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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 1,495 records · Page 83
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2017

Aeronautical Situational Awareness - Airport Surface

This paper advocates for a specific design approach, based on simple principals, yet addresses challenges faced by the system engineers when designing complex data and information infrastructure. The document provides guidance for breaking out various work elements in the overall network architecture design, so that communication systems are conceived and effectively realized regardless of their location, size and local specifics. Although targeted at the Global Airspace System (GAS) and National Airspace System (NAS), this framework can be applied to any network-centric architecture.

networking↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

CFD2030 Grand Challenge: CFD-in-the-Loop Monte Carlo Simulation for Space Vehicle Design

Space vehicle design and certification differs widely from aircraft design relying more on probabilistic approaches than deterministic. Monte Carlo simulation plays an important role in the probabilistic design of space vehicles to ensure robust and reliable operation. Today, Monte Carlo flight simulation requires 1000’s of trajectory simulations that use databases to provide aerosciences models. These databases can be extremely expensive and time consuming to develop. Replacing these databases with unsteady computational fluid dynamics directly in the simulation loop has potential to significantly reduce the time required to analyze space vehicle concepts, improve simulation accuracy, and reduce the cost of space vehicle development. The CFD Vision 2030 Study outlined gaps and roadblocks to meeting the vision described in the study. The geometric, physical, and computational challenges associated with CFD-in-the-loop Monte Carlo simulation for space vehicle design are substantial and serve as an excellent grand challenge to advance the CFD 2030 vision.

CFD2030↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Designing the Design Process for Early Problem Discovery for a Complex Aeronautics Systems Challenge

The earliest stage in the innovation lifecycle, problem formulation, is crucial for setting direction in an innovation effort. When faced with an interesting problem, engineers commonly assume the approximate solution area and focus on ideating innovative solutions. However, in this project, NASA and their contracted partner, Accenture, collaboratively conducted problem discovery to ensure that solutioning efforts were focused on the right problems, for the right users, and addressing the most critical needs—in this case, exploring weather tolerant operations (WTO) to further urban air mobility (UAM) – known as UAM WTO. The project team leveraged generative, qualitative methods to understand the ecosystem, players, and where challenges in the industry are inhibiting development. The complexity of the problem area required that the team constantly observe and iterate on problem discovery, effectively “designing the design process.” This report discusses the approach, methodologies, and selected results, including insights on the application of early-stage design methodologies to a complex, system-level problem.

Problem formulation↗
NASA NTRS2003

Robust Joining and Assembly of Ceramic Matrix Composites for High Temperature Applications

Advanced ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are under active consideration for use in a wide variety of high temperature applications within the aerospace, energy, and nuclear industries. The engineering designs of CMC components require fabrication and manufacturing of large and complex shaped parts of various thicknesses. In many instances, it is more economical to build up complex shapes by joining simple geometrical shapes. Thus, joining and attachment have been recognized as enabling technologies for successful utilization of ceramic components in various demanding applications. In this presentation, various challenges and opportunities in design, fabrication, and testing of high temperature joints in ceramic matrix composites will be presented. A wide variety of ceramic composites, in different shapes and sizes, have been joined using an affordable, robust ceramic joining technology (ARCJoinT). Microstructure and mechanical properties of joints in melt infiltrated and CVI Sic matrix composites will be reported. Various joint design philosophies and design issues in joining of composites will be discussed.

Singh, Mrityunjay↗
DOE OSTI2025

Bridging the Gap Between Modern UX Design and Particle Accelerator Control Room Interfaces

Accelerator control systems often represent relatively complex and safety-sensitive human-machine interfaces within process control industries. These systems are technically robust and reflect the cumulative integration of solutions built and adapted across decades. One of the regular, unfortunate casualties of provisional accelerator control system updates is their human-system interfaces (HSIs) which often lag behind modern usability and design standards. An additional challenge is that although there is a multitude of established human factors (HF), and user experience (UX) principles for everyday digital applications, there are very few (if any) established principles for complex and safety-critical applications for an accelerator. This paper argues for the importance of established HF and UX principles (herein referred to as human-centered design principles) into the development of accelerator HSIs, emphasizing the need for clarity, consistency, responsiveness, and cognitive accessibility. Drawing from HF/UX best practices and human-centered design, this paper discusses how these approaches can enhance operator performance, reduce human error, and improve accelerator personnel collaboration. Case studies from Accelerator Control Operations Research Network (ACORN) at Fermilab are explored to demonstrate how interfaces built with human-centered design principles can scale with system complexity while remaining intuitive and efficient for diverse user roles including operators, machine experts, and engineers. By bridging the gap between traditional control system design and modern human-centered design methods, this paper provides a roadmap for evolving accelerator HSIs into more usable, maintainable, and effective tools.

