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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 235 records · Page 13
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2012

On Evaluating Cycling and Movement of Conventional Generators for Balancing Services with Large Solar Penetration

Abstract— The increasing uncertainty caused by a higher penetration level of renewable energy points to the need for sufficient balancing services to ensure secure operation. It is thus of necessity to accurately quantify these services and evaluate the cycling and movement of conventional generators providing load following and regulation services for optimally planning and scheduling multiple resources. This paper first introduces a systematic approach to calculating load following and regulation requirements with a large amount of solar integration. Then, two methods to quantitatively determine the cycling of conventional generators are proposed, including (1) mileage and number of direction changes in balancing service and (2) ramp statistics (or half-cycle) analysis. The proposed methods are tested on the NV Energy power system model. Simulation results demonstrate a significant impact of increased solar capacity on balancing service and cycling of conventional generators. Busy hours are identified for different study scenarios with various solar penetration levels. This study provides a basis for evaluating the wear and tear of the conventional generators in the solar integration process in the Nevada power system. Index Terms—balancing requirement, conventional generator, cycling and movement, load following, regulation, renewable energy, solar integration

ok↗
DOE OSTI2015

Ant‐mediated ecosystem functions on a warmer planet: effects on soil movement, decomposition and nutrient cycling

Summary Direct and indirect consequences of global warming on ecosystem functions and processes mediated by invertebrates remain understudied but are likely to have major impacts on ecosystems in the future. Among animals, invertebrates are taxonomically diverse, responsive to temperature changes, and play major ecological roles which also respond to temperature changes. We used a mesocosm experiment to evaluate impacts of two warming treatments (+3·5 and +5 °C, set‐points) and the presence and absence of the ant Formica subsericea (a major mediator of processes in north temperate ecosystems) on decomposition rate, soil movement, soil respiration and nitrogen availability. Replicate 19‐L mesocosms were placed outdoors in lathe houses and continuously warmed for 30 days in 2011 and 85 days in 2012. Warming treatments mimicked expected temperature increases for future climates in eastern North America. In both years, the amount of soil displaced and soil respiration increased in the warming and ant presence treatments (soil movement: 73–119%; soil respiration: 37–48% relative to the control treatments without ants). Decomposition rate and nitrogen availability tended to decrease in the warmest treatments (decomposition rate: −26 to −30%; nitrate availability: −11 to −42%). Path analyses indicated that ants had significant short‐term direct and indirect effects on the studied ecosystem processes. These results suggest that ants may be moving more soil and building deeper nests to escape increasing temperatures, but warming may also influence their direct and indirect effects on soil ecosystem processes.

Del Toro, Israel↗
DOE OSTI2020

Stable isotope analysis for assessing the intercrop movement of Microplitis mediator , a larval endoparasitoid of Helicoverpa armigera

Abstract Methods to trace source habitats and movement of parasitic natural enemies in agroecosystems are limited. This study demonstrates that stable carbon isotope analysis offers a valuable new method for revealing the movement of Microplitis mediator (Haliday) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a larval endoparasitoid of Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), between C 3 and C 4 plants. Results indicate that M. mediator with δ 13 C values of lower than −22‰ originate from a C 3 plant, whereas those with δ 13 C values of higher than −19‰ develop on a C 4 plant.

Zhang, Qian↗
DOE OSTI2019

Temperature Coefficient of Movement of the Resonance Level of Iron in Pb{sub 1 – x} {sub – y}Sn{sub x}Fe{sub y}Te Alloys

The phase and elemental composition and the temperature dependences of the resistivity and Hall coefficient (temperature range 4.2 K ≤ T ≤ 300 K, magnetic fields B ≤ 0.07 T) are studied in Pb{sub 1 – x– y}Sn{sub x}Fe{sub y}Te alloys with varying matrix composition and iron-impurity concentration along single-crystal ingots synthesized by the Bridgman–Stockbarger method. The distributions of tin and iron along ingots are obtained. Anomalous temperature dependences of the Hall coefficient related to the Fermi-level pinning by the resonance level of iron located in the valence band of the alloys are found. The experimental results are analyzed within the model of transformation of the electronic structure, involving iron level movement with respect to the top of the valence band with increasing tin concentration and temperature. The temperature coefficient of the iron level movement with respect to the midgap is determined. Possible diagrams of transformation of the electronic structure with increasing temperature in alloys with the normal spectrum (0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.35) are proposed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2017

Optimizing the Four-Index Integral Transform Using Data Movement Lower Bounds Analysis

