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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2003

From Oxygen Generation to Metals Production: In Situ Resource Utilization by Molten Oxide Electrolysis

For the exploration of other bodies in the solar system, electrochemical processing is arguably the most versatile technology for conversion of local resources into usable commodities: by electrolysis one can, in principle, produce (1) breathable oxygen, (2) silicon for the fabrication of solar cells, (3) various reactive metals for use as electrodes in advanced storage batteries, and (4) structural metals such as steel and aluminum. Even so, to date there has been no sustained effort to develop such processes, in part due to the inadequacy of the database. The objective here is to identify chemistries capable of sustaining molten oxide electrolysis in the cited applications and to examine the behavior of laboratory-scale cells designed to generate oxygen and to produce metal. The basic research includes the study of the underlying high-temperature physical chemistry of oxide melts representative of lunar regolith and of Martian soil. To move beyond empirical approaches to process development, the thermodynamic and transport properties of oxide melts are being studied to help set the limits of composition and temperature for the processing trials conducted in laboratory-scale electrolysis cells. The goal of this investigation is to deliver a working prototype cell that can use lunar regolith and Martian soil to produce breathable oxygen along with metal by-product. Additionally, the process can be generalized to permit adaptation to accommodate different feedstock chemistries, such as those that will be encountered on other bodies in the solar system. The expected results of this research include: (1) the identification of appropriate electrolyte chemistries; (2) the selection of candidate anode and cathode materials compatible with electrolytes named above; and (3) performance data from a laboratory-scale cell producing oxygen and metal. On the strength of these results it should be possible to assess the technical viability of molten oxide electrolysis for in situ resource utilization on the Moon and Mars. In parallel, there may be commercial applications here on earth, such as new green technologies for metals extraction and for treatment of hazardous waste, e.g., fixing heavy metals.

Khetpal, Deepak↗
DOE OSTI2017

Reduced Magnetism in Core–Shell Magnetite@MOF Composites

Rare-earth elements (REEs) have significant commercial and military uses.1-3 However, REE extraction through conventional mining processes is expensive and feasible at only a few locations worldwide. Alternative methods are needed to produce REEs from more geographically disperse resources and in a cost effective, environmental friendly manner.4,5 Among various sources, geothermal brine, used for generating geothermal energy can possess attractive concentrations (ppb to ppm level) of REEs along with other dissolved metal ions.6 A system that can selectively trap the REEs using an existing geothermal power plant infrastructure would be an attractive additional revenue stream for the plant operator that could accelerate the development and deployment of geothermal plants in the United States and rest of the world.7,8 Here, we demonstrate a magnetic core-shell approach that can effectively extract REEs in their ionic form from aqueous solution with up to 99.99% removal efficiency. The shell, composed of thermally and chemically stable functionalized metal-organic framework (MOF), is grown over a synthesized Fe3O4 magnetic core. Magnetic susceptibility of the particles was found to decline significantly after in situ growth of a MOF shell, which resulted from oxidation of Fe2+ species of the magnetite (Fe3O4) to Fe3+ species (maghemite). The core-shell particles can be completely removed from the mixture under an applied magnetic field, offering a practical, economic, and efficient REE-removal process.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Final Report Feasibility Study for the California Wave Energy Test Center (CalWavesm)

The California Wave Energy Test Center (CalWave) Feasibility Study project was funded over multiple phases by the Department of Energy to perform an interdisciplinary feasibility assessment to analyze the engineering, permitting, and stakeholder requirements to establish an open water, fully energetic, grid connected, wave energy test center off the coast of California for the purposes of advancing U.S. wave energy research, development, and testing capabilities. Work under this grant included wave energy resource characterization, grid impact and interconnection requirements, port infrastructure and maritime industry capability/suitability to accommodate the industry at research, demonstration and commercial scale, and macro and micro siting considerations. CalWave Phase I performed a macro-siting and down-selection process focusing on two potential test sites in California: Humboldt Bay and Vandenberg Air Force Base. This work resulted in the Vandenberg Air Force Base site being chosen as the most favorable site based on a peer reviewed criteria matrix. CalWave Phase II focused on four siting location alternatives along the Vandenberg Air Force Base coastline and culminated with a final siting down-selection. Key outcomes from this work include completion of preliminary engineering and systems integration work, a robust turnkey cost estimate, shoreside and subsea hazards assessment, storm wave analysis, lessons learned reports from several maritime disciplines, test center benchmarking as compared to existing international test sites, analysis of existing applicable environmental literature, the completion of a preliminary regulatory, permitting and licensing roadmap, robust interaction and engagement with state and federal regulatory agency personnel and local stakeholders, and the population of a Draft Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Preliminary Application Document (PAD). Analysis of existing offshore oil and gas infrastructure was also performed to assess the potential value and re-use scenarios of offshore platform infrastructure and associated subsea power cables and shoreside substations. The CalWave project team was well balanced and was comprised of experts from industry, academia, state and federal regulatory agencies. The result of the CalWave feasibility study finds that the CalWave Test Center has the potential to provide the most viable path to commercialization for wave energy in the United States.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2017

