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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 685 records · Page 38
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Tutorial review on structure – dendrite growth relations in metal battery anode supports

This tutorial review explains the emerging understanding of the surface and bulk chemistry – electrochemical performance relations in anode supports (aka secondary current collectors, substrates, templates, hosts) for lithium, sodium and potassium metal batteries (LMBs, SMBs or NMBs, and KMBs or PMBs). In relation to each section, the possible future research directions that may yield both new insight and improved cycling behavior are explored. Representative case studies from Li, Na and K metal anode literature are discussed. The tutorial starts with an overview of the solid electrolyte interphase (SEI), covering both the “classic” understanding of the SEI structure and the “modern” insights obtained by site-specific cryogenic stage TEM analysis. Next, the multiple roles of supports in promoting cycling stability are detailed. Without an optimized support architecture, the metal–electrolyte interface becomes geometrically unstable at a lower current density and cycle number. Taking into consideration the available literature on LMBs, SMBs and KMBs, it is concluded that effective architectures are geometrically complex and electrochemically lithiophilic, sodiophilic or potassiophilic, so as to promote conformal electrochemical wetting of the metal during plating/stripping. One way that philicity is achieved is through support oxygen surface chemistry, which yields a reversibly reactive metal–support interface. Examples of this include the well-known oxygen–carbon moieties in reduced graphene oxide (rGO), as well as classic ion battery reversible conversion reaction oxides such as SnO 2 . Unreactive surfaces lead to dewetted island growth of the metal, which is a precursor to dendrites, and possibly to non-uniform dissolution. Surveying the literature on various Li, Na and K metal supports, it is concluded that the key bulk thermodynamic property that will predict electrochemical wetting behavior is the enthalpy of infinite solution (Δ sol H ∞ ) of the metal (solute) into the support (solvent). Large and negative Δ sol H ∞ promotes uniform metal wetting on the support surface, corresponding to relatively low plating overpotential. Positive Δ sol H ∞ promotes dewetted islands and a relatively high overpotential. This simple rule explains a broad range of studies on Li, Na and K metal – support interactions, including the previously reported correlation between mutual solubility and wetting.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantitative spatiotemporal mapping of thermal runaway propagation rates in lithium-ion cells using cross-correlated Gabor filtering

Abuse testing of lithium-ion batteries is widely performed in order to develop new safety standards and strategies. However, testing methodologies are not standardised across the research community, especially with failure mechanisms being inherently difficult to reproduce. High-speed X-ray radiography is proven to be a valuable tool to capture events occurring during cell failure, but the observations made remain largely qualitative. We have therefore developed a robust image processing toolbox that can quantify, for the first time, the rate of propagation of battery failure mechanisms revealed by high-speed X-ray radiography. Using Gabor filter, the toolbox selectively tracks the electrode structure at the onset of failure. This facilitated the estimation of the displacement of electrodes undergoing abuse via nail penetration, and also the tracking of objects, such as the nail, as it propagates through a cell. Further, by cross-correlating the Gabor signals, we have produced practical, illustrative spatiotemporal maps of the failure events. From these, we can quantify the propagation rates of electrode displacement prior to the onset of thermal runaway. The highest recorded acceleration (≈514 mm s -2 ) was when a nail penetrated a cell radially (perpendicular to the electrodes) as opposed to axially (parallel to the electrodes). The initiation of thermal runaway was also resolved in combination with electrode displacement, which occurred at a lower acceleration (≈108 mm s -2 ). Our assistive toolbox can also be used to study other types of failure mechanisms, extracting otherwise unattainable kinetic data. Ultimately, this tool can be used to not only validate existing theoretical mechanical models, but also standardise battery failure testing procedures.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2003