The four-index integral transform is a fundamental and computationally demanding calculation used in many computational chemistry suites such as NWChem. It transforms a four-dimensional tensor from an atomic basis to a molecular basis. This transformation is most efficiently implemented as a sequence of four tensor contractions that each contract a four-dimensional tensor with a two-dimensional transformation matrix. Differing degrees of permutation symmetry in the intermediate and final tensors in the sequence of contractions cause intermediate tensors to be much larger than the final tensor and limit the number of electronic states in the modeled systems. Loop fusion, in conjunction with tiling, can be very effective in reducing the total space requirement, as well as data movement. However, the large number of possible choices for loop fusion and tiling, and data/computation distribution across a parallel system, make it challenging to develop an optimized parallel implementation for the four-index integral transform. We develop a novel approach to address this problem, using lower bounds modeling of data movement complexity. We establish relationships between available aggregate physical memory in a parallel computer system and ineffective fusion configurations, enabling their pruning and consequent identification of effective choices and a characterization of optimality criteria. This work has resulted in the development of a significantly improved implementation of the four-index transform that enables higher performance and the ability to model larger electronic systems than the current implementation in the NWChem quantum chemistry software suite.

Rajbhandari, Samyam↗
DOE OSTI2019

HDF5 As a Vehicle for in Transit Data Movement

For in transit processing, one of the fundamental challenges is the efficient movement of data from producers to consumers. Exploiting the flexibility offered by the SENSEI generic in situ framework, we have developed a number of different in transit data transport mechanisms. In this work, we focus on the transport mechanism that leverages the HDF5 parallel I/O library, and investigate the performance characteristics of this transport mechanism. For in transit use cases at scale on HPC platforms, one might expect that an in transit data transport mechanism that uses faster layers of the storage hierarchy, such as DRAM memory, would always outperform a transport that uses slower layers of the storage hierarchy, such as an NVRAM-based persistent storage presented as a distributed file system. However, our test results show that the performance of the transport using NVRAM is competitive with the transport that uses socket-based data movement across varying levels of producer and consumer concurrency.}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Workshop on In Situ Infrastructures for Enabling Extreme-Scale Analysis and Visualization

Gu, Junmin↗
DOE OSTI2024

Lignin impairs Cel7A degradation of in vitro lignified cellulose by impeding enzyme movement and not by acting as a sink

Abstract Background Cellulose degradation by cellulases has been studied for decades due to the potential of using lignocellulosic biomass as a sustainable source of bioethanol. In plant cell walls, cellulose is bonded together and strengthened by the polyphenolic polymer, lignin. Because lignin is tightly linked to cellulose and is not digestible by cellulases, is thought to play a dominant role in limiting the efficient enzymatic degradation of plant biomass. Removal of lignin via pretreatments currently limits the cost-efficient production of ethanol from cellulose, motivating the need for a better understanding of how lignin inhibits cellulase-catalyzed degradation of lignocellulose. Work to date using bulk assays has suggested three possible inhibition mechanisms: lignin blocks access of the enzyme to cellulose, lignin impedes progress of the enzyme along cellulose, or lignin binds cellulases directly and acts as a sink. Results We used single-molecule fluorescence microscopy to investigate the nanoscale dynamics of Cel7A from Trichoderma reesei , as it binds to and moves along purified bacterial cellulose in vitro. Lignified cellulose was generated by polymerizing coniferyl alcohol onto purified bacterial cellulose, and the degree of lignin incorporation into the cellulose meshwork was analyzed by optical and electron microscopy. We found that Cel7A preferentially bound to regions of cellulose where lignin was absent, and that in regions of high lignin density, Cel7A binding was inhibited. With increasing degrees of lignification, there was a decrease in the fraction of Cel7A that moved along cellulose rather than statically binding. Furthermore, with increasing lignification, the velocity of processive Cel7A movement decreased, as did the distance that individual Cel7A molecules moved during processive runs. Conclusions In an in vitro system that mimics lignified cellulose in plant cell walls, lignin did not act as a sink to sequester Cel7A and prevent it from interacting with cellulose. Instead, lignin both blocked access of Cel7A to cellulose and impeded the processive movement of Cel7A along cellulose. This work implies that strategies for improving biofuel production efficiency should target weakening interactions between lignin and cellulose surface, and further suggest that nonspecific adsorption of Cel7A to lignin is likely not a dominant mechanism of inhibition.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Human Sensorimotor Cortex Control of Directly Measured Vocal Tract Movements during Vowel Production

