State of the art of metalclad airships

Metalclad airship development of the past history are considered along with the immediate prospects for continuation of the development of these airships. The metalclad airships promise high safety even in highly inclement weather, are capable of high speeds, while lifting high useful loads. Metalclad airships which in first cost would compare favorably with the costs of sea-going ships and in operating costs promise to be lower than airplanes

New applications for phosphoric acid fuel cells

New applications for phosphoric acid fuel cells were identified and evaluated. Candidates considered included all possibilities except grid connected electric utility applications, on site total energy systems, industrial cogeneration, opportunistic use of waste hydrogen, space and military applications, and applications smaller than 10 kW. Applications identified were screened, with the most promising subjected to technical and economic evaluation using a fuel cell and conventional power system data base developed in the study. The most promising applications appear to be the underground mine locomotive and the railroad locomotive. Also interesting are power for robotic submersibles and Arctic villages. The mine locomotive is particularly attractive since it is expected that the fuel cell could command a very high price and still be competitive with the conventionally used battery system. The railroad locomotive's attractiveness results from the (smaller) premium price which the fuel cell could command over the conventional diesel electric system based on its superior fuel efficiency, and on the large size of this market and the accompanying opportunities for manufacturing economy

Project for the analysis of technology transfer Quarterly evaluation report, 13 Oct. - 12 Dec. 1968

Technical support package usage documentation by technology transfer analysis projec

Cargo transportation by airships: A systems study

A systems engineering study of a lighter than air airship transportation system was conducted. The feasibility of the use of airships in hauling cargo was demonstrated. Social, legal, environmental and political factors were considered as well as the technical factors necessary to design an effective airship transportation system. In order to accomplish an effective airship transportation program two phases of implementation were recommended. Phase I would involve a fleet of rigid airships of 3.5 million cubic feet displacement capable of carrying 25 tons of cargo internal to the helium-filled gas bag. The Phase I fleet would demonstrate the economic and technical feasibility of modern-day airships while providing a training capability for the construction and operation of larger airships. The Phase II portion would be a fleet of rigid airships of 12 million cubic feet displacement capable of carrying a cargo of 100 tons a distance of 2,000 miles at a cruising speed of 60 mph. An economic analysis is given for a variety of missions for both Phase I and Phase II airships

SciTech News Volume 70, No. 4 (2016)

Columns and Reports From the Editor 3 Division News Science-Technology Division 4 SLA Annual Meeting 2016 Report (S. Kirk Cabeen Travel Stipend Award recipient) 6 Reflections on SLA Annual Meeting (Diane K. Foster International Student Travel Award recipient) 8 SLA Annual Meeting Report (Bonnie Hilditch International Librarian Award recipient)10 Chemistry Division 12 Engineering Division 15 Reflections from the 2016 SLA Conference (SPIE Digital Library Student Travel Stipend recipient)15 Fundamentals of Knowledge Management and Knowledge Services (IEEE Continuing Education Stipend recipient) 17 Makerspaces in Libraries: The Big Table, the Art Studio or Something Else? (by Jeremy Cusker) 19 Aerospace Section of the Engineering Division 21 Reviews Sci-Tech Book News Reviews 22 Advertisements IEEE 17 WeBuyBooks.net 2

A Case Study of a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Plant on Board a Cruise Ship

The work is a case study of a cruise ship supplied by liquefied natural gas (LNG) and equipped with a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). It is supposed that a 20 MW SOFC plant is installed on-board to supply hotel loads and assisting three dual-fuel (DF) diesel/LNG generator sets. LNG consumption and emissions are estimated both for the SOFC plant and DF generator sets. It results that the use of LNG-SOFC plant in comparison to DF generator sets allows to limit significantly the SOx, CO, NOx, PM emissions and to reduce the emission of CO2 by about 11%. A prediction of the weight and volume of the SOFC plant is conducted and a preliminary modification of the general arrangement of the cruise ship is suggested, according to the latest international rules. It results that the SOFC plant is heavier and occupies more volume on board than a DF gen-set; nevertheless, these features do not affect the floating and the stability of the cruise ship

Potentials and challenges of the fuel cell technology for ship applications. A comprehensive techno-economic and environmental assessment of maritime power system configurations

The decarbonization of the global ship traffic is one of the industry’s greatest challenges for the next decades and will likely only be achieved with new, energy-efficient power technologies. To evaluate the performances of such technologies, a system modeling and optimization approach is introduced and tested, covering three elementary topics: shipboard solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs), the benefits of decentralizing ship power systems, and the assessment of potential future power technologies and synthetic fuels. In the following, the analyses’ motivations, scopes, and derived conclusions are presented. SOFCs are a much-discussed technology with promising efficiency, fuel versatility, and few operating emissions. However, complex processes and high temperature levels inhibit their stand-alone dynamic operation. Therefore, the operability in a hybrid system is investigated, focusing on component configurations and evaluation approach corrections. It is demonstrated that moderate storage support satisfies the requirements for an uninterrupted ship operation. Depending on the load characteristics, energy-intensive and power-intensive storage applications with diverging challenges are identified. The analysis also emphasizes to treat degradation modeling with particular care, since technically optimal and cost-optimal design solutions differ meaningfully when assessing annual expenses. Decentralizing a power system with modular components in accordance with the load demand reduces both grid size and transmission losses, leading to a decrease of investment and operating costs. A cruise-ship-based case study considering variable installation locations and potential component failures is used to quantify these benefits. Transmission costs in a distributed system are reduced meaningfully with and without component failure consideration when compared to a central configuration. Also, minor modifications ensure the component redundancy requirements, resulting in comparably marginal extra expenses. Nowadays, numerous synthetic fuels are seen as candidates for future ship applications in combination with either combustion engines or fuel cells. To drive an ongoing technology discussion, performance indicators for envisioned system configurations are assessed in dependence on mission characteristics and critical price trends. Even if gaseous hydrogen is often considered not suitable for ship applications due to its low volumetric energy density, resulting little operating costs are accountable for its superior performance on short passages. For extended missions, fuel cells operating on methanol or ammonia surpass hydrogen economically

Conceptual design of a synchronous Mars telecommunications satellite

Future missions to Mars will require a communications system to link activities on the Martian surface with each other and with mission controllers on Earth. A conceptual design is presented for an aerosynchronous communications satellite to provide these links. The satellite provides the capability for voice, data/command, and video transmissions. The mission scenario assumed for the design is described, and a description of a single aerosynchronous satellite is explained. A viable spacecraft design is then presented. Communication band selection and channel allocation are discussed. The communications system conceptual design is presented along with the trades used in sizing each of the required antennas. Also, the analyses used to develop the supporting subsystem designs are described as is the communications impact on each subsystem design

Historical perspectives: The role of the NASA Lewis Research Center in the national space nuclear power programs

The history of the NASA Lewis Research Center's role in space nuclear power programs is reviewed. Lewis has provided leadership in research, development, and the advancement of space power and propulsion systems. Lewis' pioneering efforts in nuclear reactor technology, shielding, high temperature materials, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanical and direct energy conversion, high-energy propellants, electric propulsion and high performance rocket fuels and nozzles have led to significant technical and management roles in many national space nuclear power and propulsion programs