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At least 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

A Modularized Urban Scale Building Energy Modeling Framework Designed with An Open Mind

In recent years, physics-based building energy modeling (BEM) has started being used to evaluate the performance of buildings in the context of connected communities and on an urban scale to study their aggregated energy use, interactions, and impacts on the energy supply infrastructure and environment. The development of urban-scale BEM solutions needs extensive effort. Existing attempts tend to focus on different aspects of BEM on an urban scale, such as collecting as-built building data from different information sources, integrating geometry modeling with geographic information systems (GISs), representing operational and occupancy profiles, automating workflow, processing and visualizing the results, and conducting large-scale simulations. Urban-scale BEM development would benefit from multi-disciplinary research areas and from an open platform to adopt advancements on data sources and tools. For these purposes, this research proposes a modularized bottom-up model creation and simulation framework that is built on the state-of-the-art BEM tools and can accommodate different building stock data. This framework uses a standardized schema to describe building design and operational characteristics, and it can be instantiated from different building survey datasets with heterogeneous structures. The paper demonstrates how thousands of surveyed buildings from the 2012 U.S. Energy Information Administration’s Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) were one-to-one converted to EnergyPlus models through the schema and the model generation process, then simulated with distributed computing, and their results are summarized.

Lei, Xuechen↗
DOE OSTI2025

Automatic building energy model development and debugging using large language models agentic workflow

Building energy modeling (BEM) is a complex process that demands significant time and expertise, limiting its broader application in building design and operations. While Large Language Models (LLMs) agentic workflow have facilitated complex engineering processes, their application in BEM has not been specifically explored. This paper investigates the feasibility of automating BEM using LLM agentic workflow. Here, we developed a generic LLM-planning-based workflow that takes a building description as input and generates an error-free EnergyPlus building energy model. Our robust workflow includes four core agents: 1) Building Description Pre-Processing, 2) IDF Object Information Extraction, 3) Single IDF Object Generator Suite, and 4) IDF Debugging Agent. These agents divide the complex tasks into manageable sub-steps, enabling LLMs to generate accurate and reliable results at each stage. The case study demonstrates the successful translation of a building description into an error-free EnergyPlus model for the iUnit modular building at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The effectiveness of our workflow surpasses: 1) naive prompt engineering, 2) other LLM-based workflows, and 3) manual modeling, in terms of accuracy, reliability, and time efficiency. The paper concludes with a discussion on the interplay between foundational models and LLM agent planning design, advocating for the use of fine-tuned, specialized models to advance this field.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tank Side Cesium Removal IXC-150 Cask Detonation Report

A set of experiments were conducted at Los Alamos National Laboratory’s firing point 88 to determine the blast pressure and effects of a stoichiometric gas mixture of Hydrogen (H 2 ) and Nitrous Oxide (N 2 O) on the IXC-150 Storage Pad Vent Stack assemblies. The Lab was asked to design, build, and test the vent stack assemblies using a reaction gas volume of 340 in 3 that mimics the Tank Side Cesium Removal (TSCR) Ion Exchange Column (IXC) assembly. The experimental system with vent stack assembly was designed with input from the Washington River Protection Services (WRPS) to ensure an accurate test setup. The tests were conducted at LANL on the newly built filter/gas assembly at the end of April 2021 timeframe, using WRPS supplied vent stack assemblies and internal HEPA filters. The objective of these tests was to observe that the structural integrity of the vent stack assemblies was maintained and determine the resulting blast overpressures at a distance of 16 and 32 inches from the assembly. All work was performed under the LANL Quality Assurance Program (SD330), using a graded application of ASME NQA-1- 2008/NQA-1a-2009. To ensure that all client quality assurance (QA) expectations were addressed, evaluation of the end data needs was performed and the appropriate controls applied for this work.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2022

Building Envelope Campaign – Program Design and Stakeholder Engagement

Building envelope technologies impact approximately 30% of the primary energy consumed by residential and commercial buildings. The Building Envelope Campaign (BEC), which is part of the Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Program, is a market transformation effort to help building owners and managers invest in high performance building envelope technologies for both new and existing commercial buildings. The success of the Campaign has depended on constructing a compelling program design plus organizing a technical team with ability to effectively recruit Participants and Supporters from across industry and keep them engaged.The design of the campaign included developing a strategy to leverage other technology campaigns within the Better Buildings program, identifying stakeholders (including diverse member groups that may have been underserved by previous technology campaigns), recruiting Supporters and Participants, and providing technical assistance in the form of a campaign-specific Building Envelope Performance tool and metric to help benchmark various building envelope options.Engagement had to overcome three main challenges – securing the Campaign Supporters/Participants, helping participants to use the envelope tool to evaluate project options, and getting those participants to submit successful envelope projects for evaluation and recognition by the program. The concepts are simple but program design/implementation and, in particular, sustaining stakeholder engagement can be challenging. This paper will highlight the approaches taken in: program design, engaging industry members, identifying and reaching underserved stakeholders, demonstrating benefits of high performance building envelope technologies and making the case for engaging in this campaign.

