SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “User Interface Design”

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.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 181 records · Page 10

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2025

The Advanced Dimensional Depletion for Engineering of Reactors (ADDER) Software for Depletion and Fuel Management

The Advanced Dimensional Depletion for Engineering of Reactors (ADDER) software is being developed in the Research and Test Reactor (RTR) Program at Argonne National Laboratory to meet the reactor design and analysis needs of the Conversion Program. ADDER is a flexible tool that (1) provides a depletion capability through coupling external neutronics codes with a built-in CRAM solver or external depletion code and (2) provides a user-friendly interface to perform fuel management and criticality search operations. The ADDER software is a Python 3 application written using modern software development practices subject to a compliant implementation of NQA-1 and applicable Department of Energy software quality assurance standards. This report is the user guide for the software release referred to as ADDER v1.1.0. The motivation for a software to have flexible capabilities that ADDER possesses is the need to support a wide variety of geometries that are commonly required in analysis of research and test reactors. These reactors can have complex fuel, experiment, or control material shuffling patterns that persist over several years with many fuel management and partial refueling intervals. The scale of fuel management analysis can require tracking of an inventory that is multiple times the core loading. Many reactors, both power and non-power reactors of various types, will find the features of ADDER useful to facilitate key tasks that a fuel or core design engineer must perform with the convenience of concise input and validated functionality.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Advanced Dimensional Depletion for Engineering of Reactors (ADDER) Software for Depletion and Fuel Management

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2020

NEAMS Workbench Status and Capabilities

The mission of the US Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program is to develop, apply, deploy, and support state-of-the-art predictive modeling and simulation tools for the design and analysis of current and future nuclear energy systems. This is accomplished by using computing architectures that range from laptops to leadership-class facilities. The NEAMS Workbench is a new initiative that will facilitate the transition from conventional tools to highfidelity tools by providing a common user interface for model creation, review, execution, output review, and visualization for integrated codes. The Workbench can use common user input, including engineering-scale specifications that are expanded into application-specific input requirements through the use of customizable templates. The templating process can enable multifidelity analysis of a system from a common set of input data. Additionally, the common user input processor can provide an enhanced alternative application input that provides additional conveniences compared with native input, especially for legacy codes. Expansion of the integrated codes and application templates available in the Workbench will broaden the NEAMS user community and will facilitate system analysis and design. Current and planned capabilities of the NEAMS Workbench are detailed herein.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Programmable soft valves for digital and analog control

In soft devices, complex actuation sequences and precise force control typically require hard electronic valves and microcontrollers. Existing designs for entirely soft pneumatic control systems are capable of either digital or analog operation, but not both, and are limited by speed of actuation, range of pressure, time required for fabrication, or loss of power through pull-down resistors. Using the nonlinear mechanics intrinsic to structures composed of soft materials—in this case, by leveraging membrane inversion and tube kinking—two modular soft components are developed: a piston actuator and a bistable pneumatic switch. These two components combine to create valves capable of analog pressure regulation, simplified digital logic, controlled oscillation, nonvolatile memory storage, linear actuation, and interfacing with human users in both digital and analog formats. Three demonstrations showcase the capabilities of systems constructed from these valves: 1) a wearable glove capable of analog control of a soft artificial robotic hand based on input from a human user’s fingers, 2) a human-controlled cushion matrix designed for use in medical care, and 3) an untethered robot which travels a distance dynamically programmed at the time of operation to retrieve an object. This work illustrates pathways for complementary digital and analog control of soft robots using a unified valve design.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

ChatGrid: Power Grid Visualization Empowered by Large Language Model

This paper presents a novel open framework, ChatGrid, for easy, intuitive, and interactive geospatial visualization of large-scale transmission networks. ChatGrid uses state-of-the-art techniques for geospatial visualization of large networks including 2.5D views, animated flows, hierarchical and level-based filtering, and aggregation to provide visual information in an easy, cognitive manner. The highlight of ChatGrid is a natural language query based interface powered by large language model (ChatGPT) that offers an enhanced interactive experience whereby the user asks a question and ChatGrid provides the information both in text and visual. We discuss the architecture, implementation, design decisions, and usage of large language model for ChatGrid.

