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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1990

SHAPA: An interactive software tool for protocol analysis applied to aircrew communications and workload

As modern transport environments become increasingly complex, issues such as crew communication, interaction with automation, and workload management have become crucial. Much research is being focused on holistic aspects of social and cognitive behavior, such as the strategies used to handle workload, the flow of information, the scheduling of tasks, the verbal and non-verbal interactions between crew members. Traditional laboratory performance measures no longer sufficiently meet the needs of researchers addressing these issues. However observational techniques are better equipped to capture the type of data needed and to build models of the requisite level of sophistication. Presented here is SHAPA, an interactive software tool for performing both verbal and non-verbal protocol analysis. It has been developed with the idea of affording the researchers the closest possible degree of engagement with protocol data. The researcher can configure SHAPA to encode protocols using any theoretical framework or encoding vocabulary that is desired. SHAPA allows protocol analysis to be performed at any level of analysis, and it supplies a wide variety of tools for data aggregation, manipulation. The output generated by SHAPA can be used alone or in combination with other performance variables to get a rich picture of the influences on sequences of verbal or nonverbal behavior.

James, Jeffrey M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Microfluidic Fabrication Techniques for High-Pressure Testing of Microscale Supercritical CO 2 Foam Transport in Fractured Unconventional Reservoirs

Pressure limitations of many microfluidic platforms have been a significant challenge in microfluidic experimental studies of fractured media. As a result, these platforms have not been fully exploited for direct observation of high-pressure transport in fractures. This work introduces microfluidic platforms that enable direct observation of multiphase flow in devices featuring surrogate permeable media and fractured systems. Such platforms provide a pathway to address important and timely questions such as those related to CO 2 capture, utilization and storage. This work provides a detailed description of the fabrication techniques and an experimental setup that may serve to analyze the behavior of supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) foam, its structure and stability. Such studies provide important insights regarding enhanced oil recovery processes and the role of hydraulic fractures in resource recovery from unconventional reservoirs. This work presents a comparative study of microfluidic devices developed using two different techniques: photolithography/wet-etching/ thermal-bonding versus Selective Laser-induced Etching. Both techniques result in devices that are chemically and physically resistant and tolerant of high pressure and temperature conditions that correspond to subsurface systems of interest. Both techniques provide pathways to high-precision etched microchannels and capable lab-on-chip devices. Photolithography/wet-etching, however, enables fabrication of complex channel networks with complex geometries, which would be a challenging task for laser etching techniques. This work summarizes a step-by-step photolithography, wet-etching and glass thermal-bonding protocol and, presents representative observations of foam transport with relevance to oil recovery from unconventional tight and shale formations. In conclusion, this work describes the use of a high resolution monochromatic sensor to observe scCO 2 foam behavior where the entirety of the permeable medium is observed simultaneously while preserving the resolution needed to resolve features as small as 10 μm.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Disruption of Commercial Solar Inverter System by TLS Proxy Man-in-the-Middle Attack

Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a cryptographic protocol that encrypts communication data, providing end-to-end communication encryption and authentication. Currently, TLS is widely adopted for securing communication between servers and end devices, including solar inverter systems. Therefore, users/operators can securely access the solar inverters through a web user interface (WebUI) application programmable interface (API) on a PC or server over TLS-enabled Wi-Fi or Ethernet. However, the security of the TLS-based network becomes compromised if it is breached by a TLS proxy man-in-the-middle (MITM) exploit. This report explores potential vulnerabilities in a commercial solar inverter system that leverages a TLS proxy MITM and discusses the impacts through assume-breached penetration testing. Furthermore, the paper explores recommended mitigation methods against the TLS proxy MITM exploit in solar inverters.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

FY24 Advanced Computing HPC Annual Report for allocation "vtocei"

This project aims to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the formation of the cathodeelectrolyte interphase (CEI) and its impact on the performance of Li-ion batteries during electrochemical cycling. Our approach integrates advanced multiscale modeling with multimodal characterization to offer a comprehensive understanding of CEI dynamics. We employ a validated multiscale modeling framework to analyze microstructure-dependent transport properties, alongside joint theory-experiment protocols for detailed resolution of interfacial chemistry via spectroscopy.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1990

