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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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Control Design and EMT Simulation Toward the Restoration of Faulted Wind-Dominant Grids

Present power engineers have been challenged to employ electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations to study the restoration of wind-dominant grids. This paper addresses this hurdle by developing strategies to: (i) reliably control the dc-link voltage of grid-forming wind turbines with dc-coupled batteries, (ii) tune controllers to stably interconnect wind power plants into a grid under recovery, and (iii) autonomously make restoration decisions if transmission faults occur during restoration. These contributions are assessed via EMT simulations of wind-dominant versions of the WSCC 9-bus grid and a 22-bus power system. Furthermore, this paper is significant to address recommendations by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2000

A New Digital Holographic Instrument for Measuring Microphysical Properties of Contrails in the SASS (Subsonic Assessment) Program

SPEC incorporated designed, built and operated a new instrument, called a pi-Nephelometer, on the NASA DC-8 for the SUCCESS field project. The pi-Nephelometer casts an image of a particle on a 400,000 pixel solid-state camera by freezing the motion of the particle using a 25 ns pulsed, high-power (60 W) laser diode. Unique optical imaging and particle detection systems precisely detect particles and define the depth-of-field so that at least one particle in the image is almost always in focus. A powerful image processing engine processes frames from the solid-state camera, identifies and records regions of interest (i.e. particle images) in real time. Images of ice crystals are displayed and recorded with 5 micron pixel resolution. In addition, a scattered light system simultaneously measures the scattering phase function of the imaged particle. The system consists of twenty-eight 1-mm optical fibers connected to microlenses bonded on the surface of avalanche photo diodes (APDs). Data collected with the pi-Nephelometer during the SUCCESS field project was reported in a special issue of Geophysical Research Letters. The pi-Nephelometer provided the basis for development of a commercial imaging probe, called the cloud particle imager (CPI), which has been installed on several research aircraft and used in More than a dozen field programs.

Lawson, R. Paul↗
NASA NTRS2007

Space and Terrestrial Power System Integration Optimization Code BRMAPS for Gas Turbine Space Power Plants With Nuclear Reactor Heat Sources

In view of the difficult times the US and global economies are experiencing today, funds for the development of advanced fission reactors nuclear power systems for space propulsion and planetary surface applications are currently not available. However, according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 the U.S. needs to invest in developing fission reactor technology for ground based terrestrial power plants. Such plants would make a significant contribution toward drastic reduction of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions and associated global warming. To accomplish this goal the Next Generation Nuclear Plant Project (NGNP) has been established by DOE under the Generation IV Nuclear Systems Initiative. Idaho National Laboratory (INL) was designated as the lead in the development of VHTR (Very High Temperature Reactor) and HTGR (High Temperature Gas Reactor) technology to be integrated with MMW (multi-megawatt) helium gas turbine driven electric power AC generators. However, the advantages of transmitting power in high voltage DC form over large distances are also explored in the seminar lecture series. As an attractive alternate heat source the Liquid Fluoride Reactor (LFR), pioneered at ORNL (Oak Ridge National Laboratory) in the mid 1960's, would offer much higher energy yields than current nuclear plants by using an inherently safe energy conversion scheme based on the Thorium --> U233 fuel cycle and a fission process with a negative temperature coefficient of reactivity. The power plants are to be sized to meet electric power demand during peak periods and also for providing thermal energy for hydrogen (H2) production during "off peak" periods. This approach will both supply electric power by using environmentally clean nuclear heat which does not generate green house gases, and also provide a clean fuel H2 for the future, when, due to increased global demand and the decline in discovering new deposits, our supply of liquid fossil fuels will have been used up. This is expected within the next 30 to 50 years, as predicted by the Hubbert model and confirmed by other global energy consumption prognoses. Having invested national resources into the development of NGNP, the technology and experience accumulated during the project needs to be documented clearly and in sufficient detail for young engineers coming on-board at both DOE and NASA to acquire it. Hands on training on reactor operation, test rigs of turbomachinery, and heat exchanger components, as well as computational tools will be needed. Senior scientist/engineers involved with the development of NGNP should also be encouraged to participate as lecturers, instructors, or adjunct professors at local universities having engineering (mechanical, electrical, nuclear/chemical, and/or materials) as one of their fields of study.