Hill, Rachael [Idaho Natl. Lab.]↗
DOE OSTI2025

Graph-based design of irregular metamaterials

In the field of metamaterial research, random structures offer a novel and less conventional approach compared to traditional periodic designs. Designing random metamaterials is challenging when it comes to ensuring intercon- nectivity, which is essential for manufacturability. This study introduces an innovative framework for generating random metamaterials using graph al- gorithms, ensuring connectivity and adaptability across various base shapes, including cylinders, triangles, pyramids, and cubes. By employing graph algorithms, our framework enhances the intuitiveness and efficiency of de- sign representation and manipulation, streamlining the design process. The framework generates families of designs that exhibit a wide range of prop- erty magnitudes that can be adjusted intuitively by modifying the input parameters. The rapid design process allows many designs to be generated, offering the user a multitude of solutions around the target property range. The designs can be effectively implemented in various fields and subjected to diverse analytical studies, including static, dynamic, and eigenfrequency assessments. We illustrate computational results for two key properties (stiff- ness and acoustic impedance), showcasing the method’s effectiveness through examples ranging from rod-based to cube-based designs. Here, the framework not only advances metamaterial research but also creates new opportunities for innovation in fields requiring customized material properties.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Inverse Thermodynamics: Designing Interactions for Targeted Phase Behavior

The traditional goal of inverse self-assembly is to design interactions that drive particles toward a desired target structure. However, achieving successful self-assembly also requires tuning the thermodynamic conditions under which the structure is stable. In this work, we extend the inverse design paradigm to explicitly address this challenge by developing a framework for inverse thermodynamics, i.e., the design of interaction potentials that realize specific thermodynamic behavior. As a step in this direction, using patchy particle mixtures as a model system, we demonstrate how precise control over both bonding topology and bond energetics enables the programming of targeted phase behavior. In particular, we establish design principles for azeotropic demixing and show how to create mixtures that exhibit azeotropy at any prescribed composition. Our predictions are validated through Gibbs-ensemble simulations [Panagiotopoulos, Mol. Phys. 1987, 61, 813−826]. These results highlight the necessity of coupling structural design with thermodynamic engineering, and provide a blueprint for controlling complex phase behavior in multicomponent systems.

Azeotropes↗
DOE OSTI2026

Tokamak Energy’s pre-concept design for a fusion power plant: an overview of ST-E1

Climate change and rapidly rising energy demand, driven in part by artificial intelligence and data-centre growth, create an urgent need for stable, low-carbon, and abundant power. Fusion is a promising long-term solution, yet its commercialisation faces a fundamental paradox in today’s investment environment: pilot plants are essential to de-risk physics, engineering, and operations, but their limited lifetime energy output and high upfront costs make them difficult to finance. This paper presents Tokamak Energy’s response: ST-E1, a pre-concept design for a low-aspect-ratio tokamak power plant engineered specifically to overcome this challenge. ST-E1 is designed from the outset for phased operation—pilot and commercial phases, with an upgrade phase in between—with emphasis on commercial viability, maintainability, nuclear engineering, modularity, and upgradability. A key design principle is the deliberate separation of long-lived assets, such as the magnet cage and vacuum vessel, from replaceable in-vessel systems. This provides an attractive and credible investment approach to generate operational data and de-risk key technologies while preserving most capital-intensive assets for later commercial phases. The architecture supports continuous optimisation toward high net electric power (targeting 800–1000 MW net electric), a normalised capital expenditure of $\$$ 12–14k/kW of net electric power, and high availability (targeting > 80%). A tokamak core with a 5 m major radius, aspect ratio of 2.3, and on-plasma axis toroidal field of 5.25 T was selected to meet these objectives. This paper summarises the ST-E1 design philosophy, principal features, and development methodology. It introduces a Focus Collection of 11 papers detailing the pre-concept design of the entire tokamak and corresponding plant.

