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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 883 records · Page 49
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1985

1985 Annual Conference on Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects, 22nd, Monterey, CA, July 22-24, 1985, Proceedings

Basic mechanisms of radiation effects in structures and materials are discussed, taking into account the time dependence of interface state production, process dependent build-up of interface states in irradiated N-channel MOSFETs, bias annealing of radiation and bias induced positive charges in n- and p-type MOS capacitors, hole removal in thin-gate MOSFETs by tunneling, and activation energies of oxide charge recovery in SOS or SOI structures after an ionizing pulse. Other topics investigated are related to radiation effects in devices, radiation effects in integrated circuits, spacecraft charging and space radiation effects, single-event phenomena, hardness assurance and radiation sources, SGEMP/IEMP phenomena, EMP phenomena, and dosimetry and energy-dependent effects. Attention is given to a model of the plasma wake generated by a large object, gate charge collection and induced drain current in GaAs FETs, simulation of charge collection in a multilayer device, and time dependent dose enhancement effects on integrated circuit transient response mechanisms.

Jones, C. W.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Development and Testing of a Temperature-swing Adsorption Compressor for Carbon Dioxide in Closed-loop Air Revitalization Systems

The air revitalization system of the International Space Station (ISS) operates in an open loop mode and relies on the resupply of oxygen and other consumables from earth for the life support of astronauts. A compressor is required for delivering the carbon dioxide from a removal assembly to a reduction unit to recover oxygen and thereby dosing the air-loop. We have developed a temperature-swing adsorption compressor (TSAC) that is energy efficient, quiet, and has no rapidly moving parts for performing these tasks. The TSAC is a solid-state compressor that has the capability to remove CO2 from a low- pressure source, and subsequently store, compress, and deliver at a higher pressure as required by a processor. The TSAC is an ideal interface device for CO2 removal and reduction units in the air revitalization loop of a spacecraft for oxygen recovery. This paper discusses the design and testing of a TSAC for carbon dioxide that has application in the ISS and future spacecraft for closing the air revitalization loop.

Mulloth, Lila M.↗
NASA NTRS2005

Long-Duration Testing of a Temperature-Swing Adsorption Compressor for Carbon Dioxide for Closed-Loop Air Revitalization Systems

This paper describes the results of long-duration testing of a temperature-swing adsorption compressor that has application in the International Space Station (ISS) and future spacecraft for closing the air revitalization loop. The air revitalization system of the ISS operates in an open loop mode and relies on the resupply of oxygen and other consumables from Earth for the life support of astronauts. A compressor is required for delivering the carbon dioxide from a removal assembly to a reduction unit to recover oxygen and thereby closing the air-loop. The TSAC is a solid-state compressor that has the capability to remove CO2 from a low-pressure source, and subsequently store, compress, and deliver at a higher pressure as required by a processor. The TSAC is an ideal interface device for CO2 removal and reduction units in the air revitalization loop of a spacecraft for oxygen recovery. The TSAC was developed and its operation was successfully verified in integration tests with the flight-like Carbon Dioxide Removal Assembly (CDRA) at Marshall Space Flight Center prior to the long-duration tests. Long-duration tests reveal the impacts of repeated thermal cycling on the compressor components and the adsorbent material.

Rosen, Micha↗
NASA NTRS2010

Large-Scale Aspects and Temporal Evolution of Pulsating Aurora

Pulsating aurora is a common phenomenon generally believed to occur mainly in the aftermath of a, substorm, where dim long-period pulsating patches appear. The study determines the temporal and spatial evolution of pulsating events using two THEN IIIS ASI stations, at Gillam (66.18 mlat, 332.78 mlon, magnetic midnight at 0634 UT) and Fort Smith, (67.38 mlat, 306.64 mlon, magnetic midnight at, 0806 UT) along roughly the same invariant latitude. Parameters have been calculated from a database of 74 pulsating aurora events from 119 days of good optical data within the period from September 2007 through March 2008 as identified with the Gillam camera. It is shown that the source region of pulsating aurora drifts or expands eastward, away from magnetic midnight, for pre-midnight onsets and that the spatial evolution is more complicated for post midnight onsets, which has implications for the source mechanism. The most probable duration of a pulsating aurora event is roughly 1.5 hours while the distribution of possible event durations includes many long (several hours) events. This may suggest that pulsating aurora is not strictly a substorm recovery phase phenomenon but rather a persistent, long-lived phenomenon that may be temporarily disrupted by auroral substorms. Observations from the Gillam station show that in fact, pulsating aurora is quite common with the occurrence rate increasing to around 60% for morning hours, with 6910 of pulsating aurora onsets occurring after substorm breakup.

