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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 1,333 records · Page 74
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Benefits Of Automated Construction And Energy Efficiency Measures In Modular Homes

This article builds on and adds to a Buildings XV publication that introduced the Transformative Efficiency and Automation in Modular Homes (TEAMH) project. The TEAMH project sought to develop a scalable solution for producing modular homes with 20-50% energy savings and similar cost relative to site-fabricated single-family home construction. A key aspect of the project was assessing the potential for labor cost reductions through automation-assisted construction using light gauge steel (LGS). To quantify the advantages of this approach, side-by-side comparisons were made between traditional wood-framed construction and automation-assisted LGS construction. This demonstration involved constructing one wood-framed wall and several LGS test walls, accompanied by a time-and-motion study. The results indicated that automation assistance could decrease construction time and associated labor costs by as much as 46%. High-performance envelope technologies for exterior insulation and air sealing were evaluated to compare modular homes with site-built homes that meet the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). A key technology considered was vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) with fiberglass cores. Guarded hot box testing of multiple full-scale wall assemblies containing different combinations of exterior continuous insulation systems containing phenolic foam and VIPs. Testing on various full-scale wall assemblies revealed that, with LGS construction, cavity insulation had minimal impact on exterior wall performance. Omitting cavity insulation can reduce labor and material costs while streamlining manufacturing, as its installation is labor-intensive and not easily automated due to the need for precise placement around wiring and other internal components. Guarded hot box tests of multiple LGS test walls with foam and VIP-based exterior insulation systems achieved R-values of up to 31 hr-ft2-°F/Btu. Finally, building energy modeling of multiple modular home designs indicated that the upgraded envelope assemblies can yield heating energy savings of up to 50% and cooling energy savings of up to 30% compared to IECC 2018 standards.

Shrestha, Som [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000183993797)↗
DOE OSTI2016

Field Evaluation of Advances in Energy-Efficiency Practices for Manufactured Homes

Three side-by-side lab houses were built, instrumented and monitored in an effort to determine through field testing and analysis the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use in new manufactured homes. The lab houses in Russellville, Alabama compared the performance of three homes built to varying levels of thermal integrity and HVAC equipment: a baseline HUD-code home equipped with an electric furnace and a split system air conditioner; an ENERGY STAR manufactured home with an enhanced thermal envelope and traditional split system heat pump; and a house designed to qualify for Zero Energy Ready Home designation with a ductless mini-split heat pump with transfer fan distribution system in place of the traditional duct system for distribution. Experiments were conducted in the lab houses to evaluate impact on energy and comfort of interior door position, window blind position and transfer fan operation. The report describes results of tracer gas and co-heating tests and presents calculation of the heat pump coefficient of performance for both the traditional heat pump and the ductless mini-split. A series of calibrated energy models was developed based on measured data and run in three locations in the Southeast to compare annual energy usage of the three homes.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

What a New Energy Efficiency Measure for Commercial Buildings Means to You

This article describes a new path for compliance with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2016. The new approach will lead to increased flexibility for designers, multiple uses for the same building energy models, increased recognition of energy saving design strategies, and lower energy modeling costs.

Appendix G↗
DOE OSTI2020

Energy-Efficient Forward Osmosis for FGD Wastewater Volume Minimization

A variant of forward osmosis, the Aquapod© process, was shown to be capable of concentrating FGDWW five-fold without the need for softening. The thermal and electrical energy consumption per unit of water produced was estimated to be 190 kJ/kg and ~2.2 kWh/m3, respectively. The FO process, in conjunction with a spray dryer, can achieve ZLD of 100 gpm of FGDWW with an estimated capital costs of $6.25 Million and a variable cost of $4.35/m3 of wastewater treated.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2013

Transportation Energy Futures Series: Freight Transportation Demand: Energy-Efficient Scenarios for a Low-Carbon Future

Freight transportation demand is projected to grow to 27.5 billion tons in 2040, and by extrapolation, to nearly 30.2 billion tons in 2050, requiring ever-greater amounts of energy. This report describes the current and future demand for freight transportation in terms of tons and ton-miles of commodities moved by truck, rail, water, pipeline, and air freight carriers. It outlines the economic, logistics, transportation, and policy and regulatory factors that shape freight demand; the possible trends and 2050 outlook for these factors, and their anticipated effect on freight demand and related energy use. After describing federal policy actions that could influence freight demand, the report then summarizes the available analytical models for forecasting freight demand, and identifies possible areas for future action.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2019

New Design Methods and Algorithms for Energy Efficient Multicomponent Distillation Column Trains (Final Report)

