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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 937 records · Page 52
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2011

Helium-Cooled Black Shroud for Subscale Cryogenic Testing

This shroud provides a deep-space simulating environment for testing scaled-down models of passively cooling systems for spaceflight optics and instruments. It is used inside a liquid-nitrogen- cooled vacuum chamber, and it is cooled by liquid helium to 5 K. It has an inside geometry of approximately 1.6 m diameter by 0.45 m tall. The inside surfaces of its top and sidewalls have a thermal absorptivity greater than 0.96. The bottom wall has a large central opening that is easily customized to allow a specific test item to extend through it. This enables testing of scale models of realistic passive cooling configurations that feature a very large temperature drop between the deepspace-facing cooled side and the Sun/Earth-facing warm side. This shroud has an innovative thermal closeout of the bottom wall, so that a test sample can have a hot (room temperature) side outside of the shroud, and a cold side inside the shroud. The combination of this closeout and the very black walls keeps radiated heat from the sample s warm end from entering the shroud, reflecting off the walls and heating the sample s cold end. The shroud includes 12 vertical rectangular sheet-copper side panels that are oriented in a circular pattern. Using tabs bent off from their edges, these side panels are bolted to each other and to a steel support ring on which they rest. The removable shroud top is a large copper sheet that rests on, and is bolted to, the support ring when the shroud is closed. The support ring stands on four fiberglass tube legs, which isolate it thermally from the vacuum chamber bottom. The insides of the cooper top and side panels are completely covered with 25- mm-thick aluminum honeycomb panels. This honeycomb is painted black before it is epoxied to the copper surfaces. A spiral-shaped copper tube, clamped at many different locations to the outside of the top copper plate, serves as part of the liquid helium cooling loop. Another copper tube, plumbed in a series to the top plate s tube, is clamped to the sidewall tabs where they are bolted to the support ring. Flowing liquid helium through these tubes cools the entire shroud to 5 K. The entire shroud is wrapped loosely in a layer of double-aluminized Kapton. The support ring s inner diameter is the largest possible hole through which the test item can extend into the shroud. Twelve custom-sized trapezoidal copper sheets extend inward from the support ring to within a few millimeters of the test item. Attached to the inner edge of each of these sheets is a custom-shaped strip of Kapton, which is aluminum- coated on the warm-facing (outer) side, and has thin Dacron netting attached to its cold-facing side. This Kapton rests against the test item, but the Dacron keeps it from making significant thermal contact. The result is a non-contact, radiatively reflective thermal closeout with essentially no gap through which radiation can pass. In this way, the part of the test item outside the shroud can be heated to relatively high temperatures without any radiative heat leaking to the inside.

Tuttle, James↗
DOE OSTI2022

Quantum gravity phenomenology at the dawn of the multi-messenger era—A review

The exploration of the universe has recently entered a new era thanks to the multi-messenger paradigm, characterized by a continuous increase in the quantity and quality of experimental data that is obtained by the detection of the various cosmic messengers (photons, neutrinos, cosmic rays and gravitational waves) from numerous origins. They give us information about their sources in the universe and the properties of the intergalactic medium. Moreover, multi-messenger astronomy opens up the possibility to search for phenomenological signatures of quantum gravity. On the one hand, the most energetic events allow us to test our physical theories at energy regimes which are not directly accessible in accelerators; on the other hand, tiny effects in the propagation of very high energy particles could be amplified by cosmological distances. After decades of merely theoretical investigations, the possibility of obtaining phenomenological indications of Planck-scale effects is a revolutionary step in the quest for a quantum theory of gravity, but it requires cooperation between different communities of physicists (both theoretical and experimental). This review, prepared within the COST Action CA18108 “Quantum gravity phenomenology in the multi-messenger approach”, is aimed at promoting this cooperation by giving a state-of-the art account of the interdisciplinary expertise that is needed in the effective search of quantum gravity footprints in the production, propagation and detection of cosmic messengers.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Imaging Andreev Reflection in Graphene

Coherent charge transport along ballistic paths can be introduced into graphene by Andreev reflection, for which an electron reflects from a superconducting contact as a hole, while a Cooper pair is transmitted. We use here a liquid-helium cooled scanning gate microscope (SGM) to image Andreev reflection in graphene in the magnetic focusing regime, where carriers move along cyclotron orbits between contacts. Images of flow are obtained by deflecting carrier paths and displaying the resulting change in conductance. When electrons enter the the superconductor, Andreev-reflected holes leave for the collecting contact. To test the findings, we destroy Andreev reflection with a large current and by heating above the critical temperature. In both cases, the reflected carriers change from holes to electrons.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2026

