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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 1,441 records · Page 80
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2015

The overvoltage protection module for the power supply system for the pixel detector at Belle II experiment at KEK

In this paper the overvoltage protection modules (OVP) for the power supply (PS) system of the Belle II pixel detector (PXD) are described. The aim of the OVP is to protect the detector and associated electronics against overvoltage conditions. Most critical in the system are voltages supplying the front-end ASICs. The PXD detector consists of the DEPFET sensor modules with integrated chips like the Drain Current Digitizer, the Switcher and the Data Handling Processor. These chips, implemented in modern sub-micron technologies, are quite vulnerable to variations in the supply voltages. The PXD will be placed in the Belle II experiment as close as possible to the interaction point, where access during experiment is very limited or even impossible, thus the PS and OVP systems exploit the remote-sensing method. Overvoltage conditions are due to failures of the PS itself, wrong setting of the output voltages or transient voltages coming out of hard noisy environment of the experiment. The OVP modules are parts of the PS modules. For powering the PXD 40 PS modules are placed 15 m outside the Belle II spectrometer. Each one is equipped with the OVP board. All voltages (22) are grouped in 4 domains: Analog, Digital, Steering and Gate which have independent grounds. The OVP boards are designed from integrated circuits from Linear Technology. All configurations were simulated with the Spice program. The control electronics is designed in a Xilinx CPLD. Two types of integrated circuits were used. LT4356 surge stopper protects loads from high voltage transients. The output voltages are limited to a safe value and also protect loads against over current faults. For less critical voltages, the LTC2912 voltage monitors are used that detect under-voltage and overvoltage events. It has to be noted that the OVP system is working independently of any other protection of the PS system, which increases its overall reliability. (authors)

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS1984

Cascade variable-conductance heat pipe (A0076)

The objective is to verify the capability of a cascade variable conductance heat pipe (CVCHP) system to provide precise temperature control of long life spacecraft without the need for a feedback heater or other power sources for temperature adjustment under conditions of widely varying power input and ambient environment. Solar energy is the heat source and space the heat sink for thermally loading two series connected variable conductance heat pipes. Electronics and power supply equipment requirements are minimal. A 7.5 V lithium battery supplies the power for thermistor type temperature sensors for monitoring system performance, and a 28 V lithium battery supplies power for valve actuation.

Grote, M. G.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of an Encoding Method on an Co-simulation Platform for Mitigating the Impact of Unreliable Communication

This report presents a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) based modeling approach for simulating impacts of unreliable communication on the performance of centralized volt-var control and for developing an encoding method to mitigate the impacts. First, an asynchronous real-time HIL simulation platform is introduced to enable multi-rate co-simulation of a distribution system with many inverter-based distributed energy resources (DERs). The distribution system is modeled by milliseconds phasor-based models and the DERs are modeled by micro-seconds power electronic models. Communication connections between a centralized volt-var controller (modeled externally to the HIL testbed) and smart inverters are built by implementing Modbus links and the Long Term Evolution network. On this co-simulation platform, an enhanced, augmented Lagrangian multiplier based encoded data recovery (EALM-EDR) algorithm for mitigating the impact of unreliable communication is developed and validated. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of using the HIL-based co-simulation platform as a power grid digital twin for developing algorithms that coordinate a large number of heterogeneous control systems through wired and wireless communication links.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Provision of Grid Services by PV Plants with Integrated Battery Energy Storage System: Preprint

Battery energy storage systems (BESS), due to their tremendous range of uses and configurations, may assist PV integration in any number of ways by increasing power system flexibility. In this paper we describe results of a research project conducted by NREL and First Solar for developing controls and demonstrating many use cases for PV-BESS systems including (1) matching generation to loads through time shifting, reducing PV curtailment,; (2) promoting higher levels of PV penetrations by balancing the grid through ancillary services; (3) use of PV-BESS systems to provide wide-area stability services in the form of oscillations damping controls; and (r) use of gird forming BESS for enabling black start and islanded applications for PV-BESS systems. In the paper we will also describe the unique multi-MW test and validation platform developed at NREL for conducting research on fielded utility-scale PV-BESS systems. The platform consists of First Solar 0.43 MW PV power plant, NREL’s 1MW/1MW BESS, 2MW PV power supplies and 7MVA power electronic grid simulator interfaced with industrial plant controllers and power-hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) capability.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multi-Port Autonomous Reconfigurable Solar Power Plant

