Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “field testing”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1994

Upgraded Near-Field Antenna-Testing System

Upgraded system for near-field testing of large microwave antenna built around commercial automated network analyzer (HP8510) designed for measurement and characterization of microwave circuits and components. Contains highly capable microwave receiver also suitable for far-field and radar-cross-section measurements. Receiver operates in fast-data-acquisition mode at rate of one new data point every millisecond without averaging. Also operates with greater sensitivity by use of averaging feature at time penalty of 0.2 ms per average. Time-domain option added to analyzer enables it to perform time-domain reflectometry.

Kunath, Richard R.↗
DOE OSTI2018

MICP in the Field: Enhancement of Wellbore Cement Integrity and Permeability Modification

Microbially-induced calcite precipitation (MICP) is being widely researched as an emerging technology for subsurface engineering applications including sealing defects in wellbore cement and modifying the permeability of rock formations [1]. Our study team, including Montana State University’s Energy Research Institute and Center for Biofilm Engineering, The University of Stuttgart, Montana Emergent Technologies, and Schlumberger Carbon Services, has conducted two successful MICP-based field trials. The first field test successfully used MICP to seal a horizontal “pancake fracture” in tight sandstone [2]. The following test resulted in MICP sealing of compromised wellbore cement. Both tests were carried out in the Gorgas well in Alabama and used the ureolytic bacteria, Sporosarcina pasteurii, to promote calcium carbonate precipitation. A third field test is now underway targeting an existing oil well, Rexing #4, in Indiana. The Rexing #4 well was previously used as an injection well to sweep residual oil to production wells. Several years ago, injection pressure was lost, and the well was removed from service. Subsequent well logging measurements suggested that, rather than entering the target injection formation, injectate was traveling up the wellbore through defects in the well cement to a sandstone thief zone approximately 50 feet above the target formation. The goal of the field demonstration project at the Rexing #4 well is to use MICP to reduce permeability in the thief zone and cement defect until the injection pressure reaches the pre-breakthrough condition necessary to return Rexing #4 to service as an injection well. The field demonstration in Indiana, funded by the US Department of Energy, will be conducted the first week of December 2017 using a custom mobile laboratory designed for field applications of MICP. Results presented at the conference will include a rationale for the injection strategy employed, as well as its success at sealing the leakage pathway.

Kirkland, Catherine↗
DOE OSTI2018

Integrated Testing of a Membrane CO 2 Capture Process with a Coal-Fired Boiler

This final technical report describes work conducted by Membrane Technology and Research, Inc. (MTR) for the Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory (DOE NETL) to demonstrate integrated operation of the MTR small pilot membrane CO 2 capture system with Babcock & Wilcox Enterprises, Inc.’s (B&W) Small Boiler Simulator-II (SBS-II) pilot coal boiler (award number DE-FE0026414). The work was performed from July 1, 2015 through March 31, 2018. The overall goal of this project was to operate the existing MTR small pilot membrane CO 2 capture system at an appropriately-sized coal-fired boiler to test integrated operation with CO 2 recycle to the boiler. MTR was assisted in this project by B&W, which hosted the integrated membrane-boiler field test at the B&W Research Facility in Barberton, OH. This report details the work performed to prepare the B&W site, modify the existing MTR membrane system, install the MTR system at B&W, and operate an integrated membrane-boiler field test with CO 2 recycle to the boiler. Detailed analysis of the integrated membrane-boiler test data was conducted to validate prior B&W computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and SBS-II boiler tests with CO 2 -laden air that showed modest effects of recycled CO 2 on boiler performance. The integrated test results also demonstrated how various membrane parameters impact the performance of a dynamic boiler system. Key results for all tasks and recommendations for future research are discussed in this report.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS2008

Collection of Infrasonic Sound From Sources of Military Importance

Extreme Endeavors is collaborating with NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) in the development, testing and analysis of infrasonic detection system under a Space Act Agreement. Acoustic studies of atmospheric events like convective storms, shear-induced turbulence, acoustic gravity waves, microbursts, hurricanes, and clear air turbulence (CAT) over the past thirty years have established that these events are strong emitters of infrasound. Recently NASA Langley Research Center has designed and developed a portable infrasonic detection system which can be used to make useful infrasound measurements at locations where it was not possible previously, such as a mountain crag, inside a cave or on the battlefield. The system comprises an electret condenser microphone, having a 3-inch membrane diameter, and a small, compact windscreen. Extreme Endeavors will present the findings from field testing using this portable infrasonic detection system. Field testing of the infrasonic detection system was partly funded by Greer Industries and support provided by the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. The findings from this work illustrate the ability to detect structure and other information about the contents inside the caves. The presentation will describe methodology for utilizing infrasonic to locate and portray underground facilities.