Jones, S. L.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Life Cycle Assessment and Techno-Economic Assessment of Lithium Recovery from Geothermal Brine

Lithium-ion batteries (LIB) play an essential role in the electrification of the transportation sector, and battery demand for lithium compounds will see a significant increase in the coming decades. This has raised concerns on the supply of lithium, and as a result, technologies are being developed to process unconventional lithium sources. One promising technology is to extract lithium from geothermal brine using lithium-aluminum-layered double hydroxide chloride (LDH) sorbent and forward osmosis. A combined life cycle assessment (LCA) and techno-economic assessment (TEA) is conducted to evaluate the environmental and economic performance of this technology. It is assumed that the lithium extraction unit is an add-on to a 50 MW geothermal power plant located in California. The analysis is based on lab-scale experimental data and stoichiometry while considering the economy of scale for an industrial system. LCA results suggest that, compared with conventional LiOH and Li 2 CO 3 production pathways, the new technology achieves 1–95% reduction in environmental impacts. Even higher reduction can be achieved for LiOH produced via electrolysis. This add-on unit for lithium extraction could achieve a payback period of less than 1 year and reach net present values of $454M and $315M and internal rates of return of 792 and 1130% for LiOH and Li 2 CO 3 production pathways, respectively. The favorable environmental and economic performance suggests that LDH sorption coupled with forward osmosis has great potential to enable the domestic production of battery lithium compounds and that further development should be carried out.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Lithium metal recovery and synthesis

A process and system for creating a lithium ion anolyte from lithium alloys. Metal and lithium alloys are processed to remove the metal with lithium from the alloy remaining. A lithium ion anolyte formed may be used in a process to form lithium metal. Alternatively, a process and system for recovering lithium from sources such as lithium alloys and lithium metal oxides and other feedstock such as recycled batteries into a thin lithium metal film via electrodeposition in an organic electrolyte contacting both anode (holder for lithium source) and cathode (substrate for lithium deposition) in a single-compartment electrolysis cell.

Ignacio de Leon, Patricia Anne↗
DOE OSTI2014

SOLIDS PRECIPITATION EVENT IN MCU CAUSAL ANALYSIS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FROM SOLIDS RECOVERY TEAM

A process upset occurred in the Modular Caustic-Side Solvent Extraction Unit (MCU) facility on April 6th, 2014. During recovery efforts, a significant amount of solids were found in the Salt Solution Feed Tank (SSFT), Salt Solution Receipt Tanks (SSRTs), two extraction contactors, and scrub contactors. The solids were identified by Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) as primarily sodium oxalate and sodium alumina silicate (NAS) with the presence of some aluminum hydroxide. NAS solids have been present in the SSFT since simulant runs during cold chemical startup of MCU in 2007, and have not hindered operations since that time. During the process upset in April 2014, the oxalate solids partially blocked the aqueous outlet of the extraction contactors, causing salt solution to exit through the contactor organic outlet to the scrub contactors with the organic phase. This salt solution overwhelmed the scrub contactors and passed with the organic phase to the strip section of MCU. The partially reversed flow of salt solution resulted in a Strip Effluent (SE) stream that was high in Isopar™ L, pH and sodium. The primary cause of the excessive solids accumulation in the SSRTs and SSFT at MCU is attributed to an increase in the frequency of oxalic acid cleaning of the 512-S primary filter. Agitation in the SSRTs at MCU in response to cold weather likely provided the primary mechanism to transfer the solids to the contactors. Sources of the sodium oxalate solids are attributed to the oxalic acid cleaning solution used to clean the primary filter at the Actinide Removal Process (ARP) filtration at 512-S, as well as precipitation from the salt batch feed, which is at or near oxalate saturation. The Solids Recovery Team was formed to determine the cause of the solids formation and develop recommendations to prevent or mitigate this event in the future. A total of 53 recommendations were generated. These recommendations were organized into 4 focus areas: • Improve understanding of oxalate equilibrium and kinetics in salt solutions • Reduction/elimination of oxalic acid cleaning in 512-S • Flowsheet optimization • Improving diagnostic capability The recommendations implemented prior to resumption of MCU operations provide a risk mitigation or detection function through additional sampling and observation. The longer term recommendations provide a framework to increase the basic process knowledge of both oxalate chemistry and filtration behavior and then facilitate decisions that improve the salt flowsheet as a system.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2017

