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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2013

Remote Sensing of Dissolved Oxygen and Nitrogen in Water Using Raman Spectroscopy

The health of an estuarine ecosystem is largely driven by the abundance of dissolved oxygen and nitrogen available for maintenance of plant and animal life. An investigation was conducted to quantify the concentration of dissolved molecular oxygen and nitrogen in water by means of Raman spectroscopy. This technique is proposed for the remote sensing of dissolved oxygen in the Chesapeake Bay, which will be utilized by aircraft in order to survey large areas in real-time. A proof of principle system has been developed and the specifications are being honed to maximize efficiency for the final application. The theoretical criteria of the research, components of the experimental system, and key findings are presented in this report

Ganoe, Rene↗
NASA NTRS1985

Microwave sensing of atmospheric water using the future AMSU system

Microwave radiances for various conditions of atmospheric temperature, moisture and cloudiness at the frequencies of the AMSU passive sounder system were computed. Results emphasizing precipitating cases are presented. Results from a parameterization scheme to infer total cloud liquid content as well as precipitable water over the ocean are also presented.

Szejwach, G.↗
NASA NTRS1987

Retrieval of total precipitable water using radiometric measurements near 183.3 GHz and 90 GHz frequencies

Data collected with the Advanced Microwave Moisture Sounder (AMMS), which operates in the 183.3 GHz range, are compared to measurements collected at 22 GHz in order to show that the 183 GHz measurements are more sensitive to total precipitable water (W) values than the 22 GHz measurements. Radiative transfer calculations for the upwelling microwave emission from the ocean surface were performed at the AMMS frequencies with a variety of atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles. The derived brightness temperatures at these frequencies are compared with W values derived from the humidity profiles. It is observed that the sensitivity between the brightness temperatures and W values at the AMMS channel is greater than 130 K/g per sq cm and 12 K/g per sq cm for the 22 GHz frequency.

Wang, J. R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Multi-messenger dynamic imaging of laser-driven shocks in water using a plasma wakefield accelerator

Understanding dense matter hydrodynamics is critical for predicting plasma behavior in environments relevant to laser-driven inertial confinement fusion. Traditional diagnostic sources face limitations in brightness, spatiotemporal resolution, and in their ability to detect relevant electromagnetic fields. In this work, we present a dual-probe, multi-messenger laser wakefield accelerator platform combining ultrafast X-rays and relativistic electron beams at 1 Hz, to interrogate a free-flowing water target in vacuum, heated by an intense 200 ps laser pulse. This scheme enables high-repetition-rate tracking the evolution of the interaction using both particle types. Betatron X-rays reveal a cylindrically symmetric shock compression morphology assisted by low-density vapor, resembling foam-layer-assisted fusion targets. The synchronized electron beam detects time-evolving electromagnetic fields, uncovering charge separation and ion species differentiation during plasma expansion – phenomena not captured by photons or hydrodynamic simulations. We show that combining both probes provides complementary insights spanning kinetic to hydrodynamic regimes, highlighting the need for hybrid physics models to accurately predict fusion-relevant plasma behavior.

imaging techniques↗
NASA NTRS1995

Pros and Cons of Using Water Immersion to Simulate Physiological Responses to Microgravity

Head-out water immersion (HOI) has been employed as a remedial treatment for various ills and ailments for many millennia, and total body immersion even longer as protective encapsulation for the mammalian fetus. Two discrete differences between stimuli induced by true microgravity (10(exp -4) g) and HOI are readily apparent. External water pressure on the skin and accompanying negative pressure breathing cause blood to shift headward. Secondly, the gravitational force is ever present during immersion and microgravity, but its effect is essentially neutralized during Earth orbital flight. Thus, the physiological responses to immersion should not be expected to match those during microgravity. Immersion has been used mainly to study and understand kidney function and associated cardiovascular responses for control of body fluid volume and osmotic content, with some application to and simulation of microgravity responses. There is a plethora of data from human HOI studies, but relatively few controlled data from microgravity studies. In general, it appears that physiological responses occur more quickly with water immersion than in microgravity, but this may be due to less rigorous control (voluntary and involuntary) of the preflight state of crew members. The central venous pressure-vasopressin (Gauer-Henry) reflex control for fluid balance may not be of prime importance in microgravity. Gross functions such as reduced body weight and water, level of hypovolemia, decreased isokinetic strength, and lower nitrogen balance found during immersion are qualitatively similar in microgravity, but the mechanisms controlling these and other functions are, for the most part, unclear. Only acquisition of data from well-controlled microgravity experiments will resolve this discrepancy.

Greenleaf, J. E.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Molecular detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in water using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Detection of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) is crucial in environmental mitigation and remediation of these persistent pollutants. We demonstrate that time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is a viable technique to analyze and identify these substances at parts per trillion (ppt) level in real field samples without complicated sample preparation due to its superior surface sensitivity. Several representative PFAS compounds, such as perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorobutanoic acid (PFBA), perfluoropentanoic acid (PFPeA), perfluoheptanoic acid (PFHpA), and perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and real-world groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells installed around at a municipal wastewater treatment plant located in Southern California were analyzed in this work. ToF-SIMS spectral comparison depicts sensitive identification of pseudo-molecular ions, characteristic of reference PFASs. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) shows clear discrimination among real samples and reference compounds. Our results show that characteristic molecular ion and fragments peaks can be used to identify PFASs. Furthermore, SIMS two-dimensional (2D) images directly exhibit the distribution of perfluorocarboxylic acid (PFCA) and PFOS in simulated mixtures and real wastewater samples. Such findings indicate that ToF-SIMS is useable to determine PFAS compounds in complex environmental water samples. In conclusion, ToF-SIMS provides simple sample preparation and high sensitivity in mass spectral imaging, offering an alternative solution for environmental forensic analysis of PFASs in wastewater in the future.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Photochemical Upconversion in Water Using Cu(I) MLCT Excited States: Role of Energy Shuttling at the Micellar/Water Interface