Masterman, Michael↗
DOE OSTI2022

Numerical Simulations in Support of a Long-Term Test of Gas Production from Hydrate Accumulations on the Alaska North Slope: Reservoir Response to Interruptions of Production (Shut-Ins)

In this work, we investigate by means of numerical simulation a planned year-long field test of depressurization-induced production from a permafrost-associated hydrate reservoir on the Alaska North Slope at the site of the recently drilled Hydrate-01 Stratigraphic Test Well. The main objective of this study is to assess quantitatively the impact of temporary interruptions (well shut-ins) on the expected fluid production performance from the B1 Sand of the stratigraphic Unit B during controlled depressurization over different time scales, as well as on other relevant aspects of the system response that have the potential to significantly affect the design of the field test. We consider eight different cases of depressurization, including (a) rapid depressurization over a 60-day period to a terminal bottomhole pressure P W of 2.8 MPa and (b) a slower depressurization rate to a final P W of 0.6 MPa at the end of the year-long production test, in addition to (c) a multi-step depressurization regime and (d) a quasi-linear continuous depressurization strategy. The results of the study indicate that shut-ins obviously reduce gas release and production during and immediately after their occurrence, but their longer-term effects are strongly dependent on the depressurization regime and on the time of observation, covering the entire range of potential outcomes. Shut-ins (a) have a universally strong negative effect when quasi-linear depressurization is involved regardless of the length of the production period, and (b) have a strong positive effect in multi-step depressurization schemes that becomes apparent earlier for large initial pressure drops, but (c) can also appear to have practically no effect for slow stepwise depressurization at the end of the year-long production test. Shut-ins lead to a rapid reformation of hydrates, even to the point of disappearance of a free gas phase in the reservoir. Rapid depressurization regimes lead to early maximum rates of hydrate dissociation and gas production, while the maximum rates occur at the end of the production test for the cases of slower depressurization. Shut-ins do not appear to have a significant impact on water production, as the cessation of production is followed by higher rates production when depressurization resumes. Similarly, (a) the fraction of produced CH 4 originating from exsolution from the water, (b) the water-to-gas ratio, and (c) the rate of replenishment of produced water by boundary inflows do not appear significantly affected by shut-ins, the effects of which seem to be temporary in the majority of the cases. The study confirmed the superiority of multi-step depressurization methods as the most effective strategies for hydrate dissociation and gas production and showed that two observation wells (located at distances of 30 and 50 m from the production well) are appropriately positioned and both able to capture the P, T, and S G behavior during the fluid production and shut-ins in any of the eight cases we investigated.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
NASA NTRS2004

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Missions and Instruments: Hopes and Hope Fulfilled