Juhasz, Albert J.↗
NASA NTRS2012

High-Voltage, Low-Power BNC Feedthrough Terminator

This innovation is a high-voltage, lowpower BNC (Bayonet Neill-Concelman) feedthrough that enables the user to terminate an instrumentation cable properly while connected to a high voltage, without the use of a voltage divider. This feedthrough is low power, which will not load the source, and will properly terminate the instrumentation cable to the instrumentation, even if the cable impedance is not constant. The Space Shuttle Program had a requirement to measure voltage transients on the orbiter bus through the Ground Lightning Measurement System (GLMS). This measurement has a bandwidth requirement of 1 MHz. The GLMS voltage measurement is connected to the orbiter through a DC panel. The DC panel is connected to the bus through a nonuniform cable that is approximately 75 ft (approximately equal to 23 m) long. A 15-ft (approximately equal to 5-m), 50-ohm triaxial cable is connected between the DC panel and the digitizer. Based on calculations and simulations, cable resonances and reflections due to mismatched impedances of the cable connecting the orbiter bus and the digitizer causes the output not to reflect accurately what is on the bus. A voltage divider at the DC panel, and terminating the 50-ohm cable properly, would eliminate this issue. Due to implementation issues, an alternative design was needed to terminate the cable properly without the use of a voltage divider. Analysis shows how the cable resonances and reflections due to the mismatched impedances of the cable connecting the orbiter bus and the digitizer causes the output not to reflect accurately what is on the bus. After simulating a dampening circuit located at the digitizer, simulations were performed to show how the cable resonances were dampened and the accuracy was improved significantly. Test cables built to verify simulations were accurate. Since the dampening circuit is low power, it can be packaged in a BNC feedthrough.

Bearden, Douglas↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nanoelectromechanical Control of Spin–Photon Interfaces in a Hybrid Quantum System on Chip

Color centers (CCs) in nanostructured diamond are promising for optically linked quantum technologies. Scaling to useful applications motivates architectures meeting the following criteria: C1 individual optical addressing of spin qubits; C2 frequency tuning of spin-dependent optical transitions; C3 coherent spin control; C4 active photon routing; C5 scalable manufacturability; and C6 low on-chip power dissipation for cryogenic operations. Here, we introduce an architecture that simultaneously achieves C1–C6. We realize piezoelectric strain control of diamond waveguide-coupled tin vacancy centers with ultralow power dissipation necessary. The DC response of our device allows emitter transition tuning by over 20 GHz, combined with low-power AC control. We show acoustic spin resonance of integrated tin vacancy spins and estimate single-phonon coupling rates over 1 kHz in the resolved sideband regime. Combined with high-speed optical routing, our work opens a path to scalable single-qubit control with optically mediated entangling gates.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Data-Driven Passive Islanding Detection Scheme

This paper proposes a novel statistical parameters based data driven approach for passive islanding detection. The proposed scheme relies in the voltage data, measured at the point of common coupling, and is comprised of three stages. The Stage-1 quickly detects what is termed as coarse islanding, Stage-2 computes the decaying DC detector (DDCD), and 3) finally, the digital relay logic (DRL) is devised in Stage-3. The proposed scheme is tested as per the IEEE-1547, UL 1741 and IEC-62116 standards. Various tests are investigated on the modified IEEE-13 bus system, modeled in PSCAD/EMTDC, under stringent test scenarios such as power mismatch, induction motor starting effect, capacitor bank switching and various level of loads changes, considered for both single and multiple DG systems. The test results reveal that the proposed scheme can detect islanding in less than 2 cycles, and results in nearly zero non detection zone (NDZ). Also, the scheme can very well be used for single-phase microgrids too as it relies only on the single phase voltage information.

