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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 991 records · Page 55
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Selective Biosorption of Valuable Rare Earth Elements Among Co-Occurring Lanthanides

To meet the increasing demand for rare earth elements (REEs) essential for low carbon-intensity energy technologies, new methods are needed for selective REE extraction from unconventional resources. Only a few REEs have significant economic value, but isolation of target rare earths from co-occurring lanthanides is challenging due to their similar chemical behavior. We present a novel approach to enhance separation of specific REEs from lanthanide mixtures. Escherichia coli cells engineered with lanthanide binding tags (LBTs) were immobilized in nonadsorbing, permeable polyethylene glycol diacrylate beads and packed into continuous flow, fixed-bed columns. Breakthrough of 15 rare earths in the +3 oxidation state resulted in notable differences in adsorption selectivity, with greatest separation between europium (Eu) and lanthanum (La) due to competitive displacement. REE adsorption onto fixed-bed columns was predicted by coupling a surface complexation model to a calibrated one-dimensional dual porosity transport model that accounts for interbead advective and intrabead diffusive transport. A tradeoff between high-abundance, low-affinity native carboxyl sites and low-abundance, high-affinity engineered LBT sites dictates process recovery efficiency and selectivity. Key chemical and operational parameters are identified to maximize selective extraction of high-value lanthanides, achieving a threefold enhancement of Eu recovery relative to La in a mixed REE solution.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

PBE–DFT theoretical study of organic photovoltaic materials based on thiophene with 1D and 2D periodic boundary conditions

Conjugated organic systems such as thiophene are interesting topics in the field of organic solar cells. We theoretically investigate π-conjugated polymers constituted by n units (n = 1–11) based on the thiophene (Tn) molecule. The computations of the geometries and electronic structures of these compounds are performed using the density functional theory (DFT) at the 6–31 G(d, p) level of theory and the Perdew–Burke–Eenzerhof (PBE) formulation of the generalized gradient approximation with periodic boundary conditions (PBCs) in one (1D) and two (2D) dimensions. Moreover, the electronic properties (HOCO, LUCO, E{sub gap}, V{sub oc}, and V{sub bi}) are determined from 1D and 2D PBC to understand the effect of the number of rings in polythiophene. The absorption properties—excitation energies (E{sub ex}), the maximal absorption wavelength (λ{sub max}), oscillator strengths, and light harvesting—efficiency are studied using the time-dependent DFT method. Our studies show that changing the number of thiophene units can effectively modulate the electronic and optical properties. On the other hand, our work demonstrates the efficiency of theoretical calculation in the PBCs.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

FY2014 Vehicle and Systems Simulation and Testing Annual Progress Report

The Vehicle and Systems Simulation and Testing research and development (R&D) subprogram within the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive technologies under development. Research focuses on addressing critical barriers to advancing light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle systems to help maximize the number of electric miles driven and increase the energy efficiency of transportation vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2016

FY2015 Vehicle Systems Annual Progress Report

The Vehicle Systems research and development (R&D) subprogram within the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive technologies under development. Research focuses on addressing critical barriers to advancing light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicle systems to help maximize the number of electric miles driven and increase the energy efficiency of transportation vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Heliostats with Adjustable Shape for High Concentration throughout the Day

