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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 1,261 records · Page 70
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Savannah River Site High Level Radioactive Waste Tank Sample Thermolytic Hydrogen Generation - 20346

To support the revision of flammability calculations and controls for the Savannah River Site (SRS) High-Level Radioactive Waste (HLW) tanks, Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) conducted laboratory measurements with the goal of quantifying hydrogen produced in HLW by non-radiolytic chemical reactions (i.e., thermolysis). Testing was performed with HLW tank supernate samples that represented a cross section of types of waste at SRS, including tanks that store typical evaporator concentrate, dissolved salt-cake, dilute recycle stream from the Defense Waste Processing Facility (DWPF), evaporator concentrate of the recycle stream from DWPF, fresh waste from the canyon separations facility, and waste that has been through salt processing cesium removal. Non-radioactive simulant testing included the classes of organic compounds historically introduced into the HLW tanks that were recently shown to be the most active toward the thermolytic generation of hydrogen. The reaction rate equations developed for thermolytic hydrogen generation from each class of organic compound showed direct proportionality to organic compound concentration and hydroxide concentration. Simulant testing identified that highly concentrated waste with high hydroxide concentration had the highest rates of thermolytic hydrogen generation. Using the radioactive tank sample thermolysis measurements at high temperatures and the mechanistic salt dependence of the simulant models, a global model was developed for tank waste thermolytic hydrogen generation as a function of total organic carbon content of SRS HLW. Through the primary functionality of the global model (organic carbon and free hydroxide concentration), the relative reactivity of the organic carbon in the waste was quantified. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS1989

Electrochemical Cell for Obtaining Oxygen from Carbon Dioxide Atmospheres

To support human life on the Martian surface, an electrochemical device will be required to obtain oxygen from the carbon dioxide rich atmosphere. The electrolyte employed in such a device must be constructed from extremely thin, dense membranes to efficiently acquire the oxygen necessary to support life. A forming process used industrially in the production of multilayer capacitors and electronic substrates was adapted to form the thin membranes required. The process, known as the tape casting, involves the suspension consisting of solvents and binders. The suspension is passed under a blade, resulting in the production of ceramic membranes between 0.1 and 0.5 mm thick. Once fired, the stabilized zirconia membranes were assembled into the cell design by employing a zirconium phosphate solution as the sealing agent. The resulting ceramic-to-ceramic seals were found to be structurally sound and gas-tight. Furthermore, by using a zirconia-based solution to assemble the cell, the problem of a thermal expansion mismatch was alleviated. By adopting an industrial forming process to produce thin membranes, an electrochemical cell for obtaining oxygen from carbon dioxide was produced. The proposed cell design is unique in that it does not require a complicated manifold system for separating the various gases present in this process, nor does it require a series of complex electrical connections. Thus, the device can reliably obtain the vital oxygen supply from the toxic carbon dioxide atmosphere.

Hooker, Matthew↗
DOE OSTI2025

Molecular Simulation of Functionalized Covalent Organic Framework Membranes for Inorganic Salt Separation

Covalent organic frameworks (COFs) enable molecular-level design of nanochannels for selective separation in pressure-driven membrane processes. Through variation of building blocks and, subsequently, the pore structure and chemistry, membrane performance can be tailored. This study employs nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to theoretically demonstrate the tunable selectivity of COF membranes through a bottom-up functionalization approach. Water and salt transport are evaluated for six β-ketoenamine-linked COFs with varying multilayer thicknesses. For the thinnest multilayer (0.64–0.72 nm), all COFs exhibit low sodium sulfate (Na 2 SO 4 ) rejection (55–66%). However, 20 stacked sheets (6.4–7.2 nm) provide 67–98% rejection, with the sulfonated COF providing the highest Na 2 SO 4 rejection. Analysis of time-resolved ion density profiles reveals that solute rejection is primarily governed by interfacial exclusion arising from pore size and functional group chemistry. Although increasing salt rejection compromises water permeance, the permeance of all COF membranes is at least two orders of magnitude greater than that of a commercially available nanofiltration membrane. Overall, this work guides the rational design of COF membranes for aqueous salt separation.

