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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 1,153 records · Page 64
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report (CY2020)

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2020. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, sustainability efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 Version 4.1 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2021

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2021. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, sustainability efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 Version 4.1 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2022

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2022. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, sustainability efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 Version 4.1 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2023

This report discusses the status and the accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2023. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, sustainability efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off site population groups was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of the radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Argonne National Laboratory Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2024

This report discusses the status and accomplishments of the environmental protection program at Argonne National Laboratory for calendar year 2024. The status of Argonne environmental protection activities with respect to compliance with the various laws and regulations is discussed, along with environmental management, efficiency efforts, environmental corrective actions, and habitat restoration. To evaluate the effects of Argonne operations on the environment, samples of environmental media collected on the site, at the site boundary, and off the Argonne site were analyzed and compared with applicable guidelines and standards. A variety of radionuclides were measured in air, surface water, groundwater, and bottom sediment samples. In addition, chemical constituents in surface water, groundwater, and wastewater were analyzed. External penetrating radiation doses were measured, and the potential for radiation exposure to off-site population groups and on-site members of the public was estimated. Results are interpreted with respect to the origin of radioactive and chemical substances (i.e., natural, Argonne, and other) and are compared with applicable standards intended to protect human health and the environment. A U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dose calculation methodology, based on International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) recommendations and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) CAP 88 computer code, was used in preparing this report.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2006

ISO 15859 Propellant and Fluid Specifications: A Review and Comparison with Military and NASA Specifications

This work presents an overview of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 15859 International Standard for Space Systems Fluid Characteristics, Sampling and Test Methods Parts 1 through 13 issued in June 2004. These standards establish requirements for fluid characteristics, sampling, and test methods for 13 fluids of concern to the propellant community and propellant characterization laboratories: oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, helium, nitrogen tetroxide, monomethylhydrazine, hydrazine, kerosene, argon, water, ammonia, carbon dioxide, and breathing air. A comparison of the fluid characteristics, sampling, and test methods required by the ISO standards to the current military and NASA specifications, which are in use at NASA facilities and elsewhere, is presented. Many ISO standards composition limits and other content agree with those found in the applicable parts of NASA SE-S-0073, NASA SSP 30573, military performance standards and details, and Compressed Gas Association (CGA) commodity specifications. The status of a current project managed at NASA Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) to rewrite these documents is discussed.

Greene, Ben↗
DOE OSTI2018

IR Thermographic Analysis of 3D Printed CFRP Reference Samples with Back-Drilled and Embedded Defects

Carbon-fiber composite structures may demonstrate a defective behavior due to manufacturing induced anomalies (delamination, dis-bonds) or service related defectives (impact damage, water ingress). Thus, there is a need for a relatively fast and low cost non-intrusive testing schemes such as infrared thermography (IRT). Still, thermography testing requires calibrated samples and coupons to yield best results. The presented research demonstrates the novel use of 3D printing technology to generate IRT calibration samples. In this text, two carbon fiber reinforced polymer samples are 3D printed; the first mimics a 'back-drilled holes' type coupons, while the other is designed to embed air pockets similar to Teflon inserts. The generated samples are then tested using two IRT modalities; namely pulse thermography and lock-in thermography. Furthermore, the resulted thermograms are processed using a principle component analysis, to help highlight the variance of defectives in a consistent manner among the samples. This research findings offer insights on the variation of detectability between embedded and back-printed samples, which might be due to the inserts thickness.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Analysis of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Samples: Integrated Summary Report

Nondestructive and destructive analytical methods were used to analyze samples of debris collected from the top of R15 C5, the lip of R16 C4, the parent drum, and the continuous air monitor (CAM) and fixed air sampler (FAS) filters in addition to MgO samples collected from the tops of R14 C2, R14 C4, R14 C6 and R16 C4. The analytical evidence supports the conclusion that an exothermic oxidation reaction of Swheat Scoop® by metal nitrate salts produced sufficient quantities of gas to breach drum 68660. The metals and the acidic environment found in drum 68660 are known to accelerate these oxidation reactions. Moreover, the ratio of metal nitrate salts in drum 68660 was in a range in which a low melting eutectic mixture could form, which would also accelerate the oxidation reactions. Nitrated organics were not detected and they are not necessary to produce the exothermic reaction leading to the breach of drum 68660. All the contents of the drum were not consumed and the material ejected from drum 68660 either did not experience temperatures over 200 °C, or their exposure to elevated temperatures was very limited in duration (<seconds).

