Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “electric currents”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 1,171 records · Page 65

2020 Review Panel Workshop on Energy Intensity Indicators: Summary Findings and Meeting Notes

On January 28-29, 2020, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), in coordination with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), sponsored an expert workshop focused on energy intensity indicators. The intent of the workshop was to support a comprehensive review of the EERE Energy Intensity Indicators (EII), a national system of indicators used to track changes in the energy intensity of economic sectors. One goal of the workshop was to gather input from a panel of experts who have experience and knowledge related to the EII methodological approach and key data sources used to calculate indicators for each of the end-use sectors of the economy—transportation, residential, commercial, industrial, and electricity. The current EERE EII methodology is documented in a 2017 PNNL report, A Comprehensive System of Energy Intensity Indicators for the U.S.: Methods, Data and Key Trends, which is available online. The workshop also included a presentation by Dr. Beng Ang, who discussed the Log Mean Divisia index (LMDI) approach to decomposition analysis, which was followed by a discussion concerning the methodological approaches that could be applied to future EII efforts.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Summary of Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK) Composites Testing at Montana State University

Marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy technologies convert the energy of waves, tides, and river and ocean currents into electricity. The primary structure of MHK energy devices have difficult and challenging environments for which fiber reinforced plastics are often considered. For cost benefits, glass fiber reinforced plastics (GFRP) are the most prevalent system under consideration. Montana State University and Sandia National Laboratories have performed research into the moisture effects on the stiffness, strength, and damage of GFRPs for many years. This paper presents a summary of a portion of this effort and also provides references to the thesis and conferences that contain the detailed information. The results include models of moisture absorption, effects of stress on moisture uptake, effects of moisture on damage modes and development, laminate stacking order effects, and culminates with moisture uptake effects on a large sample of industry collected coupons.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Resistive heating in an electrified domain with a spherical inclusion: an ALEGRA verification study

A verification study is conducted for the ALEGRA software, using the problem of an electrified medium with a spherical inclusion, paying special attention to resistive heating. We do so by extending an existing analytic solution for this problem to include both conducting and insulating inclusions, and we examine the effects of mesh resolution and mesh topology, considering both body-fitted and rectangular meshes containing mixed cells. We present observed rates of convergence with respect to mesh refinement for four electromagnetic quantities: electric potential, electric field, current density and Joule power.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Cataloging and Quantifying Value Streams from Non-Powered Dam Conversion

Hydropower is a key resource in the United States’ renewable energy transition; however, only 3% of existing dams in the United States currently generate electricity. While many non-powered dams (NPDs) have the potential for energy generation, hydropower addition to these dams has been slow. This is likely due, in part, to perceptions that hydropower development has prohibitively long payback periods, especially in comparison to other renewable energy resources that have shorter development processes. On the other hand, powering some NPDs may unlock new value streams in addition to the value obtained from selling generated energy. There is a need to understand and quantify a wider range of additional value streams to help increase the feasibility of such hydropower projects. In this work, we catalog indirect value streams and difficult-to-quantify direct value streams from NPD retrofitting, specifying which stakeholders are affected, and what kind of impacts (positive or negative) might occur. We identify appropriate quantification methodologies for these indirect value streams and describe the best practices around their implementation for NPD site-level analysis. We also demonstrate the quantification of a few indirect value streams for a selected NPD site, allowing for easier integration of these value streams into future studies by providing basis and background for quantifying these elements.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Assessing Geospatial and Seasonal Influences on Energy and Cost-Efficiency of Drayage Trucks

The electrification of heavy-duty vehicles is a critical pathway toward improved energy efficiency in the freight sector. The current battery electric truck technology poses several challenges to commercial vehicle operations, such as limited driving range, sensitivity to climate conditions, and long recharging times. Estimating the energy consumption of heavy-duty electric trucks is crucial to assessing the feasibility of fleet electrification and its impact on the electric grid. This article focuses on developing a model-based simulation approach to predict and analyze the energy consumption of electric trucks by considering the impact of weather and geographical conditions on vehicle road load and auxiliary components power consumption, as well as the impact these factors have on driving range. Specifically, drayage trucks employed in logistics around maritime ports are used as a case study, with consideration of seasonal climate variations and geographical characteristics at different locations. The article includes results for three major container ports within the United States, providing region-specific insights into the energy requirements and driving range of the electric drayage trucks in these regions, which will inform decision-makers in integrating electric trucks into the existing drayage operations and plan investments for electric grid development.

