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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 1,063 records · Page 59
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Thermal conductivity of multilayer polymer-nanocomposite thin films

The development of electrical insulators that are thermally conducting is critical for thermal management applications in many advanced electronics and electrical devices. Here, we synthesized polymer nanocomposite (PNC) films composed of polymers [polyethylenimine, poly(vinylamine), poly(acrylic acid), and poly(ethylene oxide)] and dielectric fillers (montmorillonite clay and hexagonal boron nitride) by layer-by-layer technique. The cross-plane thermal conductivity (k⊥) of the film was measured by the 3ω method. The effect of various factors such as film growth, filler type, filler volume fraction, polymer chemical structures, and temperature on the thermal conductivity is reported. The k⊥ of PNCs with thickness from 37 nm to 1.34 μm was found to be in the range of 0.11 to 0.21 ± 0.02 W m−1 K−1. The k⊥ values were found to be lower than the constituent polymer matrix. The experimental result is compared with existing theoretical models of nanocomposite systems to get insight into heat transfer behavior in such layered films composed of dielectrics and polymers.

Physics↗
NASA NTRS2014

Testing Devices Garner Data on Insulation Performance

To develop a test instrument that could garner measurements of the thermal performance of insulation under extreme conditions, researchers at Kennedy Space Center devised the Cryostat 1 and then Cryostat 2. McLean, Virginia-based QinetiQ North America licensed the technology and plans to market it to organizations developing materials for things like piping and storage tank insulation, refrigeration, appliances, and consumer goods.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS2001

Phase change thermal control materials, method and apparatus

An apparatus and method for metabolic cooling and insulation of a user in a cold environment. In its preferred embodiment the apparatus is a highly flexible composite material having a flexible matrix containing a phase change thermal storage material. The apparatus can be made to heat or cool the body or to act as a thermal buffer to protect the wearer from changing environmental conditions. The apparatus may also include an external thermal insulation layer and/or an internal thermal control layer to regulate the rate of heat exchange between the composite and the skin of the wearer. Other embodiments of the apparatus also provide 1) a path for evaporation or direct absorption of perspiration from the skin of the wearer for improved comfort and thermal control, 2) heat conductive pathways within the material for thermal equalization, 3) surface treatments for improved absorption or rejection of heat by the material, and 4) means for quickly regenerating the thermal storage capacity for reuse of the material. Applications of the composite materials are also described which take advantage of the composite's thermal characteristics. The examples described include a diver's wet suit, ski boot liners, thermal socks, gloves and a face mask for cold weather activities, and a metabolic heating or cooling blanket useful for treating hypothermia or fever patients in a medical setting and therapeutic heating or cooling orthopedic joint supports.

Buckley, Theresa M.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Leveraging metal hydrides for strategic thermal energy control

Attributes of Sensible Heat Materials • Typically based on highly abundant and lowcost materials • Store thermal energy based on the heat capacity (or specific heat) of the material • Duration of thermal energy storage depends on how well the system is insulated • Has the lowest thermal energy storage density • Can be pumped as a fluid Attributes of Latent Heat Materials • Also based on highly abundant materials, but typically cost slightly more than sensible heat materials • Store thermal energy based on the heat of the phase change (i.e., heat of fusion) and the specific heat of the material • Duration of thermal energy storage depends on how well the system is insulated • Has a higher thermal energy storage density than sensible heat materials, but cannot be pumped as a fluid

WARD, PATRICK↗
DOE OSTI2026

Power Electronics Module with Integrated Ceramic Heat Exchanger

NREL, in partnership with Synteris and Packet Digital, has developed a 3D-printable ceramic package for power electronic modules to improve their thermal management, power density, performance, and lifetime. Existing power modules contain flat ceramic substrates that serve as both the electrically insulating component and thermal conductor that transfer the large heat outputs of these devices. The team has developed an additive manufacturing process that replaces the traditional insulating metalized substrate, substrate attach, and baseplate/heat exchanger with an additively-manufactured ceramic packaging that acts as both an electrical insulator and heat exchanger for better thermal management. The design, manufacturability, and function of this power module will be discussed.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS2022

Passive Cooling in Aerogel-Based Insulation Systems for Liquid Hydrogen Upper Stage Launch Vehicle Tanks

Spray-On Foam Insulation (SOFI) is typically used to protect the windward-facing side of flight tanks for space launch vehicle liquid hydrogen (LH2) stages. SOFI is an excellent insulator in ambient pressure environments, however, its performance pales in comparison to reflective-type systems such as Multi-Layer Insulation in the thermal radiation dominated vacuum environment of space. If a windward insulation system employing radiation shields could be devised to replace or supplement SOFI, the on-orbit heat load could be drastically reduced, and the residual propellants could then be used to facilitate secondary missions. Such insulation systems, utilizing aerogel blanket insulation, have been explored by the Cryogenics Test Laboratory at NASA Kennedy Space Center. Owing to its nano-porous structure, aerogel is an excellent adsorbent as well as an insulator at cryogenic temperatures and will readily uptake condensable background gasses such as air when protecting a surface near LH2 temperatures. When an adsorbed blanket is rapidly exposed to a vacuum, such as during the ascent of a rocket, it will release the background gas, producing a passive cooling effect that could potentially reduce or eliminate the heat load on the propellant tank for a time. This work discusses the setup and results of a test program carried out to determine the effectiveness and impact of this cooling effect as it pertains to LH2 upper stage tanks. A vertical-cylindrical liquid nitrogen (LN2) calorimeter test instrument acted as the upper stage analog. The cold-mass was wrapped with two layers of 10 mm thick aerogel blanket material, with and without aluminum heat shields depending on the test, and interspersed with numerous thermocouple temperature sensors. Gaseous argon was used as a stand-in for air as the condensable background gas. The test procedure mimicked vehicle cryo-loading/stabilization, and ascent phases, with the ascent phase accomplished using parallel vacuum pumps. Results show that the desorption cooling effect was enough to not only eliminate the heat load on the LN2 cold-mass entirely, but further refrigerated the liquid below its boiling point.

