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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 901 records · Page 50

An Intermediate-Scale Version of the Volturnus + Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Platform Concept in a Real Ocean Environment with an Operating Turbine off the Coast of Maine (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This project was undertaken to advance the technical readiness and commercial viability of a next-generation, industrialized concrete floating foundation for offshore wind turbines called VolturnUS +. The design objective is to deliver a platform that is lower cost, faster to manufacture, simpler to deploy, and optimized for domestic supply chains and local workforce participation. To enable project financing and commercial adoption, an at-sea demonstration under representative operating conditions was required and therefore this project aimed to deploy a ¼-scale VolturnUS+ prototype offshore the Coast of Maine.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Core compressor exit stage study. Volume 2: Data and performance report for the baseline configuration

The objective of the program is to develop rear stage blading designs that have lower losses in their endwall boundary layer regions. The overall technical approach in this efficiency improvement program utilized General Electric's Low Speed Research Compressor as the principal investigative tool. Tests were conducted in two ways: using four identical stages of blading so that test data would be obtained in a true multistage environment and using a single stage of blading so that comparison with the multistage test results could be made.

Wisler, D. C.↗

Topical Report: Reference Plant Cost Estimates for TRIG™ Systems

Southern Company Services, Inc. has conducted a Reference Plant conceptual design for the Transport Integrated Gasification (TRIG™) IGCC technology. While the technical knowledge and cost data gathered from the Kemper County IGCC project provide a basis for this effort, this conceptual design incorporates cost improvements and commercially available technology advancements that are representative of a mature “nth” TRIG™ IGCC project. The design is based on an abundant, sub-bituminous coal feedstock, and includes two options for CO 2 capture. The resulting Reference Plant provides a basis for comparison with other technologies as a first step for evaluating the TRIG™ IGCC technology.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Technical and Economic Aspects of Designing an Efficient Room Air-Conditioner Program in India

Several studies have projected a massive increase in the demand for air conditioners (ACs) over the next two decades in India. By 2030, room ACs could add 140 GW to the peak load, equivalent to over 30% of the total projected peak load. Therefore, there is significant interest among policymakers, regulators, and utilities in managing room AC demand by enhancing energy efficiency. Building on the historical success of the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s star-labeling program, Energy Efficiency Services Limited recently announced a program to accelerate the sale of efficient room ACs using bulk procurement, similar to their successful UJALA light-emitting diode (LED) bulk procurement program. This report discusses some of the key considerations in designing a bulk procurement or financial incentive program for enhancing room AC efficiency in India. We draw upon our previous research to demonstrate the overall technical potential and price impact of room AC efficiency improvement and its technical feasibility in India. We also discuss the importance of using low global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants and smart AC equipment that is demand response (DR) ready.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Assessment of the State-of-the-Art of System-Wide Safety and Assurance Technologies

Since its initiation, the System-wide Safety Assurance Technologies (SSAT) Project has been focused on developing multidisciplinary tools and techniques that are verified and validated to ensure prevention of loss of property and life in NextGen and enable proactive risk management through predictive methods. To this end, four technical challenges have been listed to help realize the goals of SSAT, namely (i) assurance of flight critical systems, (ii) discovery of precursors to safety incidents, (iii) assuring safe human-systems integration, and (iv) prognostic algorithm design for safety assurance. The objective of this report is to provide an extensive survey of SSAT-related research accomplishments by researchers within and outside NASA to get an understanding of what the state-of-the-art is for technologies enabling each of the four technical challenges. We hope that this report will serve as a good resource for anyone interested in gaining an understanding of the SSAT technical challenges, and also be useful in the future for project planning and resource allocation for related research.