Jin, Sichen↗

DOE OSTI2025

Immersive Scientific Visualization of Molten-Salt Reactor Waste Characteristics Using Virtual Reality

Immersive visualization is changing how we explore, communicate, and understand complex scientific systems. In nuclear energy, an area in which data are often multidimensional, time-dependent, and difficult to interpret, virtual reality (VR) represents a powerful and intuitive informational medium. This work introduces a VR-based platform that visualizes the post-shutdown behavior and waste management lifecycle of molten-salt reactors (MSRs), a next-generation reactor type with unique operational and safety characteristics. The platform, built in Unity, is streamed on the Meta Quest 3 headset. It transforms high-fidelity simulation data into an interactive, immersive experience. Users can explore time-dependent reactor characteristics such as nuclide decay, which is a key factor for evaluating reactor waste strategies. The datasets were generated using the MOOSE (Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment) framework and then processed through ParaView scripting for smooth integration into Unity. From a visualization standpoint, the platform emphasizes spatial storytelling, temporal exploration, and user-centered interaction. Users can navigate 3D reactor geometries, slice through volumetric data, and manipulate time to observe how physical phenomena evolve. Real-scale rendering and embodied interaction make the experience feel tangible. The interface is designed to be accessible, even to those without nuclear or simulation expertise. This lowers the barrier for stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public, while still supporting expert analysis and collaborative decision-making. This work shows how immersive visualization can function as both a scientific tool and a communication interface. By integrating simulation, processing, and visualization into a cohesive workflow, we offer a scalable framework for immersive scientific storytelling. The modular design supports future extensions to other reactor types and lifecycle stages, from shutdown to long-term storage, making the platform adaptable for both research and outreach.

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Deployment Readiness Framework Subtask 1.1 (Literature Review)

Island and remote coastal communities face some of the most challenging environments for building, operating, and maintaining energy infrastructure, as well as the highest costs for electricity, fuels, and other essential energy sources. As sea-levels rise and storms become more intense and frequent, these communities and the energy infrastructure that supports coastal lives and livelihoods are also at increasing risk from natural hazards. To address these challenges, many coastal communities are envisioning energy solutions that will support the triple bottom line goals of the blue economy: economic growth, environmental sustainability, and social equity. Yet, island and remote coastal communities often face limited resources and capacity to tackle complex energy and coastal resilience issues. To support community-driven energy transitions in island and remote communities, and to better understand relationships between energy, community, and ecosystem resilience, the Department of Energy’s Water Power Technologies Office (WPTO) has initiated the development of a Deployment Readiness Framework (DRF). The objective of the work is to co-produce and test practical tools and approaches that assess the readiness of coastal communities for marine energy demonstration, deployment, and operation. The DRF aims to build on and support the Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Program (ETIPP) and other community-oriented energy transition programs. This project is jointly led by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The development of the DRF includes three main phases: 1) a learning phase involving stakeholder engagement and literature review to synthesize metrics of community readiness to advance through an energy transition and to understand the state of the research and practice of participatory science-policy processes in various sectors, 2) a design phase to define readiness approaches and tools that will be developed as part of the DRF, and 3) an implementation phase to create the applications and interfaces for WPTO and the national laboratories to interact with the DRF. All three phases include close collaboration with communities and end-users of the framework, first to identify gaps in the science and tools needed to achieve community-driven energy transition goals and second, to test and improve the framework iteratively. Through technical assistance programs like ETIPP and utilizing the completed DRF to understand the influencing factors which motivate or deter energy transitions, WPTO hopes to engage a number of near-term marine energy demonstration opportunities. Here we report on the results from the literature review (Subtask 1.1) to inform the stakeholder engagement (Subtask 1.2) and design phase (Task 2) of the project.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2026

Design and performance of AI agents interfacing with an atomic layer deposition tool

In this work, we introduce the design of an atomic layer deposition (ALD) reactor augmented with an AI interface for autonomous materials synthesis. Our modular design encapsulates the particularities of the hardware behind a Python interface that communicates with the ALD control software via transmission control protocol. This interface is compatible with model context protocol interfaces used in agentic frameworks. We have integrated our tool with a simple AI agent that leverages a large language model to transform user-supplied queries into ALD processes that are then run in our reactor. Our approach uses a JavaScript object notation schema to encode ALD processes. Our experimental results show that the AI interface does not impose a significant overhead to our control software, at least within our fastest 10 ms scale. We also carried out a detailed evaluation of the agent performance using leading models in two classes of tasks: basic instruction and process discovery tasks, where the agent is presented with a target material and needs to identify the correct ALD process compatible with the reactor configuration. Despite the simplicity of our agent design, we observed that most of the advanced models excelled at the instruction tasks. However, only recent models, such as o1, o3, GPT-5, and Claude Opus 4, performed well in process discovery tasks. We also observed significant variability in the response for the hardest challenges. While the results obtained are promising, we identify areas where AI research could improve the performance of agents for ALD.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2020