anti-islanding protection↗
NASA NTRS1977

Sail GTS ground system analysis: Avionics system engineering

A comparison of two different concepts for the guidance, navigation and control test set signal ground system is presented. The first is a concept utilizing a ground plate to which crew station, avionics racks, electrical power distribution system, master electrical common connection assembly and marshall mated elements system grounds are connected by 4/0 welding cable. An alternate approach has an aluminum sheet interconnecting the signal ground reference points between the crew station and avionics racks. The comparison analysis quantifies the differences between the two concepts in terms of dc resistance, ac resistance and inductive reactance. These parameters are figures of merit for ground system conductors in that the system with the lowest impedance is the most effective in minimizing noise voltage. Although the welding cable system is probably adequate, the aluminum sheet system provides a higher probability of a successful system design.

Lawton, R. M.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Considerations for a Medium-Voltage DC Electrolysis Testbed

Here we present the results of a study focused on the feasibility of using Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) power distribution from wind power generation to electrolyzers for hydrogen production. This approach, using hybrid energy generation in a MVDC microgrid, offers many advantages. These include possible improvements in efficiency, reliability and installation cost compared to a more typical state-of-the-art AC distribution configuration. It also eliminates the need for transformers, which have recently been subject to price volatility and availability concerns. This study highlights the practical feasibility of MVDC distribution networks for integrating various energy sources, offering improved efficiency and reduced system complexity compared to conventional AC-based solutions. Future work will focus on enhancing fault protection strategies, scaling the system to larger renewable installations, and conducting hardware implementation at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Flatirons Campus (FC). In the sections that follow we show that a DC Collection and Distribution System (DC CDS) reduces the losses associated with the electrical conversion / distribution process relative to a state-of-the-art AC approach, improving overall efficiency by 5%. On the qualitative side, reducing the number of conversion stages is likely to improve reliability, reduce capital investment cost, and enable simpler control algorithms to be used, and reduced risk of instabilities and malfunctions.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS1985

ELF wave production by an electron beam emitting rocket system and its suppression on auroral field lines - Evidence for Alfven and drift waves

Orthogonal probes on a free-flying plasma diagnostics payload are used to study ELF electric disturbances in the auroral ionosphere that are due to the injection of powerful electron beams. Frequency spectrograms are presented for various pitch angles, pulsing characteristics, and other properties of the injected beams; the large scale DC ionospheric convection electric field is measured, together with auroral particle precipitation, visual auroral forms, and ionospheric parameters. In view of the experimental results obtained, it is postulated that the observed ELF waves are in the Alfven and drift modes, and are generated by the positive vehicle potential during beam injection.

Winckler, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

EV Charging Infrastructure Energization An Overview of Approaches for Simplifying and Accelerating Timelines to Processing EV Charging Load Service Requests

