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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
NASA NTRS2015

Comparison of Computational and Experimental Results for a Transonic Variable-Speed Power-Turbine Blade Operating with Low Inlet Turbulence Levels

A computational assessment of the aerodynamic performance of the midspan section of a variable-speed power-turbine blade is described. The computation comprises a periodic single blade that represents the 2-D Midspan section VSPT blade that was tested in the NASA Glenn Research Center Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility. A commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) software package, Pointwise and CFD++, was used for the grid generation and RANS and URANS computations. The CFD code, which offers flexibility in terms of turbulence and transition modeling options, was assessed in terms of blade loading, loss, and turning against test data from the transonic tunnel. Simulations were assessed at positive and negative incidence angles that represent the turbine cruise and take-off design conditions. The results indicate that the secondary flow induced at the positive incidence cruise condition results in a highly loaded case and transitional flow on the blade is observed. The negative incidence take-off condition is unloaded and the flow is very two-dimensional. The computational results demonstrate the predictive capability of the gridding technique and COTS software for a linear transonic turbine blade cascade with large incidence angle variation.

turbomachinery↗
NASA NTRS2015

Comparison of Computational and Experimental Results for a Transonic Variable-speed Power-Turbine Blade Operating with Low Inlet Turbulence Levels

A computational assessment of the aerodynamic performance of the midspan section of a variable-speed power-turbine blade is described. The computation comprises a periodic single blade that represents the 2-D Midspan section VSPT blade that was tested in the NASA Glenn Research Center Transonic Turbine Blade Cascade Facility. A commercial, off-the-shelf (COTS) software package, Pointwise and CFD++, was used for the grid generation and RANS and URANS computations. The CFD code, which offers flexibility in terms of turbulence and transition modeling options, was assessed in terms of blade loading, loss, and turning against test data from the transonic tunnel. Simulations were assessed at positive and negative incidence angles that represent the turbine cruise and take-off design conditions. The results indicate that the secondary flow induced at the positive incidence cruise condition results in a highly loaded case and transitional flow on the blade is observed. The negative incidence take-off condition is unloaded and the flow is very two-dimensional. The computational results demonstrate the predictive capability of the gridding technique and COTS software for a linear transonic turbine blade cascade with large incidence angle variation.

rotary wing↗
DOE OSTI2020

CCE Case Study: Stinky Cheese Company

This document explores how to apply Consequence-driven Cyber-informed Engineering (CCE) to identify and mitigate catastrophic effects resulting from cyber-enabled sabotage in a case study. For this case study, we will examine a fictional organization named the Stinky Cheese Company.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Panel Session 69: Ensuring Strong Return on Investment for DOE EM Technology Development: Global Views

This panel focused on DOE and Non-US Technology Development Projects discussing how they approach tech development to maximize return on investment (ROI). Successful examples were discussed. After the individual panelist's presentations, the three panelists were joined by Kurt Gerdes in discussing the genesis of this panel and why it is important. Panelists with presentations: Ensuring a Strong Return on Investment for DOE EM Technology Development (Anthony Banford) DOE Technology Development Projects that Provided a Strong Return on Investment (ROI (Mark Lesinski) Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (Gerry Triani) Decommissioning Situation of Nuclear Power Plant in Japan (Teruyuki Hirai)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2017

NASA's In-Space Manufacturing Project: Materials and Manufacturing Process Development Update

