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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 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2009

Ares I-X: On the Threshold of Exploration

Ares I-X, the first flight of the Ares I crew launch vehicle, is less than a year from launch. Ares I-X will test the flight characteristics of Ares I from liftoff to first stage separation and recovery. The flight also will demonstrate the computer hardware and software (avionics) needed to control the vehicle; deploy the parachutes that allow the first stage booster to land in the ocean safely; measure and control how much the rocket rolls during flight; test and measure the effects of first stage separation; and develop and try out new ground handling and rocket stacking procedures in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) and first stage recovery procedures at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. All Ares I-X major elements have completed their critical design reviews, and are nearing final fabrication. The first stage--four-segment solid rocket booster from the Space Shuttle inventory--incorporates new simulated forward structures to match the Ares I five-segment booster. The upper stage, Orion crew module, and launch abort system will comprise simulator hardware that incorporates developmental flight instrumentation for essential data collection during the mission. The upper stage simulator consists of smaller cylindrical segments, which were transported to KSC in fall 2008. The crew module and launch abort system simulator were shipped in December 2008. The first stage hardware, active roll control system (RoCS), and avionics components will be delivered to KSC in 2009. This paper will provide detailed statuses of the Ares I-X hardware elements as NASA's Constellation Program prepares for this first flight of a new exploration era in the summer of 2009.

Davis, Stephan R.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Recovery, Transportation and Acceptance to the Curation Facility of the Hayabusa Re-Entry Capsule

The "Hayabusa" re-entry capsule was safely carried into the clean room of Sagamihara Planetary Sample Curation Facility in JAXA on June 18, 2010. After executing computed tomographic (CT) scanning, removal of heat shield, and surface cleaning of sample container, the sample container was enclosed into the clean chamber. After opening the sample container and residual gas sampling in the clean chamber, optical observation, sample recovery, sample separation for initial analysis will be performed. This curation work is continuing for several manths with some selected member of Hayabusa Asteroidal Sample Preliminary Examination Team (HASPET). We report here on the 'Hayabusa' capsule recovery operation, and transportation and acceptance at the curation facility of the Hayabusa re-entry capsule.

Abe, M.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Electrorefining process for lunar free metal - Space and terrestrial applications and implications

An electrochemical refining process is proposed for the separation and recovery of principal and trace elements from reduced metallic particles found in lunar soils. A process variation is presented for purification and recovery of chromium and manganese from electrodeposited impure iron available from lunar silicate and other minerals. The process involves anodic dissolution of impure metal and cathodic deposition in divided cells using aqueous chloride solutions. The anolyte is withdrawn and separated using ion exchange techniques.

Waldron, R. D.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing lanmodulin's mechanisms of rare-earth selectivity for protein-based bioseparations

Our BES Separation Science program project, DE-SC0021007, supported our efforts to begin to understand the mechanisms underlying selectivity of a novel class of lanthanide-binding proteins discovered by our laboratory, called lanmodulin (LanM), and to leverage these proteins for recovery and separations of trivalent rare earth elements (REEs) as well as of trivalent actinides. Overall, our work provides important insights into how higher-order (e.g., secondary, tertiary, and quaternary) protein structure modulates selectivity profiles of proteins that bind f-elements highly selectively. These results are important for advancing the concept of protein-based separations of REEs and, perhaps, of other critical minerals.

Lanmodulin, rare earth elements, protein-based met↗
NASA NTRS1990

Investigation of several passive and active methods for turbulent flow separation control

Relative performance of several passive and active methods for controlling two-dimensional turbulent separated flow associated with a curved backward-facing ramp were investigated at low speeds. Surface static pressure measurement and oil flow visualization results indicate that submerged vortex generators, vortex generator jets, elongated arches at +-alpha, and large-eddy breakup devices at +-alpha placed near the baseline separation location reduce flow separation and increase pressure recovery. Spanwise cylinders reduce flow separation but decrease pressure recovery downstream. Arches with alpha = 0 deg, Helmholtz resonators, and Viets' fluidic flappers examined so far have no significant effect in reducing separation. Wall cooling computation indicates that separation delay on a partially cooled ramp is nearly the same as on a fully-cooled ramp while minimizing the frictional drag increase associated with the wall cooling process.