Nanofiltration↗
DOE OSTI2021

Dynamic time-warping correction for shifts in ultrahigh resolving power ion mobility spectrometry and structures for lossless ion manipulations

Detection of arrival time shifts between ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) separations can limit achievable resolving power (Rp), particularly when multiple separations are summed or averaged, as commonly practiced. Such variations are more apparent in higher Rp measurements, and are particularly evident in long path length traveling wave structures for lossless ion manipulations (SLIM) IMS due to their typically much longer separation times. Here we explore the utility of a data processing approaches employing linear alignment (LA) and nonlinear dynamic time warping (DTW) of IMS separations to correct for variations between separations, such as due to pressure fluctuations. For multipass SLIM IMS separations, where narrow mobility range measurements have arrival times that can extend to several seconds, the LA approach effectively corrected for such variations, and significantly improvement Rp for summed separations. However, LA was much less effective for high Rp broad mobility range separations, such as obtained with multilevel SLIM IMS. Changes in IMS arrival times ions were observed to be correlated with small pressure changes, with approximately 0.6% relative arrival time shifts being common, sufficient to result in a loss of Rp for summed separations. Comparison of the approaches showed DTW alignment performed similarly to LA when used over a narrow mobility range, but was significantly better (providing narrower peaks and higher signal intensities) for wide mobility range data. We found the DTW approach increased Rp by as much as 115% for measurements in which 50 IMS separations over 2 seconds were summed, and leading to a large improvement in effective Rp. We conclude that DTW is superior to LA for ultrahigh resolution broad mobility range SLIM IMS separations, correcting for ion arrival time shifts regardless of the cause. Our tool is publicly available for use with universal ion mobility format (.UIMF) and text (.txt) files.

Data alignment, dynamic time warping, ion mobility↗
NASA NTRS1993

General overview of an integrated lunar oxygen production/brickmaking system

On the moon, various processing systems would compete for the same resources, most notably power, raw materials, and perhaps human attention. Therefore, it may be advantageous for two or more processes to be combined such that the integrated system would require fewer resources than separate systems working independently. The synergistic marriage of two such processes--lunar oxygen production and the manufacture of bricks from sintered lunar regolith--is considered.

Altemir, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1998

Development of Polyimides-Based NLO Materials for Electrooptical Applications

Development of thermally stable optical materials for nonlinear optics have recently focused on the covalent incorporation of NLO chromophores into high performance polymers, especially thermally stable and processable polyamides. One key aspect for the incorporation of robust NLO chromophores into high Tg polymers is to sustain poling induced order. Other advantages include high loading level of chromophores, and elimination of possible phase separation as well as chromophore sublimation at processing or working temperature. We have prepared several polyimide based polymers which are covalently linked with thermally stable chromophores that we have developed, since polyamides generally exhibit high Tg and good film transparency. Here, we report the development and subsequent incorporation of indoline based chromophores into polyamides, leading to thermally stable NLO polymers.

Rutherford, Jacqueline↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-Term Statistical Process Monitoring of an Ultrafiltration Water Treatment Process

As water treatment technology has improved, the amount of available process data has substantially increased, making real-time, data-driven fault detection a reality. One shortcoming of the fault detection literature is that methods are usually evaluated by comparing their performance on hand-picked, short-term case studies, which yields no insight into long-term performance. In this work, we first evaluate multiple statistical and machine learning approaches for detrending process data. Then, we evaluate the performance of a PCA-based fault detection approach, applied to the detrended data, to monitor influent water quality, filtrate quality, and membrane fouling of an ultrafiltration membrane system for indirect potable reuse. Based on two short case studies, the adaptive lasso detrending method is selected, and the performance of the multivariate approach is evaluated over more than a year. The method is tested for different sets of three critical tuning parameters, and we find that for long-term, autonomous monitoring to be successful, these parameters should be carefully evaluated. However, in comparison with industry standards of simpler, univariate monitoring or daily pressure decay tests, multivariate monitoring produces substantial benefits in long-term testing.