An Overview of the NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program

The NASA Aerospace Flight Battery Systems Program is an agency-wide effort aimed at ensuring the quality, safety, reliability and performance of flight battery systems for NASA applications. The program provides for the validation of primary and secondary cell and battery level technology advances to ensure their availability and readiness for use in NASA missions. It serves to bridge the gap between the development of technology advances and the realization and incorporation of these advances into mission applications. The program is led by the Glenn Research Center and involves funded task activities at each of the NASA mission centers and JPL. The overall products are safe, reliable, high quality batteries for mission applications. The products are defined along three product lines: 1. Battery Systems Technology - Elements of this task area cover the systems aspects of battery operation and generally apply across chemistries. This includes the development of guidelines documents, the establishment and maintenance of a central battery database that serves a central repository for battery characterization and verification test data from tests performed under the support of this program, the NASA Battery Workshop, and general test facility support. 2. Secondary Battery Technology - l h s task area focuses on the validation of battery technology for nickel-cadmium, nickel-hydrogen, nickel-metal-hydride and lithium-ion secondary battery systems. Standardized test regimes are used to validate the quality of a cell lot or cell design for flight applications. In this area, efforts are now concentrated on the validation and verification of lithium-ion battery technology for aerospace applications. 3. Primary Battery Technology - The safety and reliability aspects for primary lithium battery systems that are used in manned operations on the Shuttle and International Space Station are addressed in the primary battery technology task area. An overview of the task areas supported under this program will be presented.

Manzo, Michelle A.↗
NASA NTRS1985

Design principles for nickel hydrogen cells and batteries

Nickel hydrogen cells, and more recently, bipolar batteries have been built by a variety of organizations. The design principles that have been used by the technology group at the Lewis Research Center draw upon their extensive background in separator technology, alkaline fuel cell technology, and several alkaline cell technology areas. These design principles have been incorporated into both the more contemporary individual pressure vessel (IPV) designs that were pioneered by other groups, as well as the more recent bipolar battery designs using active cooling that are being developed at LeRC and their contractors. These principles are rather straightforward applications of capillary force formalisms, coupled with the slowly developing data base resulting from careful post test analyses. The objective of this overall effort is directed towards the low Earth orbit (LEO) application where the cycle life requirements are much more severe than the geosynchronous orbit (GEO) application. Nickel hydrogen cells have already been successfully flown in an increasing number of GEO missions.

Thaller, L. H.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Engineered Wood: Sustainable Technologies and Applications

Natural wood has been used for construction, fuel, and furniture for thousands of years because of its versatility, renewability, and aesthetic appeal. However, new opportunities for wood are arising as researchers have developed ways to tune the material's optical, thermal, mechanical, and ionic transport properties by chemically and physically modifying wood's naturally porous structure and chemical composition. Such modifications can be used to produce sustainable, functional materials for various emerging applications such as automobiles, construction, energy storage, and environmental remediation. In this review, we highlight recent advancements in engineered wood for sustainable technologies, including thermal and light management, environmental remediation, nanofluidics, batteries, and structural materials with high strength-to-weight ratios. Additionally, the current challenges, opportunities, and future of wood research are discussed, providing a guideline for the further development of next-generation, sustainable wood-based materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Co-Extrusion (CoEx) for Cost Reduction of Advanced High-Energy-and-Power Battery Electrode Manufacturing

Co-Extrusion (CoEx) is a deposition technology developed at PARC that uses engineered fluidic channels to cause multiple streams of dissimilar fluids to impart shape to one another. Here, we describe the use of CoEx to produce structured cathode electrode films to improve electrochemical performance of thick electrode films. CoEx enables us to create structured electrode films that have periodic regions of enhanced ionic conductivity, enabling higher utilization of thicker cathode films at high discharge rates. While increasing electrode thickness is a known method for increasing energy density of battery electrodes, this increase in energy density typically also results in reduced power density. This project, a collaboration between the Palo Alto Research Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratories, and Ford Motor Company, seeks to first validate the benefits of CoEx at the coin cell level, before performing the necessary R&D effort to scale production up to large (10+ Ah) pouch cells that will show increased energy density without a reduction in power density. We used conventional battery materials (commercially available NMC, PVDF, carbon black, and graphite) to produce structured electrodes via CoEx and compared them to thick and thin conventionally produced (unstructured) battery electrodes. CoEx electrodes show improved high rate performance compared to unstructured electrodes, resulting in higher energy density pouch cells compared to the baseline electrode of 7 and 11% in volumetric and gravimetric energy density, respectively. These electrodes also showed substantially improved electrochemical performance at high discharge rates compared to thick conventional electrodes.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1978