Final Report Feasibility Study for the California Wave Energy Test Center (CalWavesm) - Volume #2 - Appendices #16-17

The California Wave Energy Test Center (CalWave) Feasibility Study project was funded over multiple phases by the Department of Energy to perform an interdisciplinary feasibility assessment to analyze the engineering, permitting, and stakeholder requirements to establish an open water, fully energetic, grid connected, wave energy test center off the coast of California for the purposes of advancing U.S. wave energy research, development, and testing capabilities. Work under this grant included wave energy resource characterization, grid impact and interconnection requirements, port infrastructure and maritime industry capability/suitability to accommodate the industry at research, demonstration and commercial scale, and macro and micro siting considerations. CalWave Phase I performed a macro-siting and down-selection process focusing on two potential test sites in California: Humboldt Bay and Vandenberg Air Force Base. This work resulted in the Vandenberg Air Force Base site being chosen as the most favorable site based on a peer reviewed criteria matrix. CalWave Phase II focused on four siting location alternatives along the Vandenberg Air Force Base coastline and culminated with a final siting down-selection. Key outcomes from this work include completion of preliminary engineering and systems integration work, a robust turnkey cost estimate, shoreside and subsea hazards assessment, storm wave analysis, lessons learned reports from several maritime disciplines, test center benchmarking as compared to existing international test sites, analysis of existing applicable environmental literature, the completion of a preliminary regulatory, permitting and licensing roadmap, robust interaction and engagement with state and federal regulatory agency personnel and local stakeholders, and the population of a Draft Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Preliminary Application Document (PAD). Analysis of existing offshore oil and gas infrastructure was also performed to assess the potential value and re-use scenarios of offshore platform infrastructure and associated subsea power cables and shoreside substations. The CalWave project team was well balanced and was comprised of experts from industry, academia, state and federal regulatory agencies. The result of the CalWave feasibility study finds that the CalWave Test Center has the potential to provide the most viable path to commercialization for wave energy in the United States.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrated End-to-end Performance Prediction and Diagnosis for Extreme Scientific Workflows

This report details recent progress for the ASCR funded project “Integrated End-to-end Performance Prediction and Diagnosis for Extreme Scientific Workflows”. We refer to the project as IPPD/2, reflecting the 2017 renewal under expanded scope and partners In IPPD/2, we increased our research scope to include data motion. We are focusing on three major aspects: a) observe how data is generated, distributed, and used; b) analyze how data is (repeatedly) consumed with a focus both on repeated patterns and anomalies; and c) explore how to optimize data motion. This new work on data motion will augment and complement IPPD/2’s research that focused on the computational aspects of tasks. We leverage and extend our existing tools and demonstrate our work on the Belle II workflow suite as well as on workflows from NSLS-II. The highlights of our work are as follows: Provenance for Workflows: Provenance is used to provide information enabling quality control, re-run computational workflows, and reproduce results. IPPD/2 has been building a scalable provenance management system that enables the capture of provenance from the high-level workflow through all relevant system levels in one integrated environment. Leveraging this work, our recent efforts have included using provenance as an enabling technique. Workload characterization: Leveraging provenance and analysis, we characterize data movement within network, storage, and memory over a variety of workloads. This characterization enables an understanding by performance analysts and application developers of the range of behaviors that could be expected. Performance Prediction for Workflows: The goal of modeling distributed workflows is to understand performance bottlenecks and enable more intelligent task scheduling to optimize selected metrics of interest (e.g., task throughput or output data rate). IPPD/2 has utilized both analytical and AI/ML modeling methodologies for performance modeling. Advanced Scheduling and Fault Modeling for Workflows: Scheduling of large-scale scientific workflows on geographically distributed resources is a challenging problem. To improve workflow throughput, we combined novel scheduling algorithms with task predictions from performance modeling and fault modeling. Dynamically Alleviating Bottlenecks in Workflows: Exploiting our provenance, analysis, and modeling efforts, we have explored and developed several techniques for dynamically detecting and alleviating bottlenecks in data movement. In particular, we have spent considerable effort demonstrating our techniques on production-like workflow configurations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1981

Development of a synthetic aperture radar design approach for wide-swath implementation

The first phase of a study program to develop an advanced synthetic aperture radar design concept is presented. Attributes of particular importance for the system design include wide swath coverage, reduced power requirements, and versatility in the selection of frequency, polarization and incident angle. The multiple beam configuration provides imaging at a nearly constant angle of incidence and offers the potential of realizing a wide range of the attributes desired for an orbital imaging radar for Earth resources applications.