ORCHID: Orchestrated Retrieval-Augmented Classification of High-Risk Property with Intelligent Decision-Making

High-Risk Property (HRP) classification is critical at U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sites, where inventories include sensitive and often dual-use equipment. Compliance must track evolving rules designated by various export control policies to make transparent and auditable decisions. Traditional expert-only workflows are time-consuming, backlog-prone, and struggle to keep pace with shifting regulatory boundaries. We propose ORCHID, a modular agentic framework for HRP classification that pairs retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) with human oversight to produce policy based outputs that can be audited. Small cooperating agents—retrieval, description refiner, classifier, validator, and feedback logger—coordinate via agent-to-agent messaging and invoke tools through the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for model-agnostic on-premise operation. The interface follows an "Item to Evidence to Decision" loop with step-by-step reasoning, on-policy citations, and append-only audit bundles (run-cards, prompts, evidence). In preliminary tests on real HRP cases, ORCHID improves accuracy and traceability over a non-agentic baseline while deferring uncertain items to Subject Matter Experts (SMEs). The demonstration shows single item submission, grounded citations, SME feedback capture, and exportable audit artifacts—illustrating a practical path to trustworthy LLM assistance in sensitive DOE compliance workflows.

Das, Sanjay [ORNL] (ORCID:0009000542591915)↗
DOE OSTI2022

Power Electronics Based Self-Monitoring and Diagnosing for Photovoltaic Systems

Faults in photovoltaic (PV) systems can seriously affect the efficiency, energy yield, cost, safety, and reliability of PV plants. Condition monitoring of PV plants is, therefore, a very important approach to estimating the health condition of PV modules and power electronics in the system. However, additional hardware for PV system monitoring adds cost to the system's operation; delayed maintenance service also causes additional energy production loss. The Center for Power Electronics Systems (CPES) at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and Siemens Cooperate Research developed the online impedance measurement for a PV panel self-monitoring and diagnosing technology using the DC-DC converter connected to the panel. Small-signal impedances of a monocrystalline silicon PV panel were modeled and simulated to reflect fault conditions such as the short-circuit, hot-spot, and junction box faults. Modeling and simulation results were validated firstly using a test setup consisting of a solar simulator, a network analyzer, small-signal injectors, and a monocrystalline PV panel rated at 300 W.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1992

Flow field over the wing of a delta-wing fighter model with vortex control devices at Mach 0.6 to 1.2

As part of a cooperative research program between NASA, McDonnell Douglas Corporation, and Wright Research and Development Center, a flow field investigation was conducted on a 7.52 percent scale windtunnel model of an advanced fighter aircraft design. The investigation was conducted in the Langley 16 ft Transonic Tunnel at Mach numbers of 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2. Angle of attack was varied from -4 degrees to 30 degrees and the model was tested at angles of sideslip of 0, 5, and -5 degrees. Data for the over the wing flow field were obtained at four axial survey stations by the use of six 5 hole conical probes mounted on a survey mechanism. The wing leading edge primary vortex exerted the greatest influence in terms of total pressure loss on the over the wing flow field in the area surveyed. A number of vortex control devices were also investigated. They included two different apex flaps, wing leading edge vortex flaps, and small large wing fences. The vortex flap and both apex flaps were beneficial in controlling the wing leading edge primary vortex.

Bare, E. Ann↗
NASA NTRS2005

X-43D Conceptual Design and Feasibility Study

NASA s Next Generation Launch Technology (NGLT) Program, in conjunction with the office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E), developed an integrated hypersonic technology demonstration roadmap. This roadmap is an integral part of the National Aerospace Initiative (NAI), a multi-year, multi-agency cooperative effort to invest in and develop, among other things, hypersonic technologies. This roadmap contains key ground and flight demonstrations required along the path to developing a reusable hypersonic space access system. One of the key flight demonstrations required for systems that will operate in the high Mach number regime is the X-43D. As currently conceived, the X-43D is a Mach 15 flight test vehicle that incorporates a hydrogen-fueled scramjet engine. The purpose of the X-43D is to gather high Mach number flight environment and engine operability information which is difficult, if not impossible, to gather on the ground. During 2003, the NGLT Future Hypersonic Flight Demonstration Office initiated a feasibility study on the X-43D. The objective of the study was to develop a baseline conceptual design, assess its performance, and identify the key technical issues. The study also produced a baseline program plan, schedule, and cost, along with a list of key programmatic risks.