Organic acid production from food wastes using Gluconobacter oxydans: A possible source of cheaper lixiviants for leaching REE from end-of-life products

Gluconobacter oxydans is an acidophilic bacterium that is used in industry for producing organic acids, such as gluconic acid, from sugars such as glucose. Recently it has been discovered that the organic acids produced by G. oxydans has potential to be used in the recovery of rare earth elements (REE), especially gluconic acid. Producing gluconic acid from pure glucose has been deemed costly and so research has been conducted to find more economically friendly feedstock. In this work corn stover, potato peel waste, market rejected fruits, and apple processing and holding pond waters were investigated for their ability to provide G. oxydans sufficient sugar to grow and produce organic acid for bioleaching. Substrates such as the corn stover and fruits provided more than 20 g/L of glucose, and the bacterium grew well on all but the apple processing and holding pond water.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2011

RF power recovery feedback circulator

A device and method for improving the efficiency of RF systems having a Reflective Load. In the preferred embodiment, Reflected Energy from a superconducting resonator of a particle accelerator is reintroduced to the resonator after the phase of the Reflected Energy is aligned with the phase of the Supply Energy from a RF Energy Source. In one embodiment, a Circulator is used to transfer Reflected Energy from the Reflective Load into a Phase Adjuster which aligns the phase of the Reflected Energy with that of the Supply Energy. The phase-aligned energy is then combined with the Supply Energy, and reintroduced into the Reflective Load. In systems having a constant phase shift, the Phase Adjuster may be designed to shift the phase of the Reflected Energy by a constant amount using a Phase Shifter. In systems having a variety (variable) phase shifts, a Phase Shifter controlled by a phase feedback loop comprising a Phase Detector and a Feedback Controller to account for the various phase shifts is preferable.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Concept of circular-linear energy recovery accelerator to probe the energy frontier

Energy-frontier accelerators provide powerful tools performing high precision measurements confirming the fundamentals of the physics and broadening new research horizons. Such machines are either driven by circular or linear accelerators. The circular machines, having the centre-of-mass (CM) energy values reaching 200 GeV (for leptons) and above, experience beam energy loss and quality dilution, for example, due to synchrotron radiation, limiting the overall CM energy achievable and requiring a constant energy top-up to compensate the loss and the beam quality dilution. Linear colliders overcome these limitations, while the finite capabilities of generating high average current beams limits the luminosity. This is partially compensated by the quality of the colliding beams. In this work, we suggest a novel design of circular-linear accelerator based on the merging of the “non-emitting”, low-energy storage rings and energy recovery linear accelerators. We suggest using the recently considered dual-axis asymmetric cavities to enable the operation of such a system, and in particular the energy recovery from spent, high-intensity beams. The machine considered, under the scope of the SNOWMASS-2021 initiative, can be potentially used to reach ultimate energy frontiers in high-energy physics as well as to drive next generation light sources. The merging of circular and linear systems, and applications of dual axes cavities, should allow the maintaining of high beam quality, high luminosity, and high energy efficiency, while offering a flexible energy management and opening clear opportunity for reducing the running cost. We note that the numbers shown in the paper are for illustration purpose and can be improved further.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Real-space inversion and super-resolution of ultrafast scattering

