Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Disasters”

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.

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

At least 253 records · Page 14

Optimal mass evacuation planning for electric vehicles before natural disasters

The electric vehicle (EV) market has significantly expanded because EVs have lower operational costs while leaving less environmental footprint than internal combustion engine vehicles. However, EVs also come with drawbacks, including long charging time and short operational ranges. With these drawbacks and limited charging facilities, efficient long-distance EV evacuation management is challenging and has not been properly addressed. Without an efficient evacuation plan, serious congestion could happen at charging facilities, the evacuation process would be excessively long, and thus human lives may be put at risk. This study is motivated to investigate the optimal mass evacuation planning for EVs considering limited charging facilities. A three-stage method is proposed to efficiently approach this problem. A case study of Florida hurricane evacuation is conducted. Here, the method's effectiveness is verified by comparing it with a benchmark. Management insights and policy indications are drawn through sensitivity analysis of key parameters.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The Perils of Paul: Near Disasters in Airborne Radiochemical Sampling

Beginning with the Trinity test in July 1945, Laboratory radiochemists have collected debris from nuclear tests by various means. At Trinity, two United States Army Sherman tanks were used. Beginning with Operation Crossroads and continuing throughout atmospheric testing, aircraft were used to fly in and around mushroom clouds to collect debris. Paul Guthals, the LASL project leader for sampling operations, flew on many of the B-57 sampling missions. Two such missions, one flown over the Nevada Test and one in the skies near Johnston Atoll, again proved the dangers involved in collecting airborne test debris. The events of these two missions are briefly recounted.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

Coordination of Transmission, Distribution and Communication Systems for Prompt Power System Recovery after Disasters:Report – Grid and Communication Interdependency Review and Characterization of Typical Communication Systems

In this report, we first reviewed communication technologies and systems for the grid as well as their roles (impact) in restoration, aiming to fill the knowledge gap of interdependence between the physical grid and the communication system. We also proposed several key characteristics and metrics of typical communication systems based on analysis of a realistic communication system. These metrics and characteristics will be used as input for developing or generating synthetic communication systems in the next phase. Lastly, we reviewed methods of creating synthetic power system models and proposed improvements to one potential method that will be considered in the next phase of the project.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A Closed-Loop Distribution System Restoration Tool for Natural Disaster Recovery. Final CRADA report

We propose to continue the development of the restoration algorithms and the tool’s user interface, both of which have been developed under the GMLC-0131 project. This project aims to develop a distribution restoration decision support tool that will assist utilities in performing distribution restoration after extreme weather events in an optimal and efficient manner. The tool will integrate the weather information/forecasts and system fragility assessment together with the field measurement data to improve the situational awareness and estimate the system damage status. Advanced optimization models will be leveraged to dispatch repair crews and associated resources. New resources (e.g., automatic switches and distributed generators (DGs)) enabled by distribution automation and smart grid development will be utilized to reconfigure distribution grids and pick up loads promptly to reduce the outage sizes and durations. The closed-loop feature of the tool will make the tool adaptive to the evolving weather events and varying restoration capabilities. In this CRADA, we will collaborate with S&C Electric Company (S&C) to refine ANL-1060 (07/17/2019) the restoration algorithms that can be potentially applicable for any utility systems and vendor products, including: 1) Customizable information from both utility users and vendor users; 2) User interface design.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Deployable Wind-Hybrid Power Systems for Defense and Disaster Response Applications

This report presents an analysis of the performance of deployable energy systems comprised of wind energy systems integrated with diesel generators, photovoltaic systems, and battery storage to meet the load requirements of a representative U.S. Army forward operating base. The analysis is conducted using HOMER, a microgrid analysis software that can search through a wide range of parameters to design and optimize microgrid power systems. The search parameters include the system architecture, the wind and solar resources, and the availability of diesel fuel. The results of the analysis measure the relative performance of the different systems and environments in terms of the overall transportation cost to deploy the system and the ability to provide resilience in terms of meeting mission critical loads.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Lahaina Wildfire Study: Impacts of Post-Disaster Housing Programs on Maui’s Economy

In August 2023, wildfires destroyed more than 4,000 housing units in Maui County, Hawaiʻi, primarily in the town of Lahaina. One hundred and two people were killed, making it the deadliest wildfire in the United States in more than a century.1 The fire displaced 13,000 people; 5,000 found new housing without government assistance, and 8,000 applied for assistance.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Guidebook for Federal Funding Opportunities: BIL, IRA, Disaster Preparedness

The United States is making historic investments in infrastructure resilience and renewal through legislation such as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The goal of the Guidebook is to equip regulators to evaluate how federal funding opportunities might best serve ratepayer interests and state objectives.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Microgrid Disaster Resiliency Analysis: Reducing Costs in Continuity of Operations (COOP) Planning

The electric grid serves a vital role in the supply chain of nearly all industrial and commercial organizations. A Microgrid infrastructure can provide this service and beneficial non-emergency services including a variety of generation/energy sources. To demonstrate the applicability of microgrids for energy resiliency, we present a microgrid resiliency case study for United Parcel Service’s (UPS) three separate shipping facilities. The goal, to enhance energy security, minimize cost and prevent cascading losses within other related business units. The impacts and consequences of which are quantified in this study using a Mean Failure Cost (MFC) risk assessment measure. MFC accounts for the potential loses to identified stakeholders that may result from a set of identified failures due to a set of identified threats. In this case, our study uses a method we call All Hazards Econometric System (AHES). AHES incorporates the cost of COOP using a strategy that considers the payback period of microgrid installation as compared to other energy delivery strategies.

Abercrombie, Robert K.↗