Photochemical upconversion (UC) through triplet–triplet annihilation (TTA), which employs a visible absorbing triplet photosensitizer and an annihilator, is a process that generates a high energy photon from two lower energy photons. TTA-UC has been largely developed in pure organic solvents and solid-state polymeric constructs while featuring near exclusive use of rare and expensive metals within the photosensitizer. In this current investigation, we demonstrate that TTA-UC from the long lifetime earth-abundant photosensitizer [Cu(dsbtmp) 2 ](PF) 6 (dsbtmp = 2,9-di(sec-butyl)-3,4,7,8-tetramethyl-1,10-phenanthroline), abbreviated as Cu-PS, functions in water through encapsulation within a cationic-based assembly. Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide was the surfactant of choice as it electrostatically binds the negatively charged water-soluble 10-phenylanthracene-9-carboxylate (PAC) acceptor/annihilator and ultimately facilitates energy transfer across the interface. Efficient triplet–triplet energy transfer (TTET) from Cu-PS to the PAC acceptor was achieved in this aqueous assembly. Unfortunately, the hindered mobility of the PAC moieties ultimately hampered the annihilation process, and this was reflected in attenuated TTA rates and efficiencies. The combined experimental data illustrated that the water-soluble PAC acceptor was able to vectorially deliver the excited-state energy stored in Cu-PS across the interface into the bulk aqueous solution by engaging in excited-state electron transfer with methyl viologen acceptors. Lastly, these results are important for remotely operating photoredox reactions in water while rendering a photosensitizer spatially isolated in the hydrophobic core of a micelle.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Dissolved gas recovery from water using a sidestream hollow-fiber membrane module: First principles model synthesis and steady-state validation

This paper presents a first-principles model for the recovery of dissolved gases from liquids using a sidestream hollow-fiber membrane module. The model avoids the use of new empirical coefficients, thus providing a parametric understanding of the process behavior for future design and optimization of membrane modules. This type of first-principles model could be particularly useful when gas recovery is beneficial to biological or chemical reactions of interest, such as the acetogenesis reactions in two-stage anaerobic digesters. The steady-state behavior of the model was validated against both new experimental data for the recovery of H 2 , CH 4 and H 2 –CH 4 mixtures from pure water, as well as existing published data. The modeled gas recovery predictions agreed with experimental data to an absolute average error of 13%, and an average R value of 0.98. Parametric analysis of mixed-gas recovery suggests possible key transition points in the composition of the recovered gases. For example, at 40 °C, increasing trans-membrane pressure while keeping hydraulic residence time (HRT) under 0.5 s will result in an increase in the ratio of H 2 to CH 4 recovered. Otherwise, increasing trans-membrane pressure will instead decrease the ratio of H 2 to CH 4 recovered. The model has potential to be extended to transient analysis, but has yet to be validated with transient experimental data. Furthermore, this model was successfully implemented in both Python and MATLAB, and provides valuable insights for future net-energy optimization for anaerobic digestion systems with in-situ gas recovery.

Anaerobic Digestion↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probing the pH Effect on Boehmite Particles in Water Using Vacuum Ultraviolet Single-Photon Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Boehmite has been widely used in theoretical research and industry, especially for hazardous material processing. For the liquid-phase treating process, the interfacial properties of boehmite are believed to be affected by pH conditions, which change its physicochemical behavior. However, molecular-level detection on cluster ions is challenging when using bulk approaches. Herein we employ in situ vacuum ultraviolet single-photon ionization mass spectrometry (VUV SPI-MS) coupled with a vacuum-compatible microreactor system for analysis at the liquid–vacuum interface (SALVI) to investigate the solute molecular composition of boehmite under different pH conditions for the first time. The mass spectral results show that more complex clustering of solute molecules exists at the solid–liquid (s–l) interface than conventionally perceived in a “simple” aqueous solution. Besides solute ions, such as boehmite molecules and fragments, the composition and appearance energies of these newly discovered solvated cluster ions are determined by VUV SPI-MS in different pH solutions. We offer new results for the pH-dependent effect of boehmite and provide insights into a more detailed solvation mechanism at the s–l interface. By comparing the key products under different pH conditions, fundamental understanding of boehmite dissolution is revealed to assist the engineering design of waste processing and storage solutions.

SALVI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimize heat prosumers' economic performance under current heating price models by using water tank thermal energy storage

Due to heat prosumers' dual roles of heat producer and heat consumer, the future district heating (DH) systems will become more flexible and competitive. However, the current heating price models have not yet supported the reverse heat supply from prosumers to the central DH system, which means the prosumers would gain no economic benefit from supplying heat to the central DH system. These unidirectional heating price models will reduce interest in prosumers, and thus hinder the promotion of prosumers in DH systems. This study aimed to optimize prosumers' economic performance under the current heating price models by introducing water tank thermal energy storage (WTTES). A dynamic optimization problem was formulated to explore prosumers' economic potentials. The size parameter of WTTESs was swept in prosumers to obtain the optimal storage size considering the trade-off between the payback period and the heating cost saving. The proposed method was tested on a campus DH system in Norway. The results showed that the prosumer's annual heating cost was saved up to 9%, and the investment of WTTES could be recovered in less than ten years. This study could provide guidelines on improving prosumers' economic performance and promote the development of prosumers during the transformation period of DH systems.

Li, H↗