The titles in this section include: 1) Mars Global Surveyor Mars Orbiter Camera in the Extended Mission: The MOC Toolkit; 2) Mars Odyssey THEMIS-VIS Calibration; 3) Early Science Operations and Results from the ESA Mars Express Mission: Focus on Imaging and Spectral Mapping; 4) The Mars Express/NASA Project at JPL; 5) Beagle 2: Mission to Mars - Current Status; 6) The Beagle 2 Microscope; 7) Mars Environmental Chamber for Dynamic Dust Deposition and Statics Analysis; 8) Locating Targets for CRISM Based on Surface Morphology and Interpretation of THEMIS Data; 9) The Phoenix Mission to Mars; 10) First Studies of Possible Landing Sites for the Phoenix Mars Scout Mission Using the BMST; 11) The 2009 Mars Telecommunications Orbiter; 12) The Aurora Exploration Program - The ExoMars Mission; 13) Electron-induced Luminescence and X-Ray Spectrometer (ELXS) System Development; 14) Remote-Raman and Micro-Raman Studies of Solid CO2, CH4, Gas Hydrates and Ice; 15) The Compact Microimaging Spectrometer (CMIS): A New Tool for In-Situ Planetary Science; 16) Preliminary Results of a New Type of Surface Property Measurement Ideal for a Future Mars Rover Mission; 17) Electrodynamic Dust Shield for Solar Panels on Mars; 18) Sensor Web for Spatio-Temporal Monitoring of a Hydrological Environment; 19) Field Testing of an In-Situ Neutron Spectrometer for Planetary Exploration: First Results; 20) A Miniature Solid-State Spectrometer for Space Applications - Field Tests; 21) Application of Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) to Mars Polar Exploration: LIBS Analysis of Water Ice and Water Ice/Soil Mixtures; 22) LIBS Analysis of Geological Samples at Low Pressures: Application to Mars, the Moon, and Asteroids; 23) In-Situ 1-D and 2-D Mapping of Soil Core and Rock Samples Using the LIBS Long Spark; 24) Rocks Analysis at Stand Off Distance by LIBS in Martian Conditions; 25) Evaluation of a Compact Spectrograph/Detection System for a LIBS Instrument for In-Situ and Stand-Off Detection; 26) Analysis of Organic Compounds in Mars Analog Samples; 27) Report of the Organic Contamination Science Steering Group; 28) The Water-Wheel IR (WIR) - A Contact Survey Experiment for Water and Carbonates on Mars; 29) Mid-IR Fiber Optic Probe for In Situ Water Detection and Characterization; 30) Effects of Subsurface Sampling & Processing on Martian Simulant Containing Varying Quantities of Water; 31) The Subsurface Ice Probe (SIPR): A Low-Power Thermal Probe for the Martian Polar Layered Deposits; 32) Deploying Ground Penetrating Radar in Planetary Analog Sites to Evaluate Potential Instrument Capabilities on Future Mars Missions; 33) Evaluation of Rock Powdering Methods to Obtain Fine-grained Samples for CHEMIN, a Combined XRD/XRF Instrument; 34) Novel Sample-handling Approach for XRD Analysis with Minimal Sample Preparation; 35) A New Celestial Navigation Method for Mars Landers; 36) Mars Mineral Spectroscopy Web Site: A Resource for Remote Planetary Spectroscopy.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2015

Bench Scale Development and Testing of a Novel Adsorption Process for Post-Combustion CO₂ Capture

A physical sorption process to produce dry CO₂ at high purity (>98%) and high recovery (>90%) from the flue gas taken before or after the FGD was demonstrated both in the lab and in the field (one ton per day scale). A CO₂ recovery of over 94% and a CO₂ purity of over 99% were obtained in the field tests. The process has a moisture, SOX, and Hg removal stage followed by a CO₂ adsorption stage. Evaluations based on field testing, process simulation and detailed engineering studies indicate that the process has the potential for more than 40% reduction in the capital and more than 40% reduction in parasitic power for CO₂ capture compared to MEA. The process has the potential to provide CO₂ at a cost (<$40/tonne) and quality (<1 ppm H₂O, <1 ppm SOX, <10 ppm O₂) suitable for EOR applications which can make CO₂ capture profitable even in the absence of climate legislation. The process is applicable to power plants without SOX, Hg and NOX removal equipment.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
NASA NTRS1997

Technology Reinvestment Project Manufacturing Education and Training

The manufacturing education program is a joint program between the University of Alabama in Huntsville's (UAH) College of Engineering and Alabama A&M University's (AAMLJ) School of Engineering and Technology. The objective of the program is to provide more hands-on experiences to undergraduate engineering and engineering technology students. The scope of work consisted of. Year 1, Task 1: Review courses at Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT); Task 2: Review courses at UAH and AAMU; Task 3: Develop new lab manuals; Task 4: Field test manuals; Task 5: Prepare annual report. Year 2, Task 1: Incorporate feedback into lab manuals; Task 2 : Introduce lab manuals into classes; Task 3: Field test manuals; Task 4: Prepare annual report. Year 3, Task 1: Incorporate feedback into lab manuals; Task 2: Introduce lab manuals into remaining classes; Task 3: Conduct evaluation with assistance of industry; Task 4: Prepare final report. This report only summarizes the activities of the University of Alabama in Huntsville. The activities of Alabama A&M University are contained in a separate report.