The mission of NASA's In-Space Manufacturing (ISM) project is to identify, design, and implement on-demand, sustainable manufacturing solutions for fabrication, maintenance and repair during exploration missions. ISM has undertaken a phased strategy of incrementally increasing manufacturing capabilities to achieve this goal. The ISM project began with the development of the first 3D printer for the International Space Station. To date, the printer has completed two phases of flight operations. Results from phase I specimens indicated some differences in material properties between ground-processed and ISS-processed specimens, but results of follow-on analyses of these parts and a ground-based study with an equivalent printer strongly indicate that this variability is likely attributable to differences in manufacturing process settings between the ground and flight prints rather than microgravity effects on the fused deposition modeling (FDM) process. Analysis of phase II specimens from the 3D Printing in Zero G tech demo, which shed further light on the sources of material variability, will be presented. The ISM project has also developed a materials characterization plan for the Additive Manufacturing Facility, the follow-on commercial multimaterial 3D printing facility developed for ISS by Made in Space. This work will yield a suite of characteristic property values that can inform use of AMF by space system designers. Other project activities include development of an integrated 3D printer and recycler, known as the Refabricator, by Tethers Unlimited, which will be operational on ISS in 2018. The project also recently issued a broad area announcement for a multimaterial fabrication laboratory, which may include in-space manufacturing capabilities for metals, electronics, and polymeric materials, to be deployed on ISS in the 2022 timeframe.

Prater, Tracie↗
DOE OSTI2020

Evaluation of Commercially Available Precursors for Obscuring Wet Industrial Irradiator Facility Pools to Delay Adversarial Source Removal (Part 2)

The behavior of commercially available potential obscurants for cobalt-60 ( 60 Co) wet-source storage industrial irradiator facilities (IRFs) were further evaluated for corrosive behavior of Nordion C-188 pencil stubs and obscurant properties under radiation exposure ( 60 Co). The potential obscurants studied included: titania aqueous dispersions (TAD - water soluble white paint), Chlorazol Black (CBOD - Chlorazol Black organic dye), powdered milk (COW - calcium obscurant in water), diatomaceous earth (DEA - diatomaceous earth additive), and rhodamine 6G (R6G). For corrosion efforts, stubs from an inert C-188 pencil-source rod were soaked in obscurant solutions and visually inspected. For radiation stability, obscurant samples were exposed to 60 Co radiation sources at 207 rad/s. The results from these studies reveal: the obscurants had no impact on the surrogate samples and may assist in terms of corrosion resistance; materials that did not rely on organic compounds to provide obscurance performed the best, as the organic compounds decomposed too rapidly in the high radiation environment, whereas the materials survived.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
NASA NTRS1988

Microgravity and Materials Processing Facility study (MMPF): Requirements and Analyses of Commercial Operations (RACO) preliminary data release

This requirements and analyses of commercial operations (RACO) study data release reflects the current status of research activities of the Microgravity and Materials Processing Facility under Modification No. 21 to NASA/MSFC Contract NAS8-36122. Section 1 includes 65 commercial space processing projects suitable for deployment aboard the Space Station. Section 2 contains reports of the R:BASE (TM) electronic data base being used in the study, synopses of the experiments, and a summary of data on the experimental facilities. Section 3 is a discussion of video and data compression techniques used as well as a mission timeline analysis.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantification of LEU Holdup using gamma ray imaging and inverse transport solver