Jean, B. R.↗
NASA NTRS1984

The NBS data management technology program

The National Bureau of Standards (NBS) Data Management Technology Program is discussed. The NBS Data Management Technology Program addresses major problems encountered during the following stages of an application's lifetime: requirements analysis and data base design, system selection and implementation, operations management and conversion. Products developed include standard software specifications, guides to best practice, standard data elements and representations, and reports documenting the experiences of other organizations as they attempt to improve the management of their computing resources. Data base Laboratory facilities are maintained for the investigation and analysis of state of the art data base technology. These facilities support collaborative testing with researchers, vendors, users, and standards developers.

Wood, H. M.↗
NASA NTRS1991

Mass and power modeling of communication satellites

Analytic estimating relationships for the mass and power requirements for major satellite subsystems are described. The model for each subsystem is keyed to the performance drivers and system requirements that influence their selection and use. Guidelines are also given for choosing among alternative technologies which accounts for other significant variables such as cost, risk, schedule, operations, heritage, and life requirements. These models are intended for application to first order systems analyses, where resources do not warrant detailed development of a communications system scenario. Given this ground rule, the models are simplified to 'smoothed' representation of reality. Therefore, the user is cautioned that cost, schedule, and risk may be significantly impacted where interpolations are sufficiently different from existing hardware as to warrant development of new devices.

Price, Kent M.↗
NASA NTRS2000

Laser Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry for Space

A miniature reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer for in situ planetary surface analysis is described. The laser ablation mass spectrometer (LAMS) measures the regolith's elemental and isotopic composition without high-voltage source extraction or sample preparation. The compact size (< 2 x 10(exp 3) cubic cm) and low mass (approximately 2 kg) of LAMS, due to its fully coaxial design and two-stage reflectron, fall within the strict resource limitations of landed science missions to solar system bodies. A short-pulse laser focused to a spot with a diameter approximately 30-50 micrometers is used to obtain microscopic surface samples. Assisted by a microimager, LAMS can interactively select and analyze a range of compositional regions (with lateral motion) and with repeated pulses can access unweathered, subsurface materials. The mass resolution is calibrated to distinguish isotopic peaks at unit masses, and detection limits are on resolved to a few ppm. The design and calibration method of a prototype LAMS device is described, which include the development of preliminary relative sensitivity coefficients for major element bulk abundance measurements.

Brinckerhoff, W. B.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Implementation of a Water Flow Control System into the ISS'S Planned Fluids & Combustion Facility

The Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) will become an ISS facility capable of performing basic combustion and fluids research. The facility consists of two independent payload racks specifically configured to support multiple experiments over the life of the ISS. Both racks will depend upon the ISS's Moderate Temperature Loop (MTL) for removing waste heat generated by the avionics and experiments operating within the racks. By using the MTL, constraints are imposed by the ISS vehicle on how the coolant resource is used. On the other hand, the FCF depends upon effective thermal control for maximizing life of the hardware and for supplying proper boundary conditions for the experiments. In the implementation of a design solution, significant factors in the selection of the hardware included ability to measure and control relatively low flow rates, ability to throttle flow within the time constraints of the ISS MTL, conserve energy usage, observe low mass and small volume requirements. An additional factor in the final design solution selection was considering how the system would respond to a loss of power event. This paper describes the method selected to satisfy the FCF design requirements while maintaining the constraints applied by the ISS vehicle.

Edwards, Daryl A.↗
NASA NTRS2009

High-Pressure Oxygen Generation for Outpost EVA Study

The amount of oxygen consumption for crew extravehicular activity (EVA) in future lunar exploration missions will be significant. Eight technologies to provide high pressure EVA O2 were investigated. They are: high pressure O2 storage, liquid oxygen (LOX) storage followed by vaporization, scavenging LOX from Lander followed by vaporization, LOX delivery followed by sorption compression, water electrolysis followed by compression, stand-alone high pressure water electrolyzer, Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and Power Elements sharing a high pressure water electrolyzer, and ECLSS and In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) Elements sharing a high pressure electrolyzer. A trade analysis was conducted comparing launch mass and equivalent system mass (ESM) of the eight technologies in open and closed ECLSS architectures. Technologies considered appropriate for the two architectures were selected and suggested for development.