Roychoudhury, Indranil↗

Regional Feedstock Partnership Biomass Quality Assessment Final Report

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) developed the Billion-Ton Vision to enable production of one-billion tons of sustainable, reliable biomass for the bioenergy industry by 2030 (Perlack et al., 2005). The Sun Grant Regional Feedstock Partnership (RFP) was organized to fill information gaps and validate biomass yield assumptions related to the Billion-Ton Study (Owens, 2018; Owens, Karlen, and Lacey, 2016). Along with the more than 130 scientific publications generated from these studies, yield and sustainability data from the RFP field trials not only validated the Billion-Ton estimates, but were critical in developing both the U.S. Billion-Ton Update report in 2011 and the 2016 Billion-Ton Report (DOE, 2011; 2016). The intention of this biomass quality assessment report is to build on these initial successes from the RFP field trials by focusing on variability in biomass quality data necessary to evaluate conversion performance. This report contains a summary of chemical quality results from samples collected as part of the RFP field trials. This report focuses on assessment of the impact of experimental agronomic designs on biomass properties followed by analyses of the impact of environmental and production variables on biomass properties. Datasets include species and other genetic variables, fertilizer treatments, harvest information, and yield, as well as other publicly available data such as precipitation, temperature, soil properties, and drought. The key outcomes from this chemical quality focused assessment have included: • Complete evaluation of the impacts of agronomic designs, genetics, and environmental conditions on chemical properties for Miscanthus, switchgrass, sorghum, energycane, mixed perennial grasses, and shrub willow short-rotation feedstocks • Over 30 peer review publications and technical reports focused on variability in quality data • Development of spatial and temporal environmental quality prediction maps for Miscanthus and switchgrass feedstocks allowing for comprehensive evaluation of variability in feedstock chemical quality across U.S. regions and over multiple harvest years

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Guidance on Including Social, Organizational and Technical Influences in Nuclear Utility and Plant Modernization Plans

The objective of this report is to provide the nuclear power industry with guidance on including socio-technical issues in plans developed for current and future modernization efforts. Socio-technical issues of concern include social, organizational and related technical aspects of modernized systems. These can be addressed using a set of systematic analysis and design methods developed to address socio-technical issues of the sort facing the nuclear power industry. The next phase of this work will involve developing and implementing a modernization plan that includes socio-technical tools and methods identified and discussed in a report by Dainoff and colleagues (2020). The plan is expected to be developed and implemented in cooperation with a nuclear utility that has expressed interest in participating. The Dainoff et al report provides the foundation for the present effort and presents a methodological tool set for analyzing socio-technical issues applicable to many modernization efforts. The tools described by Dainoff et al are based on principles of human factors engineering, safety engineering, and systems engineering and are discussed within the specific context of nuclear utility modernization and transformation efforts. It is expected that the plan and the concepts described in the current report will be developed and implemented with a nuclear utility partner. The plan developed with the nuclear utility partner will have a substantially higher level of detail than the guidance provided in this report, particularly with regard to details of plan logistics, etc.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

System-Level Experimental Validations for Supersonic Commercial Transport Aircraft Entering Service in the 2018-2020 Time Period

This report describes the work conducted under NASA funding for the Boeing N+2 Supersonic Experimental Validation project to experimentally validate the conceptual design of a supersonic airliner feasible for entry into service in the 2018 -to 2020 timeframe (NASA N+2 generation). The primary goal of the project was to develop a low-boom configuration optimized for minimum sonic boom signature (65 to 70 PLdB). This was a very aggressive goal that could be achieved only through integrated multidisciplinary optimization tools validated in relevant ground and, later, flight environments. The project was split into two phases. Phase I of the project covered the detailed aerodynamic design of a low boom airliner as well as the wind tunnel tests to validate that design (ref. 1). This report covers Phase II of the project, which continued the design methodology development of Phase I with a focus on the propulsion integration aspects as well as the testing involved to validate those designs. One of the major airplane configuration features of the Boeing N+2 low boom design was the overwing nacelle. The location of the nacelle allowed for a minimal effect on the boom signature, however, it added a level of difficulty to designing an inlet with acceptable performance in the overwing flow field. Using the Phase I work as the starting point, the goals of the Phase 2 project were to design and verify inlet performance while maintaining a low-boom signature. The Phase II project was successful in meeting all contract objectives. New modular nacelles were built for the larger Performance Model along with a propulsion rig with an electrically-actuated mass flow plug. Two new mounting struts were built for the smaller Boom Model, along with new nacelles. Propulsion integration testing was performed using an instrumented fan face and a mass flow plug, while boom signatures were measured using a wall-mounted pressure rail. A side study of testing in different wind tunnels was completed as a precursor to the selection of the facilities used for validation testing. As facility schedules allowed, the propulsion testing was done at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) 8 x 6-Foot wind tunnel, while boom and force testing was done at the NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) 9 x 7-Foot wind tunnel. During boom testing, a live balance was used for gathering force data. This report is broken down into nine sections. The first technical section (Section 2) covers the general scope of the Phase II activities, goals, a description of the design and testing efforts, and the project plan and schedule. Section 3 covers the details of the propulsion system concepts and design evolution. A series of short tests to evaluate the suitability of different wind tunnels for boom, propulsion, and force testing was also performed under the Phase 2 effort, with the results covered in Section 4. The propulsion integration testing is covered in Section 5 and the boom and force testing in Section 6. CFD comparisons and analyses are included in Section 7. Section 8 includes the conclusions and lessons learned.