Effect on real-world depth perception from exposure to heads-down stereoscopic flight displays

A stereoacuity test was used as part of the experimental protocol of a study in which eight transport pilots flew repeated simulated landing approaches using both stereo and nonstereo three-dimensional heads-down 'pathway in the sky' displays. At the decisionmaking crux of each approach, the pilots transitioned to a stereoacuity test employing real objects rather than a two-dimensional target apparatus. A statistical analysis of stereoacuity measures which compared a controlled condition of no exposure to any electronic flight display with the transition data from nonstereo and stereopsis displays indicated no significant differences for any of the conditions.

Busquets, Anthony M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Temporal Precedence Checking for Switched Models and its Application to a Parallel Landing Protocol

This paper presents an algorithm for checking temporal precedence properties of nonlinear switched systems. This class of properties subsume bounded safety and capture requirements about visiting a sequence of predicates within given time intervals. The algorithm handles nonlinear predicates that arise from dynamics-based predictions used in alerting protocols for state-of-the-art transportation systems. It is sound and complete for nonlinear switch systems that robustly satisfy the given property. The algorithm is implemented in the Compare Execute Check Engine (C2E2) using validated simulations. As a case study, a simplified model of an alerting system for closely spaced parallel runways is considered. The proposed approach is applied to this model to check safety properties of the alerting logic for different operating conditions such as initial velocities, bank angles, aircraft longitudinal separation, and runway separation.

Duggirala, Parasara Sridhar↗
NASA NTRS1996

Integration of the White Sands Complex into a Wide Area Network

The NASA White Sands Complex (WSC) satellite communications facility consists of two main ground stations, an auxiliary ground station, a technical support facility, and a power plant building located on White Sands Missile Range. When constructed, terrestrial communication access to these facilities was limited to copper telephone circuits. There was no local or wide area communications network capability. This project incorporated a baseband local area network (LAN) topology at WSC and connected it to NASA's wide area network using the Program Support Communications Network-Internet (PSCN-I). A campus-style LAN is configured in conformance with the International Standards Organization (ISO) Open Systems Interconnect (ISO) model. Ethernet provides the physical and data link layers. Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) are used for the network and transport layers. The session, presentation, and application layers employ commercial software packages. Copper-based Ethernet collision domains are constructed in each of the primary facilities and these are interconnected by routers over optical fiber links. The network and each of its collision domains are shown to meet IEEE technical configuration guidelines. The optical fiber links are analyzed for the optical power budget and bandwidth allocation and are found to provide sufficient margin for this application. Personal computers and work stations attached to the LAN communicate with and apply a wide variety of local and remote administrative software tools. The Internet connection provides wide area network (WAN) electronic access to other NASA centers and the world wide web (WWW). The WSC network reduces and simplifies the administrative workload while providing enhanced and advanced inter-communications capabilities among White Sands Complex departments and with other NASA centers.

Boucher, Phillip Larry↗
NASA NTRS2005

Location Management in a Transport Layer Mobility Architecture

Mobility architectures that place complexity in end nodes rather than in the network interior have many advantageous properties and are becoming popular research topics. Such architectures typically push mobility support into higher layers of the protocol stack than network layer approaches like Mobile IP. The literature is ripe with proposals to provide mobility services in the transport, session, and application layers. In this paper, we focus on a mobility architecture that makes the most significant changes to the transport layer. A common problem amongst all mobility protocols at various layers is location management, which entails translating some form of static identifier into a mobile node's dynamic location. Location management is required for mobile nodes to be able to provide globally-reachable services on-demand to other hosts. In this paper, we describe the challenges of location management in a transport layer mobility architecture, and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of various solutions proposed in the literature. Our conclusion is that, in principle, secure dynamic DNS is most desirable, although it may have current operational limitations. We note that this topic has room for further exploration, and we present this paper largely as a starting point for comparing possible solutions.

