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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

Comparison of Holdup Measurement Techniques

The measurement of uranium holdup, the residual material left in process equipment such as pipes or ducts, is an integral element of material control and accountability. Not only are the measurements important for accountability, they are also important for criticality safety. The goal in measuring holdup is to quantify the amount of material in the pipes to verify that all material is accounted for (inventory in [inventory out + holdup] = 0) and to ensure that the amount of material heldup is not a criticality risk. There are a number of ways to measure holdup in process equipment; however, this paper will evaluate only two methods (i.e., Holdup Measurement System 4 (HMS-4) and In Situ Object Counting Software (ISOCS)) for specific measurement scenarios. The comparison will use measurements of well-known reference materials in various configurations and will examine the results, uncertainties, repeatability, time required, portability, and cost of each system.

Lousteau, Angela L↗
DOE OSTI2011

CALiPER Exploratory Study: Accounting for Uncertainty in Lumen Measurements

With a well-defined and shared understanding of uncertainty in lumen measurements, testing laboratories can better evaluate their processes, contributing to greater consistency and credibility of lighting testing a key component of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Commercially Available LED Product Evaluation and Reporting (CALiPER) program. Reliable lighting testing is a crucial underlying factor contributing toward the success of many energy-efficient lighting efforts, such as the DOE GATEWAY demonstrations, Lighting Facts Label, ENERGY STAR® energy efficient lighting programs, and many others. Uncertainty in measurements is inherent to all testing methodologies, including photometric and other lighting-related testing. Uncertainty exists for all equipment, processes, and systems of measurement in individual as well as combined ways. A major issue with testing and the resulting accuracy of the tests is the uncertainty of the complete process. Individual equipment uncertainties are typically identified, but their relative value in practice and their combined value with other equipment and processes in the same test are elusive concepts, particularly for complex types of testing such as photometry. The total combined uncertainty of a measurement result is important for repeatable and comparative measurements for light emitting diode (LED) products in comparison with other technologies as well as competing products. This study provides a detailed and step-by-step method for determining uncertainty in lumen measurements, working closely with related standards efforts and key industry experts. This report uses the structure proposed in the Guide to Uncertainty Measurements (GUM) for evaluating and expressing uncertainty in measurements. The steps of the procedure are described and a spreadsheet format adapted for integrating sphere and goniophotometric uncertainty measurements is provided for entering parameters, ordering the information, calculating intermediate values and, finally, obtaining expanded uncertainties. Using this basis and examining each step of the photometric measurement and calibration methods, mathematical uncertainty models are developed. Determination of estimated values of input variables is discussed. Guidance is provided for the evaluation of the standard uncertainties of each input estimate, covariances associated with input estimates and the calculation of the result measurements. With this basis, the combined uncertainty of the measurement results and finally, the expanded uncertainty can be determined.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS1972

The ERTS wideband image communication system.

The ERTS payload includes a three camera return beam vidicon (RBV) television system and a four channel multispectral scanner system (MSS). The communications system described includes spacecraft wideband equipment plus unique payload processing equipment located at three NASA tracking stations. The RBV information, transmitted as analog FM with a baseband response of dc to 3.2 MHz, is telemetered, processed and recorded on a wideband video recorder. The MSS data, consisting of 24 analog sensor outputs, is digitized and encoded as 15 megabit per second PCM. The MSS data is then transmitted as analog FM, demultiplexed, and recorded on a 25 channel recorder. It is shown that bit error rate is an excellent indicator of MSS link performance while signal-to-noise ratio and distortion vs frequency adequately define RBV link performance.

Pandelides, J.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Validation of an Advanced High-Pressure PEM Electrolyzer and Composite Hydrogen Storage

One of the challenges associated with transitioning our nation’s transportation economy to any alternative fuel is bringing fuel production, storage, transportation, and end-customer delivery infrastructure online. There are challenges associated with planning and implementing hydrogen fueling stations at locations relevant to the parallel effort of bringing the related transportation vehicles into the market. There are additional challenges associated with the operation of hydrogen fueling stations and reducing operating costs through energy reduction. Through calculation and design efforts it was concluded that elevating the pressure of a PEM cell stack and further developing hydrogen processing equipment that support elevated pressures while maintaining similar characteristics to their current production counterparts will yield in energy savings and by extension cost reductions. In this report, the design of a 57-bar (827-psig) electrolysis system and electrolysis cell stack is described. Furthermore, the fabrication, component verification, and integrated testing are summarized. Prior to this development effort, Proton had demonstrated thousand of hours of durability on 30-bar (435-psig) differential pressure PEM electrolysis hardware. Proton has sold and installed many of these 30-bar devices at customer sites. Through this project, Proton has developed and tested 57-bar PEM electrolysis, thereby extending the proven capability of PEM electrolysis as a hydrogen generation and electrochemical compression device. A design and validation effort to arrange hydrogen processioning equipment for refueling OEM vehicles was also undertaken within this project. By arranging equipment within two 6-meter ISO shipping containers and further developing NFPA 2 Hydrogen Technologies Code to support containerized hydrogen equipment, efforts to site, install, and commission, and approve hydrogen fueling stations were reduced and now provide a groundwork for future installations.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2012

Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in Wastewater Treatment Facilities in California - Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant Case Study

This report details a study into the demand response potential of a large wastewater treatment facility in San Francisco. Previous research had identified wastewater treatment facilities as good candidates for demand response and automated demand response, and this study was conducted to investigate facility attributes that are conducive to demand response or which hinder its implementation. One years' worth of operational data were collected from the facility's control system, submetered process equipment, utility electricity demand records, and governmental weather stations. These data were analyzed to determine factors which affected facility power demand and demand response capabilities The average baseline demand at the Southeast facility was approximately 4 MW. During the rainy season (October-March) the facility treated 40% more wastewater than the dry season, but demand only increased by 4%. Submetering of the facility's lift pumps and centrifuges predicted load shifts capabilities of 154 kW and 86 kW, respectively, with large lift pump shifts in the rainy season. Analysis of demand data during maintenance events confirmed the magnitude of these possible load shifts, and indicated other areas of the facility with demand response potential. Load sheds were seen to be possible by shutting down a portion of the facility's aeration trains (average shed of 132 kW). Load shifts were seen to be possible by shifting operation of centrifuges, the gravity belt thickener, lift pumps, and external pump stations These load shifts were made possible by the storage capabilities of the facility and of the city's sewer system. Large load reductions (an average of 2,065 kW) were seen from operating the cogeneration unit, but normal practice is continuous operation, precluding its use for demand response. The study also identified potential demand response opportunities that warrant further study: modulating variable-demand aeration loads, shifting operation of sludge-processing equipment besides centrifuges, and utilizing schedulable self-generation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Intelligent Manufacturing Support: Specialized LLMs for Composite Material Processing and Equipment Operation

Engineering educational curriculum and standards cover many material and manufacturing options. However, engineers and designers are often unfamiliar with certain composite materials or manufacturing techniques. Large language models (LLMs) could potentially bridge the gap. Their capacity to store and retrieve data from large databases provides them with a breadth of knowledge across disciplines. However, their generalized knowledge base can lack targeted, industry-specific knowledge. To this end, we present two LLM-based applications based on the GPT-4 architecture: (1) The Composites Guide: a system that provides expert knowledge on composites material and connects users with research and industry professionals who can provide additional support and (2) The Equipment Assistant: a system that provides guidance for manufacturing tool operation and material characterization. By combining the knowledge of general AI models with industry-specific knowledge, both applications are intended to provide more meaningful information for engineers. In this paper, we discuss the development of the applications and evaluate it through a benchmark and two informal user studies. The benchmark analysis uses the Rouge and Bertscore metrics to evaluate our models’ performance against GPT-4o. The results show that GPT-4o and the proposed models perform similarly or better on the ROUGE and BERTScore metrics. The two user studies supplement this quantitative evaluation by asking experts to provide qualitative and open-ended feedback about our model’s performance on a set of domain-specific questions. The results of both studies highlight a potential for more detailed and specific responses with the Composites Guide and the Equipment Assistant.

Kapoor, Gunnika [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (OR↗
NASA NTRS1997

Computational Modeling in Plasma Processing for 300 mm Wafers

Migration toward 300 mm wafer size has been initiated recently due to process economics and to meet future demands for integrated circuits. A major issue facing the semiconductor community at this juncture is development of suitable processing equipment, for example, plasma processing reactors that can accomodate 300 mm wafers. In this Invited Talk, scaling of reactors will be discussed with the aid of computational fluid dynamics results. We have undertaken reactor simulations using CFD with reactor geometry, pressure, and precursor flow rates as parameters in a systematic investigation. These simulations provide guidelines for scaling up in reactor design.