As the penetration level of power electronics increases and remote photovoltaic (PV) generation is integrated into the alternating current (ac) grid, the short-circuit ratio (SCR) at the point of interconnection of a hybrid PV–energy storage system (ESS) plant may be low. Additionally, the inertia of the alternating current (ac) grid may be low. The low SCRs and inertias can lead to reliability challenges in the power grid. These operating conditions require additional reinforcements, such as synchronous condensers, static var compensators, static synchronous compensators, and high-voltage direct current (HVdc) links/grids. HVdc links or grids may also provide the additional capability of connecting the plant to asynchronous grids and/or connecting asynchronous grids, among others. This scenario leads to discrete development of solar inverters, energy storage inverters, HVdc converters, and several transformers. Some of the problems associated with this discrete development and inverter-based generation include increased cost, lower reliability, and reduced efficiency associated with duplication of power electronics (PEs); competing controls of several individual discrete inverter-based generators due to the presence of multiple PEs, which leads to derating of the system; and transient stability problems arising from inverter-based generation, such as voltage/frequency events leading inverter shutdowns, voltage instability and control interactions in the formed weak grid, and harmonics caused by resonances of multiple inverters.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS2020

High Temperature Electronics for Venus Surface Applications: A Summary of Recent Technical Advances

This white paper has a technical focus meant to provide background to those unfamiliar with the challenges of high temperature electronics, and an understanding of why new surface mission concepts are now viable for Venus and other applications. It describes that, for the first time, high temperature electronics have been developed to enable a paradigm change in extended duration Venus surface exploration. This white paper concentrates on the advances made in Silicon Carbide (SiC) integrated circuit (IC) electronics that have matured to a state where a simple long-life scientific probe is feasible for Venus surface operations. These electronics have been demonstrated for more than a year at 500˚C, 60 days in high-fidelity simulated Venus surface conditions chamber, and have been integrated and demonstrated with prototype long-lived scientific observation sensor technology. Continued maturation of these needed high temperature electronics and sensors is ongoing in the Long-Lived In-Situ Solar System Explorer (LLISSE) project to provide an operational system including sensor control and operation, signal processing, power management, and communications in the early part of the 2020’s. A key focus of this work includes increasing the complexity and decreasing the power consumption of the ICs which will pave the way to enhanced capabilities, such as long-duration Venus seismic measurements. Other IC development efforts include high temperature memory, terrestrial based characterization of volcanic magma, and development of a simple microprocessor. This electronics has also shown to have exceptionally high radiation tolerance, and thus have relevance for a broad range of solar system exploration. Although presently at the level of complexity of 1970-1980 silicon-based electronics, such electronics can enable breakthroughs in Venus planetary exploration akin to 1970s-launched planetary exploration successes (such as Viking and Voyager).

High temperature Electronics↗
DOE OSTI2019

Cyber Attack Resilient HVDC System (CARDS) (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

This report summarizes the activities conducted under the DOE-OE funded project DE-OE0000824, where ABB Inc. (ABB), in collaboration with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), Argonne National Laboratories (ANL), and University of Idaho (UI) pursued the development of a system of defense for High Voltage Direct Current transmission systems against cyber-attacks (CARDS). An HVDC substation with CARDS features will be more capable of mitigating cyber-attacks especially those that seek to control or interrupt the power flow in the HVDC line. It empowers existing HVDC intelligent electronic devices to collaborate in identifying and blocking malicious intents to trip HVDC AC circuit breakers, block thyristor valves, misconfigure devices settings, even though the commands and the measurements comply with correct syntax. The CARDS functions utilize the physics of electromagnetic AC and DC systems, electric power engineering principles, and state estimation to bring more in-depth cyber defense closer to the protected HVDC substation devices. With the aim of advancing the state of the art, the team proceeded to develop a demonstrable system against cyber-attacks in an HVDC substation environment, via functional upgrades to existing firmware of commercial off-the-shelf HVDC station devices, and/or embedded hardware, without the need for additional instrumentation nor new instrumentation technologies. It is to ensure that the solutions resulting from the project will support the HVDC devices currently installed in the US electricity delivery infrastructure.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Modeling and Simulation of Power-Electronic Inverters in Analog Electronic Circuit Simulators

