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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 1,279 records · Page 71
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2008

Spectral Attenuation of Sound in Dilute Suspensions with Nonlinear Particle Relaxation

Theoretical studies on the dissipation and dispersion of sound in two-phase suspensions have been briefly reviewed. Previous studies on the sound attenuation in particle-laden flows under Stokesian drag and conduction-controlled heat transfer have been extended to accommodate the nonlinear drag and heat transfer. It has been shown that for large particle-to-fluid density ratio, the particle Reynolds number bears a cubic relationship with Omega Tau(sub d) (where Omega is the circular frequency and Tau(sub d) the Stokesian particle relaxation time). This dependence leads to the existence of a peak value in the linear absorption coefficient occurring at a finite value Omega Tau (sub d). Comparison of the predictions with the test data for the spectral attenuation of sound with water injection in a perfectly expanded supersonic air jet shows a satisfactory trend of the theory accounting for nonlinear particle relaxation processes.

Kandula, M.↗
NASA NTRS2014

Co-Optimization of Blunt Body Shapes for Moving Vehicles

A method and associated system for multi-disciplinary optimization of various parameters associated with a space vehicle that experiences aerocapture and atmospheric entry in a specified atmosphere. In one embodiment, simultaneous maximization of a ratio of landed payload to vehicle atmospheric entry mass, maximization of fluid flow distance before flow separation from vehicle, and minimization of heat transfer to the vehicle are performed with respect to vehicle surface geometric parameters, and aerostructure and aerothermal vehicle response for the vehicle moving along a specified trajectory. A Pareto Optimal set of superior performance parameters is identified.

Brown, James L.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modelling of Liquid Hydrogen No-Vent-Fill Tests Using Thermal Desktop

Efficient cryogenic propellant transfer is important to the success of upcoming NASA missions to the Moon and Mars. The no-vent-fill method is a promising approach that allows for simple low-loss propellant transfers over a wide range of ambient thermal and acceleration conditions. This approach has been previously studied in 3 separate experiments at NASA Glenn Research Center using liquid hydrogen in tanks ranging in volume from 34 to 5000 liters. Thermal/fluid models of the test subject tanks and supporting experimental hardware are developed using a Thermal Desktop twin-tank compartment approach. A key feature of the modelling is to replace the Thermal Desktop default values of liquid-vapor heat transfer coefficients with correlations from literature better chosen to match the fluid dynamics and phase change thermodynamics occurring in the tests. Details of the modelling effort and comparisons of model predictions to the NASA test datasets are presented and discussed.

Low Gravity Fluid Modeling↗
DOE OSTI2022

Initial study on cross section generation requirements for a PBR equilibrium core

A Serpent model of the HTR-PM equilibrium core was developed for use in cross section prepa-ration studies in order to guide methods development for the Griffin reactor multiphysics applica-tion. The model includes detailed isotopics for 10 distinct pebble burnup groups in 126 core zoneswith unique fuel and moderator temperatures obtained from a coupled neutronics-thermal-fluidsequilibrium core calculation using Griffin-Pronghorn. A sensitivity study of the fuel and mod-erator temperatures for various core regions was performed with the MOOSE stochastic tools.The results show that the uncertainties are, not unexpectedly, dominated by the value of the fluidtemperature and that the power level, heat transfer coefficient and effective conduction to neigh-boring pebbles and fluid constitute, at best, second order effects. The temperature uncertaintyrange varies from 28 K to 57 K at the core entry and exit planes, respectively, but these val-ues are probably higher. We still have to quantify the significance of these uncertainties in thepreparation of cross sections, which will be postponed for future work. In addition, we verifythat the single effective pebble approach works well for the preparation of region averaged crosssections in the infinite domain approximation. Nevertheless, there are significant discrepanciesin the cross sections when compared to the multi-pebble model. This could affect the predictionof peak values and in the depletion calculation. We conclude that is highly desirable for futurestudies with Griffin to be able to handle both the ?effective? pebble approximation and the multi-pebble approach for the various pebble burnup groups. This enables Griffin users the flexibilityto perform higher-fidelity studies. Finally, we initiate the preparation of cross sections for variouscore regions from the full core Serpent reference model. We quantify the differences in 26 groupcross sections from infinite domain models. These reference cross sections will serve to validatethe double heterogeneity, self-shielding, and spectrum-correction methods in Griffin.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2022