Johnson, Donald B.↗
NASA NTRS1981

Further tests of a model-based scheme for predicting pilot opinion ratings for large commercial transports

A methodology was demonstrated for assessing longitudinal-axis handling qualities of transport aircraft on the basis of closed-loop criteria. Six longitudinal-axis approach configurations were studied covering a range of handling quality problems that included the presence of flexible aircraft modes. Using closed-loop performance requirements derived from task analyses and pilot interviews, predictions of performance/workload tradeoffs were obtained using an analytical pilot/vehicle model. A subsequent manned simulation study yielded objective performance measures and Cooper-Harper pilot ratings that were largely consistent with each other and with analytic predictions.

Rickard, W. W.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Classification of gaseous UF 6 assay by femtosecond LIBS in the 424.4 nm spectral region using numerical HOGSVD-DTW features

This technical note presents experimental results using numerical features of fs-LIBS data to classify the assay value of a gaseous UF 6 material. Here, the data-driven feature vectors are computed by Higher Order Generalized Singular Value Decomposition (HOGSVD) and Dynamic Time Warp (DTW). The method achieves 96.97% accuracy in spectral classification testing with fs-LIBS samples obtained from a UF 6 material with five known assay values ranging from 0.287% to 61.740%, with 100% accuracy for the four largest assay values ranging from 4.615% to 61.740%.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Correcting correlation functions for redshift-dependent interloper contamination

ABSTRACT The construction of catalogues of a particular type of galaxy can be complicated by interlopers contaminating the sample. In spectroscopic galaxy surveys this can be due to the misclassification of an emission line; for example in the Hobby–Eberly Telescope Dark Energy Experiment (HETDEX) low-redshift [O ii] emitters may make up a few per cent of the observed Ly α emitter (LAE) sample. The presence of contaminants affects the measured correlation functions and power spectra. Previous attempts to deal with this using the cross-correlation function have assumed sources at a fixed redshift, or not modelled evolution within the adopted redshift bins. However, in spectroscopic surveys like HETDEX, where the contamination fraction is likely to be redshift dependent, the observed clustering of misclassified sources will appear to evolve strongly due to projection effects, even if their true clustering does not. We present a practical method for accounting for the presence of contaminants with redshift-dependent contamination fractions and projected clustering. We show using mock catalogues that our method, unlike existing approaches, yields unbiased clustering measurements from the upcoming HETDEX survey in scenarios with redshift-dependent contamination fractions within the redshift bins used. We show our method returns autocorrelation functions with systematic biases much smaller than the statistical noise for samples with at least as high as 7 per cent contamination. We also present and test a method for fitting for the redshift-dependent interloper fraction using the LAE–[O ii] galaxy cross-correlation function, which gives less biased results than assuming a single interloper fraction for the whole sample.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1993

Magnetospheric models for electron acceleration and transport in the heliosphere

Electron transport and acceleration processes in the earth's magnetosphere have correspondences to analogous processes affecting electrons in the solar magnetosphere (i.e., heliosphere). Energetic electrons in planetary magnetospheres and the heliosphere are test particles probing transport and acceleration dynamics with minimal effects on dominant magnetic field configurations. Parallels are discussed relating to electron entry into the magnetospheres from interplanetary and interstellar space, circulatory transport processes, and acceleration by electric fields in boundary regions including shocks and magnetotails.

Cooper, J. F.↗
NASA NTRS2016

Additively Manufactured Low Cost Upper Stage Combustion Chamber

Over the past two years NASA's Low Cost Upper Stage Propulsion (LCUSP) project has developed Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies and design tools aimed at reducing the costs and manufacturing time of regeneratively cooled rocket engine components. High pressure/high temperature combustion chambers and nozzles must be regeneratively cooled to survive their operating environment, causing their design fabrication to be costly and time consuming due to the number of individual steps and different processes required. Under LCUSP, AM technologies in Sintered Laser Melting (SLM) GRCop-84 and Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication (EBF3) Inconel 625 have been significantly advanced, allowing the team to successfully fabricate a 25k-class regenerative chamber. Estimates of the costs and schedule of future builds indicate cost reductions and significant schedule reductions will be enabled by this technology. Characterization of the microstructural and mechanical properties of the SLM-produced GRCop-84, EBF3 Inconel 625 and the interface layer between the two has been performed and indicates the properties will meet the design requirements. The LCUSP chamber is to be tested with a previously demonstrated SLM injector in order to advance the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) and demonstrate the capability of the application of these processes. NASA is advancing these technologies to reduce cost and schedule for future engine applications and commercial needs.