Magee, Todd E.↗

A Revised International Standard for Gearboxes in Wind Turbine Systems

Gearbox and wind turbine design and application standards have contributed significantly to improvements in reliability over the past two decades. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-4 standard of wind turbine gearbox design is currently being revised by a joint working group (JWG) of experts in IEC TC 88 (wind energy) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC60 (gears) to further that effort. Experts from ISO TC4 (rolling bearings) and ISO TC28 (lubricants) have actively participated. This revision has implemented lessons learned from industry use of edition 1 since its publication in 2012. The main document, IEC 61400-4, was pared down to essential design requirements and application-specific recommendations along with a design verification framework. The JWG leveraged concurrent development of other standards, such as IEC 61400-8 on wind turbine structures, to replace edition 1 content. These are described along with how this works with the IEC Renewable Energy certification scheme for wind turbines (IECRE-WE). The JWG recognized the interest in maintaining informative parts of edition 1 including annexes on wind turbine architecture and loads, bearing and gear arrangements, bearing selection, lubrication system descriptions and lubricant performance recommendations. This information was retained in two technical reports: IEC/TR 61400-4-2 Lubrication and IEC/TR 61400-4-3 Explanatory Notes. Additionally, a technical specification, IEC/TS 61400-4-1, was drafted to provide a reliability calculation method for comparing different design options or conditions. Salient elements of these documents are described. All four documents were recently distributed for IEC/ISO review, ballot, and comment. Publication is expected in 2023.

gearbox↗

A Revised International Standard for Gearboxes in Wind Turbine Systems: Preprint

Gearbox and wind turbine design and application standards have contributed significantly to improvements in reliability over the past two decades. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61400-4 standard of wind turbine gearbox design is currently being revised by a joint working group (JWG) of experts in IEC TC 88 (wind energy) and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) TC60 (gears) to further that effort. Experts from ISO TC4 (rolling bearings) and ISO TC28 (lubricants) have actively participated. This revision has implemented lessons learned from industry use of edition 1 since its publication in 2012. The main document, IEC 61400-4, was pared down to essential design requirements and application-specific recommendations along with a design verification framework. The JWG leveraged concurrent development of other standards, such as IEC 61400-8 on wind turbine structures, to replace edition 1 content. These are described along with how this works with the IEC Renewable Energy certification scheme for wind turbines (IECRE-WE). The JWG recognized the interest in maintaining informative parts of edition 1 including annexes on wind turbine architecture and loads, bearing and gear arrangements, bearing selection, lubrication system descriptions and lubricant performance recommendations. This information was retained in two technical reports: IEC/TR 61400-4-2 Lubrication and IEC/TR 61400-4-3 Explanatory Notes. Additionally, a technical specification, IEC/TS 61400-4-1, was drafted to provide a reliability calculation method for comparing different design options or conditions. Salient elements of these documents are described. All four documents were recently distributed for IEC/ISO review, ballot, and comment. Publication is expected in 2023.