KENO-VI Primer: Performing Calculations using SCALE’s Criticality Safety Analysis Sequence (CSAS6) with Fulcrum

The SCALE code system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is widely used and accepted around the world for criticality safety analysis. The well-known KENO-VI three-dimensional Monte Carlo criticality computer code is one of the primary criticality safety analysis tools in SCALE. The KENO-VI primer is designed to help a new user understand and use the SCALE/KENO-VI Monte Carlo code for nuclear criticality safety analysis. It assumes that the user has a college education in a technical field. There is no assumption of familiarity with Monte Carlo codes in general or with SCALE/KENO-VI in particular. The primer is designed to teach by example, with each example illustrating two or three features of SCALE/KENO-VI that are useful in criticality analysis. The primer is based on SCALE 6.2 and 6.3, which includes the Fulcrum graphical user interface. Each example uses Fulcrum to provide the framework for preparing input data and viewing output results. Starting with a Quickstart section, the primer gives an overview of the basic requirements for SCALE/KENO-VI input and allows the user to quickly run a simple criticality problem with SCALE/KENO-VI. Each following section begins with a list of basic objectives identifying the goal of the section and the individual SCALE/KENO-VI features covered in detail in the section’s sample problems. Upon completion of the primer, a new user should be comfortable using Fulcrum to set up criticality problems in SCALE/KENO-VI. The primer provides a starting point for the criticality safety analyst who uses SCALE/KENO-VI. Complete descriptions are provided in the SCALE/KENO-VI manual. Although the primer is self-contained, it is intended as a companion volume to the SCALE/KENO-VI training and documentation. The SCALE manual and training schedule are available at https://scale.ornl.gov. The primer provides specific examples of using SCALE/KENO-VI for criticality analysis; the SCALE/KENO-VI manual provides information on the use of SCALE/KENO-VI and all its modules. The primer also contains an appendix with sample input files. In addition, this primer, its errata, and sample inputs are also available at https://code.ornl.gov/scale/primers/kenovi/.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Large Language Models (LLMs) for Energy Systems Research

The integration of Large Language Models (LLMs) in energy systems research promises transformative results, as demonstrated in this work, particularly in the realms of information retrieval and legal document analysis. We have developed a chat-based interface, specifically designed to query an extensive corpus of technical reports from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This interface capitalizes on the natural language processing capabilities of LLMs, providing future consumers of NREL research with a user-friendly platform to access and extract valuable information from technical documents, thus enhancing the dissemination of research to the public. In addition to information retrieval, we have employed LLMs to extract renewable energy siting ordinances from a variety of legal documents, a task traditionally driven by significant human labor. This automated extraction not only supports the ongoing development of the high-impact NREL siting ordinance database but also ensures the database's accuracy and comprehensiveness. Crucially, we have augmented the performance of LLMs through the integration of a decision tree framework, resulting in a substantial improvement in extraction accuracy. Comparative analysis with manual efforts has shown that this approach not only rivals but also significantly surpasses human accuracy, heralding increased reliability in legal document analysis for energy systems research. To democratize access to these advancements and foster collaborative research, we introduce the "Energy Language Model" (ELM), an open-source software package. ELM encapsulates the methodologies and tools developed in this work, providing researchers and practitioners with a robust toolkit to conduct similar analyses within their respective domains. Through these contributions, this work underscores the immense potential of LLMs in revolutionizing energy systems research, improving accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility in the field.

automation↗

DOE OSTI2026

Retrofit Energy Analysis and Central Thermal modeling (REACT) v1.0

REACT is a website designed to simplify the analysis and decision-making process for retrofitting existing central plant heating and cooling systems with advanced heat pump technologies. The tool evaluates the technical and economic viability of replacing traditional boilers with various options including water-to-water or air-to-water heat pumps, which can provide efficient and lower-cost heating and cooling. It allows users to compare current central plant configurations with retrofit scenarios, assessing energy consumption, life-cycle costs, and environmental impact. Retrofitting traditional boiler and chiller systems with water-to-water or air-to-water heat pumps can significantly reduce energy consumption and lower lifecycle costs. The REACT provides: User-Friendly Tools: A user friendly web interface for quick, intuitive analysis accessible to non-experts. Advanced Modeling: A Python-powered engine for detailed parametric studies, optimization, and research applications. Comprehensive Analysis: Lifecycle cost evaluation, energy consumption modeling, and environmental impact assessment. Visual Insights: A variety of plots to visualize system performance and design trade-offs. The engine for the website (REACT) bases on several Python libraries, and the website will be hosted on an ETA server.