Holdup is the residual amount of special nuclear material (SNM) remaining in a processing facility after the bulk materials have been cleaned out. In commercial uranium processing facilities, quantification of holdup is a major challenge because of the highly variable shapes and sizes of the deposits. Any method that attempts to generalize and calibrate deposit shapes in order to quantify holdup will be prone to high uncertainties. Uncertainties on the order of ±50% are typical in holdup results. In international safeguards applications, a ±50% uncertainty can result in a large amount of material unaccounted for (MUF) thereby increasing the difficulty of detecting material diversion and facility misuse. An imaging-based methodology has been developed with the objective of significantly reducing this uncertainty by using the true deposit shape, instead of relying on oversimplified geometric assumptions. The project is a collaboration between ORNL, Y-12, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN. Uranium sources of known masses were measured using the Germanium Gamma-ray Imager (GeGI), a high-resolution imaging spectrometer, creating a pixelated map for each spectral bin. Two different gamma imaging methods are employed in this work: coded aperture imaging and Compton imaging. A validated MonteCarlo model of the detector has been developed using the GEANT4 code for determining the intrinsic response of the detector, its enclosure, and the coded aperture mask. An inverse transport solver based on the Markov Chain Monte-Carlo approach known as Differential Evolution Adaptive Metropolis (DREAM) is employed to use the measurement data from the image pixels (coded aperture or Compton) to solve for the mass of 235 U in the deposit. A reliable method based on the DREAM solver has been developed to flag the infinite thickness condition of a uranium deposit. The project team is working towards improving the image reconstruction for Compton imaging so that a better localization of the source can be achieved. Besides treating the coded aperture and Compton imaging methods independently, the project is also evaluating a combined method that uses the Compton scatter data from a coded aperture measurement. GEANT4 simulations are being performed to evaluate the combined approach. The impact on the DREAM optimization as the source thickness progressively approaches infinite thickness is being evaluated. A number of uranium sources available at ORNL have been measured, and the DREAM results have been tested and validated for the coded aperture imaging. A similar effort will be carried out to validate the Compton based method once the development of algorithms for better localization are complete. The imaging based quantification is very amenable to unattended monitoring of holdup accumulation at key measurement points. A proof of concept measurement has been completed to demonstrate this capability The current work used the high energy resolution imager GeGI. However, the approach and methodologies are applicable to other imagers such as the cadmium zin telluride (CZT) based imager manufactured by H3D, Inc.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
NASA NTRS2002

Space Rose Pleases the Senses

International Flavors and Fragrances (IFF), Inc., discovered a new scent by flying a miniature rose plant aboard NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery Flight STS-95. IFF and the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WCSAR) partnered to fly the rose plant in the commercial plant research facility, ASTROCULTURE(TM), for reduced-gravity environment research. IFF commercialized the space rose note, which is now a fragrance ingredient in a perfume developed by Shiseido Cosmetics (America), Ltd. In addition to providing a light crisp scent, the oil from the space rose can also serve as a flavor enhancer. ASTROCULTURE(TM) is a trademark of the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2009

Commercialization is Required for Sustainable Space Exploration and Development

The U.S. Space Exploration policy outlines an exciting new direction in space for human and robotic exploration and development beyond low Earth orbit. Pressed by this new visionary guidance, human civilization will be able to methodically build capabilities to move off Earth and into the solar system in a step-by-step manner, gradually increasing the capability for humans to stay longer in space and move further away from Earth. The new plans call for an implementation that would create an affordable and sustainable program in order to span over generations of explorers, each new generation pushing back the boundaries and building on the foundations laid by the earlier. To create a sustainable program it is important to enable and encourage the development of a selfsupporting commercial space industry leveraging both traditional and non-traditional segments of the industrial base. Governments will not be able to open the space frontier on their own because their goals change over relatively short timescales and because the large costs associated with human spaceflight cannot be sustained. A strong space development industrial sector is needed that can one day support the needs of commercial space enterprises as well as provide capabilities that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and other national space agencies can buy to achieve their exploration goals. This new industrial space sector will someday provide fundamental capabilities like communications, power, logistics, and even cargo and human space transportation, just as commercial companies are able to provide these services on Earth today. To help develop and bolster this new space industrial sector, NASA and other national space agencies can enable and facilitate it in many ways, including reducing risk by developing important technologies necessary for commercialization of space, and as a paying customer, partner, or anchor tenant. This transition from all or mostly government developed and operated facilities and services to commercial supplied facilities and services should be considered from the very earliest stages of planning. This paper will first discuss the importance of space commercialization to fulfilling national goals and the associated policy and strategic objectives that will enable space exploration and development. Then the paper will offer insights into how government can provide leadership to promote the nascent commercial space industry. In addition, the paper describes programs and policies already in place at NASA and offers five important principles government can use to strengthen space industry.