Schroer, Bernard J.↗
DOE OSTI2012

Steady-State Comparison of GS-IHP Field Data to Modeled Performance

Field tests were conducted over the winter and summer of 2011 on a prototype (ground-source integrated heat pump (GS-IHP) in Oak Ridge, TN. The extensive field test data was filtered to provide a subset of near-steady-state operation data suitable for comparison to modeled steadystate performance. On-site power use characteristics of the compressor, blower, and pumps and other operational measurements were used to calibrate the system model. Comparisons were made for four modes of operation: space heating, dedicated water heating, space cooling, and combined space cooling and water heating. Analysis results suggest that the field unit was undercharged, especially in the combined space cooling and water heating mode. The fully calibrated model agreed on average to within 2% on capacity, power, and COP/EER for the space heating and cooling modes. Average differences were larger for the water heating modes, ranging from 3 to 11%.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhancing Lifetime and Reducing Costs for Fish Diversion Netting Structures (Abstract)

This effort will focus on technology transfer and commercialization of antifouling coatings with an enthusiastic and engaged industrial team. Environmental requirements and operational demands call for a nontoxic coating/paint to prevent fouling on fish passage guidance netting at hydropower facilities. For example, one netting customer estimated the capital cost for compliance at $\$12$ million to $\$15$ million. This project will build partnerships between PNNL and private companies to optimize, demonstrate, mature, and commercialize a novel PNNL-developed technology that addresses this critical coating need of the hydropower industry. This effort will support modification of existing coatings for application to flexible netting structures. Industrial partners include commercial coating development specialist (Lorama), hydrophobic material manufacturer and paint developer (Dry Surface Technologies), aquatic applications specialists (Prometheus Innovations and River Connectivity Systems), and hydropower netting producer (Pacific Netting Products). Engagement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), two hydropower operators, throughout the project will provide expertise and field test sites that will provide crucial proof of real-world performance data (additional details provided in Teaming section). Taylor Shellfish Farms will provide organisms and fouling expertise as well as a perspective of potential broader impacts for the blue economy. Sample netting will demonstrate performance in a range of environments for key hydropower applications. PNNL will work with industrial partners to overcome commercialization barriers as well as resolving any manufacturing or regulatory issues. This Phase 1 effort is focused on technology optimization for application to fish passage guidance netting and technology validation as verified by independent testing (through USACE, BOR, Taylor Shellfish and Prometheus Innovations). Through this effort, SLIC will be demonstrated for netting applications at technology readiness level (TRL) 5. The field test data will allow optimization of SLIC formulation and performance which is key to enabling technology transfer of a mature proven technology to industry and production of a viable commercial product specifically focused for hydropower needs.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Heliostat optical error inspection with polarimetric imaging drone

On a Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) field, optical errors have significant impacts on the collection efficiency of heliostats. Fast, cost-effective, labor-efficient, and non-intrusive autonomous field inspection remains a challenge. Approaches using imaging drone, i.e., Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system integrated with high resolution visible imaging sensors, have been developed to address these challenges; however, these approaches are often limited by insufficient imaging contrast. Here, in this study, we report a polarimetry-based method with a polarization imaging system integrated on UAV to enhance imaging contrast for in-situ detection of heliostat mirrors without interrupting field operation. We developed an optical model for skylight polarization pattern to simulate the polarization images of heliostat mirrors and obtained optimized waypoints for polarimetric imaging drone flight path to capture images with enhanced contrast. The polarimetric imaging-based method improved the success rate of edge detections in scenarios which were challenging for mirror edge detection with conventional imaging sensors. We have performed field tests to achieve significantly enhanced heliostat edge detection success rate and investigate the feasibility of integrating polarimetric imaging method with existing imaging-based heliostat inspection methods, i.e., Polarimetric Imaging Heliostat Inspection Method (PIHIM). Our preliminary field test results suggest that the PIHIM hold the promise to enable sufficient imaging contrast for real-time autonomous imaging and detection of heliostat field, thus suitable for non-interruptive fast CSP field inspection during its operation.