ammonia↗
DOE OSTI2025

Actinium purification from elemental components of stainless steel and aluminum

Radioisotopes of actinium are valuable because of their potential use in the medical industry. Actinium-225 shows promise for treating disease—like cancer—via targeted alpha therapy (TAT), and the longer-lived actinium-227 is the parent of two radionuclides with potential application in TAT radiopharmaceuticals, thorium-227 and radium-223. Continuing progress in the development of these medical applications requires robust and diverse methods for extracting and purifying actinium from a wide range of matrices. Further, to define the strengths and limitations of separation methods commonly employed in actinium processing, we characterized the performance of ion exchange and extraction chromatographic steps for removing contaminants found in stainless steel (chromium, iron, nickel, and silicon) and aluminum from actinium-227. While AG-MP1 anion exchange resin with HCl (aq) successfully removed iron, cation exchanger AG 50W-X8 removed most other contaminants. The most persistent contaminant was aluminum, which was removed using a DGA Normal extraction resin. These results are presented within the context of applying that methodology toward actinium purification strategies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1998

Method for Surface Texturing Titanium Products

The present invention teaches a method of producing a textured surface upon an arbitrarily configured titanium or titanium alloy object for the purpose of improving bonding between the object and other materials such as polymer matrix composites and/or human bone for the direct in-growth of orthopaedic implants. The titanium or titanium alloy object is placed in an electrolytic cell having an ultrasonically agitated solution of sodium chloride therein whereby a pattern of uniform "pock mark" like pores or cavities are produced upon the object's surface. The process is very cost effective compared to other methods of producing rough surfaces on titanium and titanium alloy components. The surface textures produced by the present invention are etched directly into the parent metal at discrete sites separated by areas unaffected by the etching process. Bonding materials to such surface textures on titanium or titanium alloy can thus support a shear load even if adhesion of the bonding material is poor.

Banks, Bruce A.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Upcycling Real‐World Post‐Consumer Polyolefins Plastics Into Light Olefins Via Microwave‐Assisted Processing

The rapid accumulation of plastic waste, particularly post-consumer polyolefins (POs) pose severe environmental and economic challenges worldwide. Recycling of post-consumer POs remains inefficient due to difficulties in separating mixed plastics, complex additives compositions, and high processing costs, resulting in recycling rates of less than 9%. To address these critical issues, this study utilized an innovative microwave-assisted catalytic upcycling approach for the efficient upcycling of complex post-consumer POs mixtures into valuable light olefins. Using the microwave-assisted catalytic upcycling approach, gas yields reached up to 80 wt.% from post-consumer POs mixtures, accompanied by a high selectivity (>70 wt.%) toward valuable light olefins. The upcycling of POs under microwave conditions is fully invested, including additives in real-word plastics, mixtures of different POs, reusability of catalyst, and more. The microwave-assisted catalytic upcycling approach offers an efficient, scalable, and cost-effective solution for upcycling post-consumer plastic mixtures, thereby advancing the principles of a circular economy.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Globally Gridded Groundwater Extraction Volumes and Costs under Six Depletion and Ponded Depth Targets