McLeod, Hayley↗
DOE OSTI2021

CSP Gen3: Liquid-Phase Pathway to SunShot

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) established the Concentrating Solar Power Generation 3 (CSP Gen3) program to promote the development of advanced CSP systems capable of producing electricity at a levelized cost of energy (LCOE) less than $60/MWh, based on criteria published in the CSP Gen3 Roadmap and a subsequent funding opportunity announcement (Gen3 FOA). This report documents the progress and potential of the “Liquid Pathway” to meet these objectives. The Liquid Pathway proposes the use of low-cost molten chloride salts for energy storage, mated with an operationally flexible solar receiver that employs liquid-metal sodium for heat capture and transfer to the storage salt. This approach leverages molten-salt technology from the current state-of-the-art CSP power towers embodied by plants such as Gemasolar, Crescent Dunes, Noor III, and the DEWA 700 CSP project. Furthermore, the design builds on the knowledge gained over decades of use of liquid-metal sodium as a high-temperature heat transfer fluid (HTF) in solar tests and nuclear-power applications. The commercial representation of the proposed Gen3 design incorporates a high-efficiency sodium receiver operating at ~740°C, with a liquid-liquid heat exchanger feeding a two-tank, molten-chloride salt storage system. Chloride salt is dispatched to a supercritical CO 2 (sCO 2 ) power cycle to provide electric power to the grid. The design integration is a conceptual match for the current sodium receiver → solar salt storage → steam-Rankine power cycle promoted by developer Vast Solar, which may facilitate commercial acceptance and development.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1994

Development of a new seal for use on large openings of pressurized spacecraft

The goal of this project was to design, build, and test an example of the seal invented by the author for use on Space Station Freedom and patented in 1991. The seal features a metallic spring core and replaceable elastomeric sealing elements. The metallic spring is designed to retain the sealing force of the elastomeric element against both sides of face seal gland for any specified amount of waviness or separation of the glands. A seal able to tolerate at least 1.3 mm (0.05 in) of flange distortion or separation and a test fixture of this seal which allowed direct comparison testing of O-rings were built. These designs were tested to compare leakage at different amounts of flange deflection. Results of the testing show the development seal exceeded its requirement to seal 1.3 mm of flange separation by 1 mm. This compared with the O-ring leakage, increasing dramatically at 0.5 mm of separation. The development seal also leaked at a lower rate than the O-ring seals in all tests.

Weddendorf, B.↗
DOE OSTI2022

COVID-19 impacts on residential occupancy schedules and activities in U.S. Homes in 2020 using ATUS

Many aspects of the daily lives of those living in the United States were substantially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic in the year 2020. A broad diversity of measures was implemented to curb the spread of the virus, many of which included adjustments to where and how people worked, went to school, and otherwise conducted their daily lives compared to pre-pandemic times. This has impacted how residential buildings are used, how much time people spend in their homes, and as a result, how much energy these buildings consume. The main objective of this study is to analyze, at a national scale, the differences in the occupancy schedules and activities conducted in homes in the U.S., as compared to pre-pandemic. 15 years of American Time Use Survey and Current Population Survey data, from 2006 to 2020, was used in this study to analyze the occupancy schedules for both pandemic (2020) and pre-pandemic (2006–2019) times. These impacts were also analyzed with respect to variables including, weekday/weekend, month of the year, age of the occupants, household income, and household size. The impact of the pandemic on occupant schedules were most substantial in the initial months, whereas as the months progressed, these occupancy profiles slowly changed. Across 2020, people spent, on average, 8 % more time (1.9 h) in their home on weekdays, and 3–6 % (1.2 h) on weekend days. The percentage of time spent for different activities and locations within homes were also studied. For 1-member households, their time spent at home decreased whereas for 2-, 3-, and 4- member households, they spent more time at home. Overall, people spent around 45% more time doing office- and work-related activities at home compared to pre-pandemic, which is likely due to increased remote working and schooling. This research helps to improve the understanding of the occupancy presence and absence profiles in U.S. residential buildings due to the pandemic and provides new insights as to modified profiles for researchers, building designers, and policy makers.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Ultrasonic waveguide reflectometry for quench detection (CRADA Final Report)