Five Year Flashlight

An ultra-reliable flashlight, initially developed for rescue signaling and utility use by NASA astronauts and military aircrews, has attracted a broad commercial market. Called the Five Year Light, it has a shelf life at least that long because there is no power drain on the batteries when the flashlight is not in use. The NASA version of the light was developed under contract with Langley Research Center by ACR Electronics, Inc., now known as the Chromalloy Electronics Division of Chromalloy American Corporation, Hollywood, Florida. NASA wanted a light that had long shelf life and assured reliability in case it was needed in an emergency. Reliability was designed into the flashlight by means of a unique switch. Instead of the customary thumb-button, the Five Year Light is turned on by rotating its collar to make contact with the battery terminal; the turning motion wipes away any corrosion that might be present and makes contact virtually certain. The Five Year Light available commercially is a repackaged version of the NASA light. It is sold for car, home, industrial, police, firefighting, recreational and a variety of other uses, and sales have topped two million units.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2021

Risk-Informed Analysis for Enhanced Resilient Nuclear Power Plant with Initiatives including ATF, FLEX, and Advanced Battery Technology

This report documents the activities performed by the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) during fiscal year (FY) 2021 for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program, Risk-Informed Systems Analysis (RISA) Pathway, Enhanced Resilient Plant (ERP) Systems research. The purpose of the RISA Pathway research and development is to support plant owner-operator decisions with the aim to improve the economics, reliability, and maintain the high levels of safety of current nuclear power plants over periods of extended plant operations. The concept of ERP refers to the combinations of accident-tolerant fuel (ATF), optimal use of diverse and flexible coping strategy (FLEX), enhancements to plant components and systems, the incorporation of augmented or new passive cooling systems, the advanced battery technology with extended capacity, as well as improved fuel cycle efficiency. The objective of the ERP research effort is to use the RISA methods and toolkit in industry applications, including methods development and early demonstration of technologies, in order to enhance existing reactors? safety features and to substantially reduce operating costs through risk-informed approaches to plant design modifications to the plant and their characterization. The ERP R&D efforts in FY 2021 are focused on three industry initiatives, including accident-tolerant fuel (ATF), optimal use of diverse and flexible coping strategy (FLEX), and advanced battery technology with extended capacity.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Enabling Highly Stable Li–O 2 Batteries with Full Discharge–Charge Capability: The Porous Binder- and Carbon-Free IrNi Nanosheet Cathode

Rechargeable aprotic Li-O 2 batteries have drawn much attention in light of their ultrahigh theoretical energy density. However, the sluggish kinetics of oxygen cathode reactions lead to huge energy loss, while the unfavorable side reactions associated with the widely used carbon and binder account for fast battery decay during cycles. In this work, hierarchically holey IrNi alloy nanosheets are facilely designed on Ni foam substrate as a freestanding, binder- and carbon-free cathode to address these challenges. The IrNi nanosheets consist of numerous interconnected nanoparticles, forming abundant nanoholes, benefiting active-site exposure. Moreover, the meso-/macropores pave channels for the transfer of oxygen and lithium ions and provide enough accommodation for the insoluble Li 2 O 2 product. The corresponding Li-O 2 batteries demonstrate low polarization and excellent cycle stability with full discharge/charge capability (up to 292 cycles at a current density of 0.2 mA cm -2 within a voltage range from 2.3 to 4.3 V). The long-term cycling performance is principally attributed to the exclusive catalytic stability of the holey IrNi nanosheets and its good compatibility with dimethyl sulfoxide-based electrolyte. Our research provides novel insights into the design of robust and freestanding porous cathodes for high energy density Li-O 2 batteries.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lithium–Sulfur Batteries: 3D Printed Tools and Assembly Techniques for Repeatable Lab-Scale Coin Cell Manufacturing

The coin cell form factor has become a standard in energy storage research owing to its relatively low cost, low quantity of requisite electroactive material, fast experimental turnover, and capability to generate publishable quality data. Coin cell assembly at the lab-scale requires precise manual alignment of the many internal components of a cell to yield a properly functioning device. Truly repeatable device assembly presents a significant challenge to the acquisition of reliable data. In this report, we present a three-dimensional (3D) printable design for a coin cell alignment device and describe techniques for a generalized workflow to achieve reproducible coin cell assembly of lithium-based batteries. Standardized assembly techniques using readily accessible, purpose-built tools were demonstrated for labscale production of lithium−sulfur (Li−S) coin cells. Li−S batteries fabricated using the alignment device as well as conductive adhesive incorporated workflows afforded coin cells with up to 35% reduction of assembly times, comparable or better functional cell yields, and improved electrochemical device performance with more consistent and up to 150 mAh/g higher average discharge capacities coupled with Coulombic efficiency increases of up to 2.0% over manually aligned cell assembly techniques.