Lin, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Control of low-speed turbulent separated flow over a backward-facing ramp

The relative performance and flow phenomena associated with several devices for controlling turbulent separated flow were investigated at low speeds. Relative performance of the devices was examined for flow over a curved, backward-facing ramp in a wind tunnel, and the flow phenomena were examined in a water tunnel using dye-flow visualization. Surface static pressure measurements and oil-flow visualization results from the wind tunnel tests indicated that transverse grooves, longitudinal grooves, submerged vortex generators, vortex generator jets (VGJ's), Viets' fluidic flappers, elongated arches at positive angle of attack, and large-eddy breakup devices (LEBU's) at positive angle of attack placed near the baseline separation location reduce flow separation and increase pressure recovery. Spanwise cylinders reduce flow separation but decrease pressure recovery downstream. Riblets, passive porous surfaces, swept grooves, Helmholtz resonators, and arches and LEBU's with angle of attack less than or = 0 degrees had no significant effect in reducing the extent of the separation region. Wall-cooling computations indicated that separation delay on a partially-cooled ramp is nearly the same as on a fully-cooled ramp, while minimizing the frictional drag increase associated with the wall cooling process. Dry-flow visualization tests in the water tunnel indicated that wishbone vortex generators in the forward orientation shed horseshoe vortices; wishbone vortex generators oriented in the reverse direction and doublet vortex generators shed streamwise counterrotating vortices; a spanewise cylinder located near the wall and LEBU's at angle of attack = -10 degrees produced eddies or transverse vortices which rotated with the same sign as the mean vorticity in a turbulent boundary layer; and the most effective VGJ's produced streamwise co-rotating vortices. Comparative wind-tunnel test results indicated that transferring momentum from the outer region of a turbulent boundary layer through the action of embedded streamwise vortices is more effective than by transverse vortices for the separation control application studied herein.

Lin, John C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Promising Method of Sm–Co Magnet Reprocessing in Alkali Chloride Melts

Developing new, efficient methods for samarium and cobalt recovery from scraps/rejects and swarf at Sm–Co magnet manufacturing sites during shaping and finishing is an important task in terms of meeting their growing demand. In this work, the reaction of oxygen with a solution of samarium and cobalt chlorides in a LiCl–KCl eutectic melt was studied at 400–600 °C to explore possible methods for the separation and recovery of samarium and cobalt from these waste products. The pyrochemical reaction resulted in the formation and precipitation of samarium oxychloride, while the cobalt remained in the melt in a soluble chloride form. The effect of temperature and the amount of oxygen passed through the melt (oxygen-to-samarium molar ratio) on the course of the reaction were studied. Kinetic parameters of the oxygen with samarium chloride reaction were determined.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRS1995

Implementation of algebraic stress models in a general 3-D Navier-Stokes method (PAB3D)

A three-dimensional multiblock Navier-Stokes code, PAB3D, which was developed for propulsion integration and general aerodynamic analysis, has been used extensively by NASA Langley and other organizations to perform both internal (exhaust) and external flow analysis of complex aircraft configurations. This code was designed to solve the simplified Reynolds Averaged Navier-Stokes equations. A two-equation k-epsilon turbulence model has been used with considerable success, especially for attached flows. Accurate predicting of transonic shock wave location and pressure recovery in separated flow regions has been more difficult. Two algebraic Reynolds stress models (ASM) have been recently implemented in the code that greatly improved the code's ability to predict these difficult flow conditions. Good agreement with Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) for a subsonic flat plate was achieved with ASM's developed by Shih, Zhu, and Lumley and Gatski and Speziale. Good predictions were also achieved at subsonic and transonic Mach numbers for shock location and trailing edge boattail pressure recovery on a single-engine afterbody/nozzle model.

Abdol-Hamid, Khaled S.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Advanced Mineral Separations with Novel Simulated Moving Beds

Lithium is a critical mineral that is widely used in batteries and energy storage applications, making it increasingly important in the next few decades. To meet the growing demand for lithium and secure domestic supply chains, there is a need to exploit unconventional lithium resources. However, utilizing current lithium extraction processes is challenging due to the high salinity in those resources. Thus, it is essential to develop energy-efficient, and less chemical-intensive separation processes that can exploit high-salinity lithium resources. Accordingly, this project aims to design a novel zwitterionic stationary phase and use it to develop a continuous chromatography process to recover LiCl minerals from traditionally unexploited domestic saline resources. The developed zwitterionic stationary phase allows fractionating minerals based on their different sorbent affinities under water elution. A systematically designed continuous process can separate lithium from other minerals, reducing the risk of material fouling and the overall chemical consumption to produce battery-grade lithium. This approach is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency and sustainability of the lithium extraction process while also reducing the environmental impact associated with traditional processes. At the end of the project, the technology will be demonstrated in continuous mode using a simulated moving bed (SMB) to recover >100 g of LiCl from real resource waters. The U.S.-based resources that this project targets for LiCl recovery are formation water, oil-produced water, and geothermal brines, supplied by Standard Lithium Ltd. and Shell Inc, respectively.