Our motivation is to develop more efficient heliostats that can provide commercially viable solar thermal power at temperatures > 800°C. Such high temperatures will enable high-temperature industrial processes, as well as electrical generation after sunset with high efficiency. The importance of this research is that such heliostats have the potential to substantially expand the global use of solar energy, by adding solar thermal power as a major component. Thermal solar currently accounts for only 1% of all solar power (with PV being the rest), with heliostat fields providing just 0.25%. Our goals have been 1) to demonstrate a technical improvement for heliostats that can enable fields of them to more efficiently power receivers and reactors, and 2) to show a path to low-cost mass production. Our solution uses new opto-mechanical technology to correct a fundamental deficiency of present heliostats that limits their concentration, namely that they have fixed shape. Most of today’s heliostat research does not address this, but is directed simply toward cost reduction in an effort to make heliostats commercially viable. We are motivated to explore also improving heliostat efficiency, which can be done by continually changing their shape to maximize the concentration of sunlight throughout the day. This is not a new concept, but it has never been implemented in a practical, cost-effective way that approaches the theoretical limit to concentration while also improving mechanical performance; this is our goal. Our major accomplishments have been: 1) We have realized the planned design, construction, and test of a prototype heliostat that achieves the required shape changes in an 8 m2 single-piece glass mirror. The mirror is attached to a steel support frame that is automatically mechanically twisted by the heliostat drives that orient the mirror to direct sunlight to the tower-mounted receiver. Closed-loop tracking is done using a new beamsplitter camera that exploits the target-oriented mount configuration. Field tests of the heliostat show that the light is reflected through the day to always form a disc image of the sun, as needed to obtain the highest concentration. 2) We have developed the design for a field of 431 heliostats to deliver annual average of 1 MW of thermal power at 3,000 sun concentration, matched to a high-temperature ≥ 1000°C chemical reactor. 3) We have also developed, beyond the original stated goals of the project, a new concept for closed-loop tracking and shape-sensing for all the heliostats in the above field, using just 6 cameras around the concentrated reactor focus. Our research adds to the understanding of solar thermal energy by its demonstration of the technical effectiveness of a higher performing heliostat, and by its concept for a new powerful method for real-time tracking and shape sensing in the field, as described above. We have studied the economic feasibility of fields of our twisting heliostats to provide high- temperature heat at a price competitive with that of burning gas, to satisfy the DOE’s studied zero-emissions scenario, where the gas price has to include the cost of carbon capture. The project has the potential to greatly benefit the public if it helps limit global warming by 1) reducing carbon emission from industrial heating, which is currently a major contributor to the 40-billion-ton annual increase in atmospheric CO 2 . 2) Ultimately, the technology could prove to be the least expensive method to power direct air capture of CO 2 on the very large scale needed to remove the 1 trillion-ton excess of CO 2 already in the atmosphere.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1968

Fully automatic telemetry data processor

Satellite Telemetry Automatic Reduction System /STARS 2/, a fully automatic computer-controlled telemetry data processor, maximizes data recovery, reduces turnaround time, increases flexibility, and improves operational efficiency. The system incorporates a CDC 3200 computer as its central element.

Cox, F. B.↗
NASA NTRS2006

Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) Program

This document reviews NASA's Exploration Medical Capability (ExMC) program. The new space exploration program, outlined by the President will present new challenges to the crew's health. The project goals are to develop and validate requirements for reliable, efficient, and robust medical systems and treatments for space exploration to maximize crew performance for mission objectives.

Kalla, Elizabeth↗
NASA NTRS2014

Multi-point Adjoint-Based Design of Tilt-Rotors in a Noninertial Reference Frame

Optimization of tilt-rotor systems requires the consideration of performance at multiple design points. In the current study, an adjoint-based optimization of a tilt-rotor blade is considered. The optimization seeks to simultaneously maximize the rotorcraft figure of merit in hover and the propulsive efficiency in airplane-mode for a tilt-rotor system. The design is subject to minimum thrust constraints imposed at each design point. The rotor flowfields at each design point are cast as steady-state problems in a noninertial reference frame. Geometric design variables used in the study to control blade shape include: thickness, camber, twist, and taper represented by as many as 123 separate design variables. Performance weighting of each operational mode is considered in the formulation of the composite objective function, and a build up of increasing geometric degrees of freedom is used to isolate the impact of selected design variables. In all cases considered, the resulting designs successfully increase both the hover figure of merit and the airplane-mode propulsive efficiency for a rotor designed with classical techniques.

Jones, William T.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Simulation and Analysis of Technology and Operational Procedures to Reduce the Combined Effects of Emissions and Contrails