This paper demonstrates how equivalent-circuit representations of grid-following power-electronic inverters can be realized within a SPICE-based development environment using common circuit components and VerilogA code. This facilitates computationally lean simulations of inverter networks leveraging the strengths of SPICE in large-scale simulations. We validate the approach with time-domain simulations for a modified version of the IEEE standard 118-bus system modeled in Virtuoso (a SPICE-based solver). Simulation results are compared-focusing on accuracy and computation speed-with results from a commonly used power-electronics simulation package. We note a significant decrease in simulation time with comparable signal resolution when simulating the network in SPICE.

Billmeyer, Ryan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Operational Resilience of Nuclear-Renewable Integrated-Energy Microgrids

The increasing prevalence and severity of wildfires, severe storms, and cyberattacks is driving the introduction of numerous microgrids to improve resilience locally. While distributed energy resources (DERs), such as small-scale wind and solar photovoltaics with storage, will be major components in future microgrids, today, the majority of microgrids are backed up with fossil-fuel-based generators. Small modular reactors (SMRs) can form synergistic mix with DERs due to their ability to provide baseload and flexible power. The heat produced by SMRs can also fulfill the heating needs of microgrid consumers. This paper discusses an operational scheme based on distributed control of flexible power assets to strengthen the operational resilience of SMR-DER integrated-energy microgrids. A framework is developed to assess the operational resilience of SMR-DER microgrids in terms of system adaptive real-power capacity quantified as a response area metric (RAM). Month-long simulation results are shown with a microgrid developed in a modified Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)-30 bus system. The RAM values calculated along the operational simulation reflect the system resilience in real time and can be used to supervise the microgrid operation and reactor’s autonomous control.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
NASA NTRS1992

A transportronic solution to the problem of interorbital transportation

An all-electronic transportation system described by the term 'transportronics' is examined as a means of solving the current problem of the high cost of transporting material from low-Earth orbit (LEO) to geostationary orbit (GEO). In this transportation system, low cost electric energy at the surface of the Earth is efficiently converted into microwave power which is then efficiently formed into a narrow beam which is kept incident upon the orbital transfer vehicles (OTV's) by electronic tracking. The incident beam is efficiently captured and converted into DC power by a device which has a very high ratio of DC power output to its mass. Because the mass of the electric thruster is also low, the resulting acceleration is unprecedented for electric-propelled vehicles. However, the performance of the system in terms of transit times from LEO to GEO is penalized by the short time of contact between the beam and the vehicle in low-Earth orbits. This makes it necessary to place the Earth based transmitters and the vehicles in the equatorial plane thus introducing many geopolitical factors. Technically, however, such a system as described in the report may out-perform any other approach to transportation in the LEO to GEO regime. The report describes and analyzes all portions of the beamed microwave power transmission system in considerable detail. An economic analysis of the operating and capital costs is made with the aid of a reference system capable of placing about 130,000 kilograms of payload into GEO each year. More mature states of the system are then examined, to a level in which 60,000 metric tons per year could be placed into GEO.