This repository contains simulated outputs from superwell – a hydro-economic tool for long-term assessment of groundwater cost and supply – providing globally gridded groundwater extractable volumes and associated unit costs ($/km³) for accessible groundwater production, based on a variety of user-defined depletion and ponded depth scenarios. Key model documentation: Niazi, H., Ferencz, S. B., Graham, N. T., Yoon, J., Wild, T. B., Hejazi, M., Watson, D. J., & Vernon, C. R. (2025). Long-term hydro-economic analysis tool for evaluating global groundwater cost and supply: Superwell v1.1. Geoscientific Model Development, 18(5), 1737-1767. https://doi.org/10.5194/gmd-18-1737-2025 Find the source code of the superwell model on GitHub: https://github.com/JGCRI/superwell Repository Overview Main output: superwell_outputs.7z contains 6 files (4.5 GB) named as superwell_py_deep_all_0.*PD_0.*DL.csv. These files present superwell outputs of global groundwater extraction volumes and cost estimates on a 0.5° scale for six scenarios with different Ponded Depth (PD; 0.3 and 0.6 m) and Depletion Limit (DL; 5%, 25%, and 40% of available volume) targets over the entire pumping lifetime of a grid cell superwell_py_deep_all_0.3PD_0.25DL_sample_100.csv contains superwell outputs for 100 data points sampled to match the global inputs' distribution superwell_py_deep_all_0.3PD_0.25DL_Grid_72548.csv contains superwell output for a single grid cell concept_v5.png provides an overview of the superwell workflow Outputs Description year_number: year of pumping depletion_limit: set depletion limit (DL) as a volume fraction of total available groundwater Mappings: continent, country, gcam_basin_id, Basin_long_name, grid_id: geographic identifiers and basin information Inputs: grid_area (km²): area of the grid cell whyclass: hydrogeological classification of the aquifer permeability (m/day), porosity (%), total_thickness (m), depth_to_water (m): aquifer properties. The geo-processed input data has been published separately: https://doi.org/10.57931/2307831 Model outputs: orig_aqfr_sat_thickness (m), aqfr_sat_thickness (m): original and remaining/instantaneous saturated thickness of the aquifer hydraulic_conductivity (m/day), transmissivity (m²/day): hydraulic properties of the aquifer radius_of_influence (m), areal_extent (km²): well radius and area of influence from the center of the well number_of_wells (-): number of wells in a grid cell determined by a ratio of well area and grid area max_drawdown (m), drawdown (m), drawdown_interference (m): well and aquifer drawdown during extraction total_head (m): total lift for the groundwater (depth to water plus drawdown) total_well_length (m): total depth of wells drilled well_yield (m³/day): pumping rate or well yield power (kW), energy (kWh): power and energy required for pumping groundwater Volume Outputs: volume_produced_perwell (m³), cumulative_vol_produced_perwell (m³): production volume metrics per well volume_produced_allwells (m³), cumulative_vol_produced_allwells (m³): aggregate extraction volumes for all wells in a grid cell available_volume (m³): available groundwater in storage for the grid cell as determined by aquifer properties depleted_vol_fraction: fraction of total volume pumped over available volumes in a grid cell (same as depletion limit) Cost Outputs: well_installation_cost ($): well installation cost based on the hydrogeological complexity of the aquifer annual_capital_cost, maintenance_cost, nonenergy_cost ($): nonenergy costs energy_cost_rate ($/kWh): electricity rate energy_cost ($): energy cost of pumping groundwater total_cost_perwell ($), total_cost_allwells ($): total annual energy and non-energy cost for each and all wells in a grid cell a unit_cost ($/m³), unit_cost_per_km3 ($/km³), unit_cost_per_acreft ($/acre-ft): total cost of pumping a unit of groundwater, indicated for different spatial units Key Resources Model documentation: Niazi, H., Ferencz, S., Graham, N., Yoon, J., Wild, T., Hejazi, M., Watson, D., & Vernon, C. (2024; In-prep). Long-term Hydro-economic Assessment Tool for Evaluating Global Groundwater Cost and Supply: Superwell v1. Geoscientific Model Development. Input data: Niazi, H., Watson, D., Hejazi, M., Yonkofski, C., Ferencz, S., Vernon, C., Graham, N., Wild, T., & Yoon, J. (2024). Global Geo-processed Data of Aquifer Properties by 0.5° Grid, Country and Water Basins. MSD-LIVE Data repository. https://doi.org/10.57931/2307831 superwell source code: https://github.com/JGCRI/superwell Cite as Niazi, H., Ferencz, S., Yoon, J., Graham, N., Wild, T., Hejazi, M., Watson, D., & Vernon, C. (2024). Globally Gridded Groundwater Extraction Volumes and Costs under Six Depletion and Ponded Depth Targets. MSD-LIVE Data repository. https://doi.org/10.57931/2307832 Contact Reach out to Hassan Niazi or Stephen Ferencz or open an issue in the superwell repository for questions or suggestions.