Protz, Christopher↗
NASA NTRS2024

Core Body Temperature Predictions Using Metabolic Energy Expenditure and Heart Rate During Simulated Extravehicular Activity

Long duration spaceflight missions will require crew to become more autonomous in conducting extravehicular activities (EVA) without direct communication with Mission Control for biomedical support. To enable such autonomy, we are developing a Crew State and Risk Model (CSRM) as a collection of key physiology domains that drive EVA crew capabilities and workloads. One model component of CSRM is human thermal regulation. In this paper, customized development of a baseline model to predict core body temperature is presented using physiology inputs of heart rate and metabolic rate. The model development dataset included a baseline study where participants (n=6, equal male and female) performed a 5-hour EVA in a two-part session while wearing a hybrid space suit simulator (HS3). The first session included an end-to-end EVA traversing 1500 meters to a geology site and traversing back to a habitat conducting geology, payload relocation, and maintenance operations every 500 meters. The second session included standalone tasks of a 2000-meter traverse followed by geology tasks. Thermal measures of core body temperature, local skin temperature, liquid cooling garment temperature, heart rate, and metabolic rate were collected through the test duration. Multiple regression was used to build a linear equation to predict core body temperature from inputs of heart rate and metabolic rate. Heat storage was calculated via predicted core body temperature plus LCG and skin temperatures. The model was tested against a dataset from a pressurized suited test (n=6, equal male and female) in the NASA Active Response Gravity Offload System (ARGOS) conducting similar end-to-end EVA and standalone tasks. Predicted error of the model against the raw test cases was 0.2±0.15 °C. The baseline prediction of core body temperature using heart rates and metabolic rates allows for simple real-time tracking from data collected in-flight to monitor crew consumables and thermal flight limits during EVA.

Bradley Hoffmann↗
NASA NTRS1985

Observing system simulation experiments at NASA. Goddard Space Flight Center

A series of realistic simulation studies is being conducted as a cooperative effort between the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), the National Meteorological Center (NMC), and the Goddard Laboratory for Atmospheres (GLA), to provide a quantitative assessment of the potential impact of future observing systems on large scale numerical weather prediction. A special objective is to avoid the unrealistic character of earlier simulation studies. Following a brief review of previous simulation studies and real data impact tests, the methodology for the current simulation system will be described. Results from an assessment of the realism of the simulation system and of the potential impact of advanced observing systems on numerical weather prediction and preliminary results utilizing this system will be presented at the conference.

Atlas, R.↗
DOE OSTI2023

H2@Scale CRADA: CA Research Consort. (Ref. Station, Fueling Perf. Test Device, Station Cap Model)

Heavy-duty (HD) hydrogen stations are an essential part of building a clean energy infrastructure by lowering greenhouse gas emissions and criteria pollutants from the trucking industry. Clean fuel at HD stations also supports energy, environmental, and social justice by preventing pollution near the stations and on truck routes while strengthening U.S. manufacturing and providing pathways to private sector uptake. The goal of the CA Research Consortium is to continue the research partnership between national laboratories, DOE, and California public agencies for the advancement of hydrogen fueling infrastructure for HD vehicles. This cooperative work directly impacts California's transition to Zero Emission Trucks and will provide tools and information that lead to more efficient design, acceptance, and commissioning of these larger capacity, higher flow rate stations serving HD hydrogen trucks such as class 8 trucks in long haul applications.