Batteries↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Power Hibernation for Low-Cost Solar Powered Lunar Missions

Because the surface of the Moon drops to cryogenic temperatures, no solar-powered lunar spacecraft have reliably operated beyond a single lunar day. Passive thermal control cannot keep a spacecraft sufficiently warm for the 354-hour lunar night, and active thermal control requires a dramatic increase in battery mass at the expense of payload mass. Extreme conditions seen on the lunar surface suggest a radioisotope solution is ideal, but mass, cost, and schedule are inconsistent with low-cost frequent flight intent of the commercial lunar payload services (CLPS) program. To solve the issue of lunar night survivability without radioisotope sources of power and heat, a lunar power hibernation approach is being developed at the Glenn Research Center, which exploits the ability of common 18650 Lithium-ion cells to passively survive cryogenic freeze-thaw cycles and recover without apparent performance degradation. A key aspect of this hibernation approach is the use of cryogenically operable electronics that safely manage the restoration of the battery thermal environment at lunar dawn. A spacecraft utilizing this strategy will operate into the lunar night on batteries until the state of charge or spacecraft temperature reaches a predetermined threshold. At this point, systems are shut down and the battery is isolated from the main bus to prevent charge or discharge during the freezing and thawing transitions. The system remains passive until lunar dawn, where temperatures can reach as low as 50 K. All electronics must be tolerant to these conditions. When the solar arrays are finally illuminated at lunar dawn, the main bus power electronics will initiate a “cold start” and begin regulating array power. The main bus electronics must be designed to operate at cryogenic temperatures. Array power is used to warm the battery and passive electronics back to operational temperatures. Once batteries are returned to normal temperatures, diagnostics and precharging is performed, as needed, and the battery is reconnected. The overall spacecraft system reboots and returns to nominal operations until lunar night returns. To assure that we can develop batteries suited for many hibernation freeze/thaw cycles, STMD Space Technology Research Grant Program (STRG) has selected two principal investigators that will thoroughly characterize of the Li-ion cell through the freeze-thaw process, investigate degradation mechanisms, and identify potential diagnostic techniques. STMD STRG is also funding an investigation of Gallium-Nitride semiconductors for cryogenic power applications. This work includes physics-informed modeling that considers cryogenic conductivity, carrier mobility, and quantum effects that govern semiconductor performance at cryogenic temperatures. These models can enable engineers to develop accurate cryogenic simulation models that assist in the design of power controls stable over the entire lunar surface temperature range. Meanwhile, Glenn is performing cryogenic testing of batteries and electronics, establishing design guidelines for power applications in extreme cold lunar environment, and potentially developing a hibernation technology demonstrator. The hibernation approach will enable low-cost lunar robotic missions to extend their operating lifetime to many months while minimizing development costs and impact on payload capacity. The need for cryogenically operable electronics is restricted to only main bus power and battery controls, as the majority of systems simply need to passively tolerate cryogenic temperatures. This allows developers to continue to exploit the cost savings of legacy and COTS hardware with minimum modification. For these reasons, lunar power hibernation is a viable near-term solution for lunar night survivability for solar powered commercial landers.

Space power↗
DOE OSTI2024

Room-temperature fabrication of garnet-type solid-electrolyte: Optimizing particle size for high ionic conductivity

Dense and uniform Li 6.25 Al 0.25 La 3 Zr 2 O 12 (Al-doped LLZO) solid-electrolyte film of ~24 µm thickness is successfully fabricated by room temperature aerosol deposition (AD) method. The process optimization study revealed that careful control of particle size and morphology is one of critical determinants in the development of a compact AD membrane. Notably, our method facilitated an impressive ionic conductivity of approximately 10 –5 S cm –1 , bypassing the necessity for post-annealing processes, a milestone in itself. However, it is hypothesized that the attained conductivity is somewhat restrained by factors such as smaller grain size and potential surface degradation due to moisture exposure during fabrication, indicating avenues for further research. Looking forward, detailed investigations into the film's microstructure and its impact on transport properties will be a focal point, alongside potential enhancements through post-annealing and particle coating strategies. Finally, this research hints at a promising trajectory for the development of high-efficiency solid-state battery technology.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2025

Direct Deoxygenation of Phenol over Fe-Based Bimetallic Surfaces Using On-the-Fly Surrogate Models