Early detection of thermal runaway (quench) is critical for safely operating high-temperature superconductor (HTS) magnets. Voltage-based techniques provide late detection of quenching in HTS, which can lead to magnet burnout and system damage. Various non-voltage quench-detection approaches are therefore investigated nowadays that are based on magnetic, acoustic, and optical sensing. LBNL has been actively developing the quench detection principle based on diffuse ultrasonic wave propagation since 2017 and has demonstrated the approach's viability with several peer-reviewed publications and a patent application. Over the last decade, Etegent, LBNL partner for this proposal and effort, has been developing a sensing technology that utilizes the propagation of stress waves through the solid metallic and nonmetallic waveguides (WG). The method is based on the dependence of materials' elastic properties and the speed of sound on temperature. Compared with optical analog, acoustic WG operates at much lower frequencies, eliminating the need for expensive, complex, highly sensitive receivers and data processing. Etegent proved this technology in many harsh environments, mainly concentrated high-temperature measurements. The initial contact between LBNL and Etegent started in 2020, aiming at combining our knowledge and effort toward developing a viable ultrasound-based quench detection technique for use with HTS magnets. A preliminary study conducted jointly in 2022 found no principle restrictions for expanding the WG technology toward cryogenic temperature operation. The present CRADA work aimed at designing, building, and testing ultrasonic waveguide temperature sensors at relevant cryogenic conditions, and demonstrating this technology's applicability to detecting heating and quenching in High Temperature Superconductor (HTS)-based cables and magnets. The technical objectives of the project included: (1) Design and fabricate ultrasonic WG sensors suitable for cryogenic operation, (2) Test ultrasonic WGs under cryogenic conditions, (3) Determining a suitable way of insulating WGs to prevent ultrasonic leakage while maintaining good thermal contact with the surrounding medium, (4) WG integration and cryogenic test with HTS conductors and HTS magnets, and (5) Design and basic prototyping of a standalone WG-based quench detection system. This project adds value to the present LBNL magnet diagnostics portfolio and enables a breakthrough in addressing the HTS magnet quench detection challenge.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Establishing a clostridia foundry for biosystems design by integrating computational modeling, systems-level analyses, and cell-free engineering technologies (Final Report)

Rapid population growth, a rise in global living standards, and economic competitiveness have intensified the need for sustainable, low-cost biofuels and bioproducts production. Industrial biotechnology using microbial cell factories – and waste and/or renewable feedstocks – is one of the most attractive approaches for addressing this need, particularly when large-scale chemical synthesis is untenable. Unfortunately, designing, building, and optimizing biosynthetic pathways in cells remains a complex challenge. With support from the Department of Energy, we worked to address this challenge in a new interdisciplinary venture that established the world’s first clostridial Foundry for Biosystems Design (cBioFAB). Working both in vitro (cell-free) and in vivo, the goal of this project was to interweave and advance state-of-the-art computational modeling, genome editing, omics measurements, systems-biology analyses, and cell-free technologies to expand the set of platform organisms that meet DOE bioenergy goals. Specifically, we manufactured fuel and chemical intermediates via existing and de novo pathways. This report covers the outcomes of our research project.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
NASA NTRS1999

Acoustic Treatment Design Scaling Methods: Test Plans, Hardware, Results, and Evaluation - Volume 3

The ability to design, build, and test miniaturized acoustic treatment panels on scale-model fan rigs representative of the full-scale engine provides not only a cost-savings, but an opportunity to optimize the treatment by allowing tests of different designs. To be able to use scale model treatment as a full-scale design tool, it is necessary that the designer be able to reliably translate the scale model design and performance to an equivalent full-scale design. The primary objective of the study presented in this volume of the final report was to conduct laboratory tests to evaluate liner acoustic properties and validate advanced treatment impedance models. These laboratory tests include DC flow resistance measurements, normal incidence impedance measurements, DC flow and impedance measurements in the presence of grazing flow, and in-duct liner attenuation as well as modal measurements. Test panels were fabricated at three different scale factors (i.e., full-scale, half-scale, and one-fifth scale) to support laboratory acoustic testing. The panel configurations include single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) perforated sandwich panels, SDOF linear (wire mesh) liners, and double-degree-of-freedom (DDOF) linear acoustic panels.