Sujan, Vivek [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000269882342)↗

Thruster array thermal control

This paper presents the results of a preliminary investigation of the thermal interactions between elements in the thruster array for a proposed Encke flyby mission. A clustered eight-thruster array was considered as the trial configuration in the current study. Electrically heated dummy thrusters were calibrated to represent the thruster thermal performance. The thermal behavior of the thruster array thermal mockup and the effects of thermal coating applications were investigated. Temperature measurements of the thruster array mockup were performed under various operational modes to substantiate the analytical results. A resultant analytical thermal network model was established to provide pertinent information for thruster array design tradeoff studies.

Wen, L.↗

Theory for magnetotelluric observations on the surface of a layered anisotropic half space

The conductivities for the magnetotelluric model described are taken to be constant vertically in each of a large number of horizontal layers. The conductivities and the associated magnetic, electric, and current vector fields are considered to be laterally homogeneous within a vertical cylinder centered about the observation site. The electromagnetic fields are, therefore, only functions of the vertical coordinate. A relatively simple algorithm is presented for calculation of the magnetotelluric complex impedance tensor.

Loewenthal, D.↗

Magnetospheric physics - Magnetic fields

A report on progress on magnetospheric magnetic fields during the years from 1971 to 1974 is presented. The topology of the magnetosphere is considered along with the bow shock, upstream phenomena, the magnetosheath and magnetopause, the polar cusp, and the tail and the plasma sheet. Attention is given to the outer magnetosphere and magnetic field models, questions of convection, field-aligned currents and electric fields, and aspects of merging.

Russell, C. T.↗

Plasma rotation by electric and magnetic fields in a discharge cylinder

A theoretical model for an electric discharge consisting of a spatially diverging plasma sustained electrically between a small ring cathode and a larger ring anode in a cylindrical chamber with an axial magnetic field is developed to study the rotation of the discharge plasma in the crossed electric and magnetic fields. The associated boundary-value problem for the coupled partial differential equations which describe the electric potential and the plasma velocity fields is solved in closed form. The electric field, current density, and velocity distributions are discussed in terms of the Hartmann number and the Hall coefficient. As a result of Lorentz forces, the plasma rotates with speeds as high as 1 million cm/sec around its axis of symmetry at typical conditions. As an application, it is noted that rotating discharges of this type could be used to develop a high-density plasma-ultracentrifuge driven by j x B forces, in which the lighter (heavier) ion and atom components would be enriched in (off) the center of the discharge cylinder.

Wilhelm, H. E.↗

Boundary-value problem for plasma centrifuge at arbitrary magnetic Reynolds numbers

We solve in closed form the boundary-value problem for the partial differential equations which describe the (azimuthal) rotation velocity and induced magnetic fields in a cylindrical plasma centrifuge with ring electrodes of different radii and an external, axial magnetic field. The electric field, current density, and velocity distributions are discussed in terms of the Hartmann number H and the magnetic Reynolds number R. For small Hall coefficients, the induced magnetic field does not affect the plasma rotation. As a result of the Lorentz forces, the plasma rotates with speeds as high as 100,000 cm/sec around its axis of symmetry at typical conditions, so that the lighter (heavier) ion and atom components are enriched at (off) the center of the discharge cylinder.

Wilhelm, H. E.↗

Onset phenomena in self-field MPD arcjets

Voltage fluctuations in a multi-megawatt quasi-steady MPD accelerator, indicative of increased ablation and a consequent degradation in performance, are found to exist only over a narrow range of currents, above which the ablation continues. Within this range, the discharge is characterized by a thin cylindrical shell, 4.0 cm in diameter, concentric with the cathode surface, containing steep radial gradients in plasma luminosity, number density, current density, electric field and Hall parameter, and within which a significant fraction of the propellant is first ionized. Experiments have shown that this cylindrical shell can be totally eliminated by immersing a small object at critical locations within it, thereby increasing the local mass density by preferential ablation and suggesting further means of improving the accelerator design.

Rudolph, L. K.↗