The United States has seen significant growth in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, leading to increased demand for EV charging infrastructure. Over the past decade, EV charging infrastructure site developers, site hosts, and electric distribution utilities have navigated the process to integrate chargers onto the electric grid. Site developers and site hosts have raised the alarm that the integration process for high-powered EV charging projects does not meet the needs of the EV market for timeliness or cost. High-powered charging stations typically require a load service request or an agreement with the local utility to connect to the grid. The process of energizing a new high-powered charging site can be complex and time-consuming, often taking up to 2 years. This timeline is the result of current utility energization processes having been designed for construction projects that take longer to build (i.e., buildings). The specific challenges stem from various factors, including compartmentalization in application processes, the integration of EV charging process approvals with other distributed energy resources (DERs), and the need to ensure grid reliability. The energization process needs to evolve to meet the growing demand for high-powered EV charging. This white paper compiles information gathered through various conversations with key stakeholders, including utilities, utility regulators, EV charging operators, site developers, and authorities having jurisdiction (AHJ) as well as through an extensive literature review. This document identifies the challenges and provides potential solutions to streamline the process of connecting EV charging infrastructure to the power grid in the United States, serving as a starting point for future conversations around these solutions. The solutions noted in this white paper require collaborative efforts among utilities, regulators, and EV charging infrastructure developers to streamline the grid connection process for EV charging infrastructure. They are broadly organized into four areas: 1. Increase data access and transparency: Develop automated load service request tools, integrate hosting capacity and load service request analyses, incorporate EV adoption forecasts, and provide transparency on the processing queue. 2. Improve energization processes and timing: Create fast-track options based on prescreening criteria, provide flexibility or phased approvals in the load service request/interconnection process, build internal knowledge within utilities about EV charging technologies, and provide standardized workforce training. 3. Promote economic efficiency: Right size distribution components to accurately reflect the load requirements of EV charging infrastructure, make proactive investments in grid infrastructure based on EV adoption forecasts and growth projections, and consider energy equity and environmental justice factors such as equitable access to EV charging when planning infrastructure. 4. Improve grid reliability and resilience: Use load management/power control systems (PCS) at EV charging stations, adopt and implement harmonized standards for communication protocols and information models between the EV charging and grid control infrastructure, and address cybersecurity considerations by implementing robust security measures and standards for EV charging infrastructure—with particular emphasis on clarifying the security requirements for the interface to the grid. The objective of the solutions proposed in this white paper is to accelerate the timeline and decrease costs associated with connecting EV charging infrastructure to the grid. Electric utilities, utility regulators, EV charging infrastructure developers, and site hosts will first need to understand which solutions are available in their service territory, and if warranted, which combination of solutions would support their specific needs. Through the successful implementations of solutions at scale detailed here, industry will demonstrate a new and innovative ecosystem where timely deployment and energization of EV charging infrastructure with greater grid resiliency and reliability is a reality.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1983

Solar photovoltaic powered refrigerators/freezers for medical use in remote geographic locations

One of the obstacles preventing widespread immunication against disease is the virtual absence of reliable, low maintenance refrigeration systems for storage of vaccines in remote geographic locations. A system which consists of a solar photovoltaic cell array and an integrated refrigerator/freezer-energy storage unit is discussed herein. The array converts solar radiation into direct current (DC) electricity with no moving parts and no intermediate steps. A detailed description of the refrigeration system, its design and an analysis thereof, performance test procedures, and test results are presented. A system schematic is also provided.

Darkazalli, G.↗
NASA NTRS1975

The TWERLE balloon-to-satellite data transmitting system

This paper describes the balloon instrumentation system which provides the one-way link for data gathering and navigation in the Tropical Wind, Energy conversion and Reference Level Experiment (TWERLE). In this experiment, 400 instrumented constant-level balloons will be launched at the southern hemisphere during 1975. The Random Access Measurement System (RAMS) on board the Nimbus-F satellite, will comprise the receiving end of the link. The data encoder, stable oscillator, transmitter and antenna are described, as well as two supporting components, the power source and the magnetic cutdown. These six items weigh 850 g. The oscillator-transmitter consume 1.9 W dc power to provide 0.6 W phase modulated RF power.

Levanon, N.↗
NASA NTRS1975

Development of components for an S-band phased array antenna subsystem

The system requirements, module test data, and S-band phased array subsystem test data are discussed. Of the two approaches to achieving antenna gain (mechanically steered reflector or electronically steered phased array), the phased array approach offers the greatest simplicity and lowest cost (size, weight, power, and dollars) for this medium gain. A competitive system design is described as well as hardware evaluation which will lead to timely availability of this technology for implementing such a system. The objectives of the study were: to fabricate and test six engineering model transmit/receive microelectronics modules; to design, fabricate, and test one dc and logic multilayer manifold; and to integrate and test an S-band phased array antenna subsystem composed of antenna elements, seven T/R modules, RF manifolds and dc manifold.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1999

Pulse Power Capability Of High Energy Density Capacitors Based on a New Dielectric Material

A new dielectric composite consisting of a polymer coated onto a high-density metallized Kraft has been developed for application in high energy density pulse power capacitors. The polymer coating is custom formulated for high dielectric constant and strength with minimum dielectric losses. The composite can be wound and processed using conventional wound film capacitor manufacturing equipment. This new system has the potential to achieve 2 to 3 J/cu cm whole capacitor energy density at voltage levels above 3.0 kV, and can maintain its mechanical properties to temperatures above 150 C. The technical and manufacturing development of the composite material and fabrication into capacitors are summarized in this paper. Energy discharge testing, including capacitance and charge-discharge efficiency at normal and elevated temperatures, as well as DC life testing were performed on capacitors manufactured using this material. TPL (Albuquerque, NM) has developed the material and Aerovox (New Bedford, MA) has used the material to build and test actual capacitors. The results of the testing will focus on pulse power applications specifically those found in electro-magnetic armor and guns, high power microwave sources and defibrillators.