During speech production, we make vocal tract movements with remarkable precision and speed. Our understanding of how the human brain achieves such proficient control is limited, in part due to the challenge of simultaneously acquiring high-resolution neural recordings and detailed vocal tract measurements. To overcome this challenge, we combined ultrasound and video monitoring of the supralaryngeal articulators (lips, jaw, and tongue) with electrocorticographic recordings from the cortical surface of 4 subjects (3 female, 1 male) to investigate how neural activity in the ventral sensory-motor cortex (vSMC) relates to measured articulator movement kinematics (position, speed, velocity, acceleration) during the production of English vowels. We found that high-gamma activity at many individual vSMC electrodes strongly encoded the kinematics of one or more articulators, but less so for vowel formants and vowel identity. Neural population decoding methods further revealed the structure of kinematic features that distinguish vowels. Encoding of articulator kinematics was sparsely distributed across time and primarily occurred during the time of vowel onset and offset. In contrast, encoding was low during the steady-state portion of the vowel, despite sustained neural activity at some electrodes. Significant representations were found for all kinematic parameters, but speed was the most robust. These findings enabled by direct vocal tract monitoring demonstrate novel insights into the representation of articulatory kinematic parameters encoded in the vSMC during speech production.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Devising a framework to Couple Electromagnetic Geophysical Measurements with Reservoir Simulations to Monitor CO2 Plume Movement

Monitoring CO2 plume movement and extent is critical to any CO2 utilization and storage (CCUS) project but can present significant challenges. Downhole measurements (such as cross-well seismic) can give the resolution needed to track the CO2 plume. That resolution comes at a significant expense in equipment and lost production time, and the resolution is only in the vicinity of that well. Surface seismic is less expensive but has decreasing resolution with depth and may not be sensitive to changes in the CO2 plume. Conversely, electrical conductivity has been shown to be correlated with changes in phase saturation associated with CCUS operations. A novel approach for subsurface monitoring that can be applied with minimal expense and operation disruption is charged wellbore casing controlled-source electromagnetics (CWC-CSEM). This technique injects electrical current into two legacy wells. Surface measurements of the induced electric and magnetic fields are obtained with distributed data loggers. Time-lapse measurements are sensitive to changes in CO2 plume movement, but inversion requires the application of prior knowledge from prior characterization efforts. We propose a methodology where simulations are used to inform CWC-CSEM inversion while simultaneously being validated. As such, uncertainty is reduced, and more robust flow models can be devised. A three-year study is underway at the Bell Creek Field in southeast Montana (DOE-NETL Project DE-FE0028320) to evaluate the effectiveness of CWC-CSEM on an active CO2-EOR operation. Determining the relationship between electrical resistivity and phase saturations, and coupling that to a reservoir model is the thrust of this project. Initially, the relative permeability/capillary pressure relationship and the compositional oil model were identified as model parameters with high uncertainty. To elucidate the impact of these uncertain parameters, simulations were run for ten years with a single five-spot pattern. Final water saturation distributions were converted into resistivity using Archie’s Law and available fluid sampling data to provide an exploration of the time lapse electromagnetic anomaly which can be anticipated using CWC-CSEM methods. This technique has promise as an inexpensive and accurate way to monitor CO2 injection in a CCUS site.

Moodie, Nathan↗
DOE OSTI2025

Acoustic Emissions Sensing for Tracing Carbon Dioxide Movement in Caprock of a Carbon Capture Utilizations and Storage System (CCUS) (Final Technical Report)

The overall objective of this research project was to develop a non-invasive acoustic-emission (AE)-based technology that can accurately predict the location and movement of CO 2 through a confining layer in a carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) system. Specifically, the aim was to explore the feasibility of using the Haines jumps AEs as a passive method to track movement of CO 2 in reservoirs used for CCUS applications.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating Movement Patterns of the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd on Hanford for Calendar Years 2019-2024

Biologists first documented elk on the Hanford Site in 1972; since then, the elk herd known as the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd (RHEH) has grown substantially (PNNL-13331, Population Characteristics and Seasonal Movement Patterns of the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd: Status Report 2000). Through the 1990s, the core range of the RHEH was focused on the portion of the Hanford Reach National Monument known as the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology (ALE) Reserve. More recently, larger numbers of elk have been occupying the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Hanford Field Office (HFO), formerly the DOE, Richland Operations Office managed portion- of the Hanford Site, known as central Hanford (Figure 1-1). This began with bachelor groups of bulls occupying the site intermittently, and the herd has grown to resident herds, including bulls, cows, and calves. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) established a target herd size for the RHEH of less than 350 animals to minimize damages on adjacent private agricultural lands (Washington State Elk Herd Plan–Yakima Elk Herd [WDFW 2002]). Attempts to control the RHEH population through hunting on private lands and a relocation effort during 2000 have failed to limit growth of the population toward the WDFW target, and the herd exceeds 1,600 according to recent counts (PNNL-13331; DOE/RL- 2023-20, Hanford Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2022). Although elk are present on central Hanford year-round, they continue to move between areas offsite, the ALE Reserve, and central Hanford throughout the year, and it is these movements that result in many of the elk-vehicle collisions (EVC) that occur along Hanford Site roads and on the Washington State highways bordering the site. In addition, changes in management strategies on the ALE Reserve, including recent and potential future tribal elk hunts, may alter herd behavior and result in additional animals transiting onto and off central Hanford.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout movement in a dam tailrace