Meyyappan, Meyya↗
NASA NTRS2005

Encryption for Remote Control via Internet or Intranet

A data-communication protocol has been devised to enable secure, reliable remote control of processes and equipment via a collision-based network, while using minimal bandwidth and computation. The network could be the Internet or an intranet. Control is made secure by use of both a password and a dynamic key, which is sent transparently to a remote user by the controlled computer (that is, the computer, located at the site of the equipment or process to be controlled, that exerts direct control over the process). The protocol functions in the presence of network latency, overcomes errors caused by missed dynamic keys, and defeats attempts by unauthorized remote users to gain control. The protocol is not suitable for real-time control, but is well suited for applications in which control latencies up to about 0.5 second are acceptable. The encryption scheme involves the use of both a dynamic and a private key, without any additional overhead that would degrade performance. The dynamic key is embedded in the equipment- or process-monitor data packets sent out by the controlled computer: in other words, the dynamic key is a subset of the data in each such data packet. The controlled computer maintains a history of the last 3 to 5 data packets for use in decrypting incoming control commands. In addition, the controlled computer records a private key (password) that is given to the remote computer. The encrypted incoming command is permuted by both the dynamic and private key. A person who records the command data in a given packet for hostile purposes cannot use that packet after the public key expires (typically within 3 seconds). Even a person in possession of an unauthorized copy of the command/remote-display software cannot use that software in the absence of the password. The use of a dynamic key embedded in the outgoing data makes the central-processing unit overhead very small. The use of a National Instruments DataSocket(TradeMark) (or equivalent) protocol or the User Datagram Protocol makes it possible to obtain reasonably short response times: Typical response times in event-driven control, using packets sized .300 bytes, are <0.2 second for commands issued from locations anywhere on Earth. The protocol requires that control commands represent absolute values of controlled parameters (e.g., a specified temperature), as distinguished from changes in values of controlled parameters (e.g., a specified increment of temperature). Each command is issued three or more times to ensure delivery in crowded networks. The use of absolute-value commands prevents additional (redundant) commands from causing trouble. Because a remote controlling computer receives "talkback" in the form of data packets from the controlled computer, typically within a time interval < or =1 s, the controlling computer can re-issue a command if network failure has occurred. The controlled computer, the process or equipment that it controls, and any human operator(s) at the site of the controlled equipment or process should be equipped with safety measures to prevent damage to equipment or injury to humans. These features could be a combination of software, external hardware, and intervention by the human operator(s). The protocol is not fail-safe, but by adopting these safety measures as part of the protocol, one makes the protocol a robust means of controlling remote processes and equipment by use of typical office computers via intranets and/or the Internet.

Lineberger, Lewis↗
NASA NTRS1992

Consortium for materials development in space interaction with Space Station Freedom

The Consortium for Materials Development in Space (CMDS) is one of seventeen Centers for the Commercial Development of Space (CCDS) sponsored by the Office of Commercial Programs of NASA. The CMDS formed at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the fall of 1985. The Consortium activities therefore will have progressed for over a decade by the time Space Station Freedom (SSF) begins operation. The topic to be addressed here is: what are the natural, mutually productive relationships between the CMDS and SSF? For management and planning purposes, the Consortium organizes its activities into a number of individual projects. Normally, each project has a team of personnel from industry, university, and often government organizations. This is true for both product-oriented materials projects and for infrastructure projects. For various projects Space Station offers specific mutually productive relationships. First, SSF can provide a site for commercial operations that have evolved as a natural stage in the life cycle of individual projects. Efficiency and associated cost control lead to another important option. With SSF in place, there is the possibility to leave major parts of processing equipment in SSF, and only bring materials to SSF to be processed and return to earth the treated materials. This saves the transportation costs of repeatedly carrying heavy equipment to orbit and back to the ground. Another generic feature of commercial viability can be the general need to accomplish large through-put or large scale operations. The size of SSF lends itself to such needs. Also in addition to processing equipment, some of the other infrastructure capabilities developed in CCDS projects may be applied on SSF to support product activities. The larger SSF program may derive mutual benefits from these infrastructure abilities.