Eddy, Wesley M.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Rational designs to enable 10-min fast charging and long cycle life in lithium-ion batteries

A daunting challenge in the design of lithium ion batteries (LiBs) is enabling 10-min extreme fast charging (XFC) while achieving appreciable charge acceptance and cycle life. This desirable outcome requires both a comprehensive understanding of LiB operation and aging behavior at different length scales and careful optimization. Lithium plating has been a critical bottleneck because, at XFC rates, it consumes cyclable lithium causing distinct aging and safety concerns even in moderate-loading LiBs. Here, we propose combining multiple solutions, including materials-to-electrode design-to-charging protocols, that are intended to overcome limitations in lithium-ion transport in the electrolyte phase, thus enabling 10-min XFC in LiBs. Some implemented strategies include cathode chemistry, optimized carbon binder domain in the cathode, dual layer anode design, improved separator and advanced electrolyte. Further, innovative charging protocols in moderately loading (~3 mAh/cm 2 anode/2.7 mAh/cm 2 cathode) single-layer pouch cells are proposed, together with demonstrated 10-min XFC with higher charge acceptance between 87.3 and 92.1% (or 2–2.1 mAh/cm 2 ) for 600 cycles without lithium plating. This methodical study with well-defined cells shows promise in combining multiple solution strategies to enable 10-min XFC, charting a pathway to achieve XFC in higher-loading energy-optimized LiBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

(Invited) Fuel Cell Component Durability for Million Mile Fuel Cell Trucks

While significant advances have been made and early commercial fuel cell light-duty vehicles (LDVs) are starting to be produced, fuel cells in the heavy-duty-vehicle (HDV) transportation sector (including trucks, long-haul semitrailers, maritime, trains, etc.) are nascent, despite the fact that advantages of fuel cells compared to both diesel and electric powertrains are very compelling in terms of emissions, charging time, efficiency, power-to-weight ratio, among others. However, the fuel-cell technology for HDVs requires a paradigm shift in fuel-cell research and development compared to LDVs, where the emphasis becomes efficiency and improvements in durability instead of a focus on increased power densities and lower cell costs. Heavy-duty applications require significantly longer vehicle lifetimes (>25,000 hours/1,000,000 miles for heavy-duty trucks), and therefore require improved fuel cell durability compared to light-duty vehicles. In 2020, HFTO formed the Million Mile Fuel Cell Truck Consortium (M2FCT) that includes a core team of five national laboratories to overcome durability and efficiency challenges in PEMFCs for heavy-duty applications with an initial focus on long-haul trucks. While targets and testing protocols have been developed for light-duty vehicles, the same level of targets and testing protocols have not been established for heavy-duty transportation. With operational times of greater than > 25,000 hours required, the need for well-developed accelerated stress tests (ASTs) is amplified. Results from these ASTs demonstrate the need for more durable electrode layers and well-controlled potential variations. Finally, this presentation will provide an overview of the DOE's Fuel Cell R&D approach, highlighting past and current activities, as well as strategies to enable fuel cell competiveness for heavy-duty applications.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electronic 1/f noise as a probe of dimensional effects on spin-glass dynamics

Over the past decade, spin-glass simulations have improved to the point that they now access time- and length-scales comparable to experiments at the mesoscale. A recent series of thin-film field-cooled/zero-field-cooled magnetization (FC/ZFC) experiments demonstrated activated spin dynamics, with a temperature-independent activation energy proportional to the logarithm of the film thickness and with coefficients in remarkable agreement with the simulation. These measurements require the application of small magnetic fields, which has been shown to affect the spin-glass energy landscape. Measurements of the 1/f noise in metallic spin-glasses have been previously shown to be a sensitive probe of the spin dynamics, and the measurements can be made without applying a magnetic field. In this mini-review, we review these techniques and discuss how transport measurements can fit into the current landscape of spin-glass measurements. We compare previous measurements to more recent measurements on similar films, made with ostensibly different cooling protocols, and compare both the previous and recent measurements to the magnetometry. The transport measurements—taken over a wider range of temperature than magnetometry—suggest that the maximum spin-glass energy barrier height is temperature-dependent, not fixed, possibly due to two-dimensional dynamics. We discuss this possibility, along with future measurements, which may be able to resolve this mystery.