Ultrafast scattering using x-rays or electrons is an emerging method to obtain structure dynamics at the atomic lengthscales and timescales. However, directly resolving in real-space atomic motions is inherently limited by the finite detector range and the probe energy. So, as a result, the time-resolved signal interpretation is mostly done in reciprocal space and relies on modeling and simulations of specific structures and processes. Here, we introduce a model-free approach to directly resolve scattering signals in real space, surpassing the diffraction limit, using scattering kernels and signal priors that naturally arise from the measurement constraints. We demonstrate the approach on simulated and experimental data, recover multiple atomic motions at sub-angstrom resolutions, and discuss the recovery accuracy and resolution limits versus signal fidelity. The approach offers a robust path to obtain high-resolution real-space information of atomic-scale structure dynamics using current time-resolved x-ray or electron scattering sources.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2019

High-throughput phenotyping of cell-to-cell interactions in gel microdroplet pico-cultures

Microbiomes exert significant influence on our planet's ecology. Elucidating the identities of individual microbes within these communities and how they interact is a vital research imperative. Using traditional plating and culturing methods, it is impractical to assess even a small fraction of the interactions that exist within microbial communities. To address this technology gap, we integrated gel microdroplet technology with microfluidics to generate millions of microdroplet cultures (MDs) that sequester individual cells for phenotyping MDs, facilitating rapid analysis and viable recovery using flow cytometry. Herein, we describe a validated high-throughput phenotyping pipeline that elucidates cell-to-cell interactions for millions of combinations of microorganisms. Through iterative co-culturing of an algae and a pool of environmentally sourced microbes, we successfully isolated bacteria that improved algal growth.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Recycling Isotopically Enriched Mo from the RadioGenix Waste Stream

NorthStar’s RadioGenix generator utilizes an aqueous biphasic extraction chromatography column to separate Tc from low-specific-activity 99 Mo. During this separation process, a fraction of the source Mo material can be found in the waste. This is not of concern when natural Mo targets are used. However, the introduction of isotopically enriched 98 Mo for neutron capture or 100 Mo for accelerator-based production requires recovery of this valuable enriched Mo material. The generator waste is absorbed and solidified in a superabsorbent hydrogel polymer. In this contribution, we report results from our small-scale experimental study on development of a separation process for recovery of molybdenum from the polymeric gel waste using common chemicals and simple chemical techniques. Our investigation confirms that the acidic deswelling of the alkaline hydrogel with concentrated hydrochloric acid converts the occluded molybdate to a neutral molybdenyl dichloride species that is freely released from the gel. Mo can then be concentrated on a commercial tri-n-butyl phosphate resin, eluted with ammonium hydroxide, and crystallized as ammonium heptamolybdate for conversion back to Mo metal. Typical Mo recoveries are 90-95%.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Seven Years of Imaging the Global Heliosphere with IBEX

The Interstellar Boundary Explorer ( IBEX ) has now operated in space for 7 years and returned nearly continuous observations that have led to scientific discoveries and reshaped our entire understanding of the outer heliosphere and its interaction with the local interstellar medium. Here we extend prior work, adding the 2014–2015 data for the first time, and examine, validate, initially analyze, and provide a complete 7-year set of Energetic Neutral Atom (ENA) observations from ∼0.1 to 6 keV. The data, maps, and documentation provided here represent the 10th major release of IBEX data and include improvements to various prior corrections to provide the citable reference for the current version of IBEX data. We are now able to study time variations in the outer heliosphere and interstellar interaction over more than half a solar cycle. We find that the Ribbon has evolved differently than the globally distributed flux (GDF), with a leveling off and partial recovery of ENAs from the GDF, owing to solar wind output flattening and recovery. The Ribbon has now also lost its latitudinal ordering, which reflects the breakdown of solar minimum solar wind conditions and exhibits a greater time delay than for the surrounding GDF. Together, the IBEX observations strongly support a secondary ENA source for the Ribbon, and we suggest that this be adopted as the nominal explanation of the Ribbon going forward.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1978

The Apollo spacecraft: A chronology volume 4, 21 January 1966 - 13 July 1974

This final volume of the chronology is divided into three parts: (1) preparation for flight, the accident, and investigation; (2) recovery, spacecraft redefinition, and the first manned flight; and (3) man circles the moon, the Eagle lands, and manned space exploration. Congressional documents, official correspondence, government and contractor reports, memoranda, working papers, and minutes of meetings were used as primary sources. A relatively few entries are based on press releases and newspaper and magazine articles.