The development and evaluation of concepts and technology to support future air traffic management systems require a hierarchy of models ranging from real-time simulations to extensive field evaluations. Air traffic simulation models such as Airspace Concept Evaluation System, Center Tracon Automation System, Future Air traffic management Concept Evaluation Tool and others are used to design air traffic systems balancing the conflicting objectives of maximizing safety, meeting future demands for airports and airspace and increase efficiency of traffic flows in the presence of uncertain weather. The impact of aviation emissions and contrails on climate imposes another constraint on the design of aircraft and aviation operations. The understanding of the complex interaction between physical climate system, the carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions and aviation activity can be improved by the development of integrated assessment models that include emission and climate models together with air traffic simulations. The modeling of aircraft emissions and their interaction with each other to change the concentration levels of different gasses in the atmosphere and the resulting impact of the radiative forcing on the equilibrium of the Earth's atmosphere is complex and requires the use of coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models together with three-dimensional models of carbon cycle and chemistry of other non-CO2 greenhouse gases. These models are computationally intensive and unsuitable for studies involving the generation of multiple scenarios. Simple emission and climate models, based on the input-output relations of linear systems, capture the fundamental emission to climate impact behavior by careful selection of key variables and their dynamics. The impact of various greenhouse gases depends on the total concentration, effect per unit change in atmospheric concentration and the spatial distribution of the gas. All these quantities are influenced by the lifetime of the gas. The impact of a greenhouse gas depends on the interval of assessment, which may vary from a few decades to a few centuries. Climate metrics are aimed at providing a common scale to compare different greenhouse gases. If the metrics are to be used as a tool in developing and evaluating aviation operations, they should be transparent and easy to apply. Global Warming Potential and Aggregate Global Temperature Potential are some of the commonly used metrics. This paper integrates a national-level air traffic simulation and optimization capability with simple climate models and carbon cycle models, and climate metrics to assess the impact of aviation on climate. The capability brings together metrics, which are useful in aviation operations together with metrics used in climate studies. The capability can be used to make trade-offs between extra fuel cost and reduction in climate impact. There is considerable uncertainty in our understanding of the radiative forcing associated with emissions and contrails. The parameters in the simulation can be used to evaluate the effect of various uncertainties in emission models and contrails. It can also be used to evaluate the impact of different decision horizons. Alternatively, the optimization results from the simulation can be used as inputs to other tools that monetize global climate impacts like the FAA's Aviation Environmental Portfolio Management Tool for Impacts.

impact of aviation on the environment↗
DOE OSTI2018

Detectability-Based Resilience of Water Distribution System Using Failure Finger Print

This study introduces a detectability-based sensor localizing framework to enhance the resilience of water distribution systems. The framework includes leakage detection and resilience assessment. A feasibility test and a sensitivity analysis prove the framework successfully can detect correct leakage location. The resilience measure was found to increase for higher detectability and shorter identification time. The sensor location is constrained by minimizing the number of sensors and maximizing the detectability and resilience. Results show that two sensors will efficiently detect burst leakage in the studied network. Detectability varies from 71.3% to 99.4% depending on the location of two sensors, while resilience value was reduced by 7.5%. Estimated water loss due to detection time lag are almost 111 ML, which may lead to significant direct and indirect economic loss.

Lee, Seungyub↗
DOE OSTI2023

Heat Exchanger Design for Waste Heat Recovery using Additive Manufacturing

With anticipated increases in global energy use and their associated emissions, there are many efforts to improve the emissions and efficiency of many industrial processes through waste heat recovery (WHR). To maximize improvements, the heat exchangers in WHR power cycles must be designed and optimized for a given heat source. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing (AM) is a single part manufacturing technique that provides the opportunity to develop unique and complex heat exchanger designs. Consequently, this work centers on the modeling, design, optimization, and testing of AM shell and tube heat exchangers for WHR. Specifically, a modified one-dimensional (1+1-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) heat exchanger models were developed and validated, with the 1+1-D model serving as the basis for design optimization. After modifications to the design to allow for AM, heat exchanger geometry optimizations were completed, targeting increased effectiveness across a range of physical parameters. Of the designs considered, nine were additively manufactured using Ti5553, and then tested using an external heat source and working fluid. Experimentally, the nineteen-tube, zero-baffle heat exchanger displayed the best overall performance, with the effects of dimensional accuracy, surface roughness, and baffles in the other designs also indicated. Next, the experimental results were used as inputs for the 1+1-D model. Although the original model was able to predict fluid outlet temperatures within 5% differences, larger variations in the heat exchanger performance parameters, temperature differences, and pressure drop necessitated optimizing the pressure drop and heat transfer calculations within the model. Thus, the resulting improved model was able to predict the heat transfer rates, heat source temperature difference, and effectiveness within 15% differences, while showing improvements in the pressure drops and working fluid temperature differences. The improved model serves as the foundation for future work to improve the design and performance of AM heat exchangers.