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2013

Surface and mechanical properties of transparent polycrystalline YAG fabricated by SPS

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Ultrasonication as effective, un-polluting dispersion route for YAG powders. • Annealing in the 700–900 °C range to increase the transparency. • Oxygen vacancies more crucial on the transmittance than C contamination. • SPS reliable method for transparent and ultra-fine polycrystalline YAG. • Very high hardness (16.5–17 GPa) for the fully dense, fine materials. - Abstract: YAG powder was synthesised by reverse-strike co-precipitation, calcined at 1000 °C and dispersed by either ball-milling with α-alumina (BM{sub A}) or zirconia (BMz) spheres or by ultrasonication (US). All the dispersed powders were consolidated by SPS to nearly theoretical density, but only the US powder gave rise to a transparent material (transmittance of about 60% at 600 nm, 1 mm thickness), characterised by an ultra-fine microstructure (average size of 330 nm). In the BM materials, Raman spectroscopy allowed to evidence some phonon vibrational shifts due to secondary phases deriving from pollution by the milling media, not detectable by XRD because present in small amounts. The transmittance of the as-sintered US sample was further increased by annealing in air at 900 °C; this was assigned to the restoration of some oxygen vacancies created in the reducing environment of the SPS chamber, as evidenced by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy). Finally, US samples sintered in the 1250–1400 °C were submitted to a basic mechanical characterisation, showing a very good hardness, in spite of a moderate fracture toughness, especially for the fully dense and fine-grained materials sintered at 1300–1350 °C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2013

Toxicological Assessment of ISS Air Quality: SpaceX-2 First Ingress

One mini-grab sample container (M-GSC) was collected by crew members onboard ISS during first ingress into SpaceX-2 on March 3, 2013, three days after late cargo loading and a pre-launch clean air purge. Recoveries of the three surrogate standards from the m-GSC were: 13C-acetone, 97%; fluorobenzene, 95%; and chlorobenzene, 68%.

Meyers, Valerie↗
DOE OSTI2018

Communication—Reactive Sintering of a CoFe 2 O 4 Coating on Ferritic Stainless Steels for SOFC Interconnect Application

A mixed Fe+CoO precursor was successfully utilized to synthesize a dense CoFe 2 O 4 spinel coating on the Crofer 22 APU interconnect via reactive sintering at 900°C for 2 h in air without the use of any reduction treatment. Both the uncoated and coated samples were subject to thermal oxidation at 850°C for 500 h in air. Phase constituents, microstructure, and area specific resistance (ASR) of the uncoated and coated samples before and after the oxidation testing were evaluated. The CoFe 2 O 4 layer effectively reduced the Cr 2 O 3 scale growth and lowered the scale ASR.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Influence of thermal processing on magnetotransport characteristics of NdSr{sub 2}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7+δ}

Highlights: • The NdSr{sub 2}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7+δ} compounds with different oxygen non-stoichiometry were prepared. • According to XRD analysis, all the oxides were completely single-phase. • The strong competition between different types of magnetic exchange interactions was revealed. • The samples demonstrate semiconducting behavior over the explored temperature range. • A large negative magnetoresistance effect for all the compounds below 200 K was observed. - Abstract: Background: Influence of oxygen non-stoichiometry on magnetic and electric properties of the compounds has not almost been studied yet. Aim: Synthesis of a number of the NdSr{sub 2}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7+δ} samples subjected to various thermal processing in air atmosphere and investigation of their structure, oxygen non-stoichiometry, electrical and magnetic properties. Method: The compounds obtained have been characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, a modified gravimetric method, vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) and standard DC four-probe method. Results: It was established that additional firing of the samples at different temperatures leads to essential changes in the oxygen non-stoichiometry. The noticeable magnetoresistance (MR) effect is observed for all the compounds below 200 K and increases monotonically as the temperature decreases. The MR values for the compounds as a function of oxygen content vary nonlinearly. The largest MR value of 380% at the 5 K and magnetic field of 7 T was achieved for the sample with the oxygen non-stoichiometry of δ = 0.03. Conclusions: The results observed are discussed in the assumption of ferromagnetic cluster formation in the compounds.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2013