CSP Field↗
DOE OSTI2014

Injection and Monitoring at the Wallula Basalt Pilot Project

Continental flood basalts represent one of the largest geologic structures on earth but have received comparatively little attention for geologic storage of CO2. Flood basalt lava flows have flow tops that are porous, permeable, and have large potential capacity for storage of CO2. In appropriate geologic settings, interbedded sediment layers and dense low-permeability basalt rock flow interior sections may act as effective seals allowing time for mineralization reactions to occur. Previous laboratory experiments showed the relatively rapid chemical reaction of CO2-saturated pore water with basalts to form stable carbonate minerals. However, recent laboratory tests with water-saturated supercritical CO2 show that mineralization reactions occur in this phase as well, providing a second and potentially more important mineralization pathway than was previously understood. Field testing of these concepts is proceeding with drilling of the world’s first supercritical CO2 injection well in flood basalt being completed in May 2009 near the township of Wallula in Washington State and corresponding CO2 injection permit granted by the State of Washington in March 2011. Injection of a nominal 1000 MT of CO2 was completed in August 2013 and site monitoring is in progress. Well logging conducted immediately after injection termination confirmed the presence of CO2 predominantly within the upper flow top region, and showed no evidence of vertical CO2 migration outside the well casing. Shallow soil gas samples collected around the injection well show no evidence of leakage and fluid and gas samples collected from the injection zone show strongly elevated concentrations of Ca, Mg, Mn, and Fe and 13C/18O isotopic shifts that are consistent with basalt-water chemical reactions. If proven viable by this field test and others that are in progress or being planned, major flood basalts in the U.S., India, and perhaps Australia would provide significant additional CO2 storage capacity and additional geologic sequestration options in regions of these countries where conventional storage options are limited.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

Wind turbine sensor array for monitoring avian and bat collisions

Assessment of avian and bat collisions with wind turbines is necessary to ensure that the benefits of renewable wind power generation are not outweighed by mortality of protected species. An onboard, integrated multisensor system capable of providing detection of turbine collision events, including taxonomic information, was developed. The conceptual design of a multisensor system including a vibration sensing node, an optics node, and an bioacoustic node with an event–driven trigger architecture was field–tested on utility–scale wind turbines. A pixel density computational model was built to estimate the spatial coverage and target resolution to the optimized configuration for camera placement. Field test results of the vibration node showed that nearly half of the recorded impact events were successfully identified by visual inspection and running short–time Fourier transform on recorded vibration signals. The remaining undetected impact events were masked under background noise due to low impact energy and high background noise of the operating turbine, which result in subsequent low signal–to–noise ratio. Furthermore, our results demonstrate the feasibility of triggering the system through single impact event sensed by vibration sensors.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Preliminary Sensitivity Analysis for Sensors Impacts on Building Control Performance

This report describes the preliminary sensitivity analysis for sensor impacts on building control performance through the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Flexible Research Platform (FRP-2) building. The rooftop unit system provides cooling and heating to the building. The main heating coil is a gas heating coil. Each zone is served by a variable air volume box with an electricity reheat coil. The rooftop unit and variable air volume box controls adopted the practical control sequences from ASHRAE Guideline 36-2018: High-Performance Sequences of Operation. For sensors, the incipient (time-changing) sensor errors, including bias sensor error and precision sensor error, are the inputs of interest. The outputs are energy consumption and thermal comfort (e.g., the predicted percentage of dissatisfied occupants). The large-scale simulation (3,600 cases) was conducted on a cloud platform by integrating sensor errors and ASHRAE Guideline 36 control sequences into an emulator based on the EnergyPlus simulation program with Python energy management system feature. The surrogate models were developed based on cloud simulation results. The uncertainty analysis showed that the sensor errors substantially affect building energy consumption and thermal comfort. The sensitivity analysis shows a ranking of sensor error impacts for each interested output item (e.g., cooling energy, reheat coil heating energy, predicted percentage of dissatisfied occupants). In FY 2022, sensor locations, types, and costs will be evaluated. The field test in Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Flexible Research Platform building regarding sensor impacts will also be performed. Finally, a comparative analysis will be conducted based on the field test results and emulator results.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1977

Baseline performance of solar collectors for NASA Langley solar building test facility

The solar collector field contains seven collector designs. Before operation in the field, the experimental performances (thermal efficiencies) of the seven collector designs were measured in an indoor solar simulator. The resulting data provided a baseline for later comparison with actual field test data. The simulator test results are presented for the collectors as received, and after several weeks of outdoor exposure with no coolant (dry operation). Six of the seven collector designs tested showed substantial reductions in thermal efficiency after dry operation.

Knoll, R. H.↗