Jeng, Frank F.↗
NASA NTRS2025

VIPER’s Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo)

The Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is a lunar volatiles detection and measurement mission that will land on Mons Mouton near Nobile crater, close to the Moon’s south pole. One of the analytical instruments embedded within the rover is the Mass Spectrometer observing lunar operations (MSolo) instrument. VIPER’s data will ultimately be used to create lunar water resource maps that may enable a sustained presence on the lunar surface. As VIPER navigates several kilometers of terrain, its onboard analytical instrumentation will characterize the presence of volatiles along the traverse path and identify candidate locations for drilling. Upon selection of a drilling site, the rover will position itself and deploy an auguring, percussive drill down to a meter depth. Upon extraction, regolith cuttings captured by the auger are deposited on the surface; an activity that will initiate the release of any volatile gases that are subsequently detected and quantified by MSolo. MSolo is designed to identify low-molecular-weight volatiles (between m/z 1-100) with unit mass resolution. Volatiles of interest include D/H and O18/O16 bearing species, including possible water contained within the lunar regolith. MSolo is a modified, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system, meaning the instrument is based on a commercially available unit that has been ruggedized for space applications.

MSolo↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Demonstration of in-Situ Resource Utilization of Lunar Regolith for Plant Growing Systems Through Scaled Capillary Models

The development of reliable and bioregenerative crop growth production systems is vital for human exploration into deep space. As the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) prepares for the Artemis missions, scientists need to find a way to provide consistent and sufficient water delivery for all stages of a plant’s life cycle. NASA has been able to successfully model passive flow through felt material, to mimic the water uptake and transport through a plant, in microgravity. However, more studies need to be conducted to adapt the model for a substrate-based system and incorporate how flow will change during each stage of plant growth. For future missions, payload requirements to support crop production systems will need to be limited, leading to the use of available resources, such as lunar regolith. Although numerous lunar regolith simulants are commercially available, few have been evaluated for their suitability in agricultural applications. First, a base regolith simulant will need to be identified based on its physical and chemical properties. Then, additional amendments to improve the properties of the simulants to support plant growth will be identified. The design and composition of the substrate will be based on water transport requirements for different stages of plant growth. Scaled capillary models can be utilized to study surface-tension driven flows through various designer substrates to modify the physical properties of the selected regolith simulant. These models can accurately represent how flow will act in a reduced gravity environment, which can be used to design a full-scale facility for surface missions. This project will aid space researchers in the design of future crop production systems for surface missions by creating a refined model that can be used at all stages of plant growth and utilize in situ resources.

Fluids↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Case Study about Energy and Cost Impacts for Different Community Scenarios Using a Community-Scale Building Energy Modeling Tool

The United States building sector consumed approximately 75% of electricity in 2019. By implementing renewable energy technologies and control strategies into buildings, future buildings will serve as energy generators as well as consumers. To accommodate this transition, communications among buildings and between buildings and the grid could provide more possibilities to optimize the energy performance of buildings. This paper develops a community-scale building energy model tool and conducts a case study adopting behind-the-meter distributed energy resources, sharing energy in different buildings, and using different electricity tariff structures. Three scenarios are studied: (1) electricity only supplied by the grid, (2) photovoltaic (PV) panels installed on and available to some but not all buildings, and (3) a connected community. To consider the impacts of locations and energy tariffs, this paper selects four cities and three electricity tariffs to evaluate the energy and cost performances of these three scenarios. The results show that the PV panels in Scenario 2 reduce 25% to 33% of the community-level electricity consumption and 20% to 30% of the community-level electricity cost compared with Scenario 1 in all studied locations and energy tariffs. By considering power management in the connected community (Scenario 3), the electricity consumption and cost can be further reduced by 6% to 7% and 5% to 11%, respectively, compared with Scenario 2.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Hawaiian Electric Advanced Inverter Grid Support Function Laboratory Validation and Analysis

The objective for this test plan was to better understand how to utilize the performance capabilities of advanced inverter functions to allow the interconnection of distributed energy resource (DER) systems to support the new Customer Self-Supply, Customer Grid-Supply, and other future DER programs. The purpose of this project was: 1) to characterize how the tested grid supportive inverters performed the functions of interest, 2) to evaluate the grid supportive inverters in an environment that emulates the dynamics of O'ahu's electrical distribution system, and 3) to gain insight into the benefits of the grid support functions on selected O'ahu island distribution feeders. These goals were achieved through laboratory testing of photovoltaic inverters, including power hardware-in-the-loop testing.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Allele-defined genome of the autopolyploid sugarcane Saccharum spontaneum L.

