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Results for “thermal energy network”

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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11 records

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS1976

Economic optimization of the energy transport component of a large distributed solar power plant

A solar thermal power plant with a field of collectors, each locally heating some transport fluid, requires a pipe network system for eventual delivery of energy power generation equipment. For a given collector distribution and pipe network geometry, a technique is herein developed which manipulates basic cost information and physical data in order to design an energy transport system consistent with minimized cost constrained by a calculated technical performance. For a given transport fluid and collector conditions, the method determines the network pipe diameter and pipe thickness distribution and also insulation thickness distribution associated with minimum system cost; these relative distributions are unique. Transport losses, including pump work and heat leak, are calculated operating expenses and impact the total system cost. The minimum cost system is readily selected. The technique is demonstrated on six candidate transport fluids to emphasize which parameters dominate the system cost and to provide basic decision data. Three different power plant output sizes are evaluated in each case to determine severity of diseconomy of scale.

Turner, R. H.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solvent-Free Preparation of High Energy, Binder-Free Electrodes Enabled by Dry Compressible Holey Graphene

Graphene is an atomically thick sheet consisting of a graphitic carbon network with excellent mechanical strength, electrical and thermal conductivity, and chemical stability. Holey graphene, a structural derivative of graphene, has an array of through-the-thickness holes across the lateral surface of the nanosheet. The presence of these holes has minimal detrimental effect on the graphene properties and leads to enhanced performance in applications such as electronics, sensors, and energy storage. For example, these holes allow more facile cross-plane ion and gas transport than intact graphene, making holey graphene an ideal electrode material for electrochemical energy storage. This presentation will focus on the ability of holey graphene to be compression molded into robust articles or architectures under solvent-free conditions without the need for potentially parasitic binders. The unique dry compressibility of holey graphene has enabled facile fabrication of high mass loading electrodes with both high density and high porosity, which have found use in supercapacitors and various high-energy battery systems such as lithium-oxygen, lithium-sulfur, and lithium-selenium batteries.

Yi Lin↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Prognostics Framework for Battery Health Monitoring Integrated with Thermal Modeling

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) promises to revolutionize transportation in major cities, offering passenger travel, cargo delivery, and emergency medical services through a network of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. However, the limited range of current eVTOLs, due to the low specific energy of lithium-ion batteries along with a possibility of thermal runaway conditions poses significant safety concerns, leading to potentially compromising operational safety. To address this critical challenge, researchers are actively evaluating the impact of flight and environmental conditions on onboard lithium-ion battery health. This involves carefully assessing the performance of battery packs under laboratory and operational conditions for developing models to estimate future health using prognostics framework. This study examines the effectiveness of evaluating battery degradation leading to catastrophic failures under varying operational conditions in laboratory. These are captured using physics based models of underlying phenomenons and integrated into the prognostics framework. A fully charged battery undergoes controlled discharge cycles at varying C-rates based on the simulated power draw profile, with current and voltage, temperature data recorded throughout the experiment. The observed data provides valuable insights into how different operating conditions and mission profiles affect battery performance. This information is crucial for developing strategies to optimize battery systems, enhance range, and ultimately ensure the safe and reliable operation of UAM vehicles.

Thermal Modeling↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Prognostics Framework for Battery Health Monitoring Integrated with Thermal Modeling

Thermal Modeling↗

NASA NTRS1980

High-temperature molten salt thermal energy storage systems

The results of comparative screening studies of candidate molten carbonate salts as phase change materials (PCM) for advanced solar thermal energy storage applications at 540 to 870 C (1004 to 1600 F) and steam Rankine electric generation at 400 to 540 C (752 to 1004 F) are presented. Alkali carbonates are attractive as latent heat storage materials because of their relatively high storage capacity and thermal conductivity, low corrosivity, moderate cost, and safe and simple handling requirements. Salts were tested in 0.1 kWhr lab scale modules and evaluated on the basis of discharge heat flux, solidification temperature range, thermal cycling stability, and compatibility with containment materials. The feasibility of using a distributed network of high conductivity material to increase the heat flux through the layer of solidified salt was evaluated. The thermal performance of an 8 kWhr thermal energy storage (TES) module containing LiKCO3 remained very stable throughout 5650 hours and 130 charge/discharge cycles at 480 to 535 C (896 to 995 F). A TES utilization concept of an electrical generation peaking subsystem composed of a multistage condensing steam turbine and a TES subsystem with a separate power conversion loop was defined. Conceptual designs for a 100 MW sub e TES peaking system providing steam at 316 C, 427 C, and 454 C (600 F, 800 F, and 850 F) at 3.79 million Pa (550 psia) were developed and evaluated. Areas requiring further investigation have also been identified.