Martin, Gary L.↗
NASA NTRS1989

Research and test facilities for development of technologies and experiments with commercial applications

One of NASA'S agency-wide goals is the commercial development of space. To further this goal NASA is implementing a policy whereby U.S. firms are encouraged to utilize NASA facilities to develop and test concepts having commercial potential. Goddard, in keeping with this policy, will make the facilities and capabilities described in this document available to private entities at a reduced cost and on a noninterference basis with internal NASA programs. Some of these facilities include: (1) the Vibration Test Facility; (2) the Battery Test Facility; (3) the Large Area Pulsed Solar Simulator Facility; (4) the High Voltage Testing Facility; (5) the Magnetic Field Component Test Facility; (6) the Spacecraft Magnetic Test Facility; (7) the High Capacity Centrifuge Facility; (8) the Acoustic Test Facility; (9) the Electromagnetic Interference Test Facility; (10) the Space Simulation Test Facility; (11) the Static/Dynamic Balance Facility; (12) the High Speed Centrifuge Facility; (13) the Optical Thin Film Deposition Facility; (14) the Gold Plating Facility; (15) the Paint Formulation and Application Laboratory; (16) the Propulsion Research Laboratory; (17) the Wallops Range Facility; (18) the Optical Instrument Assembly and Test Facility; (19) the Massively Parallel Processor Facility; (20) the X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Auger Microscopy/Spectroscopy Laboratory; (21) the Parts Analysis Laboratory; (22) the Radiation Test Facility; (23) the Ainsworth Vacuum Balance Facility; (24) the Metallography Laboratory; (25) the Scanning Electron Microscope Laboratory; (26) the Organic Analysis Laboratory; (27) the Outgassing Test Facility; and (28) the Fatigue, Fracture Mechanics and Mechanical Testing Laboratory.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accelerating the Adoption of Energy Efficiency and Renewables in Warehouses and Distribution Centers

Commercial warehouses and storage facilities represent a large part of the commercial buildings in the United States, and their share increases every year. NREL is working with the U.S. Department of Energy to understand barriers, sector needs, and opportunities to enhance sustainability in the warehouse sector, driving ultra-high efficient, zero-energy design, while considering electrification in buildings and vehicles, grid-friendly operation, and decarbonization. After investigating literature about warehouse sustainability practices and high-performance warehouse case studies, several one-on-one interviews were carried out with warehouse managers and stakeholders. Data collected through literature and the interviews were captured to provide the current status of warehousing in the context of energy efficiency, renewables, carbon emissions, and overall sustainability. The results are intended to inform areas for new research and deployment activities to achieving zero energy and zero carbon goals.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Follow-on Report of Analysis of Approaches to Supplemental Treatment of Low-Activity Waste at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation (Vol. I)

The Hanford Site, in southeast Washington State, is preparing to disposition approximately 56,000,000 gallons (56 Mgal) of radioactive and chemically hazardous wastes currently stored in underground tanks at the site. Tank wastes will be divided into a high-activity fraction and a low-activity fraction for subsequent treatment and disposition. A waste processing and treatment facility, the Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP), will include the high-level waste (HLW) vitrification facility (WTP HLW Vitrification Facility) for immobilizing the high-activity fraction and a low-activity waste (LAW) vitrification facility (WTP LAW Vitrification Facility) for immobilizing the low-activity fraction. Both facilities will use vitrification technology to immobilize the Hanford tank wastes in a glass waste form. The volume of LAW to be treated and disposed of following waste retrieval and WTP operations will exceed the planned processing capacity of the WTP LAW Vitrification Facility. ORP-11242,-River Protection Project System Plan, estimates a shortfall in LAW treatment capacity of approximately 56 Mgal, approximately 50% of the projected LAW volume. To maintain the planned tank waste processing mission schedule, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will require additional LAW treatment capacity (termed “supplemental LAW”) external to the WTP process. LAW must be solidified by a treatment technology before the waste can be permanently disposed of in an approved DOE on-site disposal facility or a commercial (state or U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission [NRC-licensed]) off-site mixed low-level waste disposal facility. A decision on the approach to supplemental LAW treatment, processing, and disposal has not yet been made

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Can Collaboration Succeed in Siting a Spent Nuclear Fuel Facility in the United States?—A Challenge in Political Sustainability