AMR↗
DOE OSTI2020

Data-Driven Understanding of Low-to-Moderate Income Customers’ Adoption and Financial Qualification in Community Solar (Final Technical Report)

When Solstice began working in the community solar industry, it quickly became clear that there was a wide disparity along race and class lines in terms of what kind of household traditional solar offerings benefited. Solstice is an organization that aligns itself to the principles of a Just Transition, or the concept that a transition to a green economy should benefit and prioritize historically marginalized groups of people. Given that low-income communities are disproportionately burdened by our current polluting fossil fuel economy, Solstice set out to investigate the root causes of the exclusion of low to moderate income (LMI) households in the community solar market. As we worked more and more with financiers, developers, and LMI households, we recognized that significant barriers to entry in a developer-owned project were credit threshold requirements. A FICO score of 750 and higher discriminates against LMI households that are not financially stable enough to take on multiple lines of credit (or who may not have been deemed credit worthy enough to access a line of credit) yet who may have been reliable utility customers. As Solstice began looking further into preliminary data and speaking to community-based organizations (CBOs) that serve LMI households, we found our hypothesis to be worth investigating; there was indeed a subset of LMI households with poor FICO scores (or no FICO score at all) that had perfect bill payment history. Though initially Solstice was intent on gathering a body of data to prove or disprove this hypothesis, we were also concerned that all this proof of a financially stable and reliable customer was not being incorporated into FICO, and wondered if such a score would be possible. After preliminary research into the existence of alternative scores, Solstice realized that many mission-driven lending institutions rely on alternative metrics that are formulated for their specific industry. However, we also realized that community solar did not have an alternative credit underwriting mechanism, though there was great need from solar financiers for one. We anticipated that the creation of an EnergyScore would contribute to financiers’ need to qualify more people, as these entities are desperately looking for ways to lower the cost of customer acquisition. FICO turns away nearly 50% of potential customers (according to our own acquisition experience), and much of the community solar industry is realizing that FICO is not the perfect qualifying mechanism. Additionally, with a grounding in energy justice, just transitions, and climate justice, Solstice recognizes the need for a solution that addresses a more urgent need for LMI households to access renewable energy savings and relieve energy burdens. With funding from the Department of Energy, we gathered the data necessary to build the EnergyScore, reached out to mission-driven developers willing to test the metric, and secured several demonstration projects to pilot the EnergyScore. After acquiring customers for these demo projects using the EnergyScore, we will be continuously collecting customer payment behavior data. Though it goes beyond the scope of this project, we plan to disseminate this de-identified data with the wider community solar industry, which includes not only financiers and developers, but other mission-driven nonprofits, solar cooperatives, community-based organizations, environmental justice activists, and academics. While we intend to disprove the notion that LMI households cannot be included in projects without acutely increasing the risk to project finances, we also hope the data can be used to negotiate better pricing of systems and terms of ownership for community groups seeking to build inclusive projects.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Application of electron beam technology to decompose persistent emerging drinking water contaminants: poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4 dioxane.

Fermi Research Alliance, LLC (FRA) operates Fermilab under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy and has patents on technologies and applications of a novel mobile electron beam accelerator. A high-power version of this mobile accelerator based on FRA-developed SRF technology is under development at Illinois Accelerator Research Center (IARC) and can enable several new applications that have significant commercial potential. One such application is the e-beam treatment of persistent emerging contaminants in drinking water. The contaminants of concern are poly- and perfluoroalklyl substances (PFAS) and 1,4-dioxine. Both PFAS and 1,4-D are highly resistant to degradation and are not effectively removed by conventional drinking water treatment systems. Existing technologies, such as granular activated carbon (GAC) filters and reverse osmosis (RO) systems do not decompose. The Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) at Stony Brook University (SBU) is in the process of identifying and testing effective technologies to remove PFAS and/or 1,4-D from drinking waters. se PFAS, but rather concentrate them either by adsorption (GAC) or membrane rejection (RO). The Center for Clean Water Technology (CCWT) at Stony Brook University (SBU) is in the process of identifying and testing effective technologies to remove PFAS and/or 1,4-D from drinking waters to demonstrate the full-scale application of novel water treatment technologies and is experienced in conducting research to understand treatment performance with a particular focus on 1,4-D and PFAS contamination.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
NASA NTRS1975

Strainrange Partitioning - A tool for characterizing high-temperature low-cycle fatigue

The basic concepts of Strainrange Partitioning are reviewed, with particular reference to the areas requiring expanded verification. A cooperative program is proposed for achieving this broader verification through the additional experience provided by the participants in this program. The suggested program includes verification of the four basic life relationships (for PP, CC, PC, and CP type inelastic strainranges) for a variety of materials chosen by the participating organizations. The four relationships are then used in conjunction with the Interaction Damage Rule to predict the cyclic lives of tests involving various combinations of the basic strainrange components. The testing program also includes evaluation of the degree of insensitivity of these relationships to temperature as well as their utility in representing bounds on life.

Hirschberg, M. H.↗