Modern sugarcanes are polyploid interspecific hybrids, combining high sugar content from Saccharum officinarum with hardiness, disease resistance and ratooning of Saccharum spontaneum. Sequencing of a haploid S. spontaneum, AP85-441, facilitated the assembly of 32 pseudo-chromosomes comprising 8 homologous groups of 4 members each, bearing 35,525 genes with alleles defined. The reduction of basic chromosome number from 10 to 8 in S. spontaneum was caused by fissions of 2 ancestral chromosomes followed by translocations to 4 chromosomes. Surprisingly, 80% of nucleotide binding site-encoding genes associated with disease resistance are located in 4 rearranged chromosomes and 51% of those in rearranged regions. Resequencing of 64 S. spontaneum genomes identified balancing selection in rearranged regions, maintaining their diversity. Introgressed S. spontaneum chromosomes in modern sugarcanes are randomly distributed in AP85-441 genome, indicating random recombination among homologs in different S. spontaneum accessions. The allele-defined Saccharum genome offers new knowledge and resources to accelerate sugarcane improvement.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2010

NOx Sensor Development

NO{sub x} compounds, specifically NO and NO{sub 2}, are pollutants and potent greenhouse gases. Compact and inexpensive NO{sub x} sensors are necessary in the next generation of diesel (CIDI) automobiles to meet government emission requirements and enable the more rapid introduction of more efficient, higher fuel economy CIDI vehicles. Because the need for a NO{sub x} sensor is recent and the performance requirements are extremely challenging, most are still in the development phase. Currently, there is only one type of NO{sub x} sensor that is sold commercially, and it seems unlikely to meet more stringent future emission requirements. Automotive exhaust sensor development has focused on solid-state electrochemical technology, which has proven to be robust for in-situ operation in harsh, high-temperature environments (e.g., the oxygen stoichiometric sensor). Solid-state sensors typically rely on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as the oxygen-ion conducting electrolyte and then target different types of metal or metal-oxide electrodes to optimize the response. Electrochemical sensors can be operated in different modes, including amperometric (a current is measured) and potentiometric (a voltage is measured), both of which employ direct current (dc) measurements. Amperometric operation is costly due to the electronics necessary to measure the small sensor signal (nanoampere current at ppm NO{sub x} levels), and cannot be easily improved to meet the future technical performance requirements. Potentiometric operation has not demonstrated enough promise in meeting long-term stability requirements, where the voltage signal drift is thought to be due to aging effects associated with electrically driven changes, both morphological and compositional, in the sensor. Our approach involves impedancemetric operation, which uses alternating current (ac) measurements at a specified frequency. The approach is described in detail in previous reports and several publications. Briefly, impedancemetric operation has shown the potential to overcome the drawbacks of other approaches, including higher sensitivity towards NO{sub x}, better long-term stability, potential for subtracting out background interferences, total NO{sub x} measurement, and lower cost materials and operation. Past LLNL research and development efforts have focused on characterizing different sensor materials and understanding complex sensing mechanisms. Continued effort has led to improved prototypes with better performance, including increased sensitivity (to less than 5 ppm) and long-term stability, with more appropriate designs for mass fabrication, including incorporation of an alumina substrate with an imbedded heater. Efforts in the last year to further improve sensor robustness have led to successful engine dynamometer testing with prototypes mounted directly in the engine manifold. Previous attempts had required exhaust gases to be routed into a separate furnace for testing due to mechanical failure of the sensor from engine vibrations. A more extensive cross-sensitivity study was also undertaken this last year to examine major noise factors including fluctuations in water, oxygen, and temperature. The quantitative data were then used to develop a strategy using numerical algorithms to improve sensor accuracy. The ultimate goal is the transfer of this technology to a supplier for commercialization. Due to the recent economic downturn, suppliers are demanding more comprehensive data and increased performance analysis before committing their resources to take the technology to market. Therefore, our NO{sub x} sensor work requires a level of technology development more thorough and extensive than ever before. The objectives are: (1) Develop an inexpensive, rapid-response, high-sensitivity and selective electrochemical sensor for oxides of nitrogen (NO{sub x}) for compression-ignition, direct-injection (CIDI) exhaust gas monitoring; (2) Explore and characterize novel, effective sensing methodologies based on impedance measurements and designs and manufacturing methods that could be compatible with mass fabrication; and (3) Collaborate with industry in order to (ultimately) transfer the technology to a supplier for commercialization.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