Quantifying VOC Emissions for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve

A very important aspect of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) program is regulatory compliance. One of the regulatory compliance issues deals with limiting the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that are emitted into the atmosphere from brine wastes when they are discharged to brine holding ponds. The US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has set limits on the amount of VOCs that can be discharged to the atmosphere. Several attempts have been made to quantify the VOC emissions associated with the brine ponds going back to the late 1970 s. There are potential issues associated with each of these quantification efforts. Two efforts were made to quantify VOC emissions by analyzing VOC content of brine samples obtained from wells. Efforts to measure air concentrations were mentioned in historical reports but no data have been located to confirm these assertions. A modeling effort was also performed to quantify the VOC emissions. More recently in 2011- 2013, additional brine sampling has been performed to update the VOC emissions estimate. An analysis of the statistical confidence in these results is presented here. Arguably, there are uncertainties associated with each of these efforts. The analysis herein indicates that the upper confidence limit in VOC emissions based on recent brine sampling is very close to the 0.42 ton/MMB limit used historically on the project. Refining this estimate would require considerable investment in additional sampling, analysis, and monitoring. An analysis of the VOC emissions at each site suggests that additional discharges could be made and stay within current regulatory limits.

Knowlton, Robert G.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Container Evaluation: Analysis of the Swagelok Knuckle with Viewport as an Approved Hermetically Sealed Inner Container

This report outlines the results from the water ingress test, helium leak test and additional atmosphere testing for the Swagelok knuckle with viewport container further referred to as the SKV. This container is constructed from a standard union vacuum fitting, 1.33” conflat to 0.5” male VCR, a 1.33” conflat fused silica lensed viewport fitting, and a 0.5 inch VCR cap. The primary intended use of this container is to store Pu metal samples in the vault for a time interval exceeding 40 years. The samples need to be contained in an air free environment to ensure that the material does not oxidize over time. The container viewport is a critical design feature that will help the operators visually inspect and evaluate the state of the metal samples prior to opening the container. These containers are advertised as leak tight, but experimental tests were performed to test the water resistant criteria and the gas leaking criteria set forth by the TA-55 Criticality Safety Program. The results of the water ingress test show that the container is water-tight, with no signs of water penetrating the container within the required guidelines outlined in TA55-AP-522. The preliminary He leak test performed demonstrate that the conflat window port and VCR cap are able to maintain a hermetic seal. Additionally, all containers will be He leak tested independently by the manufacturer prior to shipping to LANL. A third voluntary test was added to assess the container’s ability to hold atmosphere, with successful results indicating the container is able to hold inert atmosphere to prevent lanthanum metal oxidation. It is the conclusion of the authorsthat there is enough evidence through the test conducted and outlined within this document that the proposed container meets the definition of a water-tight container, and it is able to provide a hermetic seal.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1997

Microbial colonization of a closed growth chamber during hydroponic cultivation of lettuce

The goal of this study was to characterize sessile and planktonic microbiota that developed during two successive hydroponic cultures of lettuce in a closed chamber system. Coupons of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) placed in the nutrient solution lines were removed periodically, as were samples of the nutrient solutions and condensate from the air-handling system. The bacteria and fungi present on the coupons and in fluid samples were enumerated by direct plate counts. Disinfecting the hydroponic system with 0.1% hypochlorite and 0.1 N nitric acid reduced the bacterial densities in biofilm samples from 1 x 10 7 CFU/10 cm 2 to 1 x 10 1 CFU/10 cm 2 and eliminated culturable fungi; Staphylococcus sp., Pseudomonas sp., and Micrococcus sp. survived this procedure. Bacterial and fungal concentrations in all samples returned to predisinfection levels after 2 days of plant growth. Pseudomonas and Acremonium predominated both before and after disinfection. Fungal concentrations never exceeded 7 x 10 2 CFU/10 cm 2 . The coupon microbiota differed from that of the rhizoplane at harvest. Overall, the greatest numbers of species were found on the rhizoplane samples collected during the second crop. The microbial community changed little during individual crops or between successive crops. Diversity indices remained relatively constant for all samples.