Petri, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1981

The small community solar thermal power experiment. Parabolic dish technology for industrial process heat application

Aspects of incorporating a thermal energy transport system (ETS) into a field of parabolic dish collectors for industrial process heat (IPH) applications were investigated. Specific objectives are to: (1) verify the mathematical optimization of pipe diameters and insulation thicknesses calculated by a computer code; (2) verify the cost model for pipe network costs using conventional pipe network construction; (3) develop a design and the associated production costs for incorporating risers and downcomers on a low cost concentrator (LCC); (4) investigate the cost reduction of using unconventional pipe construction technology. The pipe network design and costs for a particular IPH application, specifically solar thermally enhanced oil recovery (STEOR) are analyzed. The application involves the hybrid operation of a solar powered steam generator in conjunction with a steam generator using fossil fuels to generate STEOR steam for wells. It is concluded that the STEOR application provides a baseline pipe network geometry used for optimization studies of pipe diameter and insulation thickness, and for development of comparative cost data, and operating parameters for the design of riser/downcomer modifications to the low cost concentrator.

Polzien, R. E.↗

NASA NTRS2026

Application of Energy-efficient Electromagnetic Melt-Processing for the Upcycling of Recycled Polyphenylene Sulfide into Multifunctional Segregated Nanocomposites

Polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) is widely used in structural and functional composites because of its thermal stability, chemical resistance, and mechanical strength. As circular manufacturing becomes increasingly important, extending the service life of recycled PPS (rPPS) is essential. However, conventional high-temperature reprocessing accelerates thermo-oxidative degradation, reducing recycled composite performance. This study proposes a rapid and potentially energy-saving upcycling strategy for rPPS using electromagnetic (EM) melt-processing to form segregated carbon nanotube (CNT) networks and produce EM-responsive nanocomposites. The aim was to determine whether CNT-assisted EM heating could reduce polymer degradation while improving multifunctional properties at ultralow filler loadings. rPPS micropellets were coated with CNTs by ball milling to create conductive shells, then compacted into green bodies (GBs) and selectively melted by rapid EM irradiation. Structural, electrical, mechanical, rheological, and electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding properties were evaluated. Electrical percolation occurred at an ultralow CNT loading of 0.08 wt%, with conductivity reaching (1.24 ± 0.74) × 10 -5 S⋅m -1 at 0.1 wt%. At this concentration, tensile strength and modulus increased by 72% and 99%, respectively. At ~ 0.7 mm thickness, X-band EMI shielding effectiveness reached 6 dB for GBs and 3 dB after EM processing. This shows that EM melt-processing upcycles rPPS into high-performance multifunctional nanocomposites with minimum thermal degradation.

recycled↗

NASA NTRS1971

Acoustic Echo-Sounding Experiments in an Urban Environment

A 1320 Hz tuned source was mounted on a 4 ft diameter parabolic reflector, with the same driver working as the receiving transducer. This highly directional system is able to detect the small amount of energy backscattered from a vertically directed pulse of sound by inhomogeneities in the density structure of the atmosphere even in the presence of city noises which include rapid-transit and express-way traffic sounds. Results showing thermal plumes and the formation and breakup of radiation inversions are presented. A network of such echo-sounding stations in and around a city could be used to give early warning of atmospheric conditions which might lead to a pollution incident.