Kim, Donghun [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborator↗

DOE OSTI2020

Interfacing HDF5 with a scalable object‐centric storage system on hierarchical storage

Summary Object storage technologies that take advantage of multitier storage on HPC systems are emerging. However, to use these technologies at present, applications have to be modified significantly from current I/O libraries. HDF5, a widely used I/O middleware on HPC systems, provides a virtual object layer (VOL) that allows applications to connect to different storage mechanisms transparently without requiring significant code modifications. We recently designed the proactive data containers (PDC) object‐centric storage system that provides the capabilities of transparent, asynchronous, and autonomous data movement taking advantage of multiple storage tiers—a decision that has so far been left upon the user on most current systems. To enable PDC's features through HDF5 without modifying application codes, we have developed an HDF5 VOL connector that interfaces with PDC. We present in this article the connector interface and evaluate its performance on Cori, a Cray XC40 supercomputer located at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center (NERSC). Our evaluation demonstrates up to an 8× improvement compared with HDF5 that has the most recent optimizations.

Mu, Jingqing↗

DOE OSTI2020

KENO V.a Primer: Performing Calculations using SCALE’s Criticality Safety Analysis Sequence (CSAS5) with Fulcrum

The SCALE code system developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory is widely used and accepted around the world for criticality safety analyses. The well-known KENO V.a three-dimensional Monte Carlo criticality computer code is one of the primary criticality safety analysis tools in SCALE. The KENO V.a primer is designed to help a new user understand and use the SCALE/KENO V.a Monte Carlo code for nuclear criticality safety analyses. It assumes that the user has a college education in a technical field. There is no assumption of familiarity with Monte Carlo codes in general or with SCALE/KENO V.a in particular. The primer is designed to teach by example, with each example illustrating two or three features of SCALE/KENO V.a that are useful in criticality analyses. The primer is based on SCALE 6.2 and 6.3, which includes the Fulcrum graphical user interface (GUI). Each example uses Fulcrum to provide the framework for preparing input data and viewing output results. Starting with a Quickstart section, the primer gives an overview of the basic requirements for SCALE/KENO V.a input and allows the user to quickly run a simple criticality problem with SCALE/KENO V.a. The sections that follow Quickstart include a list of basic objectives at the beginning that identifies the goal of the section and the individual SCALE/KENO V.a features that are covered in detail in the sample problems in that section. Upon completion of the primer, a new user should be comfortable using Fulcrum to set up criticality problems in SCALE/KENO V.a. The primer provides a starting point for the criticality safety analyst who uses SCALE/KENO V.a. Complete descriptions are provided in the SCALE/KENO V.a manual. Although the primer is self-contained, it is intended as a companion volume to the SCALE/KENO V.a training and documentation. The SCALE manual and training schedule are available at https://scale.ornl.gov. The primer provides specific examples of using SCALE/KENO V.a for criticality analyses; the SCALE/KENO V.a manual provides information on the use of SCALE/KENO V.a and all its modules. The primer also contains an appendix with sample input files. In addition, this primer, its errata and sample inputs are also available at https://code.ornl.gov/scale/primers/kenova.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗

DOE OSTI2021

Deep Learning for Fish Identification from Sonar Data: CRADA 481 [Abstract only]

To help solve the challenges of hydropower energy production related to the potential for eel injury and mortality from passage through hydropower turbines, we will develop a deep learning method for identifying migrating eels from imaging sonar. This project continues with a prior project conducted by the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) in FY2018-2019. The proposed method employs Convolution Neural Network (CNN), a powerful deep learning method for image classification, to distinguish between images of eels and non-eel moving objects. We propose to collect more laboratory data and add more existing field data to train a powerful deep learning model. In addition to eels and sticks as classified in previous studies, we will add images containing several non-eel fish species and macrophyte mats to the training data. A multi-class classification model will be developed to distinguish these objects. Object detection algorithm will be explored and developed to locate and identify multiple objects in each sonar frame. Motion analysis will be performed to track the movement of objects in sonar video clips. We will also improve the data conversion algorithm so that it can read in both DIDSON and ARIS (both are imaging sonars developed by Sound Metrics Corp) data files and convert them to images with comparably high resolution, regardless of the varying detection ranges in different environments. The developed algorithms will be packaged as a software with a graphic user interface. The software will be evaluated by external collaborators in the field. The developed framework can be generalized for automatic monitoring of fish passage and migration using other imaging sonars like ARIS and will benefit the design and operation of ecologically friendly hydroelectric projects. The developed wavelet and CNN model configuration parameters can potentially be transferred to lamprey detection in similar riverine environments.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