Ertel, I. D.↗
NASA NTRS2021

A Dusty Atmospheric River Brings Floods to the Middle East

Torrential rainfall and rapid snowmelt in April 2017 caused deadly floods in northwestern Iran. An atmospheric river (AR), propagating across the Middle East and North Africa, was found responsible for this extreme event. The snowmelt was triggered by precipitation and warm advection associated with the AR. Total satellite-based rainfall for April 2017 was moderately below normal, suggesting that a heavy flood can happen during dry years. The AR was fed by moisture from the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Despite its adverse societal consequences, this event was beneficial to the recovery of the desiccating Lake Urmia. The impacts of this AR were not limited to flooding; it also facilitated dust transport to the region. This distinct characteristic of the ARs in the Middle East is attributed to major mineral dust sources located along their pathways. This event was reasonably predicted at 7-day lead time, crucially important for successful early warning systems.

Atmospheric river↗
DOE OSTI2015

Recovery Act: Analysis of Low-Temperature Utilization of Geothermal Resources (Final Technical Report)

Full realization of the potential of what might be considered “low-grade” geothermal resources will require that we examine many more uses for the heat than traditional electricity generation. To demonstrate that geothermal energy truly has the potential to be a national energy source we will be designing, assessing, and evaluating innovative uses for geothermal-produced water such as hybrid biomass-geothermal cogeneration of electricity and district heating and efficiency improvements to the use of cellulosic biomass in addition to utilization of geothermal in district heating for community redevelopment projects. The objectives of this project were: 1) to perform a techno-economic analysis of the integration and utilization potential of low-temperature geothermal sources. Innovative uses of low-enthalpy geothermal water were designed and examined for their ability to offset fossil fuels and decrease CO 2 emissions. 2) To perform process optimizations and economic analyses of processes that can utilize low-temperature geothermal fluids. These processes included electricity generation using biomass and district heating systems. 3) To scale up and generalize the results of three case study locations to develop a regionalized model of the utilization of low-temperature geothermal resources. A national-level, GIS-based, low-temperature geothermal resource supply model was developed and used to develop a series of national supply curves. We performed an in-depth analysis of the low-temperature geothermal resources that dominate the eastern half of the United States. The final products of this study include 17 publications, an updated version of the cost estimation software GEOPHIRES, and direct-use supply curves for low-temperature utilization of geothermal resources. The supply curves for direct use geothermal include utilization from known hydrothermal, undiscovered hydrothermal, and near-hydrothermal EGS resources and presented these results at the Stanford Geothermal Workshop. We also have incorporated our wellbore model into TOUGH2-EGS and began coding TOUGH2-EGS with the wellbore model into GEOPHIRES as a reservoir thermal drawdown option. Additionally, case studies for the WVU and Cornell campuses were performed to assess the potential for district heating and cooling at these two eastern U.S. sites.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bipolar Membranes Electrodialysis for Water Purification and Resource Recovery

Reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC) from inland brackish water desalination and wastewater recycling presents moderate salinity, posing significant challenges for treatment and disposal. Existing treatment technologies predominantly rely on energy-intensive thermal methods, large-area evaporation strategies, or deep-well disposal, which often result in the loss of water value. Electrified membrane brine treatment offers a promising alternative by utilizing renewable energy sources, enabling complete water recycling. This work proposes the development of next-generation bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) systems capable of desalinating brine while simultaneously recovering valuable resources. However, several critical challenges remain in the areas of membrane engineering for BMED. These include: 1) decreased current efficiency during desalination due to the low conductivity of feed chambers, 2) fouling and scaling from multivalent ions and contaminants in the feed, and 3) the retention and carryover of ROC contaminants, including PFAS compounds. Our research focuses on the development of novel anion exchange membranes (AEMs) and cation exchange membranes (CEMs) based on synthesized multiblock copolymers. We investigate the effects of block length, ion exchange capacity (IEC), and polymer backbone structure on cation and anion transport (e.g., Na+, Cl-, OH-, H+) for both our synthesized membranes and commercial membranes. Fundamental properties of these membranes, such as water uptake, IEC, and ionic conductivity, are also evaluated to optimize performance for BMED applications.

08 HYDROGEN↗