Populations of Bull Trout Salvelinus confluentus and Westslope Cutthroat Trout Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi in the Pend Oreille Basin have declined, partly due to fragmentation caused by hydropower dams. This study aimed to analyze the movements and behavior of these species downstream of Albeni Falls Dam over two years to inform fishway design. Radiotracking investigations were conducted to monitor 10 adult Bull Trout and 17 adult Westslope Cutthroat Trout from September 2008 to July 2010. Macro and micro detection zones were delineated to study fine- and large-scale movements in the tailrace. Macro zones included the spillway and powerhouse tailrace areas. Micro zones were nested within macro zones to identify regions close to the dam where fishway structures could be built. Both Bull Trout and Westslope Cutthroat Trout exhibited high mobility in the dam tailrace, transitioning between macro detection zones. Seasonal variations influenced their distribution patterns. During the spring freshet migration season, both species were primarily detected at the left powerhouse micro zone. In sedentary periods (fall/winter and summer), fish actively swam throughout the tailrace, displaying search behavior. These behavior observations suggest that potential fishway entrances located near dam concrete would be effective: the area near the left powerhouse was identified as the optimal construction location. This study highlights the feasibility of designing fish passage structures to mitigate population fragmentation and support species recovery.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

Using acoustic telemetry for high-resolution sablefish movement informing potential interactions with a tidal turbine

As the MHK industry moves forward to the commercial phase, knowledge of potential environmental effects need to be documented and established. At present, the potential for fish interactions and subsequent injury or mortality are a significant concern with instream turbines. Sensors, methodologies, and analyses need to be developed to detect collision or near-miss events. These data will reduce uncertainty of the likelihood of such events and provide information to regulators to make informed decisions on permitting and possible mitigation measures if needed. Acoustic telemetry is a primary method for studying fine-scale fish movements because it can remotely track fish in three dimensions with accuracy. The Juvenile Salmon Acoustic Telemetry System (JSATS) developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has proven effective for fish passage estimates and fine-scale movement in river impoundments and near dams. Leveraging the success of previous JSATS applications and applying it to the marine environment, juvenile sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) were tagged and tracked using a fixed-position receiver array in a marine tidal channel for the first time. Applying this technology to future installations of MHK turbines will provide information on fish avoidance and evasion behavior as well as blade strike and potential injury and mortality.

Staines, Garrett J.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comparison of Motion Analysis Systems in Tracking Upper Body Movement of Myoelectric Bypass Prosthesis Users

Current literature lacks a comparative analysis of different motion capture systems for tracking upper limb (UL) movement as individuals perform standard tasks. To better understand the performance of various motion capture systems in quantifying UL movement in the prosthesis user population, this study compares joint angles derived from three systems that vary in cost and motion capture mechanisms: a marker-based system (Vicon), an inertial measurement unit system (Xsens), and a markerless system (Kinect). Ten healthy participants (5F/5M; 29.6 ± 7.1 years) were trained with a TouchBionic i-Limb Ultra myoelectric terminal device mounted on a bypass prosthetic device. Participants were simultaneously recorded with all systems as they performed standardized tasks. Root mean square error and bias values for degrees of freedom in the right elbow, shoulder, neck, and torso were calculated. The IMU system yielded more accurate kinematics for shoulder, neck, and torso angles while the markerless system performed better for the elbow angles. By evaluating the ability of each system to capture kinematic changes of simulated upper limb prosthesis users during a variety of standardized tasks, this study provides insight into the advantages and limitations of using different motion capture technologies for upper limb functional assessment.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS1971

A stochastic model for eye movements during fixation on a stationary target.

A stochastic model describing small eye movements occurring during steady fixation on a stationary target is presented. Based on eye movement data for steady gaze, the model has a hierarchical structure; the principal level represents the random motion of the image point within a local area of fixation, while the higher level mimics the jump processes involved in transitions from one local area to another. Target image motion within a local area is described by a Langevin-like stochastic differential equation taking into consideration the microsaccadic jumps pictured as being due to point processes and the high frequency muscle tremor, represented as a white noise. The transform of the probability density function for local area motion is obtained, leading to explicit expressions for their means and moments. Evaluation of these moments based on the model is comparable with experimental results.

Vasudevan, R.↗
NASA NTRS1973

Pupil movements to light and accommodative stimulation - A comparative study.

Isolation and definition of specific response components in pupil reflexes through comparison of the dynamic features of light-induced and accommodation-induced pupil movements. A quantitative analysis of the behavior of the complex nonlinear pupil responses reveals the presence of two independent nonlinear characteristics: a range-dependent gain and a direction dependence or movement asymmetry. These nonlinear properties are attributed to motor processes because they are observable in pupil responses to both light and accommodation stimuli. The possible mechanisms and consequences of these pupil response characteristics are quantitatively defined and discussed.

Semmlow, J.↗