ST-E1↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solid-state laser refrigeration of core-shell polystyrene microspheres

Microlaser designs based on the coupling of whispering gallery modes (WGMs) with the upconversion processes which take place within lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been demonstrated and shown to have many valuable qualities, such as high Q factors and low lasing thresholds. One obstacle that these microlaser designs still face is the challenges caused by photothermal heating of the gain medium, which could be solved through the design of a radiation balanced microlaser. In this work, WGM microresonators composed of 5 µm diameter polystyrene spheres are fabricated with a layer of Yb3+-doped NaYF4 UCNPs in order to test if the anti-Stokes cooling properties of the UCNPs can cool the microresonator and its environment under laser irradiation. We find via calibrated mean fluorescence spectroscopy that the UCNPs can cool their local environment by as much as 23 °C and significantly reduce the heating of the aqueous environment surrounding the microresonator, showing promise for inclusion in a design for a radiation balanced microlaser.

whispering gallery modes, optical refrigeration, m↗
NASA NTRS2007

Developing the Next Generation of Active Region Evolution Models

We recently began development work on an integrated suite of models for slowly evolving solar active regions. In this presentation I will describe the design of this suite, highlight the challenges which this presents and discuss the implications of this design for the CCMC, to which a functional beta test version is to be delivered in three years.

MacNeice, P. J.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Global Microwave Imager (GMI) Spin Mechanism Assembly Design, Development, and Performance Test Results

The GMI Spin Mechanism Assembly (SMA) is a precision bearing and power transfer drive assembly mechanism that supports and spins the Global Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument at a constant rate of 32 rpm continuously for the 3 year plus mission life. The GMI instrument will fly on the core Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft and will be used to make calibrated radiometric measurements at multiple microwave frequencies and polarizations. The GPM mission is an international effort managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to improve climate, weather, and hydro-meteorological predictions through more accurate and frequent precipitation measurements [1]. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation (BATC) was selected by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to design, build, and test the GMI instrument. The SMA design has to meet a challenging set of requirements and is based on BATC space mechanisms heritage and lessons learned design changes made to the WindSat BAPTA mechanism that is currently operating on-orbit and has recently surpassed 8 years of Flight operation.

Kubitschek, Michael↗
NASA NTRS2012

GMI Spin Mechanism Assembly Design, Development, and Test Results

The GMI Spin Mechanism Assembly (SMA) is a precision bearing and power transfer drive assembly mechanism that supports and spins the Global Microwave Imager (GMI) instrument at a constant rate of 32 rpm continuously for the 3 year plus mission life. The GMI instrument will fly on the core Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) spacecraft and will be used to make calibrated radiometric measurements at multiple microwave frequencies and polarizations. The GPM mission is an international effort managed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to improve climate, weather, and hydro-meteorological predictions through more accurate and frequent precipitation measurements [1]. Ball Aerospace and Technologies Corporation (BATC) was selected by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to design, build, and test the GMI instrument. The SMA design has to meet a challenging set of requirements and is based on BATC space mechanisms heritage and lessons learned design changes made to the WindSat BAPTA mechanism that is currently operating on orbit and has recently surpassed 8 years of Flight operation.

Woolaway, Scott↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of a Transonic Truss-Braced Wing using Physics-Based Models

Economic and environmental forces have placed pressure on the aviation industry to produce future aircraft designs with substantial improvements over those flying today. In order to meet these ambitious goals, new concepts such as the Transonic Truss-Braced Wing (TTBW) are being considered which diverge from the traditional tube-and-wing design. While this concept offers potential performance benefits over its traditional counterpart, it also features more coupling between various physics disciplines that must be considered during the design of the concept. This unique challenge provides a ripe opportunity for the application of multidisciplinary design optimization tool sets. The final work will couple together the mission analysis capability of Aviary with OpenAeroStruct for aerodynamic analysis and TACS for structural analysis. Using these tools we will preform a design optimization on the TTBW concept minimizing design fuel burn. The optimization will include design variables for mission trajectory, wing geometry, and structural sizing variables.

mbsae↗
NASA NTRS2018

Spacecraft Contamination Control Challenges for Space Missions with Organic Compound Detection Capabilities and for Potential Sample Return

Contamination control is critical to missions with organic compound detection capabilities, and for missions targeting acquisition of samples for potential return to Earth. Significant challenges are being addressed in the design of current flight projects and conceptual mission studies at JPL. These challenges extend to both orbiting spacecraft, as well as landed missions, for future missions to Mars and Europa, and potential missions to Titan and Enceladus. Contamination control during all phases of a mission, from preliminary design through operation, is fundamental to ensure that organic compounds of terrestrial origin are controlled to ensure successful completion of science objectives. This presentation summarizes contamination control challenges specific to landed missions (which include sample acquisition, encapsulation, caching, potential sample return, and UV instruments), and orbiting missions (modeling interactions between the spacecraft, and local exospheres and plumes).