ENGINEERING,WIND ENERGY↗

Evaluation of Steam Cycle Upgrades to Improve the Competitiveness of U.S. Coal Power Plants (Final Scientific / Technical Report)

Increasing the competitiveness of the existing pulverized-coal utility fleet in the United States may be achieved by decreasing heat rate, via increases in steam cycle efficiency through upgraded steam temperatures and use of latest technology available in steam turbine and blading design. The average net plant efficiency of the US coal-fired fleet is approximately 33% (HHV). Plant efficiency increases to approximately 41.4% (HHV) at 1,350°F (732°C) steam temperature. However, achieving these Advanced Ultra-Super Critical (AUSC) steam conditions requires the use of advanced high-temperature materials. While there has been a significant amount of DOE-funded materials R&D, most of the related design work has focused on new (greenfield) units, rather than on opportunities to retrofit this advanced technology to the existing utility fleet. If technology, based upon the advanced materials required for AUSC steam conditions, may be applied to the existing fleet, using an economically viable retrofit, a higher capacity factor can be expected as a result of the increased plant competitiveness. The Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) was awarded a project by the US Department of Energy to examine the technical and economic feasibility of a series of steam cycle upgrades to the two most prevalent types of U.S. coal power plants: 2,400 psig (16.6 MPa) subcritical and 3,500 psig (24.1 MPa) supercritical pulverized coal units. The nine upgrade options that were originally being considered included increasing the main and reheat steam temperatures from 1,000°F (538°C) to 1,100°, 1,200°, and 1,350°F (593°C, 649°C, and 732°C) while holding the steam pressures constant at their original design values, and cases where just the main steam or reheat steam temperatures were increased. The objective was to minimize the modifications required to the existing power plant while still providing a significant improvement in heat rate. The upgrade options assumed that the boiler enclosure envelope remained unchanged from each base case, and that all applicable OEM design guidelines for normal commercial units were imposed. For the highest temperature supercritical case, an option of using a low-pressure molten salt loop to transfer heat from the furnace to the steam was examined. The first major task of the work scope was designed to examine the technical feasibility of various upgrade options, while the subsequent work determined economic viability of the technically feasible upgrade options. Prior to evaluating the effect of these increased temperatures, a “base case” model of a subcritical and supercritical PC boiler was created, which was used for comparative purposes. Upgrade options were evaluated at full-load, part-load and dynamic transient conditions. Once the technical feasibility of each upgrade option was evaluated, the economic value of the heat rate improvement of each feasible option was determined by detailed modeling of unit dispatch in several regional power markets. The dispatch model was used to estimate the amount of revenue from power sales the upgraded unit would receive in comparison to a non-upgraded version of the same power plant. As a parallel task to the dispatch analysis, the capital cost of implementing the upgrades was estimated. The capital cost estimates were then compared to the increased revenue estimated by the dispatch modeling to determine the economic attractiveness of each upgrade option. Several upgrade options were determined to be technically feasible. The net present value (NPV) of the costs for steam cycle upgrades considered in this study ranged from approximately $\$$111 to $\$$130 million. The economic modeling results show that the unit dispatch changes resulting from steam cycle upgrades are relatively small, due largely to heat rate (and operating cost) changes being relatively small. Additionally, the cost of each upgrade exceeds the net revenue increases associated with the upgrade case. Note that the breakeven values are higher for subcritical retrofits, but the capital costs for the subcritical upgrades are also slightly higher. In typical new pulverized coal plants, fuel accounts for approximately 25% of the cost of electricity (COE), while capital costs represent around 50% of the COE. Therefore, in order to improve the heat rate by 4% one can only afford to increase the capital cost by 2%, at the same cost of electricity. The conclusion of this study is that without a cost for emitting CO 2 , it will be difficult to pay for significant efficiency improvements on plants firing low cost coals.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Modular Hybrid Solid State Transformer (H-SST) for Next Generation Flexible and Adaptable Large Power Transformer (LPT) (Final Technical Report)

A 500 kVA HSST, the world first of such system, has been successfully developed. The HSST has the capability to regulate the power flow of the transmission or distribution power lines, or provide voltage regulation. The HSST design is modular therefore it has the ability to be connected in series of parallel to form a large power transformer with smart controllability. The project has enabled a high TRL level prototype be demonstrated at University of Texas at Austin which can lead to additional commercialization and demonstration opportunities. A large number of students were trained under this program that will benefit the power grid industry. A number of publications are published at well known international conferences and journals, further accomplish the mission of knowledge development and dissemination.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

International Space Station ECLSS Technical Task Agreement Summary Report

A summary of work accomplished under Technical Task Agreement by the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) documents activities regarding the Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) of the International Space Station (ISS) program. These MSFC activities were in-line to the designing, the development, the testing, and the flight of ECLSS equipment. MSFC's unique capabilities for performing integrated system testing and analyses, and its ability to perform some tasks cheaper and faster to support ISS program needs are the basis for the Technical Task Agreement activities. Tasks were completed in the Water Recovery Systems, Air Revitalization Systems, and microbiology areas. The results of each task is described in this summary report.