Winsor, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1984

Power

The space station requires an increase in power or energy of at least several orders of magnitude compared to previous space missions. With the requirement up in the range of 10 kilowatt hours, this obviiously requires the development of new technology. Although the power area is very well integrated in the spacecraft itself, it represents a diverse set of components necessary for energy conversion, electronics, and energy distribution. Considerable work is ongoing at NASA Lewis in the power devices development area, including transformers, large area solid-state chips, transistors, and fast recovery diodes. This work is oriented toward eventual application to both AC and DC power conversion approaches. In the energy storage area, there are many options available to fit into the space station representing various degrees of risk and leverage combination, such as the near-term integral-pressure-vessel nickel hydrogen battery, an advanced Ni-H2 battery concept, and the regenrative hydrogen-oxygen system utilizing essentially the Shuttle orbiter type of fuel cell.

Corbett, R.↗
NASA NTRS2005

High bandwidth magnetically isolated signal transmission circuit

Many current electronic systems incorporate expensive or sensitive electrical components. Because electrical energy is often generated or transmitted at high voltages, the power supplies to these electronic systems must be carefully designed. Power supply design must ensure that the electrical system being supplied with power is not exposed to excessive voltages or currents. In order to isolate power supplies from electrical equipment, many methods have been employed. These methods typically involve control systems or signal transfer methods. However, these methods are not always suitable because of their drawbacks. The present invention relates to transmitting information across an interface. More specifically, the present invention provides an apparatus for transmitting both AC and DC information across a high bandwidth magnetic interface with low distortion.

Repp, John Donald↗
NASA NTRS1990

Space Station module Power Management And Distribution (PMAD) system

This project consists of several tasks which are unified toward experimentally demonstrating the operation of a highly autonomous, user-supportive power management and distribution system for Space Station Freedom (SSF) habitation/laboratory modules. This goal will be extended to a demonstration of autonomous, cooperative power system operation for the whole SSF power system through a joint effort with NASA's Lewis Research Center, using their Autonomous Power System. Short term goals for the space station module power management and distribution include having an operational breadboard reflecting current plans for SSF, improving performance of the system communications, and improving the organization and mutability of the artificial intelligence (AI) systems. In the middle term, intermediate levels of autonomy will be added, user interfaces will be modified, and enhanced modeling capabilities will be integrated in the system. Long term goals involve conversion of all software into Ada, vigorous verification and validation efforts and, finally, seeing an impact of this research on the operation of SSF. Conversion of the system to a DC Star configuration is now in progress, and should be completed by the end of October, 1989. This configuration reflects the latest SSF module architecture. Hardware is now being procured which will improve system communications significantly. The Knowledge-Based Management System (KBMS) is initially developed and the rules from FRAMES have been implemented in the KBMS. Rules in the other two AI systems are also being grouped modularly, making them more tractable, and easier to eventually move into the KBMS. Adding an intermediate level of autonomy will require development of a planning utility, which will also be built using the KBMS. These changes will require having the user interface for the whole system available from one interface. An Enhanced Model will be developed, which will allow exercise of the system through the interface without requiring all of the power hardware to be operational. The functionality of the AI systems will continue to be advanced, including incipient failure detection. Ada conversion will begin with the lowest level processor (LLP) code. Then selected pieces of the higher level functionality will be recorded in Ada and, where possible, moved to the LLP level. Validation and verification will be done on the Ada code, and will complete sometimes after completion of the Ada conversion.

Walls, Bryan↗