critical minerals↗
DOE OSTI2024

Toward sustainable electrochemically mediated separations driven by renewable energy

Environmental pollution, water scarcity, resource shortage, and fossil fuel reliance have all represented threats to a sustainable future. Separation processes play a pivotal role in improving sustainability in fields such as industrial processes, resource recycling, wastewater treatment, and water desalination, among others. Electrochemical systems have gained increased attention as effective separation platforms, not only in performance but also as a potentially energy-efficient approach. However, the reliance on non-renewable energy sources, such as fossil fuels, for electricity generation limits the advancement toward a fully sustainable separation process. Integration of separation processes with eco-friendly renewable energy sources can increase overall sustainability and decrease carbon footprint. Here, in this review, we provide an overview of electrochemical separations and recent efforts to integrate them with renewable energy sources such as heat and solar energy. We discuss electrochemical separations, including electrosorption and electrodialysis, and research to transition these processes to thermoelectrochemical (TEC) and photoelectrochemical (PEC) platforms. Finally, we discuss current challenges and future prospects in direct integration of renewable energy sources with separation processes.

electrochemistry↗
NASA NTRS2010

Lessons Learned in Launching Ares I-X

The Ares I-X flight test, scheduled for 2009, is the first opportunity for the Constellation Program and Ares Projects to obtain important data on the in-flight loads, first stage recovery, and ground-handling characteristics of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The flight test vehicle will incorporate a mix of flight and mockup hardware, reflecting an acceptable representation of the mass and outer mold line characteristics of the operational Ares I vehicle. It will be powered by a four-segment solid rocket motor from the Space Shuttle inventory and will include a fifth, inert spacer segment and new forward structures to make it the same shape as the Ares I first stage. The vehicle also includes mass simulators for the upper stage, Orion crew module, and launch abort system to match the outer mold line of Ares I; an active roll control system; and avionics derived from Shuttle and Atlas hardware. This suborbital mission will take the flight test vehicle from stacking in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) through liftoff, maximum dynamic pressure, first stage separation, and recovery. Ares I-X presented NASA with unique project management challenges. This presentation will address those unique challenges, including managing a virtual nationwide team under a constrained timeline; designing and building the launch vehicle and ground systems; working concurrently with Space Shuttle activities; and integrating technical and management functions. It also will identify key data collected and lessons learned from the flight that will be applied to future exploration missions.

Davis, Stephan R.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Adsorption of Rare Earth Elements onto DNA-Functionalized Mesoporous Carbon

The recovery and separation of rare earth elements (REEs) are of national importance owing to the specific usages, high demand, and low supply of these elements. In this research, we have investigated the adsorption of rare earth elements onto DNA-functionalized mesoporous carbons with a BET surface area of 605 m2/g and a median mesopore width of 48 Å. Additionally, three types of single-stranded DNA, one with 100 base units of thymine, another with 20 units of thymine, and the third, a 2000 unit long DNA from salmon milt were grafted on the carboxylated mesoporous carbon surface. All of the DNA-functionalized mesoporous carbons demonstrated higher adsorption of REEs compared to pristine mesoporous carbon and DNA grafted with 100 units of thymine demonstrated slightly higher adsorbed amounts compared to others. Pure neodymium (Nd(III)) adsorption in the aqueous phase demonstrated an adsorbed amount of 110.4 mg/g with respect to the initial concentration of 500 mg/g. A pH variation study with pure Nd(III) demonstrated that the adsorbed amount is higher at elevated pH compared to that at lower pH, thereby suggesting possible recovery at lower pH. Adsorption of a mixture of 16 REEs, including Sc, Lu, Tm, Yb, Er, Ho, Tb, Dy, Y, Eu, Gd, Sm, Ce, Nd, Pr, and La revealed that the adsorbed amount increased with an increase in the atomic weight and metallic radii of elements within the lanthanides. The calculation of the distribution coefficients for all of the equilibrium adsorption amounts suggested that adsorption is more effective in the lower concentration region. The Nd L3-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) confirmed a 3+ oxidation state of Nd in the adsorbed phase. The extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) confirmed the local atomic structure relaxation of Nd complexes in the adsorbed phase and shortening of the Nd–O bond distance by about 0.03–0.04 Å, which may be associated with their local complexation at the carbon surface.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2000

