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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 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

National Weather Service Radiosonde Evaluation Field Campaign Report

The purpose of the campaign was to perform a full evaluation of participating vendor’s radiosondes to qualify for potential use in the National Weather Service (NWS) upper air field operations. The NWS has specific requirements that vendors systems were evaluated against to determine if the vendor’s radiosonde performs within specifications. For this evaluation, the NWS was pursuing commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) ground/tracking systems in the 403 MHz frequency band over the previously used Telemetry Receiving System (TRS) and house-built software using the 1680 MHz frequency. The U.S. Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) user facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) observatory served as the warm and dry test region. The radiosondes were assessed for precision of the radiosonde (unit under test versus itself) and accuracy of the radiosonde’s humidity measurements (unit under test versus a cryogenic frostpoint hygrometer [CFH]).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2017

Southeast Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) Phase III Anthropogenic Test at Citronelle Field, Mobile Co., AL. Post-Injection Period Reservoir Modeling Report

The Southeast Carbon Sequestration Partnership (SECARB) Anthropogenic Test is a U.S. Department of Energy funded fully integrated carbon capture and storage initiative designed to demonstrate deep underground injection and containment of anthropogenic CO 2 sourced from Alabama Power’s Plant Barry. From August 20, 2012 to September 1, 2014, a total of 114,014 metric tonnes of CO 2 were transported via pipeline from Plant Barry and stored in a saline aquifer under a portion of the Citronelle Field operated by Denbury Onshore, LLC near Citronelle, Alabama. A major component of this project was to test and develop techniques to monitor, verify and account (MVA) for the CO 2 stored in the aquifer by the project. A suite of technologies were applied and developed to demonstrate non-endangerment of underground sources of drinking water (USDW’s) and to ensure that CO2 does not migrate out of intended zones within the subsurface. This involved several levels of monitoring: 1) Surface monitoring, 2) shallow groundwater monitoring, 3) deep reservoir monitoring and experimental MVA activities. Numerical models were developed to determine the project’s Area of Review (AoR) and to investigate the simulated advancement of the CO 2 plume through the subsurface aquifer for 30 years after the end of injection. An initial baseline area of review of 1,700 ft. was established. The key results demonstrating non-endangerment of USDW’s are presented.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

PV Reference Cells for Outdoor Use: An Investigation of Calibration Factors

Reference cells are widely used in the photovoltaic (PV) industry to measure irradiance. For field applications and outdoor use, a variety of products are on the market, and they are often perceived as a low-cost alternative to thermopile radiometers. But reference cell characteristics differ substantially from the latter, therefore measurements made by one category of instrument cannot be substituted for or directly compared with the other. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) Solar Radiation Research Laboratory is currently in a multiyear effort to develop guidance and recommendations for the design and use of outdoor reference cells, with a view to reducing inconsistencies and measurement uncertainty. The core of this effort is the long-term deployment of 39 units of 10 distinct types made by 6 manufacturers. This report compares the calibration factors provided by manufacturers - which most users rely upon - to those measured at a high level of accuracy by NREL's Cell Lab. It also reports on the application of the Broadband Outdoor Radiometer Calibration (BORCAL) method to reference cells. As a group, the factory calibrations for the crystalline silicon cells showed a small positive bias of +0.7%, with a tight distribution around this value. This is a very good result for the manufacturers. The two World Photovoltaic Scale cells constituted outliers, with a mean deviation of -0.8%, which is still within the reported uncertainty ranges. The data collected during the BORCAL procedures show a strong and systematic fluctuation of the apparent responsivity of the reference cells over the course of a day, which was anticipated. Consequently, the standard BORCAL R@45 calibration factors underestimated the reference cell responsivities by 1%-4%. An alternate responsivity indicator was developed, R'@30, incorporating adjustments for temperature response, spectral response, and directional response. This reduced the mean deviation to -0.4% compared to the Cell Lab. Further, two independent BORCAL sessions were able to produce the same values to within ±0.2%. This could be a viable approach for verifying reference cells using existing BORCAL infrastructure, for example, to evaluate their long-term stability. The daily profiles of responsivity obtained during the BORCAL sessions (provided in Appendix A) show clear patterns of differences between models, which provides evidence that their directional responses differ from each other; thus, two sensors that are calibrated correctly might give the same reading at 30° zenith angle but systematically different readings at 60°. The impact of these inconsistencies in field operation will be quantified using the long-term observations started in 2020.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

V31 Test Report

The V31 containment vessel was procured by the US Army Recovered Chemical Material Directorate (RCMD) as a third - generation EDS containment vessel. It is the fifth EDS vessel to be fabricated under Code Case 2564 of the 2019 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which provides rules for the design of impulsively loaded vessels. The explosive rating for the vessel, based on the code case, is twenty-four (24) pounds TNT - equivalent for up to 1092 detonations. This report documents the results of explosive tests that were performed on the vessel at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico to qualify the vessel for field operations use. There were three design basis configurations for qualification testing. Qualification test (1) consisted of a simulated M55 rocket motor and warhead assembly of 24lbs of Composition C-4 (30 lb TNT equivalent). This test was considered the maximum load case, based on modeling and simulation methods performed by Sandia prior to the vessel design phase. Qualification test (2) consisted of a regular, right circular cylinder, unitary charge, located central to the vessel interior of 19.2 lb of Composition C-4 (24 lb TNT equivalent). Qualification test (3) consisted of a 12-pack of regular, right circular cylinders of 2 lb each, distributed evenly inside the vessel (totaling 19.2 lb of C-4, or 24 lb TNT equivalent). All vessel acceptance criteria were met.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ultrasonic Characterization of Ethylene Vinyl Acetate (EVA) Crosslinking for Quality Assurance and Lamination Process Control (US-Xlink)