The major objectives of this project are to; first develop new methods and tools, and then incorporate them in a user-friendly software that will readily generate low-energy solutions for a large class of multicomponent distillation applications found in typical chemical and petrochemical plants. Having such methods and corresponding software at the disposal of the process engineers will allow chemical manufacturers of all sizes to reduce energy consumption of their grassroots as well as existing separation plants.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improving energy efficiency while reducing anthropogenic heat from buildings: how retrofits influence the building stock and urban microclimate in Los Angeles

Anthropogenic heat (AH) from buildings contributes to urban overheating, especially during heat waves, yet building retrofit studies usually evaluate energy savings without assessing impacts on AH. This study quantifies how common building retrofit measures affect both building energy use and AH emissions across the City of Los Angeles. Using a bottom-up urban building energy modeling framework coupled with high-resolution local weather from the Weather Research and Forecasting model with Building Effect Parameterization (WRF-BEP), we evaluate eleven retrofit measures and two multi-measure retrofit packages. HVAC and LED lighting retrofits provide the largest city-wide annual site energy savings, while roof coating is most effective for reducing AH. A package optimized for energy savings reduces summer site energy use by about 32% (2.3 TWh), while a package incorporating AH-focused measures reduces the total AH by over 50% (137 PJ) with minimal difference in energy savings. The AH-aware package produces substantially greater urban cooling, reducing mean near-surface air temperature by up to 0.62 ℃ and peak temperature by up to 3.79 ℃. These results show that retrofit strategies selected only for energy savings may overlook major opportunities for urban heat mitigation. The study provides a framework for integrating AH into building retrofit planning and urban heat resilience policy.

Anthropogenic heat↗
DOE OSTI2012

Prototyping Energy Efficient Thermo-Magnetic & Induction Hardening for Heat Treat & Net Shape Forming Applications

Within this project, Eaton undertook the task of bringing about significant impact with respect to sustainability. One of the major goals for the Department of Energy is to achieve energy savings with a corresponding reduction in carbon foot print. The use of a coupled induction heat treatment with high magnetic field heat treatment makes possible not only improved performance alloys, but with faster processing times and lower processing energy, as well. With this technology, substitution of lower cost alloys for more exotic alloys became a possibility; microstructure could be tailored for improved magnetic properties or wear resistance or mechanical performance, as needed. A prototype commercial unit has been developed to conduct processing of materials. Testing of this equipment has been conducted and results demonstrate the feasibility for industrial commercialization.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Energy-Efficient Purification of Bio-Fuels and Bio-Chemicals Using a Novel Advanced Polymeric Membrane System: CRADA Final Report

The team collaborated to develop, demonstrate and move toward the commercialization of a pervaporation membrane system, which reduces the energy required for product isolation from dilute fermentation broths. Avoiding the energy consumption associated with the latent heat of vaporization for water was the key benefit. Essentially, this work isolated high boilers from dilute feeds without evaporating water. These activities lead to the development, fabrication, and demonstration of proprietary, advanced polymer membrane cartridges that dramatically reduce the cost of bio-chemical and bio-fuel manufacture.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1977

Costs and energy efficiency of a dual-mode system

The life cycle costs of a dual mode system for both public and semiprivate ownership are examined, and the costs in terms of levelized required revenue per passenger mile are presented. The energy use of the dual mode vehicle is analyzed by means of a detailed vehicle simulation program for the control policy and guideway system. Several different propulsion systems are considered.

Heft, R. C.↗
DOE OSTI2018

Scalable energy-efficient magnetoelectric spin–orbit logic

Since the early 1980s, most electronics have relied on the use of complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor (CMOS) transistors. However, the principles of CMOS operation, involving a switchable semiconductor conductance controlled by an insulating gate, have remained largely unchanged, even as transistors are miniaturized to sizes of 10 nanometres. We investigated what dimensionally scalable logic technology beyond CMOS could provide improvements in efficiency and performance for von Neumann architectures and enable growth in emerging computing such as artifical intelligence. Such a computing technology needs to allow progressive miniaturization, reduce switching energy, improve device interconnection and provide a complete logic and memory family. Here we propose a scalable spintronic logic device that operates via spin–orbit transduction (the coupling of an electron’s angular momentum with its linear momentum) combined with magnetoelectric switching. The device uses advanced quantum materials, especially correlated oxides and topological states of matter, for collective switching and detection. We describe progress in magnetoelectric switching and spin–orbit detection of state, and show that in comparison with CMOS technology our device has superior switching energy (by a factor of 10 to 30), lower switching voltage (by a factor of 5) and enhanced logic density (by a factor of 5). Additionally, its non-volatility enables ultralow standby power, which is critical to modern computing. The properties of our device indicate that the proposed technology could enable the development of multi-generational computing.

42 ENGINEERING↗