Yu, J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Establishing a versatile toolkit of flux enhanced strains and cell extracts for pathway prototyping

Building and optimizing biosynthetic pathways in engineered cells holds promise to address societal needs in energy, materials, and medicine, but it is often time-consuming. Cell-free synthetic biology has emerged as a powerful tool to accelerate design-build-test-learn cycles for pathway engineering with increased tolerance to toxic compounds. However, most cell-free pathway prototyping to date has been performed in extracts from wildtype cells which often do not have sufficient flux towards the pathways of interest, which can be enhanced by engineering. Here, in this study, to address this gap, we create a set of engineered Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains rewired via CRISPR-dCas9 to achieve high-flux toward key metabolic precursors; namely, acetyl-CoA, shikimate, triose-phosphate, oxaloacetate, α-ketoglutarate, and glucose-6-phosphate. Cell-free extracts generated from these strains are used for targeted enzyme screening in vitro. As model systems, we assess in vivo and in vitro production of triacetic acid lactone from acetyl-CoA and muconic acid from the shikimate pathway. The need for these platforms is exemplified by the fact that muconic acid cannot be detected in wildtype extracts provided with the same biosynthetic enzymes. We also perform metabolomic comparison to understand biochemical differences between the cellular and cell-free muconic acid synthesis systems (E. coli and S. cerevisiae cells and cell extracts with and without metabolic rewiring). While any given pathway has different interfaces with metabolism, we anticipate that this set of pre-optimized, flux enhanced cell extracts will enable prototyping efforts for new biosynthetic pathways and the discovery of biochemical functions of enzymes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2011

Lunar Wormbot: Design and Development of a Ground Base Robotic Tunneling Worm for Operation in Harsh Environments

From 1969 to 1972, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) sent Apollo missions to the moon to conduct various exploration experiment. A few of the missions were directed to the study and sampling of moon soil, otherwise known as lunar regolith. The extent of the sample acquisition was limited due to the astronauts' limited ability to penetrate the moon's surface to a depth greater than three meters. However. the samples obtained were sufficient enough to provide key information pertaining to lunar regolith material properties that would further assist in future exploration endeavors. Analysis of the collected samples showed that the properties of lunar regolith may lead to knowledge of processed materials that will be beneficial for future human exploration or colonization. However, almost 40 years after the last Apollo mission, limited infonnation is known about regions underneath the moon's surface. Future lunar missions will require hardware that possesses the ability to burrow to greater depths in order to collect samples for subsequent analysis. During the summer of 2010, a team (Dr. Jessica Gaskin, Michael Kuhlman. Blaze Sanders, and Lafe Zabowski) from the NASA Robotics Academy at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) was given the task of designing a robot to function as a soil collection and analysis device. Working with the National Space Science and Technology Center (NSSTC), the team was able to propose an initial design, build a prototype, and test the various subsystems of the prototype to be known as the "Lunar Wormbot" (LW). The NASA/NSSTC team then transferred the project to a University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) senior design class for further development. The UAH team was to utilize the NASA Systems Engineering Engine Design Process in the continuance of the Lunar Wormbot project. This process was implemented in order to coordinate the efforts of the team and guide the design of the project to ensure a high quality product that met requirements within the academic year timeframe. When the transition from the NASA NSSTC team to the UAH team occurred in August 2010, the scope and requirements were provided to the UAH team. The main objective for the UAH team was to design and fabricate a robotic burrowing prototype using peristaltic or earthworm-like motion with the purpose of collecting soil samples. The team was tasked with the design of a sub-system of the LW called the locomotive, or active, segment. Through the design process, the team extensively reviewed the requirements and functions to be performed of the LW, which led to the proposal of a final design. The present paper provides the details of the development of the design up to and including the Critical Design Review (CDR) of the Lunar Wormbot. This document briefly describes thc overall system and its function but primarily focuses on the design and implementation of the locomotive segment. Content presented includes: general design and system functionality, technical drawings, system analysis, manufacturing methods, and general project costs.

Boyles, Charles↗
NASA NTRS2007

CanSat Competition: Contributing to the Development of NASA's Vision for Robotic Space Exploration

CanSat is an international student design-build-launch competition organized by the American Astronautical Society (AAS) and American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). The competition is also sponsored by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The CanSat competition is designed for college, university and high school students wanting to participate in an applicable space-related competition. The objective of the CanSat competition is to complete space exploration missions by designing a specific system for a small sounding rocket payload which will follow and perform to a specific set of rules and guidelines for each year's competition. The competition encompasses a complete life-cycle of one year which includes all phases of design, integration, testing, judging and competition. The mission guidelines are based from space exploration missions and include bonus requirement options which teams may choose to participate in. The fundamental goal of the competition is to educate future engineers and scientists. This is accomplished by students applying systems engineering practices to a development project that incorporates an end-to-end life cycle, from requirements analysis, through preliminary design, integration and testing, an actual flight of the CanSat, and concluding with a post-mission debrief. This is done specifically with space related missions to bring a unique aspect of engineering and design to the competition. The competition has been progressing since its creation in 2005. The competition was originally meant to purely convey the engineering and design process to its participants, but through many experiences the competition has also undergone a learning experience with respect to systems engineering process and design. According