Microreactor System Design for a NASA In Situ Propellant Production Plant on Mars

The NASA In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) program is planning near-term missions to Mars that will include chemical processes for converting the carbon dioxide (CO2) and possibly water from the Martian environment to propellants, oxygen, and other useful chemicals. The use of indigenous resources reduces the size and weight of the payloads from Earth significantly, representing enormous cost savings that make human exploration of Mars affordable. Extraterrestrial chemical processing plants will need to be compact, lightweight, highly efficient under reduced gravity, and extraordinarily reliable for long periods. Microchemical and thermal systems represent capability for dramatic reduction in size and weight, while offering high reliability through massive parallelization. In situ propellant production (ISPP), one aspect of the ISRU program, involves collecting and pressurizing atmospheric CO2, conversion reactions, chemical separations, heat exchangers, and cryogenic storage. A preliminary system design of an ISPP plant based on microtechnology has demonstrated significant size, weight, and energy efficiency gains over the current NASA baseline. Energy management is a strong driver for Mars-based processes, not only because energy is a scarce resource, but because heat rejection is problematic; the low pressure environment makes convective heat transfer ineffective. Energy efficiency gains are largely achieved in the microchemical plant through extensive heat recuperation and energy cascading, which has a small size and weight penalty because the added micro heat exchangers are small. This leads to additional size and weight gains by reducing the required area of waste heat radiators. The microtechnology-based ISPP plant is described in detail, including aspects of pinch analysis for optimizing the heat exchanger network. Three options for thermochemical compression Of CO2 from the Martian atmosphere, adsorption, absorption, and cryogenic freezing, are presented, as well as three options for water decomposition, low temperature electrolysis, high temperature electrolysis, and thermochemical decomposition. Other elements of the plant include Sabatier and reverse water gas shift reactors, water recovery, chemical separations, and cryogenic storage. Data are presented supporting preliminary sizing of components, and results of the system design are compared to the existing NASA baseline that is based on conventional technologies.

TeGrotenhuis, W. E.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Vivid Motor Imagery as an Adaptation Method for Head Turns on a Short-Arm Centrifuge

Artificial gravity (AG) has been proposed as a potential countermeasure to the debilitating physiological effects of long duration space flight. The most economical means of implementing AG may be through the use of a short-radius (2m or less) centrifuge. For such a device to produce gravitational forces comparable to those on earth requires rotation rates in excess of 20 revolutions per minute (rpm). Head turns made out of the plane of rotation at these rates, as may be necessary if exercise is combined with AG, result in cross-coupled stimuli (CCS) that cause adverse side effects including motion sickness, illusory sensations of motion, and inappropriate eye movements. Recent studies indicate that people can adapt to CCS and reduce these side effects by making multiple head turns during centrifuge sessions conducted over consecutive days. However, about 25% of the volunteers for these studies have difficulty tolerating the CCS adaptation paradigm and often drop out due to motion sickness symptoms. The goal of this investigation was to determine whether vivid motor imagery could be used as a pseudostimulus for adapting subjects to this unique environment. Twenty four healthy human subjects (14 males, 10 females), ranging in age from 21 to 48 years (mean 33, sd 7 years) took part in this study. The experimental stimuli were produced using the NASA JSC short-arm centrifuge (SAC). Subjects were oriented supinely on this device with the nose pointed toward the ceiling and head centered on the axis of rotation. Thus, centrifuge rotation was in the body roll plane. After ramp-up the SAC rotated clockwise at a constant rate of 23 rpm, producing a centrifugal force of approximately 1 g at the feet. Semicircular canal CCS were produced by having subjects make yaw head turns from the nose up (NU) position to the right ear down (RED) position and from RED to NU. Each head turn was completed in about one second, and a 30 second recovery period separated consecutive head movements. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups (n=8 per group): physical adapters (PA), mental adapters (MA), or a control group (CG). Each subject participated in a one hour test session on each of three consecutive days. Each test session consisted of an initial (preadaptation) period during which the subject performed six CCS maneuvers in the dark, followed by an adaptation period with internal lighting on the centrifuge, and a final (postadaptation) period during which six more CCS maneuvers were performed in the dark. For the PA group, the adaptation period consisted of performing 30 additional CCS maneuvers in the light. For the MA and CG group the centrifuge was ramped down to 0 rpm after the pre-adaptation period and ramped back up to 23 rpm before the post-adaptation period. For the both of these groups, the adaptation period consisted of making 30 CCS maneuvers in the light with the centrifuge stationary (so no cross-coupling occurred). MA group subjects were instructed to vividly imagine the provocative sensations produced by the preadaptation CCS maneuvers in terms of magnitude, duration, and direction of illusory body tilt, as well as any accompanying levels of motion sickness. CG group subjects were asked to answer low imagery content questions (trivial pursuit) during each adaptation period head turn. During the 30 second recovery following each head turn, psychophysical data were collected including self reports of motion sickness, magnitude and direction estimates of illusory body tilt, and the overall duration of these sensations. A multilevel mixed effects linear regression analysis performed on all response variables indicated that all three groups experienced some psychophysical adaptation across the three test sessions. For illusory tilt magnitude, the PA group exhibited the most overall adaptation, followed by the MA group, and the CG group. The slopes of these adaptation trajectories by group over day were significantly diffent from one another. For the perceived duration of sensations, the CG group again exhibited the least amount of adaptation. However, the rates of adaptation of the PA and the MA groups were indistinguishable, suggesting that the imagined pseudostimulus appeared to be just as effective a means of adaptation as the actual stimulus. The MA group's rate of adaptation to motion sickness symptoms was also comparable to the PA group. The use of vivid motor imagery may be an effective method for adapting to the illusory sensations and motion sickness symptoms produced by cross-coupled stimuli. For space-based AG applications, this technique may prove quite useful in retaining astronauts considered highly susceptible to motion sickness as it reduces the number of actual CCS required to attain adaptation.