Module makers strive to cut lamination processing times to enhance production throughput and reduce costs. If overdone, this might lead to poor EVA quality due to incomplete EVA crosslinking and a large concentration of potentially harmful reactants. Those deficiencies are frequently missed during production quality testing as initially their impact on power output is small. Additionally, the crosslinking agent is frequently inhomogeneously dispersed across the EVA foils such that local destructive characterization procedures such as differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Soxhlet extraction, swelling methods, or mechanical tests provide only a limited amount of information. However, these defects and inhomogeneities can become considerably more important during field operation, dramatically reducing long-term power yield, and increasing LCOE. Examples of typical long-term module degradation modes relating to poor lamination process conditions include cell breakage, corrosion of the metallization, delamination, and local quality deficiencies. To provide reliable material characterization in a manufacturing setting, we devised a non-destructive technology that uses ultrasound to evaluate the quality of interface adhesion and the degree of crosslinking. As a calibration reference, DSC measurements were employed. Although the potential of ultrasonic approaches for this purpose has already been noted, those previous methods were generally limited to local qualitative measurements. Furthermore, variations in EVA thickness and temperature had a substantial impact on them. The solution we propose solves these limitations by employing ultrasonic absorption rather than relying solely on sound velocity data.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

OPALCO - Decatur Island Solar and Energy Storage Project: An Assessment of Battery Technical Performance

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is a member-owned, nonprofit cooperative utility that provides energy services to approximately 11,200 customers across 20 islands in San Juan County, Washington. OPALCO’s mostly hydroelectric power is generated by Bonneville Power Administration and delivered to the islands by submarine cables. In 2016, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, OPALCO received a $1 million matching grant to support a project that deployed a 504-kW LG community photovoltaic (PV) system in combination with a 1 MW/2 MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) on Decatur Island, Washington. The Decatur Island Substation is essential to ensuring reliable energy for the residents of the San Juan Islands as it is the point of interconnection with the mainland transmission system. The BESS, in combination with the community solar array, will deliver an innovative method to both defer the costly upgrade of the transmission system and allow for other high-value applications intended to benefit the utility and its customers. In 2018, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed a preliminary economic assessment for several identified use cases in collaboration with OPALCO. Between August 2021 and May 2022, extensive testing was conducted, and the results were used to assess the technical performance of the BESS subjected to actual field operations. Both reference performance and use case tests were performed: (a) Reference performance tests assess the general technical capabilities of the BESS, such as energy capacity, round-trip efficiency (RTE), ramp rate, and signal tracking capability. These are the first tests performed (baseline) and are repeated after use case tests (post cycle). A standardized U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage performance protocol was used to characterize the BESS, including representative duty cycle profiles, test procedure guidance, and calculation guidance for determining key characteristics. (b) Use case tests examine the performance of the BESS for specific use cases using duty cycles developed by PNNL in collaboration with OPALCO. Four use cases were selected for testing: 1) demand charge reduction, 2) load shaping, 3) outage mitigation, and 4) transmission deferral. The use case duty cycles were developed based on utility and site-specific characteristics in addition to the technical characteristics and physical capabilities of the BESS. Use case tests were performed between the baseline and post cycle tests. This report describes the BESS and its components, presents testing and performance analysis results, and shares key insights and lessons learned from this project. Outcomes of the tests and analyses will help OPALCO understand the performance of the Decatur Island BESS in its current state and design appropriate operational strategies for this and other BESSs over the long term.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Effect of CLIQ on training of HL-LHC quadrupole magnets

The high-luminosity LHC upgrade requires stronger than LHC low-beta magnets to reach the luminosity goals of the project. The project is well advanced and HL-LHC quadrupole magnets are currently being commissioned in US Labs (MQXFA magnets) and CERN (MQXFB magnets). Those are the first Nb3Sn magnets to be used in any large particle accelerator. At development stages, many Nb3Sn accelerator sub-scale models showed relatively slow training and MQXFA magnets were projected to have low tens of quenches before reaching operational field. Recently it was shown that dedicated capacitor-based devices can affect Nb3Sn magnet training, and it was suggested that CLIQ, a capacitor-based device intended for quench protection, can do too. The present paper investigates effects on training induced by CLIQ, using the base fact that only half the coils in a quadrupole experience upward current modulation because of the capacitor discharge. The study encompasses all MQXFA production magnets trained at BNL to date. No other high-statistics data from identical magnets (series) with CLIQ protection exists so far. Implications and opportunities stemming from data analysis are discussed and conclusions drawn.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Carbon Storage Core Characterization Efforts at NETL