We present an accelerated nudged elastic band (NEB) study of phenol direct deoxygenation (DDO) on Fe-based bimetallic surfaces using a recently developed Gaussian process regression (GPR) calculator. Our test calculations demonstrate that the GPR calculator achieves up to 3 times speedup compared to conventional density functional theory calculations while maintaining high accuracy, with energy barrier errors below 0.015 eV. Using GPR-NEB, we systematically examine the DDO mechanism on pure Fe(110) and surfaces modified with Co and Ni in both top and subsurface layers. Our results show that subsurface Co and Ni substitutions preserve favorable thermodynamics and kinetics for both C–O bond cleavage and C–H bond formation, comparable to those on the pure Fe(110) surface. In contrast, top-layer substitutions generally increase the C–O bond cleavage barrier, render the step endothermic, and result in significantly higher reverse reaction rates, making DDO unfavorable on these surfaces. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of GRR-accelerated transition state searches for complex surface reactions and provides insights into rational design of bimetallic catalysts for selective deoxygenation.

Aromatic compounds↗
DOE OSTI2026

AI-assisted rapid crystal structure generation towards a target local environment

In material design, traditional crystal structure prediction approaches are expensive as they require extensive structural sampling through expensive energy minimization methods. Emerging artificial intelligence (AI) generative models have shown great promise in rapidly generating realistic crystals, but they typically handle only a few tens of atoms per unit cell. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a symmetry-informed approach, the Local Environment Geometry-Oriented Crystal Generator (LEGO-xtal). Our method generates initial structures using AI models trained on an augmented dataset, and then optimizes them using structure descriptors rather than energy-based optimization. We demonstrate its effectiveness by expanding from 25 known low-energy sp2 carbon allotropes to over 1700, all within 0.5 eV/atom of the ground-state energy of graphite. This framework offers a generalizable strategy for the targeted design of materials with modular building blocks, such as metal-organic frameworks and battery materials.

Ridwan, Osman Goni [University of North Carolina a↗
NASA NTRS1986

Assessment of commercially available and experimental hydrogen electrodes

NASA Lewis Research Center is currently involved in advanced cell component development for nickel-hydrogen cells and batteries. Long life, high energy density, improved performance and reliability are required for energy storage systems in future space missions. Commercially available as well as experimental hydrogen electrodes were assessed and copared to the state-of-the-art hydrogen electrode that is currently being used in nickel-hydrogen batteries. These electrodes were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and standard electrochemical polarization measurements. Production variables such as Teflon content and platinum catalyst loading were considered in order to assess various hydrogen electrods with regard to the different electrode manufacturing processes.

Charleston, J. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Assessment of commercially available and experimental hydrogen electrodes

NASA Lewis Research Center is currently involved in advanced cell component development for nickel-hydrogen cells and batteries. Long life, high energy density, improved performance and reliability are required for energy storage systems in future space missions. Commercially available as well as experimental hydrogen electrodes were assessed and compared to the state-of-the-art hydrogen electrode that is currently being used in nickel-hydrogen batteries. These electrodes were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and standard electrochemical polarization measurements. Production variables such as Teflon content and platinum catalyst loading were considered in order to assess various hydrogen electrodes with regard to the different electrode manufacturing processes.

Charleston, Jo Ann↗
NASA NTRS1992

Progress in the development of lightweight nickel electrode for aerospace applications

The NASA Lewis Research Center is currently developing nickel electrodes for nickel-hydrogen (Ni-H2) cells and batteries. These electrodes are lighter in weight and have higher specific energy than the heavy sintered state of the art nickel electrodes. In the present approach, lightweight materials or plaques are used as conductive supports for the nickel hydroxide active material. These plaques (fiber, felt, and nickel plated plastic) are fabricated into nickel electrodes by electrochemically impregnating them with active material. Initial performance tests include capacity measurements at five discharge levels, C/2, 1.0C, 1.37C, 2.0C, and 2.74C. The electrodes that pass the initial tests are life cycle tested at 40 and 80 percent depths of discharge (DOD). Different formulations of nickel fiber materials obtained from several manufacturers are currently being tested as possible candidates for nickel electrodes. Over 7,000 cycles of life cycle testing have been accumulated at 40 percent DOD, using the lightweight fiber electrode in a boiler plate Ni-H2 cell with stable voltage.

Britton, Doris L.↗