HALOS (Heliostat Aimpoint and Layout Optimization Software) [SWR-21-41]

Heliostat Aimpoint and Layout Optimization Software (HALOS) is an open-source software package that allows users to explore solar field layout optimization, aimpoint strategy optimization, and performance characterization of concentrating solar power tower plants. Users interface with the tool through python, and results are reported in time series tables, plots, runtime logs, and flat-file outputs. Users choose from a list of variables such as tower height, receiver capacity, flux limits, design-point irradiance, etc., and specify information about the system using a small collection of flat files. The software can then optimize the specified variables (e.g., aimpoints for each heliostat) to maximize the thermal energy delivered to the receiver while adhering to flux limits. HALOS is implemented to be flexible with respect to flux characterization methods, but includes a direct connection to NREL's SolarPILOT™ software via its python API so that users can utilize high-fidelity flux simulation methods that have already been developed.

Zolan, Alexander↗

DOE OSTI2025

Novel Results Visualization for Dynamic PSA and New Modeling Features in EMRALD

The Event Modeling Risk Assessment Linked Diagram (EMRALD) tool, developed at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), was designed to simplify the creation of dynamic models and support various research projects. One of the primary goals of EMRALD was to provide visual methods for modeling. EMRALD consists of two main components: a web-based user interface for model development and a solve engine for running model simulations. Over time, it has evolved to meet the diverse needs of its users. Initially, EMRALD's results were simple text outputs with final key state percentages and uncertainty bounds. However, because EMRALD utilizes a three-phase discrete event simulation and tracks the paths of each simulation run leading to a key state, there is significant potential to analyze large sets of path results data, including state paths, events, and timing. Visualizing this data meaningfully posed a challenge. To address this, a novel time-based Sankey diagram was developed. EMRALD exports results data in a format that can be opened in this Sankey viewer, allowing users to visualize paths, occurrences, events, and probability data for the entire simulation run in a single diagram. Moreover, when EMRALD was first created, there were limited tools capable of meeting its graphical requirements, many of which are no longer supported. In 2024, a new web-based interface was developed using modern graphing tools, enabling additional modeling features. This paper discusses the new dynamic PSA results visualization capability and the enhanced modeling tools available in EMRALD.

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Characterization of a new ultra-high pressure shock tube facility for combustion and propulsion studies

A new shock tube facility has been designed, constructed, and characterized at the University of Central Florida. This facility is capable of withstanding pressures of up to 1000 atm, allowing for combustion diagnostics of extreme conditions, such as in rocket combustion chambers or in novel power conversion cycles. For studies with toxic gas impurities, the high initial pressures required the development of a gas delivery system to ensure the longevity of the facility and the safety of the personnel. Data acquisition and experimental propagation were implemented with remote access to ensure safety, paired with a LabVIEW- and Python-based user interface. Thus far, test pressures of 270 atm, blast pressures of 730 atm, and temperatures approaching 10 000 K have been achieved. The extreme limitations of this facility allow for emission spectroscopy to be performed during the oxidation of fuel mixtures, e.g., alkanes diluted in argon and carbon dioxide. Ignition delay times were determined and compared to simulations using chemical kinetic mechanisms. The design, experimental procedures, processes of analysis, and uncertainty determination are outlined, and typical pressure profiles are compared with a new gas dynamics solver and empirical correlations developed across multiple shock tube facilities. Preliminary reactive mixture analyses are included with further investigation of the mixtures outlined.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

DOE OSTI2025

kokkos-fft: A shared-memory FFT for the Kokkos ecosystem

kokkos-fft provides a unified, performance-portable interface for Fast Fourier Transforms (FFTs) within the Kokkos ecosystem (C. Trott et al., 2021). It seamlessly integrates with leading local FFT libraries including FFTW, cuFFT, rocFFT, and oneMKL. Designed for simplicity and efficiency, kokkos-fft offers a user experience akin to numpy.fft for in-place and out-of-place transforms, while leveraging the raw speed of vendor-optimized libraries. A demonstration solving 2D Hasegawa-Wakatani turbulence with the Fourier spectral method illustrates how kokkos-fft can deliver significant speedups over Python-based alternatives without drastically increasing code complexity, empowering researchers to perform high-performance FFTs simply and effectively.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