ADDITIVELY MANUFACTURED SURFACE HEAT TRANSFER ENHANCEMENTS FOR THE TRANSFORMATIONAL CHALLENGE REACTOR

The Transformational Challenge Reactor (TCR) is a high-temperature gas-cooled reactor design that uses additively manufactured fuel elements. TCR fuel elements have walls made of silicon carbide and are filled with tristructural-isotropic fuel particles. These fuel elements can have radically different shapes and integrated features than existing designs due to the reduced cost for complex structures in binder jet additive manufacturing. As such, binder jet additive manufacturing enables wall surface features to be embedded that can deliver superior heat transfer performance than smooth wall designs. In this work, the authors conducted a computational fluid dynamics study to evaluate selected wall features integrated into TCR fuel elements. Results show that surface features can outperform smooth wall designs; however, there are unique challenges for gas-cooled reactor core designs that have not been fully explored by previous research. For example, the rough surface finish and process variability of ceramics additive manufacturing make it challenging to predict surface roughness effects before fabrication. Additionally, the small hydraulic diameters of coolant channels in reactor cores make it difficult to engineer surface features that do not significantly increase the pressure drop. Engineers must carefully size surface features for heat transfer enhancement in additive fuel elements to operate above the base material's surface roughness effects and below the coolant channel size.

Weinmeister, Justin↗
NASA NTRS1997

Development of a Device to Deploy Fluid Droplets in Microgravity

A free-floating droplet in microgravity is ideal for scientific observation since it is free of confounding factors such as wetting and nonsymmetrical heat transfer introduced by contact with surfaces. However, the technology to reliably deploy in microgravity has not yet been developed. In some recent fluid deployment experiments, droplets are either shaken off the dispenser or the dispenser is quickly retracted from the droplet. These solutions impart random residual motion to deployed droplet, which can be undesirable for certain investigations. In the present study, two new types of droplet injectors were built and tested. Testing of the droplet injectors consisted of neutral buoyancy tank tests, 5-sec drop tower tests at the NASA Lewis Zero Gravity Facility, and DC-9 tests. One type, the concentric injector, worked well in the neutral buoyancy tank but did not do well in low-gravity. However, it appeared that it makes a fine apparatus for constructing bubbles in low-gravity conditions. The other type, the T-injector, showed the most promise for future development. In both neutral buoyancy and DC-9 tests, water droplets were formed and deployed with some control and repeatability, although in low-gravity the residual velocities were higher than desirable. Based on our observations, further refinements are suggested for future development work.

Robinson, David W.↗
NASA NTRS1974

Heat transfer with nucleate boiling of liquids under weak mass force field conditions

The motion is examined of a vapor bubble growing and rising from a flat horizontal heater in the ideal fluid approximation and taking drag into account. Estimates are given of bubble lifetime, bubble radius at detachment, bubble detachment frequency, and time for the bubble to attain a constant rate of rise. The relations obtained for the microcharacteristics of the boiling process are used to determine the coefficients of heat transfer in developed nucleate boiling. A new form of the equations for describing heat transfer in nucleate boiling in dimensionless parameters is proposed.

Kirichenko, Y. A.↗
NASA NTRS1993

Computational analysis of Variable Thrust Engine (VTE) performance

The Variable Thrust Engine (VTE) of the Orbital Maneuvering Vehicle (OMV) uses a hypergolic propellant combination of Monomethyl Hydrazine (MMH) and Nitrogen Tetroxide (NTO) as fuel and oxidizer, respectively. The performance of the VTE depends on a number of complex interacting phenomena such as atomization, spray dynamics, vaporization, turbulent mixing, convective/radiative heat transfer, and hypergolic combustion. This study involved the development of a comprehensive numerical methodology to facilitate detailed analysis of the VTE. An existing Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code was extensively modified to include the following models: a two-liquid, two-phase Eulerian-Lagrangian spray model; a chemical equilibrium model; and a discrete ordinate radiation heat transfer model. The modified code was used to conduct a series of simulations to assess the effects of various physical phenomena and boundary conditions on the VTE performance. The details of the models and the results of the simulations are presented.

