S. Air Force technology spacecraft flight is scheduled to carry an Ion Auxiliary Propulsion System (IAPS) as part of its experimental payload. This paper presents the results of the successful flight-software qualification and system-level tests which were performed on IAPS. The software tests were performed with an operating engineering model ion thruster and power processing unit, and failure/off-normal recovery modes, operation with and without temperature telemetry from the thruster vaporizers, and with closed-loop control or fixed setpoint operation of the thruster vaporizers. The system-level tests cover a wide range of thermal and operating conditions with the entire system exposed to a simulated space environment.
Safe and efficient operation of lithium ion batteries requires precisely directed flow of lithium ions and electrons to control the first directional volume changes in anode and cathode materials. Understanding and controlling the lithium ion transport in battery electrodes becomes crucial to the design of high performance and durable batteries. Recent work revealed that the chemical potential barriers encountered at the surfaces of heteromaterials play an important role in directing lithium ion transport at nanoscale. Here, we utilize in situ transmission electron microscopy to demonstrate that we can switch lithiation pathways from radial to axial to grain-by-grain lithiation through the systematic creation of heteromaterial combinations in the Si-Ge nanowire system. Lastly, our systematic studies show that engineered materials at nanoscale can overcome the intrinsic orientation-dependent lithiation, and open new pathways to aid in the development of compact, safe, and efficient batteries.
The paper deals with nanostructuring of superconducting materials by means of swift heavy ion beams. The aim is to modify their structural, optical and electromagnetic properties in a controlled way, to provide possibility of making them functional for specific applications. Results are presented concerning flux pinning effects (implantation of columnar defects with nanosize cross section to enhance critical currents and irreversibility fields), confined flux-flow and vortex guidance, design of devices by locally tailoring the superconducting material properties, analysis of disorder-induced effects in multi-band superconductors. These studies were carried out on different kinds of superconducting samples, from single crystals to thin films, from superconducting oxides to magnesium diboride, to recently discovered iron-based superconductors.
Four separate analyses are detailed: transportation to low earth orbit, orbit-to-orbit optimization, parametric analysis of SPS logistics based on earth and lunar source locations, and an overall program option optimization implemented with linear programming. It is found that smaller vehicles are favored for earth launch, with the current Space Shuttle being right at optimum payload size. Fully reusable launch vehicles represent a savings of 50% over the Space Shuttle; increased reliability with less maintenance could further double the savings. An optimization of orbit-to-orbit propulsion systems using lunar oxygen for propellants shows that ion propulsion is preferable by a 3:1 cost margin over a mass driver reaction engine at optimum values; however, ion engines cannot yet operate in the lower exhaust velocity range where the optimum lies, and total program costs between the two systems are ambiguous. Heavier payloads favor the use of a MDRE. A parametric model of a space manufacturing facility is proposed, and used to analyze recurring costs, total costs, and net present value discounted cash flows. Parameters studied include productivity, effects of discounting, materials source tradeoffs, economic viability of closed-cycle habitats, and effects of varying degrees of nonterrestrial SPS materials needed from earth. Finally, candidate optimal scenarios are chosen, and implemented in a linear program with external constraints in order to arrive at an optimum blend of SPS production strategies in order to maximize returns.
Here, sodium halide sorption and transport in a cation exchange membrane based on cross-linked poly(p-styrene sulfonate-co-divinylbenzene) (CR61) were investigated experimentally and theoretically. At fixed co-ion valence, sodium halide partitioning between aqueous electrolyte solutions and ion exchange polymers is only minimally sensitive to co-ion chemical identity. NaCl, NaF and NaI exhibit similar solubility coefficients in CR61, which agrees reasonably well with predictions of the Donnan-Manning model, especially at high external salt concentrations. Ion activity coefficients in the membrane were evaluated and ion sorption thermodynamics were investigated. Ion diffusion coefficients in CR61 were predicted using a recently developed framework based on the Manning diffusion model, which accounts for electrostatic effects on ion diffusion, and the Mackie-Meares model, which accounts for tortuosity/area effects on ion diffusion in swollen polymers. Model predictions agree reasonably well with the experimental data, especially at high external salt concentrations. The observed decrease in salt diffusion coefficients in CR61 relative to values in aqueous solutions is due primarily to tortuosity/area effects. Salt diffusion coefficients correlate with co-ion hydrated radius and membrane water content. Finally, salt permeability coefficients predicted using the solution-diffusion model exhibit good agreement with experimental data, especially at external salt concentration greater than 0.1 mol/L.
<p style="text-align: left;">AIAA SciTech 2023 paper describing quantitative interpretation of ion probe measurements in an RDE.
Project objective: Engineer solid polymeric electrolytes with an optimized, self-assembled, ion network that conducts independently of polymer segmental dynamics. The goal of this project is to engineer an optimized, self-assembled ion aggregate network, by which we can incorporate an aggregate assisted, collective, superionic conduction paradigm into polymeric electrolytes. We do not seek to improve conductivity, although this is a likely result of our approach, but to propose systems in which collective motion is the main conduction mechanism. We believe that once such materials are identified, they will quickly become a subject of research in the solid polymer electrolyte community. With this in mind, we pursue three design strategies: increase ion content in PEG single ion conductors, use mixed anions (including divalent ions as crosslinkers), and introduce swelled polyanion/polycation complexes as a potential ion conducting material.