A.M. Swanger↗
NASA NTRS1973

Reliability and effective thermal conductivity of three metallic-ceramic composite insulating coatings on cooled hydrogen-oxygen rockets

An experimental investigation of the structural integrity and effective thermal conductivity of three metallic-ceramic composite coatings was conducted. These coatings were plasma sprayed onto the combustion side of water-cooled, 12.7-centimeter throat diameter, hydrogen-oxygen rocket thrust chambers operating at 2.07 to 4.14 meganewtons per square meter chamber pressure. The metallic-ceramic composites functioned for six to 17 cycles and for as long as 213 seconds of rocket operations and could have probably provided their insulating properties for many additional cycles. The effective thermal conductivity of all the coatings was in the range of 0.7472 to 4.483 w/(m)(K), which makes the coatings a very effective thermal barrier. Photomicrographic studies of cross-sectioned coolant tubes seem to indicate that the effective thermal conductivity of the coatings is controlled by contact resistance between the particles, as a result of the spraying process, and not the thermal conductivity of the bulk materials.

Price, H. G., Jr.↗
NASA NTRS1999

Analysis and Testing of High Temperature Fibrous Insulation for Reusable Launch Vehicles

Analytical models were developed to model the heat transfer through high-temperature fibrous insulation used in metallic thermal protection systems on reusable launch vehicles. The optically thick approximation was used to simulate radiation heat transfer through the insulation. Different models for gaseous conduction and solid conduction in the fibers, and for combining the various modes of heat transfer into a local, volume-averaged, thermal conductivity were considered. The governing heat transfer equations were solved numerically, and effective thermal conductivities were calculated from the steady-state results. An experimental apparatus was developed to measure the apparent thermal conductivity of insulation subjected to pressures, temperatures and temperature gradients representative of re-entry conditions for launch vehicles. The apparent thermal conductivity of an alumina fiber insulation was measured at nominal densities of 24, 48 and 96 kg/cu m. Data were obtained at environmental pressures from 10(exp 4) to 760 torr, with the insulation cold side maintained at room temperature and its hot side temperature varying up to 1000 C. The experimental results were used to evaluate the analytical models. The best analytical model resulted in effective thermal conductivity predictions that were within 8% of experimental results.

Daryabeigi, Kamran↗
DOE OSTI2022

Pulse Strengthened and Laser Edge Sealed Vacuum Insulation Glazing

A scalable, low-cost processing strategy for glass strengthening and sealing is proposed to improve the thermal performance of insulating glass units and develop innovative window technologies. In this project, a combination of large area photonic processing, additive manufacturing, and laser encapsulation techniques is reported to realize a vacuum glazing technology to meet the cost, performance, reliability, and throughput demands. A modeling framework for evaluating the mechanical and thermal response was established to verify the structural deformation and thermal conductance. Micro-size glass frits in printing ink and a continuous-wave laser curing were employed to allow the formation of a hermetic bonding layer and led to improvement of glass edge sealing. Various sealing parameters, including laser traveling speed, spot diameter, and laser power were optimized. The water seepage and mechanical strength of the resulting glass-to-glass bonding were examined as well. These results showcase the development of a practical vacuum insulating glazing with several unique features through a combination of photonic processing, laser encapsulation, and additive manufacturing.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Thermal activation signatures of the Anderson insulator and the Wigner solid forming near ν = 1

When interactions overcome disorder, integer quantum Hall plateaus support topological phases with different bulk insulators. In the center of the ν = 1 plateau the bulk is an Anderson-type insulator, while in the flanks of the plateau the bulk is the integer quantum Hall Wigner solid. We find that the activation energy along the ν = 1 plateau exhibits a very dramatic nonmonotonic dependence on the magnetic field, a dependence that is strongly correlated with the stability regions of the two phases. Furthermore, the activation energy has an unexpected minimum at the boundary between the Anderson insulator and the Wigner solid. Our findings constrain the theory of the integer quantum Hall Wigner solid, determine its thermodynamic properties, and reveal unusual behavior at the boundary between the Anderson insulator and the Wigner solid. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Color Change During Thermal Degradation of Polyolefin Electric Cable Insulations

Color change of electric cable insulations used in nuclear power plants (NPPs) is a non-destructive, quick and inexpensive technique to measure degradation. Quantification of color change is facilitated by a light booth of CIE D65 illuminant, a commercial camera and open-source software ImageJ with micaToolbox plugin. Yellowness index (YI) and total color difference (?E) are calculated from calibrated photos of a white cross-linked polyethylene (XLPE) and a black ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) based specimens aged at 110°C, 121°C, 136°C and 150°C after 1~640 days. Using the same setup and software, pixelwise ?E profile is determined for the cross-sectional photo of a white EPR specimen, where heterogeneous aging is detected.

cable aging, color analysis↗
NASA NTRS1972

Reentry thermal protection from Pioneer F RTG insulation material

Ablation tests were performed on the insulation material used in the Pioneer F radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG) in the Ames Arc-Heated Planetary-Gas Wind Tunnel. Test results indicate that the material, trade name Min-K 1301, should experience little ablation for heat transfer rates below 40 BTU/sq ft-sec. If the current design were to be changed so that the various pieces of Min-K were fastened or interlocked together the total amount of heat delivered to the RTG heat source during an earth orbital decay reentry would be reduced by at least 22.7%.

Vorreiter, J. W.↗