Giridharan, M. G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Conjugate Heat Transfer Modeling of Salt-Filled Fuel Pins for Stable Salt Reactor Safety Analysis

The Stable Salt Reactor (SSR) combines the proven structural design of light water reactor fuel assemblies with the inherent safety and fuel-cycle advantages of molten salt technology. In its fast reactor configuration, the SSR utilizes recycled nuclear waste as fuel, sealed within narrow salt-filled fuel pins and cooled by a surrounding liquid salt coolant. Reliable transfer of heat from the molten fuel salt through the cladding to the external coolant is essential for both reactor safety and performance. This work investigates conjugate heat transfer (CHT) in the SSR’s salt-filled fuel pins using NekRS, a high-fidelity spectral element computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver. The analyses capture internal natural convection within the molten fuel salt and external forced convection in the coolant, under steady-state and transient operating conditions. Parametric studies evaluate how variations in reactor power and coolant flow rate influence heat transfer distributions and system response. The high-fidelity CFD results are time-averaged and post-processed for direct comparison with moderate-fidelity Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) models, and for the development of reduced-order models within the SAM system code. These validated models support fast-running safety analyses of normal and off-normal transients, improving predictive capability for key safety margins. By integrating advanced CFD with system-level safety tools, this study strengthens the modeling framework for SSR design, reduces uncertainty in molten salt CHT simulations, and accelerates the engineering and licensing of next-generation nuclear reactors.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1982

Finite element analysis of nonisothermal polymer processing operations

A finite element formulation for the analysis of polymer processing is presented and its use in some typical situation including entry flow, transient Couette flow, and the Graetz (forced convection) problem is illustrated. The element formulations are constructed on the premise that momentum convection can be neglected (polymer melt flows typically have very low Reynolds' numbers), but that convective heat transfer may be significant (high Peclet numbers). Nonisothermal effects are considered important in polymer processing, due in part to the significant heating which may occur due to viscous dissipation, and also to the very strong influence of temperature on fluid viscosity. The flow is treated as Newtonian with the flow field being coupled to the heat transfer equation only through the viscous heat generation.

Douglas, C.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Axisymmetric Two-Dimensional Modeling of No Vent Filling of a Cryogenic Tank using Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program

Filling a tank with cryogenic fluid is more challenging than filling a tank with water or any other fluid that is in liquid state at atmospheric condition. Filling a tank with cryogenic fluid is a two-step process. First the tank and the transfer line mustbe chilled. Liquid cryogens start flowing into the tank only after the tank and transfer lines are chilled to the fluid saturation temperature. In normal gravity, cryogenic tanks are usually filled from the bottom at nearly atmospheric pressure. The vapor, caused by heat transfer from the warm tank walls, is allowed to vent from the top of the tank while the tank is being filled. Filling a cryogenic tank in the absence of gravity is more challenging because in a non-stratified environment liquid propellantmay not settle at the tank bottom as it does on earth. There is a strong possibility that liquid propellant may exit through the vent valve, which is typically located at the top of the tank to vent propellant vapor. There are several methodsof filling atank in space: Charge-Hold-Vent method [1], Vented-Chill / No-Vent-Fill (VCNVF)[2],and No Vent Fill with TVS assisted injector [3].This paper addressesnumerical modelingofthe No Vent Fill (NVF) processwhere a TVS (Thermodynamic Vent System) augmented injector was used with the vent valve closed during the entire filling process. NVF tests were conducted in the CRYOgenic Orbital Testbed (CRYOTE) tankat NASA/Marshall Space Flight Centerin 2018.The Generalized Fluid System Simulation Program (GFSSP), a general-purpose flow network code [4] was used to simulate the chilland fill process.

Cryogenics↗
DOE OSTI2023

3D Printing of Solar Absorber Tube with Internal/External Structures for Heat Transfer Enhancement and Temperature Leveling using Additive Manufacturing Technology

In this project, to tackle the technical obstacles, we utilized Laser Additive Alloying (LAA), an additive manufacturing (AM) technology, to 3D print the entire absorber tube with optimized helical fins to improve heat transfer at the expense of minimized pressure drop increase. The 3D printed absorber tubes can increase the uniformity of circumferential temperature distribution, reduced the thermal stresses, decrease the heat loss, and reach the target receiver thermal efficiency.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2018

Cryogenic Heat Transfer System

Disclosed herein is a cryogenic heat transfer system capable of transferring 50 W or more at cryogenic temperatures of 100.degree. K or less for use with cryocooler systems. In an embodiment, a cryogenic heat transfer system comprises a refrigerant contained within an inner chamber bound by a condenser in fluid communication with an evaporator through at least one flexible conduit, the condenser in thermal communication with the cold station of a cryocooler, and the evaporator positionable in thermal communication with a heat source, typically a radiation shield of a cryogenic chamber. A process to remove heat from a cryogenic chamber is also disclosed.