1/f noise↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comprehensive Evaluation for Protective Coatings: Optical, Electrical, Photoelectrochemical, and Spectroscopic Characterizations

Numerous efficient semiconductors suffer from instability in aqueous electrolytes. Strategies utilizing protective coatings have thus been developed to protect these photoabsorbers against corrosion while synergistically improving charge separation and reaction kinetics. Recently, various photoelectrochemical (PEC) protective coatings have been reported with suitable electronic properties to ensure low charge transport loss and reveal the fundamental photoabsorber efficiency. However, protocols for studying the critical figures of merit for protective coatings have yet to be established. For this reason, we propose four criteria for evaluating the performance of a protective coating for PEC water-splitting: stability, conductivity, optical transparency, and energetic matching. We then propose a flow chart that summarizes the recommended testing protocols for quantifying these four performance metrics. In particular, we lay out the stepwise testing protocols to evaluate the energetics matching at a semiconductor/coating/(catalyst)/liquid interface. Finally, we provide an outlook for the future benchmarking needs for coatings.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1989

Design concepts for the Centrifuge Facility Life Sciences Glovebox

The Life Sciences Glovebox will provide the bioisolated environment to support on-orbit operations involving non-human live specimens and samples for human life sceinces experiments. It will be part of the Centrifuge Facility, in which animal and plant specimens are housed in bioisolated Habitat modules and transported to the Glovebox as part of the experiment protocols supported by the crew. At the Glovebox, up to two crew members and two habitat modules must be accommodated to provide flexibility and support optimal operations. This paper will present several innovative design concepts that attempt to satisfy the basic Glovebox requirements. These concepts were evaluated for ergonomics and ease of operations using computer modeling and full-scale mockups. The more promising ideas were presented to scientists and astronauts for their evaluation. Their comments, and the results from other evaluations are presented. Based on the evaluations, the authors recommend designs and features that will help optimize crew performance and facilitate science accommodations, and specify problem areas that require further study.

Sun, Sidney C.↗
NASA NTRS2018

The Utilization Profiles of the CCSDS Unified Space Link Protocol (USLP)