Minton-Summers, S.↗

A site-specific branching poly-glutamate tag mediates intracellular protein delivery by cationic lipids

Highlights: • We reported a highly potent strategy for intracellular protein delivery. • A branching poly-E tag mediated the entrapment of proteins into liposomes. • The resultant protein-lipid complexes entered into cytosol with a high efficiency. • The strategy maintained protein's biological activity. Intracellular protein delivery is of significance for cellular protein analysis and therapeutic development, but remains challenging technically. Herein, we report a general and highly potent strategy for intracellular protein delivery based on commercially available cationic lipids. In this strategy, a designed double branching poly-glutamate tag is site-specifically attached onto the C-terminal of protein cargos via expressed protein ligation (EPL), which mediates the entrapment of proteins into cationic liposomes driven by electrostatic interaction. The resultant protein-lipid complexes can enter into cytosol with a high efficiency even at the low protein concentration while maintaining protein's biological activity.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Superior removal of As(III) and As(V) from water with Mn-doped β-FeOOH nanospindles on carbon foam

Arsenic pollution of water is one of the severest environmental challenges threatening human health. Iron-based nanomaterials have been demonstrated effective in arsenic removal. However, they generally suffer from low removal efficiency towards highly toxic As(III), loss of active sites owing to agglomeration, and poor reusability. Herein, we report a carbonized melamine foam supported Mn(IV)-doped β-FeOOH nanospindles(CF@Mn-FeOOH NSp) for tackling the technical hurdles. The designed CF@Mn-FeOOH NSp appears as a free-standing monolith through a low-cost and straightforward hydrothermal method. The atomic-scale integration of Mn(IV) into β-FeOOH enables an oxidation-adsorption bifunctionality, where Mn(IV) serves as oxidizer for As(III) and Fe(III) acts as adsorber for As(V). The maximal adsorption capacity for As(V) and As(III) can reach 152 and 107 mg g -1 , respectively. Meanwhile, As in simulated high arsenic groundwater can be decreased to below 10 μg L -1 within 24 h. By simple "filtrating-washing", 85% and 82% of its initial adsorption capacity for As(V) and As(III) can be easily recovered even after 5-cycles reuse. Kinetics and isotherm adsorption study indicate that the arsenic adsorption behavior is mainly through chemical bonding during single-layer adsorbing process. The as-prepared CF@Mn-FeOOH offers a scalable, efficient, and recyclable solution for arsenic removal in groundwater and wastewater from mines and industry.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗

High Efficiency and Low Cost Thermal Energy Storage System

BgtL, LLC (BgtL) is focused on developing and commercializing its proprietary compact technology for processes in the energy sector. One such application is a compact high efficiency Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system that utilizes the heat of fusion through phase change between solid and liquid to store and release energy at high temperatures and incorporate state-of-the-art insulation to minimize heat dissipation. BgtL’s TES system would greatly improve the economics of existing nuclear and coal-fired power plants by allowing the power plant to store energy when power prices are low and sell power into the grid when prices are high. Compared to existing battery storage technology, BgtL’s novel thermal energy storage solution can be significantly less costly to acquire and maintain, does not have any waste or environmental emissions, and does not deteriorate over time; it can keep constant efficiency and operates cleanly and safely. BgtL’s engineers are experienced in this field and are able to design and engineer such a system to a specific power plant’s requirements. BgtL also has a strong manufacturing partner to fabricate the system such that it qualifies for an ASME code stamp. BgtL’s vision is to be the leading provider of compact systems for various applications including energy storage. BgtL requests that all technical information about the TES designs be protected as proprietary information. To honor that request, only non-proprietay summaries are included in this report.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Weapons Active Repository for Radiographs and Film (WARF) [Slides]

NSRC’s lineages dates to the Technical Library formed by J. Robert Oppenheimer in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. Houses 75+ years of nuclear weapons research, designs, procedures, reports, etc. This is the largest collection of nuclear weapons information anywhere in the nation.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