Chui, Talso C.↗
NASA NTRS1978

Performance investigations of liquid-metal heat pipes for space and terrestrial applications

The high heat transfer capacity of liquid-metal heat pipes is demonstrated in performance tests with mercury, potassium, sodium, and lithium working fluids and wick structures which serve to minimize liquid pressure losses and vapor/liquid interactions. Appropriate wicks for horizontal and vertical operation are described. It is shown that heat-transfer with these wicks is limited by vapor flow effects. Examples are given of particular effects associated with a long adiabatic section between evaporator and condenser and with a heat source of uniform temperature as opposed to a source of uniform power.

Kemme, J. E.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Heat transfer in thin, compact heat exchangers with circular, rectangular, or pin-fin flow passages

Heat transfer and pressure drop have been measured of three thin, compact heat exchangers in helium gas at 3.5 MPa and higher, with Reynolds numbers of 450 to 36,000. The flow geometries for the three heat exchanger specimens were: circular tube, rectangular channel, and staggered pin fin with tapered pins. The specimens were heated radiatively at heat fluxes up to 77 W/sq cm. Correlations were developed for the isothermal friction factor as a function of Reynolds number, and for the Nusselt number as a function of Reynolds number and the ratio of wall temperature to fluid temperature. The specimen with the pin fin internal geometry had significantly better heat transfer than the other specimens, but it also had higher pressure drop. For certain conditions of helium flow and heating, the temperature more than doubled from the inlet to the outlet of the specimens, producing large changes in gas velocity, density, viscosity, and thermal conductivity. These changes in properties did not affect the correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number in turbulent flow.

Olson, D. A.↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ducted Assembly Steady-State Heat Transfer Software (DASSH): Theory Manual

The Ducted Assembly Steady-State Heat transfer software (DASSH) is being developed at Argonne National Laboratory to obtain a steady-state thermal fluids result for the coolant flow and temperature distribution in a hexagonally gridded reactor core with ducted assemblies. In DASSH, each assembly is assumed to contain a hexagonal bundle of wire-wrapped pins. DASSH divides the coolant in the pin bundle into subchannels on which it applies energy balances to determine coolant and duct temperatures. DASSH offers multiple models for inter assembly heat transfer and features the ability to calculate pin temperatures. This document describes the models and equations implemented in DASSH. It includes a description of the geometric system to which the models are applied and a derivation of the subchannel energy balance formulation is presented. It also reviews the available correlations and provides an overview of the process by which power distributions are generated. Finally, it covers the code execution procedure, discussing the main code objects and their interactions.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1994

Hydraulically Driven Grips For Hot Tensile Specimens

Pair of grips for tensile and compressive test specimens operate at temperatures up to 1,500 degrees F. Grips include wedges holding specimen inside furnace, where heated to uniform temperature. Hydraulic pistons drive wedges, causing them to exert clamping force. Hydraulic pistons and hydraulic fluid remain outside furnace, at room temperature. Cooling water flows through parts of grips to reduce heat transferred to external components. Advantages over older devices for gripping specimens in high-temperature tests; no need to drill holes in specimens, maintains constant gripping force on specimens, and heated to same temperature as that of specimen without risk of heating hydraulic fluid and acuator components.

Bird, R. Keith↗
NASA NTRS1983

Heat transfer and horizontally averaged temperature of convection with large viscosity variations

It is pointed out that the understanding of convection in large-Prandtl-number Boussinesq fluids with uniform properties and contained in simple geometries is virtually complete. Present efforts are typically directed towards relaxing some of the original assumptions by going to lower Prandtl number, more complicated geometries, variable material properties, or introducing new dynamical processes such as the Lorentz forces. A description is given of experiments which are concerned with the effect on convection of relaxing the assumption of a uniform viscosity. The reported experiments were designed to measure both the horizontally averaged temperature as a function of depth and the heat transfer of convection over a range of viscosity variations up to 100,000.

Richter, F. M.↗