The purpose of this paper is to identify the utilization profiles for interfacing the Data Protocol Sublayer using the Unified Space Link Protocols (USLP) (reference 1) with the space link coding procedures as specified in the CCSDS Coding & Synchronization Blue Books (references 2 through 5), used in both telecommand and telemetry applications. This paper describes how the USLP Protocol utilizes the coding and synchronization sublayer to support: a. Direct to Earth (DTE) telemetry links for engineering and science data b. Direct to Earth (DTE) telemetry links for very high rate science data c. Direct from Earth (DFE) command, sequencing and flight software loads d. Space to Space Links (Proximity) utilized by orbiters for data exchange to/from surface bound assets. The CCSDS has divided the functions of the Data Link Layer into two sublayers: the Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) and the Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL). The Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) interfaces to the users, accepting the data that is to be transported, on the sending side of the link, and delivering that data on the receiving end. The Transfer Frame is the data unit that is transferred across the Data Link Protocol Sublayer and the Coding and Synchronization Sublayer boundary. The Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL) provides the encoding, randomization, and frame synchronization functions that prepares the USLP Transfer Frame for transport across the space link. The CS-SL is divided into 2 processes: 1) The Frame Interface Processes (FIP) performs the interface functions required to prepare the data for delivery to the Coding/Decoding Process (CDP). This process includes prepending a Frame Start Marker to the provided frame, when management has designated that the frame is not to be aligned to the codeblock or when there is no block code used. 2) The Coding/Decoding Process (CDP) performs the forward error correction processes that are used to optimize the performance of the link and minimize the error rate. The CDP creates the symbol stream that is delivered to the Physical Layer. The transfer of the USLP transfer frames across different types of space links is the focus of this paper. The Protocol Data Unit (PDU) that is passed in both directions between the Data Link Protocol Sublayer (DLP-SL) and Coding and Synchronization Sublayer (CS-SL) is the transfer frame. The USLP frame structure provides flexibility that can be constrained by the functions utilized within the CS-SL that prepare the transfer frame for transit. For example, the USLP transfer frame contains a length field that enables the frame to be of variable length but CS-SL under certain conditions may constrain the frame to be fixed in length. This paper describes 5 operational modes available for use by the Data Link Layer to provide data exchange across the USLP space link. These modes are different because different operational requirements apply to vastly different types of space links and thus the communications implementation requirements differ. The environmental issues include the power or energy available, the distance between the end points of the link, the complexity of the equipment available at those end points, the atmospheric conditions and radiometric frequency selection. The CS-SL utilizes different forward error correcting codes supported by specific operational modes to configure the data for transit. This paper describes all of the operational modes in a series of data models which decompose the functionality between the Data Link Protocol Sublayer and the Coding and Synchronization sublayer. The operational modes described are: 1. Uncoded Mode: has been used for short links that contain significant available power to provide an acceptable frame error rate. The frames in this mode can be variable in length and typically use an error detection algorithm (i.e., CRC) to determine if there are errors in the received frame. 2. Convolutional Only Mode: is currently the prime forward error correction coding used for the proximity links. The frames in this mode can be variable in length and typically use an error detection algorithm (i.e., CRC) to determine if there are errors in the received frame. 3. Variable Length Frame Aligned to Variable Length Codeblock (TC): is used for Direct from Earth links were power levels are high and the simple, least complex code i.e., the BCH code is used. This mode has been in use since the early 1970s. The BCH code is a short code and the decoder is easy to implement. 4. Fixed Length Frame Aligned to Fixed Length Codeblock (AOS/TM): was introduced when the concatenated Convolutional and Reed-Solomon Code was formulated to provide significant reduction in link data error rate and the ability to determine if there was an error in the decoded codeblock. The frame is aligned to the codeblock so that there is a one to one relationship of frame errors to codeblock errors without additional error detection coding being added. This mode requires the protocol frames to be the exact size of the message portion of the codeblock. 5. Frames Unaligned to Fixed Length Codeblocks (Currently used for very high rates and space to space links): This mode is currently used for missions that have a very high data rate that can be controlled adaptively as the environment changes and as the next generation operating mode for the proximity link. This mode from a coded data stream point of view is exactly like that described in 4. above, except that the frame need not be aligned to the codeblock. There is no requirement on frame length when using this mode. Thus when using USLP it can be used to support links that require short or long frames. There is also no mandatory requirement that frames cannot be separated by idle data reducing the tight data rate connection requirements between the data link protocol sublayer and the coding & synchronization sublayer. In conclusion, how these operational modes can be put to use in mission operational scenarios is described for Direct from Earth links (DFE), Direct to Earth links (DTE), and Proximity links.

Greenberg, E.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Ion diffusion coefficients in poly(3-alkylthiophenes) for energy conversion and biosensing: role of side-chain length and microstructure

Conductive polymers are promising materials as active elements for energy storage and conversion devices due to mixed ion–electron conduction. The ion diffusion coefficient is a relative measure of the efficacy of ion transport, allowing for comparison between materials and electrochemical conditions. In this work, diffusion coefficients of hexafluorophosphate (PF6–) counterions in poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT) materials are measured as a function of both side-chain length and microstructure using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). For semi-crystalline films, the diffusion coefficient is found to be anomalous and nearly independent of applied electrochemical potential. Here, the anomalous behavior of diffusion indicates that spin casting yields compact films with an enthalpic barrier to ion transport, attributed to ionic trapping. Diffusion coefficient values ~10 –11 cm 2 s –1 were measured for all films, indicating interchain spacing, in the absence of strong intermolecular interactions with the electrolyte, is not a viable design strategy to control ion transport. For the prototypical system of poly(3-hexylthiophene), we observe almost no potential dependence in ion transport for regioregular and regiorandom films of comparable molecular weight, with both exhibiting anomalous diffusion. Alternatively, changing the microstructure of poly(3-hexylthiophene) to a mostly amorphous, ion-imprinted structure yields ~500× increase in the diffusion coefficient to ~2 × 10 –8 cm 2 s –1 at 0.8 V vs. Ag/Ag + with behavior closer to ordinary diffusion. Collectively, these results indicate new insight into ion transport in conductive polymers, where ionic trapping effects can be mitigated through electrodeposition protocols over post-synthesis processing (i.e. spin coating).

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