Earth Systems↗
DOE OSTI2023

IDAES-PSE 2.1.0 Release

The Institute for the Design of Advanced Energy Systems (IDAES) Integrated Platform is a versatile computational environment offering extensive process systems engineering (PSE) capabilities for optimizing the design and operation of complex, interacting technologies and systems. IDAES enables users to efficiently search vast, complex design spaces to discover the lowest cost, most environmentally sustainable solutions while supporting the full process modeling lifecycle, from conceptual design to dynamic optimization and control. The extensible, open platform empowers users to create models of novel processes and rapidly develop custom analyses, workflows, and end-user applications. IDAES-PSE 2.1.0 Release Highlights New IDAES Examples Repository Starting with this release, the IDAES examples are developed in the new IDAES/examples repository. Along with many content and usability improvements, the most significant changes are: To install the examples, after installing IDAES, run pip install idaes-examples The idaes get-examples command, previously used for this, has been removed The HTML version is now available at https://idaes-examples.readthedocs.io The previous URL, https://idaes.github.io/examples-pse, will not be updated and may be removed at some point in the future For more details, refer to the resources available at IDAES/examples. Removal of Non-Functional Apps A review of the code in the idaes/apps and idaes/models_extra folders was undertaken, and a number of tools were identified as being outdated or non-functional and no longer supported by their development teams. Due to this, the following tools have been removed: idaes/apps/alamopy_depr (note that the new ALAMOpy interface remains avaialble in idaes/core/surrogates) idaes/apps/helmet idaes/apps/ripe idaes/apps/roundingRegression idaes/models_extra/carbon_capture Pyomo 6.6 This version of IDAES is the first requiring Pyomo 6.6. This version of Pyomo contains multiple internal improvements and refactorings. While for the majority of cases this should have positive or no impact on solvability of IDAES models, we are aware of a small number of models that have been affected as a result of these changes. For more information, refer to the Pyomo 6.6.1 release notes. Other highlights Model Initialization A prototype API for a new approach to initializing IDAES models is now available which makes available some new techniques for initializing models. This is documented in the Initializing Models Reference Guide Modular Properties Framework Support for some transport properties Helmholtz Equation of State properties Better error checking for case where unit models are set to include phase equilibrium but the property package is set to support only a single phase Multi-Stream Contactor model: a new base model for systems involving contacting of two or more streams with mass transfer. This model is intended to be used as the foundation for models such as membrane separators, solvent extraction and other similar processes. This is documented in the Multi-Stream Contactor Reference Guide idaes/models_extra/power_generation report() methods for unit models using Helmholtz equation of state General Code Maintenance Streamlining of dependencies and creation of new optional dependency groupings to support non-core tools General linting of codebase to ensure compliance with most pylint checks Spell checking of all code and doc strings Removal of backward compatibility code for Python 2