Soares, Carlos↗
NASA NTRS1990

Introduction to the Personal Access Satellite System Study

A recent study by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has concluded that the 21st century will be the age of information in which the telecommunication infrastructure will be vital to the social and economic well being of society. To meet the challenge of the coming age, JPL has been performing studies on a personal access satellite system (PASS) for the 21st century. The PASS study can be traced back to a study in which the technical feasibility and potential applications of a high frequency, low data rate satellite system were identified using small fixed terminals. Herein, the PASS concept is described along with the strawman design. Then the key challenges are identified along with possible solutions. Finally, the plan for the future is summarized from the key results.

Sue, Miles K.↗
DOE OSTI2022

A preconceptual design of an inverted Stable-Salt Reactor

This paper presents a preconceptual design of an inverted stable-salt reactor (SSR), with the unique feature that the static fuel salt is accommodated in one single bulk fuel container, while the coolant salt is circulating through the core via flow tubes penetrating the fuel container.The inverted SSR is expected to substantially decrease the capital cost compared to the state-of-the-art SSR such as the SSR-W designed by Moltex Energy, because one single gas vent at the top of the fuel container is required in the inverted SSR to prevent the leakage of the radioactive fission product gases instead of one gas vent in each of the hundreds of thousands of fuel tubes in SSR-W. In addition, the operation of the inverted SSR is largely simplified. However, numerous challenges associated with the design of the inverted SSR still remain to be overcome. Preliminary neutronics and thermal-hydraulics performance characteristics of the inverted SSR are assessed in this study. A viable core configuration of the inverted SSR is identified, and the superior characteristics of the inverted SSR, including a better neutron economy and a lower maximum fuel temperature, are demonstrated in this paper. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radio Afterglow Detection and AI-driven Response (RADAR): A Federated Framework for Gravitational-wave Event Follow-up

The landmark detection of both gravitational waves (GWs) and electromagnetic (EM) radiation from the binary neutron star merger GW170817 has spurred efforts to streamline the follow-up of GW alerts in current and future observing runs of ground-based GW detectors. Within this context, the radio band of the EM spectrum presents unique challenges. Sensitive radio facilities capable of detecting the faint radio afterglow seen in GW170817, and with sufficient angular resolution, have small fields of view compared to typical GW localization areas. Additionally, theoretical models predict that the radio emission from binary neutron star mergers can evolve over weeks to years, necessitating long-term monitoring to probe the physics of the various postmerger ejecta components. These constraints, combined with limited radio observing resources, make the development of more coordinated follow-up strategies essential—especially as the next generation of GW detectors promises a dramatic increase in detection rates. Here, we present RADAR, a framework designed to address these challenges by promoting community-driven information sharing, federated data analysis, and system resilience, while integrating AI methods for both GW signal identification and radio data aggregation. We show that it is possible to preserve data rights while sharing models that can help design and/or update follow-up strategies. We demonstrate our approach through a case study of GW170817, and discuss future directions for refinement and broader application.

Gravitational waves↗
DOE OSTI2024

Denoising diffusion probabilistic models for generative alloy design

Inverse material design is an extremely challenging optimization task made difficult by, in part, the highly nonlinear relationship linking performance with composition. Quantitative approaches have improved significantly owing to advances in high throughput experimentation and computational thermodynamics. However, existing physics-based tools are mostly forward models; input a chemistry and obtain a prediction. More recently the materials community has leveraged advances in the machine learning community to establish novel inverse design frameworks. Very recently denoising diffusion probabilistic models have been shown to be extremely powerful generators producing synthetic data of various modalities e.g. images, text, audio, tables, etc.. In this work a novel framework for alloy design and optimization is proposed leveraging these class of models. Five key generative tasks are demonstrated (1) unconditional generation (2) composition conditioned generation (3) property conditioned generation (4) multi-feedstock conditioned generation and (5) generative optimization. These methods were tested on three case studies: high entropy alloy design, superalloy binder jet additive manufacturing, and in-situ dual-feedstock wire-arc additive manufacturing. Results indicate that the established models are extremely flexible, expressive, and robust. The architecture’s flexibility and training procedure empower the model to learn complex intra-compositional and composition-property relationships. Furthermore, the probabilistic nature of these models makes them well suited for addressing solution non-uniqueness and tackling uncertainty quantification tasks. While the fidelity and quantity of the underlying training data is paramount, we envision that future alloy design frameworks will make extensive use of these kinds of machine learning models as “search” tools bolstering the utility of experimental and computational approaches.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