Bacteria growth & development↗
NASA NTRS2009

Method for Measuring Thermal Conductivity of Small Samples Having Very Low Thermal Conductivity

This paper describes the development of a hot plate method capable of using air as a standard reference material for the steady-state measurement of the thermal conductivity of very small test samples having thermal conductivity on the order of air. As with other approaches, care is taken to ensure that the heat flow through the test sample is essentially one-dimensional. However, unlike other approaches, no attempt is made to use heated guards to block the flow of heat from the hot plate to the surroundings. It is argued that since large correction factors must be applied to account for guard imperfections when sample dimensions are small, it may be preferable to simply measure and correct for the heat that flows from the heater disc to directions other than into the sample. Experimental measurements taken in a prototype apparatus, combined with extensive computational modeling of the heat transfer in the apparatus, show that sufficiently accurate measurements can be obtained to allow determination of the thermal conductivity of low thermal conductivity materials. Suggestions are made for further improvements in the method based on results from regression analyses of the generated data.

Miller, Robert A.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sea Surface Air Pressure Retrieval with MBARS

Global meteorological observations are essential in initialization and assimilation of numerical weather prediction (NWP) models. Many key weather variables such as temperature, humidity, and wind can be relatively well observed by in-situ and remote techniques from surface, suborbital and orbital platforms. However, sea surface air pressure cannot be well-sampled. Over open oceans, the pressure can only be observed by very limited buoys, ships, and oceanic platforms. There is no operational remote sensing method available for the crucial dynamic variable of the Earth’s climate and weather systems. Advanced techniques for global sea level pressure (SLP) observations are urgently needed for improving NWP models, particularly for improvement of severe weather forecasts. Recent studies on the space and airborne Microwave BArometric Radar and Sounder (MBARS) systems provide a great potential to fill the SLP observational gap. The systems studied have three channels with center frequencies at 65.5, 67.76 and 70 GHz. These channels are designed to operate at atmospheric oxygen (O2) absorption bands for column O2 mass measurements. When sea surface returns of spectrally closely-spaced paired channels are measured, surface reflection and atmospheric attenuation other than O2 are very similar, but the difference in O2 absorption is substantial. Thus, the differential absorption loss of this frequency pair leads to measures of atmospheric O2 amount. For the residual absorption loss caused by other agents, a third frequency having the same spectral space to the weak absorption frequency of the first pair can be used, which forms the second pair and produces the same residual as the first pair. Removal of the residual of this second pair from the first pair can further mitigate environmental impacts. Thus, this 3-channel approach will provide precise O2 amount retrievals. Since oxygen is well mixed in the atmosphere, the column air mass or SLP can be obtained. Currently, MBARS is rapidly maturing its advanced technology. An upcoming airborne field flight campaign is planned in late 2024. The 3-channel approach will be use in SLP retrievals. This MBARS team will discuss the physics-based SLP retrieval technique and report latest progresses in this upcoming AGU annual meeting.

O2 differential absorption↗
NASA NTRS2017

Flexural Fatigue Behavior of an EBC CMC Composite System In Air and Steam at High Temperature

Both coated and uncoated SiCSiC ceramic matrix composite (CMC) samples were tested in flexure under sustained peak low cycle fatigue (SPLCF) conditions in air or steam at elevated temperatures. The SiCSiC composites were reinforced with 2-D plies of boron nitride coated Hi-Nicalon Type-S SiC fibers which were woven as 5 harness satin (5HS) cloth. The composites were densified by chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) followed by slurry melt infiltration (SMI). A multilayer barium strontium aluminosilicate (BSAS) coating was applied to the samples by a plasma spray method. Fatigue loading limits were determined from monotonic flexure tests at room temperature and 1200oC. Stress levels under the proportional limit of the composite material were selected for the SPLCF tests. After cyclic testing, the composites were evaluated to determine crack propagation and failure modes in the coated and uncoated composites. Microstructural examination was used to identify coating degradation and failure modes of the EBCCMC system.

Steam testing↗