Newby, N. J.↗
DOE OSTI2026

A Chimeric LBT-GFP Biosensor Exhibits Antithetical Fluorescence Responses to Ca 2+ and Dy 3+ Binding

Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical components in emerging technologies, but their mining and refining processes are often laborious, costly, and environmentally damaging. Developing green and efficient separation methods for REEs is crucial. Biomolecular approaches using lanthanide-binding proteins and peptides show promise for selective REE extraction and separation. In this study, we present the design and characterization of a genetically encoded fluorescence indicator (GEFI) construct that combines a superfolder green fluorescent protein (sfGFP) with a dual lanthanide-binding tag (2×dLBT). The 2×dLBT insert induces conformational changes in sfGFP upon lanthanide binding, modulating the fluorescence intensity. The sfGFP-2×dLBT biosensor exhibited distinct fluorescence responses to different lanthanide ions, with the highest dynamic range observed for heavy REEs like dysprosium (Dy 3+ ). Interestingly, the sensor displayed an antithetical response, where low concentrations of lanthanides initially quenched the fluorescence, but higher concentrations led to a significant fluorescence increase (1.5-fold). The Ca 2+ ion on the other hand showed only a dose-dependent quenching of the fluorescence response. Based on these observations, the biphasic response of the biosensor to lanthanides was eliminated by pretreating the sensor with calcium, which further expanded the dynamic range up to 3-fold for Dy 3+ . The lanthanide-selective and concentration-dependent fluorescence changes of the sfGFP-2×dLBT biosensor demonstrate its potential as a platform for developing specific sensors for various REEs. These sensors could enable rapid and cost-effective determination of REE composition in complex mixtures, facilitating the separation and recovery of critical REEs from electronic waste and other REE-containing sources.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Sustainable lead management in halide perovskite solar cells

Despite the rapid development of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) toward commercialization, the toxic lead (Pb) ions in PSCs pose a potential threat to the environment, health and safety. Managing Pb via recycling represents a promising approach to mitigating its toxicity. However, managing Pb from commonly used organic solvents has been challenging due to the lack of suitable Pb adsorbents. Here, we report a new adsorbent for both separation and recovery of Pb from PSC pollutants. The synthesized iron-incorporated hydroxyapatite possesses a strongly negatively charged surface that improves electrostatic interaction through surface-charge delocalization, thus leading to enhanced Pb adsorption. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of a complete Pb management process, including the purification of Pb-containing non-aqueous solvents below 15 parts per 10 9 , a level compliant with the standards of the US Environmental Protection Agency, as well as recycling of 99.97% of Pb ions by forming lead iodide.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