Lundquist, Charles A.↗
DOE OSTI2011

Evaluation of Solid Sorbents As A Retrofit Technology for CO 2 Capture from Coal-Fired Power Plants

Through a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) funded cooperative agreement DE-NT0005649, ADA Environmental Solutions (ADA) has begun evaluating the use of solid sorbents for CO 2 capture. The project objective was to address the viability and accelerate development of a solid-based CO 2 capture technology. To meet this objective, initial evaluations of sorbents and the process / equipment were completed. First the sorbents were evaluated using a temperature swing adsorption process at the laboratory scale in a fixed-bed apparatus. A slipstream reactor designed to treat flue gas produced by coal-fired generation of nominally 1 kWe was designed and constructed, which was used to evaluate the most promising materials on a more meaningful scale using actual flue gas. In a concurrent effort, commercial-scale processes and equipment options were also evaluated for their applicability to sorbent-based CO 2 capture. A cost analysis was completed that can be used to direct future technology development efforts.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
NASA NTRS1992

Investigation of Bandwidth-Efficient Coding and Modulation Techniques

The necessary technology was studied to improve the bandwidth efficiency of the space-to-ground communications network using the current capabilities of that network as a baseline. The study was aimed at making space payloads, for example the Hubble Space Telescope, more capable without the need to completely redesign the link. Particular emphasis was placed on the following concepts: (1) what the requirements are which are necessary to convert an existing standard 4-ary phase shift keying communications link to one that can support, as a minimum, 8-ary phase shift keying with error corrections applied; and (2) to determine the feasibility of using the existing equipment configurations with additional signal processing equipment to realize the higher order modulation and coding schemes.

Osborne, William P.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Space processing applications payload equipment study. Volume 2C: Data acquisition and process control

The services provided by the Spacelab Information Management System are discussed. The majority of the services are provided by the common-support subsystems in the Support Module furnished by the Spacelab manufacturer. The information processing requirements for the space processing applications (SPA) are identified. The requirements and capabilities for electric power, display and control panels, recording and telemetry, intercom, and closed circuit television are analyzed.

Kayton, M.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Lessons-Learned from D and D Activities at the Five Gaseous Diffusion Buildings (K-25, K- 27, K-29, K-31 and K-33) East Tennessee Technology Park, Oak Ridge, TN - 13574

The East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP) is the site of five former gaseous diffusion plant (GDP) process buildings that were used to enrich uranium from 1945 to 1985. The process equipment in the original two buildings (K-25 and K-27) was used for the production of highly enriched uranium (HEU), while that in the three later buildings (K-29, K-31 and K-33) produced low enriched uranium (LEU). Equipment was contaminated primarily with uranium and to a lesser extent technetium (Tc). Decommissioning of the GDP process buildings has presented several unique challenges and produced many lessons-learned. Among these is the importance of good, up-front characterization in developing the best demolition approach. Also, chemical cleaning of process gas equipment and piping (PGE) prior to shutdown should be considered to minimize the amount of hold-up material that must be removed by demolition crews. Another lesson learned is to maintain shutdown buildings in a dry state to minimize structural degradation which can significantly complicate characterization, deactivation and demolition efforts. Perhaps the most important lesson learned is that decommissioning GDP process buildings is first and foremost a waste logistics challenge. Innovative solutions are required to effectively manage the sheer volume of waste generated from decontamination and demolition (D and D) of these enormous facilities. Finally, close coordination with Security is mandatory to effectively manage Special Nuclear Material (SNM) and classified equipment issues. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS1974

Space processing applications payload equipment study. Volume 2E: Commercial equipment utility

Examination of commercial equipment technologies revealed that the functional performance requirements of space processing equipment could generally be met by state-of-the-art design practices. Thus, an apparatus could be evolved from a standard item or derived by custom design using present technologies. About 15 percent of the equipment needed has no analogous commercial base of derivation and requires special development. This equipment is involved primarily with contactless heating and position control. The derivation of payloads using commercial equipment sources provides a broad and potentially cost-effective base upon which to draw. The derivation of payload equipment from commercial technologies poses other issues beyond that of the identifiable functional performance, but preliminary results on testing of selected equipment testing appear quite favorable. During this phase of the SPA study, several aspects of commercial equipment utility were assessed and considered. These included safety, packaging and structural, power conditioning (electrical/electronic), thermal and materials of construction.

Smith, A. G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scale-Up of Novel Li-Conducting Halide Solid State Battery Electrolyte

LBNL and project partner Saint Gobain (SG) demonstrated scalable processing of halide-based solid state batteries. SG’s innovative halide-based SSE utilized in this project is inherently scalable: it can be compressed into a dense electrolyte sheet at room temperature under moderate pressure, can be processed in dry air, and does not present any safety issues during processing or end use. The halide material forms the dense electrolyte layer, and is dispersed in the thick cathode to form a highly conductive path for Li ions. The halide also comes in contact with various environments and other materials (solvents, binders, processing equipment, etc.) throughout the battery manufacturing process, and must be stable in contact with cathode and anode materials during operation.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