We examine the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s collaborative process to locate, build, and operate one or more federal consolidated interim storage facilities (FCISFs) for commercial U.S. spent nuclear fuel—instead of continuing to store the material at over 70 nuclear reactor sites. Technocratic siting of nuclear facilities in the U.S., most of which did not involve meaningful public participation, was not successful. We consider increasing pressure to find at least one FCISF site, as well as the critical role of trust in engaging communities and reaching agreement—leading some observers to assert that DOE is in the “trust building business”, not the siting business. We present case studies with the following: (1) illustrating community engagement that led to a more satisfactory outcome than had been anticipated (Fernald); (2) a planned voluntary process that failed to produce an operating CISF (Office of the Nuclear Waste Negotiator); and (3) a site that demonstrates the ongoing need for negotiations to keep a site open and operational (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant). The essay concludes with the observation that a collaboration-based siting effort can succeed in the U.S., but that five main challenges—related to trust and requiring patience—will need to be addressed.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1992

Long Duration Space Materials Exposure (LDSE)

The Center on Materials for Space Structures (CMSS) at Case Western Reserve University is one of seventeen Commercial Centers for the Development of Space. It was founded to: (1) produce and evaluate materials for space structures; (2) develop passive and active facilities for materials exposure and analysis in space; and (3) develop improved material systems for space structures. A major active facility for materials exposure is proposed to be mounted on the exterior truss of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). This Long Duration Space Materials Exposure (LDSE) experiment will be an approximately 6 1/2 ft. x 4 ft. panel facing into the velocity vector (RAM) to provide long term exposure (up to 30 years) to atomic oxygen, UV, micro meteorites, and other low earth orbit effects. It can expose large or small active (instrumented) or passive samples. These samples may be mounted in a removable Materials Flight Experiment (MFLEX) carrier which may be periodically brought into the SSF for examination by CMSS's other SSF facility, the Space Materials Evaluation Facility (SMEF), which will contain a Scanning Electron Microscope, a Variable Angle & Scanning Ellipsometer, a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, and other analysis equipment. These facilities will allow commercial firms to test their materials in space and promptly obtain information on their materials survivability in the LEO environment.

Allen, David↗
NASA NTRS1992

Buffet test in the National Transonic Facility

A buffet test of a commercial transport model was accomplished in the National Transonic Facility at the NASA Langley Research Center. This aeroelastic test was unprecedented for this wind tunnel and posed a high risk to the facility. This paper presents the test results from a structural dynamics and aeroelastic response point of view and describes the activities required for the safety analysis and risk assessment. The test was conducted in the same manner as a flutter test and employed onboard dynamic instrumentation, real time dynamic data monitoring, automatic, and manual tunnel interlock systems for protecting the model. The procedures and test techniques employed for this test are expected to serve as the basis for future aeroelastic testing in the National Transonic Facility. This test program was a cooperative effort between the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company and the NASA Langley Research Center.

Young, Clarence P., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2012

Common Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) Software Development for Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Test Facilities

The advent of the commercial space launch industry and NASA's more recent resumption of operation of Stennis Space Center's large test facilities after thirty years of contractor control resulted in a need for a non-proprietary data acquisition systems (DAS) software to support government and commercial testing. The software is designed for modularity and adaptability to minimize the software development effort for current and future data systems. An additional benefit of the software's architecture is its ability to easily migrate to other testing facilities thus providing future commonality across Stennis. Adapting the software to other Rocket Propulsion Test (RPT) Centers such as MSFC, White Sands, and Plumbrook Station would provide additional commonality and help reduce testing costs for NASA. Ultimately, the software provides the government with unlimited rights and guarantees privacy of data to commercial entities. The project engaged all RPT Centers and NASA's Independent Verification & Validation facility to enhance product quality. The design consists of a translation layer which provides the transparency of the software application layers to underlying hardware regardless of test facility location and a flexible and easily accessible database. This presentation addresses system technical design, issues encountered, and the status of Stennis development and deployment.

Hebert, Phillip W., Sr.↗