Spickler, Bailey Ann↗
DOE OSTI2020

Federal Best Practices: Core Principles of Sustainable Fleet Management

This document is designed to help agency fleet managers understand and implement optimal petroleum reduction strategies for each fleet location by evaluating the most appropriate combination of the four core principles of sustainable fleet management: Right-sizing the fleet to agency mission by implementing a vehicle allocation methodology study; Minimizing vehicle miles traveled; Increasing fleet fuel efficiency by replacing inefficient vehicles with more fuel-efficient vehicles, maintaining vehicles, driving more efficiently, and avoiding excessive idling; Optimizing cost-effective alternative fuel use, including maximizing utilization of existing alternative fuel infrastructure, installing alternative fuel infrastructure where practical (including electric vehicle charging stations), and aligning deployment of alternative fuel vehicles with fueling infrastructure.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Physicochemical and Performance Characterization of Six Commercial Organic Solvent Nanofiltration Membranes

This work introduces a novel, gradient-free metamaterial design method based on Gaussian process regression to represent the density field of a unit cell. The dimension of the design space is determined by the covariance matrix dimension in the Gaussian process regression. We propose compressing this matrix using an autoencoder, enabling the decoder to generate the density field and effectively reduce the originally large design space to a lower-dimensional subspace. In this compressed space, we employ an active learning method, Bayesian Adaptive Direct Search (BADS), for efficient exploration of the design space. We demonstrate that for simple 2D designs aimed at maximizing unit cell stiffness, our method yields results comparable to those of standard topology optimization. Furthermore, we extend our approach to various mechanical problems, from linear elasticity to hyperelastic large deformation and elasto-plasticity under finite deformation, to 3D metamaterial design. This illustrates the method’s versatility and effectiveness across a range of applications.

Wu, Haoran↗
DOE OSTI2019

Genomewide and Enzymatic Analysis Reveals Efficient D-Galacturonic Acid Metabolism in the Basidiomycete Yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides

Biorefining of renewable feedstocks is one of the most promising routes to replace fossil-based products. Since many common fermentation hosts, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae , are naturally unable to convert many component plant cell wall polysaccharides, the identification of organisms with broad catabolism capabilities represents an opportunity to expand the range of substrates used in fermentation biorefinery approaches. The red basidiomycete yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides is a promising and robust host for lipid- and terpene-derived chemicals. Previous studies demonstrated assimilation of a range of substrates, from C 5 /C 6 sugars to aromatic molecules similar to lignin monomers. In the current study, we analyzed the potential of R. toruloides to assimilate d -galacturonic acid, a major sugar in many pectin-rich agricultural waste streams, including sugar beet pulp and citrus peels. d -Galacturonic acid is not a preferred substrate for many fungi, but its metabolism was found to be on par with those of d -glucose and d -xylose in R. toruloides . A genomewide analysis by combined transcriptome sequencing (RNA-seq) and RB-TDNA-seq revealed those genes with high relevance for fitness on d -galacturonic acid. While R. toruloides was found to utilize the nonphosphorylative catabolic pathway known from ascomycetes, the maximal velocities of several enzymes exceeded those previously reported. In addition, an efficient downstream glycerol catabolism and a novel transcription factor were found to be important for d -galacturonic acid utilization. These results set the basis for use of R. toruloides as a potential host for pectin-rich waste conversions and demonstrate its suitability as a model for metabolic studies with basidiomycetes. The switch from the traditional fossil-based industry to a green and sustainable bioeconomy demands the complete utilization of renewable feedstocks. Many currently used bioconversion hosts are unable to utilize major components of plant biomass, warranting the identification of microorganisms with broader catabolic capacity and characterization of their unique biochemical pathways. d -Galacturonic acid is a plant component of bioconversion interest and is the major backbone sugar of pectin, a plant cell wall polysaccharide abundant in soft and young plant tissues. The red basidiomycete and oleaginous yeast Rhodosporidium toruloides has been previously shown to utilize a range of sugars and aromatic molecules. Using state-of-the-art functional genomic methods and physiological and biochemical assays, we elucidated the molecular basis underlying the efficient metabolism of d -galacturonic acid. This study identified an efficient pathway for uronic acid conversion to guide future engineering efforts and represents the first detailed metabolic analysis of pectin metabolism in a basidiomycete fungus.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Numerical Model of Thermoelectric Topping Cycle of Coal-Fired Power Plant