Damkevala, R. J.↗

NASA NTRS1980

Solar thermal power systems point-focusing distributed receiver technology project. Volume 2: Detailed report

The accomplishments of the Point-Focusing Distributed Receiver Technology Project during fiscal year 1979 are detailed. Present studies involve designs of modular units that collect and concentrate solar energy via highly reflective, parabolic-shaped dishes. The concentrated energy is then converted to heat in a working fluid, such as hot gas. In modules designed to produce heat for industrial applications, a flexible line conveys the heated fluid from the module to a heat transfer network. In modules designed to produce electricity the fluid carries the heat directly to an engine in a power conversion unit located at the focus of the concentrator. The engine is mechanically linked to an electric generator. A Brayton-cycle engine is currently being developed as the most promising electrical energy converter to meet near-future needs.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1973

Moonquakes, meteoroids, and the state of the lunar interior

Analysis of data returned from the four stations of the Apollo Seismic Network has revealed that the lunar interior can be divided into two major zones: a rigid, dynamically inactive outer shell, about 1000 km thick (the lunar lithosphere); and a relatively weak central zone (the lunar asthenosphere) in which partial melting is probable. The transition between these two zones is gradual. Seismic activity within the moon is far below that of the earth. The small moonquakes that do occur originate near the base of the lithosphere, and appear to fall within two major belts. Tidal energy appears to be an important, if not the dominant, source of energy released as moonquakes. A secular component of moonquake energy release may result from slight thermal expansion or contraction of the moon, weak convection in the asthenosphere, or secular recession of the moon from the earth. Lack of shallow moonquake activity implies that the moon is neither expanding nor contracting at an appreciable rate at present.

Latham, G.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA POWER: Providing Analysis-Ready, Cloud-Optimized Data for AI /ML Training and Applications in Earth Science

As global demand for sustainable development grows, the integration of Earth Observation (EO) data into decision making frameworks has become a primary objective for the scientific community. The NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (POWER) project serves as a bridge between NASA EO data and the specialized needs of the renewable energy, sustainable infrastructure and agroclimatology communities. In this poster presentation we will present an overview of POWER data products and services along with its use in diverse research to decision-making workflows. By providing over 40 years of high-resolution historical, hourly and daily solar and meteorological data, POWER transforms satellite observations and global model reanalysis into actionable, Analysis-Ready Dataset (ARD). Currently, the project delivers over 250 industry-friendly parameters to the users from different NASA datasets like CERES SYN1Deg, MERRA-2, and IMERG alongside downscaled CMIP6 climate model data, fulfilling over 16 million requests from 50,000 unique users monthly. To ensure data quality and traceability, these parameters are rigorously validated against the ground-based observations from the Baseline Surface Radiation Network (BSRN) and the Global Surface Summary of the Day (GSOD) – these results will be discussed in the presentation. A newly introduced web-based PaRameter Uncertainty ViEwer (PRUVE) tool will be presented that provides an online validation platform to the users that benchmarks satellite-based and assimilation data products against these surface measurements. To reduce technical barriers to data adoption, POWER data is accessible through RESTful APIs, ESRI ArcGIS Image Services, a web-based Data Access Viewer tool, allowing users to visualize, validate and apply the dataset. For efficient data delivery POWER data is cloud-optimized into Zarr datastore accessible through NASA managed Amazon S3 ensures high-performance allowing users to integrate EO directly into operational pipelines. These customized services will be presented. Use cases from application will be presented from the energy sector - such as for design of generation systems, performance monitoring of solar power plants, in infrastructure sector- optimizing building energy efficiency and thermal comfort, in agriculture – such as driving crop simulation and yield forecasting models to enable climate resilient farming. Furthermore, the shift toward machine learning (ML) in EO research that has positioned POWER as a key provider for training datasets which will be discussed. Use-cases will be presented to showcase how NASA data is enabling the development of predictive tools for climate variability and resource management. The poster will present POWER’s future plans including technology development to enhance data traceability and reproducibility and improving I/O performance to support the rapid integration of new EO products, ensuring that POWER remains a robust scalable backend for the evolving landscape of AI-driven Earth Science. Additionally, POWER is developing an AI Agent and an MCP-Server to enable industry AI-Agentic workflows.

Neha Khadka↗