Brown, William C.↗
DOE OSTI2017

A Panchromatic View of Brown Dwarf Aurorae

Stellar coronal activity has been shown to persist into the low-mass star regime, down to late M-dwarf spectral types. However, there is now an accumulation of evidence suggesting that at the end of the main sequence, there is a transition in the nature of the magnetic activity from chromospheric and coronal to planet-like and auroral, from local impulsive heating via flares and MHD wave dissipation to energy dissipation from strong large-scale magnetospheric current systems. We examine this transition and the prevalence of auroral activity in brown dwarfs through a compilation of multiwavelength surveys of magnetic activity, including radio, X-ray, and optical. We compile the results of those surveys and place their conclusions in the context of auroral emission as a consequence of large-scale magnetospheric current systems that accelerate energetic electron beams and drive the particles to impact the cool atmospheric gas. We explore the different manifestations of auroral phenomena, like H α , in brown dwarf atmospheres and define their distinguishing characteristics. We conclude that large-amplitude photometric variability in the near-infrared is most likely a consequence of clouds in brown dwarf atmospheres, but that auroral activity may be responsible for long-lived stable surface features. We report a connection between auroral H α emission and quiescent radio emission in electron cyclotron maser instability pulsing brown dwarfs, suggesting a potential underlying physical connection between quiescent and auroral emissions. We also discuss the electrodynamic engines powering brown dwarf aurorae and the possible role of satellites around these systems both to power the aurorae and seed the magnetosphere with plasma.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
NASA NTRS1983

Fast Electronic Solar Cell Tester

Microcomputer controlled system gather current and voltage data. System consists of light source, microcomputer, programable dc power supply, analog/ digital interface, and data storage display equipment. Applies series of test loads to cell via programable dc power supply to obtain I/V characteristic curve and key cell-peformance parameter. Apparatus and programming technique are applicable to devices such as batteries and sensors.

Lathrop, J. W.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development and Qualification Status of the Electric Propulsion Systems for the NASA PPE Mission and Gateway Program

NASA is charged with landing the first American woman and next American man on the South Pole of the Moon and establishing sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. To meet this challenge, NASA’s Gateway will develop and deploy critical infrastructure required for operations on the lunar surface and that enables a sustained presence on and around the moon. NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), the first planned element of NASA’s cis-lunar Gateway, leverages prior and ongoing NASA and U.S. industry investments in high-power, long-life solar electric propulsion technology investments. NASA awarded a PPE contract to Maxar Technologies to provide a 50 kW-class SEP spacecraft that meets Gateway’s needs, aligns with industry’s heritage spacecraft buses, and allows extensibility for NASA’s Mars exploration goals. Maxar’s PPE concept design, is based on their high heritage, modular, and highly reliable 1300-series bus architecture. The electric propulsion system features three 12 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion (AEPS) thrusters from Aerojet Rocketdyne and four BHT-6000 thrusters from Busek. Maxar-provided power electronics and xenon flow controllers from Moog are utilized in both the 12kW and 6kW electric propulsion strings on the spacecraft. The paper will present overviews of NASA’s Gateway and the PPE Project, status of the development and qualification activities for the two electric propulsion system, and the planned implementation of PPE electric propulsion system as keystone of NASA’s Gateway. The PPE spacecraft is currently heading into the Critical Design Review, with the qualification and flight electric propulsion hardware fabrication already initiated and significant progress being made toward planned qualifications in support of the planned PPE spacecraft co-manifest launch in 2024.

Electric Propulsion↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Development and Qualification Status of the Electric Propulsion Systems for the NASA PPE Mission and Gateway Program

NASA is charged with landing the first American woman and next American man on the South Pole of the Moon and establishing sustainable lunar exploration by the end of the decade. To meet this challenge, NASA’s Gateway will develop and deploy critical infrastructure required for operations on the lunar surface and that enables a sustained presence on and around the moon. NASA’s Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), the first planned element of NASA’s cis-lunar Gateway, leverages prior and ongoing NASA and U.S. industry investments in high-power, long-life solar electric propulsion technology investments. NASA awarded a PPE contract to Maxar Technologies to provide a 50 kW-class SEP spacecraft that meets Gateway’s needs, aligns with industry’s heritage spacecraft buses, and allows extensibility for NASA’s Mars exploration goals. Maxar’s PPE concept design, is based on their high heritage, modular, and highly reliable 1300-series bus architecture. The electric propulsion system features three 12 kW Advanced Electric Propulsion (AEPS) thrusters from Aerojet Rocketdyne and four BHT-6000 thrusters from Busek. Maxar-provided power electronics and xenon flow controllers from Moog are utilized in both the 12kW and 6kW electric propulsion strings on the spacecraft. The paper will present overviews of NASA’s Gateway and the PPE Project, status of the development and qualification activities for the two electric propulsion system, and the planned implementation of PPE electric propulsion system as keystone of NASA’s Gateway. The PPE spacecraft is currently heading into the Critical Design Review, with the qualification and flight electric propulsion hardware fabrication already initiated and significant progress being made toward planned qualifications in support of the planned PPE spacecraft co-manifest launch in 2024.