IDAES↗
NASA NTRS2002

Superfinished Surfaces for Power Transfer Systems Improvement

The continuous demands for high performance and lightweight power train systems resulted in requirements for higher power density gearing systems. However, increasing the load bearing capacity of the gear teeth, without increasing size, places stringent requirements upon metallurgy, dimensional control, and surface finish of the final products. In order to operate the mating parts near the upper bounds of their theoretical design envelope, manufacturing processes are required that are capable of improving the fatigue life and load bearing capacity of precision parts, while producing the required geometric accuracy. Results of the recent experimental studies indicate that the super finishing process is able to achieve these goals. This paper will review the results of our continuing evaluation of the super finish process as applied to aerospace gearing. Two separate evaluations were performed on gears to examine the effects of super finishing on resistance to both pitting and contact fatigue. For the reported experiments, both conventional and super finished test gears were simultaneously manufactured using the same process and the same heat lot of materials. This paper will also provide a brief description of the manufacturing technology used to achieve the results and will compare the results with other published data. In addition, this paper presents a couple of off-the-shelf manufacturing technologies that have been successfully used to super finish test specimens and will provide a glimpse of other emerging super finishing technologies. This is a US Army Manufacturing Technology project. The project was sponsored by the Aviation and Missiles Command (AMCOM) and was being managed and conducted by IIT Research Institute.

Niskanen, Paul↗
NASA NTRS1976

Candidate space processing techniques for biomaterials other than preparative electrophoresis

The advantages of performing the partition and countercurrent distribution (CCD) of cells in phase separated aqueous polymer systems under reduced gravity were assessed. Other possible applications considered for the space processing program include the freezing front separation of cells, adsorption of cells at the air-water interface, and the macrophage electrophoretic mobility test for cancer.

Brooks, D. E.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Potential for light-induced separation of critical rare-earth elements

Current methods for separations of critical rare earth elements (REEs) require multi-step, waste-generating procedures that lack the ability to selectively separate similarly sized ions, despite such an onerous process. REEs possess unique optoelectronic properties that are often exploited for photomagnetic or photoluminescent applications but could be harnessed to drive element selective separations. Here, recent work exploring photochemical reactions of REE complexes points to promise for investigating alternative separations using photoactive molecules and macromolecular frameworks, highlighting a possible pathway towards realizing practical REE separations to increase the sustainability and longevity of mining and recycling these elements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2022

Enhanced terrestrial Fe(II) mobilization identified through a novel mechanism of microbially driven cave formation in Fe(III)-rich rocks

Most cave formation requires mass separation from a host rock in a process that operates outward from permeable pathways to create the cave void. Given the poor solubility of Fe(III) phases, such processes are insufficient to account for the significant iron formation caves (IFCs) seen in Brazilian banded iron formations (BIF) and associated rock. Here in this study we demonstrate that microbially-mediated reductive Fe(III) dissolution is solubilizing the poorly soluble Fe(III) phases to soluble Fe(II) in the anoxic zone behind cave walls. The resultant Fe(III)-depleted material (termed sub muros) is unable to maintain the structural integrity of the walls and repeated rounds of wall collapse lead to formation of the cave void in an active, measurable process. This mechanism may move significant quantities of Fe(II) into ground water and may help to explain the mechanism of BIF dissolution and REE enrichment in the generation of canga. The role of Fe(III) reducing microorganism and mass separation behind the walls (outward-in, rather than inward-out) is not only a novel mechanism of speleogenesis, but it also may identify a previously overlooked source of continental Fe that may have contributed to Archaean BIF formation.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1974

The Penn State ORSER system for processing and analyzing ERTS and other MSS data

The author has identified the following significant results. The office for Remote Sensing of Earth Resources (ORSER) of the Space Science and Engineering Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University has developed an extensive operational system for processing and analyzing ERTS-1 and similar multispectral data. The ORSER system was developed for use by a wide variety of researchers working in remote sensing. Both photointerpretive techniques and automatic computer processing methods have been developed and used, separately and in a combined approach. A remote Job Entry system permits use of an IBM 370/168 computer from any compatible remote terminal, including equipment tied in by long distance telephone connections. An elementary cost analysis has been prepared for the processing of ERTS data.

Mcmurtry, G. J.↗