Traditional fossil fuel power generation process typically has low efficiency. Large amount of the energy loss in Rankine cycle steam turbines (ST) is due to the temperature difference between the combustion flame temperature ~2250 K (adiabatic) and the high pressure steam temperature up to 900 K. However, some of this energy can be harvested using solid-state thermoelectric (TE) power generators which are placed into the gap between the flame temperature and the steam temperature that produce additional electrical power. This study investigates the potential placement of TE on water tube wall inside a boiler at a coal-fired power plant. Three-dimensional (3D) numerical model of a simplified TE module is developed, and hot gas temperature and steam temperature from the boiler are used as boundary conditions at the hot side and cold side of the TE. The numerical results are compared with analytical calculations. The 3D effects of the thermal spreading in the TE module are investigated. Parameters such as TE leg cross section area and TE fill factor are examined in order to maximize the electrical power production of the TE without sacrificing the boiler efficiency (i.e., reducing the steam temperature). The study also looks into the various locations inside the boiler that have good potential for TE installation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Structure–performance relationships for cantilever-type piezoelectric energy harvesters

This study provides comprehensive analysis of the structure–performance relationships in cantilever-type piezoelectric energy harvesters. It provides full understanding of the effect of all the practical global control variables on the harvester performance. The control variables considered for the analysis were material parameters, areal and volumetric dimensions, and configuration of the inactive and active layers. Experimentally, the output power density of the harvester was maximum when the shape of the beam was close to a square for a constant bending stiffness and a fixed beam area. Through analytical modeling of the effective stiffness for the piezoelectric bimorph, the conditions for enhancing the bending stiffness within the same beam volume as that of a conventional bimorph were identified. The harvester configuration with beam aspect ratio of 0.86 utilizing distributed inactive layers exhibited an giant output power of 52.5 mW and power density of 28.5 mW cm{sup −3} at 30 Hz under 6.9 m s{sup −2} excitation. The analysis further indicates that the trend in the output power with varying damping ratio is dissimilar to that of the efficiency. In order to realize best performance, the harvester should be designed with respect to maximizing the magnitude of output power.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Donor End-Capped Alkyl Chain Length Dependent Non-Radiative Energy Loss in All-Small-Molecule Organic Solar Cells

A critical bottleneck for further efficiency breakthroughs in organic solar cells (OSCs) is to minimize the non-radiative energy loss (eΔV nr ) while maximizing the charge generation. With the development of highly emissive low-bandgap non-fullerene acceptors, the design of high-performance donors becomes critical to enable the blend with the electroluminescence quantum efficiency to approach or surpass the pristine acceptor. Herein, by shortening the end-capped alkyl chains of the small-molecular donors from hexyl (MPhS-C6) to ethyl (MPhS-C2), the material obtained aggregation that was insensitive to thermal annealing (TA) along with condensed packing simultaneously. The former leads to small phase separation and suppressed upshifts of the highest occupied molecular orbital energy level during TA, and the latter facilitates its efficient charge-transport at aggregation-less packing. Hence, the ΔV nr decreases from 0.242 to 0.182 V, from MPhS-C6 to MPhS-C2 based OSCs. An excellent PCE of 17.11% is obtained by 1,8-diiodoctane addition due to almost unchanged high J sc (26.6 mA cm –2 ) and V oc (0.888 V) with improved fill factor, which is the record efficiency with the smallest energy loss (0.497 eV) and ΔV nr (0.192 V) in all-small-molecule OSCs. Finally, these results emphasize the potential material design direction of obtaining concurrent TA-insensitive aggregation and condensed packing to maximize the device performances with a super low ΔV nr .

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

The efficiency limit of CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3} perovskite solar cells

With the consideration of photon recycling effect, the efficiency limit of methylammonium lead iodide (CH{sub 3}NH{sub 3}PbI{sub 3}) perovskite solar cells is predicted by a detailed balance model. To obtain convincing predictions, both AM 1.5 spectrum of Sun and experimentally measured complex refractive index of perovskite material are employed in the detailed balance model. The roles of light trapping and angular restriction in improving the maximal output power of thin-film perovskite solar cells are also clarified. The efficiency limit of perovskite cells (without the angular restriction) is about 31%, which approaches to Shockley-Queisser limit (33%) achievable by gallium arsenide (GaAs) cells. Moreover, the Shockley-Queisser limit could be reached with a 200 nm-thick perovskite solar cell, through integrating a wavelength-dependent angular-restriction design with a textured light-trapping structure. Additionally, the influence of the trap-assisted nonradiative recombination on the device efficiency is investigated. The work is fundamentally important to high-performance perovskite photovoltaics.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