Berman, Joshua↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ten questions concerning agent-based modeling of occupant behavior for energy and environmental performance of buildings

We report the complexity of occupant behavior is one of the major contributors to uncertainty in building performance simulation. Agent-based modeling (ABM), a computational simulation technique, has gained attention in the occupant modeling field due to its capability and flexibility to capture the heterogeneity and dynamics of human behavior and the emergent effects. While multiple efforts in the past decade have demonstrated the usefulness of the ABM approach for simulating occupants and their impacts on building performance, several crucial matters in the ABM research still remain unexplored. This paper presents ten questions that highlight the most important issues regarding ABM research and applications for occupant behavior in the context of building performance simulation. The questions and answers aim to provide insights into current and future ABM research, and more importantly to inspire new significant questions from young researchers in the field. This research is part of the IEA EBC Annex 79 project, occupant-centric building design and operation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
NASA NTRS2003

Acoustic Treatment Design Scaling Methods

The ability to design, build and test miniaturized acoustic treatment panels on scale model fan rigs representative of full scale engines provides not only cost-savings, but also an opportunity to optimize the treatment by allowing multiple tests. To use scale model treatment as a design tool, the impedance of the sub-scale liner must be known with confidence. This study was aimed at developing impedance measurement methods for high frequencies. A normal incidence impedance tube method that extends the upper frequency range to 25,000 Hz. without grazing flow effects was evaluated. The free field method was investigated as a potential high frequency technique. The potential of the two-microphone in-situ impedance measurement method was evaluated in the presence of grazing flow. Difficulties in achieving the high frequency goals were encountered in all methods. Results of developing a time-domain finite difference resonator impedance model indicated that a re-interpretation of the empirical fluid mechanical models used in the frequency domain model for nonlinear resistance and mass reactance may be required. A scale model treatment design that could be tested on the Universal Propulsion Simulator vehicle was proposed.

Clark, L.↗
NASA NTRS1997

The MUSES Satellite Team and Multidisciplinary System Engineering

In a unique partnership between three minority-serving institutions and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a new course sequence, including a multidisciplinary capstone design experience, is to be developed and implemented at each of the schools with the ambitious goal of designing, constructing and launching a low-orbit Earth-resources satellite. The three universities involved are North Carolina A&T State University (NCA&T), University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), and California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA). The schools form a consortium collectively known as MUSES - Minority Universities System Engineering and Satellite. Four aspects of this project make it unique: (1) Including all engineering disciplines in the capstone design course, (2) designing, building and launching an Earth-resources satellite, (3) sustaining the partnership between the three schools to achieve this goal, and (4) implementing systems engineering pedagogy at each of the three schools. This paper will describe the partnership and its goals, the first design of the satellite, the courses developed at NCA&T, and the implementation plan for the course sequence.

Chen, John C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Engineering the System and Technical Integration

Approximately 80% of the problems encountered in aerospace systems have been due to a breakdown in technical integration and/or systems engineering. One of the major challenges we face in designing, building, and operating space systems is: how is adequate integration achieved for the systems various functions, parts, and infrastructure? This Contractor Report (CR) deals with part of the problem of how we engineer the total system in order to achieve the best balanced design. We will discuss a key aspect of this question - the principle of Technical Integration and its components, along with management and decision making. The CR will first provide an introduction with a discussion of the Challenges in Space System Design and meeting the challenges. Next is an overview of Engineering the System including Technical Integration. Engineering the System is expanded to include key aspects of the Design Process, Lifecycle Considerations, etc. The basic information and figures used in this CR were presented in a NASA training program for Program and Project Managers Development (PPMD) in classes at Georgia Tech and at Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Many of the principles and illustrations are extracted from the courses we teach for MSFC.

Blair, J. C.↗
NASA NTRS2011

Composite Crew Module: Primary Structure

In January 2007, the NASA Administrator and Associate Administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate chartered the NASA Engineering and Safety Center to design, build, and test a full-scale crew module primary structure, using carbon fiber reinforced epoxy based composite materials. The overall goal of the Composite Crew Module project was to develop a team from the NASA family with hands-on experience in composite design, manufacturing, and testing in anticipation of future space exploration systems being made of composite materials. The CCM project was planned to run concurrently with the Orion project's baseline metallic design within the Constellation Program so that features could be compared and discussed without inducing risk to the overall Program. This report discusses the project management aspects of the project including team organization, decision making, independent technical reviews, and cost and schedule management approach.

Kirsch, Michael T.↗