Electric Propulsion↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design, upgrade and characterization of the silicon photomultiplier front-end for the AMIGA detector at the Pierre Auger Observatory

AMIGA (Auger Muons and Infill for the Ground Array) is an upgrade of the Pierre Auger Observatory to complement the study of ultra-high-energy cosmic rays (UHECR) by measuring the muon content of extensive air showers (EAS). It consists of an array of 61 water Cherenkov detectors on a denser spacing in combination with underground scintillation detectors used for muon density measurement. Each detector is composed of three scintillation modules, with 10 m 2 detection area per module, buried at 2.3 m depth, resulting in a total detection area of 30 m 2 . Silicon photomultiplier sensors (SiPM) measure the amount of scintillation light generated by charged particles traversing the modules. In this paper, the design of the front-end electronics to process the signals of those SiPMs and test results from the laboratory and from the Pierre Auger Observatory are described. Compared to our previous prototype, the new electronics shows a higher performance, higher efficiency and lower power consumption, and it has a new acquisition system with increased dynamic range that allows measurements closer to the shower core. The new acquisition system is based on the measurement of the total charge signal that the muonic component of the cosmic ray shower generates in the detector.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
NASA NTRS2002

Translation Optics for 30 cm Ion Engine Thrust Vector Control

Data were obtained from a 30 cm xenon ion thruster in which the accelerator grid was translated in the radial plane. The thruster was operated at three different throttle power levels, and the accelerator grid was incrementally translated in the X, Y, and azimuthal directions. Plume data was obtained downstream from the thruster using a Faraday probe mounted to a positioning system. Successive probe sweeps revealed variations in the plume direction. Thruster perveance, electron backstreaming limit, accelerator current, and plume deflection angle were taken at each power level, and for each accelerator grid position. Results showed that the thruster plume could easily be deflected up to six degrees without a prohibitive increase in accelerator impingement current. Results were similar in both X and Y direction.

Haag, Thomas↗
DOE OSTI2014

Phase locking of a seven-channel continuous wave fibre laser system by a stochastic parallel gradient algorithm

A seven-channel fibre laser system operated by the master oscillator – multichannel power amplifier scheme is the phase locked using a stochastic parallel gradient algorithm. The phase modulators on lithium niobate crystals are controlled by a multichannel electronic unit with the microcontroller processing signals in real time. The dynamic phase locking of the laser system with the bandwidth of 14 kHz is demonstrated, the time of phasing is 3 – 4 ms. (fibre and integrated-optical structures)

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advances in laser-based bremsstrahlung x-ray sources. II. Laser pulse propagation and guiding in nonuniform plasma media in the presence of self-focusing

An analytic Wentzel–Kramers–Brillouin model is presented of Gaussian laser pulse propagation through plasma with a quadratic transverse density profile and an arbitrarily varying, longitudinal density gradient under conditions of nonlinear self-focusing. From these solutions, it is shown that in the absence of nonlinear self-focusing and transverse nonuniformity, for exponential pre-plasma density profiles, the use of a low density coating of the laser target with electron density n0∼11 ncr (e.g., a CH foam of density 35 mg/cm3 for 1-micron laser light) maximizes laser intensity at best focus. Also, under laser and plasma conditions relevant to recent experiments on high-power laser systems, conditions are obtained for a Gaussian laser pulse to propagate stably through the pre-plasma medium. Such conditions would be expected to enhance the production of relativistic electrons from laser-target coupling, providing a possible explanation for the observed increase in MeV photon dose and enabling applications such as laser-based MeV X-ray radiography.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