The multi-scale Computed Tomography (CT) and core flow facility in the Geocharacterization Laboratory at NETL, Morgantown yields porosity, permeability, and fracture properties of rock core samples obtained from the subsurface while maintaining the integrity of the sample. Additionally, geophysical bulk rock properties are analyzed with the laboratory’s GeoTEK multi-sensor core logger in a comparable fashion to downhole methods. NETL researchers collaborate with stakeholders within the carbon storage, oil and gas, and critical minerals sectors. Since 2017, over 1.88 miles of core have been analyzed within the laboratory and all data is publicly available through the Technical Report Series (TRS) on the Energy Data eXchange (EDX). Additionally, the website, RokBase, was curated to extrapolate and visualize the high-resolution data from field operations. The characterization of the Lively Grove #1 (LG#1) well provides a case study into the full capabilities of the Geocharacterization Laboratory. During the comprehensive study of LG#1 ~1-2 mm in diameter, vertical to bedding, cylindrical structures were identified throughout the St. Peter Formation. These structures are pervasive throughout the St. Peter Formation at depth and are characterized as the trace fossil, Skolithos.

Isom, Shelby L↗
DOE OSTI2023

V31 Test Report

The V31 containment vessel was procured by the US Army Recovered Chemical Materiel Directorate (RCMD) as a third-generation EDS containment vessel. It is the fifth EDS vessel to be fabricated under Code Case 2564 of the 2019 ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, which provides rules for the design of impulsively loaded vessels. The explosive rating for the vessel, based on the code case, is twenty-four (24) pounds TNT-equivalent for up to 1092 detonations. This report documents the results of explosive tests that were performed on the vessel at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico to qualify the vessel for field operations use. There were three design basis configurations for qualification testing. Qualification test (1) consisted of a simulated M55 rocket motor and warhead assembly of 24lbs of Composition C-4 (30 lb TNT equivalent). This test was considered the maximum load case, based on modeling and simulation methods performed by Sandia prior to the vessel design phase. Qualification test (2) consisted of a regular, right circular cylinder, unitary charge, located central to the vessel interior of 19.2 lb of Composition C-4 (24 lb TNT equivalent). Qualification test (3) consisted of a 12-pack of regular, right circular cylinders of 2 lb each, distributed evenly inside the vessel (totaling 19.2 lb of C-4, or 24 lb TNT equivalent). All vessel acceptance criteria were met .

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Physics Coupled Machine Learning Applications for Geological Carbon Storage

Poster presented at the 17th International Conference on Greenhouse Gas Control Technologies GHGT-17 held in Calgary, Canada, October 20-24, 2024. In this poster, a physics-based method, CRM is coupled with the advanced artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML) models in virtual learning environment (VLE) for three-dimension details of reservoir responses and evaluations for a comprehensive understanding for CCS field operations and reservoir managements.

Liu, Guoxiang↗
DOE OSTI2025

Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration: Phase III (Final Scientific/Technical Report)

The Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration (SWP) is one of 7 regional partnerships formed in 2003 under the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnerships (RCSPs) initiative. The overall purpose of the initiative was to help determine and implement the technology, infrastructure, and regulations most appropriate to promote carbon storage in different regions of the country. Covering Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah, and parts of Texas, Wyoming, and Kansas, the SWP evaluated regional carbon storage and utilization potential and focused on technologies and sites that could complement the region’s strong position in energy production. The project progressed through three phases: • Phase I (2003–2005): Characterized regional geologic formations and CO 2 sources, assessed sequestration potential, and identified pilot test sites. • Phase II (2005–2013): Conducted small-scale field tests to validate sequestration methods, including geologic and terrestrial projects. • Phase III (2008–2022): Demonstrated large-scale CO 2 injection at a commercial oil field to test monitoring, verification, and long-term storage strategies. This report covers Phase III. The final project site, the Farnsworth Unit (FWU) in Texas, provided real-world testing of reservoir characterization, monitoring, and risk evaluation tools and processes that could be used in any commercial scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) project. Extensive data collection and analysis helped refine best practices for reservoir characterization, injection monitoring, and storage verification. The SWP contributed to national databases, DOE best practice manuals, and regional geological assessments to support future sequestration efforts. Key lessons learned include the importance of robust data management, strategic site selection, regulatory navigation, and effective industry collaboration. The project’s findings will inform ongoing and future carbon storage initiatives. Task 1 (Regional Characterization) • The SWP continued to participate in national outreach efforts and NATCARB. • The SWP evaluated multiple potential sites before selecting the FWU as the primary field test location. Task 2 (Public Outreach and Education) • The SWP contributed to national databases, DOE best practice manuals, and regional geological assessments to support future sequestration efforts. Task 3 (Permitting and Regulatory Compliance) • The SWP ensured compliance with federal and state regulations, including National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. • The SWP obtained all necessary permits for drilling, injection, and monitoring activities. Task 4 (Site Characterization and Planning) • The SWP developed work plans for four key activities: characterization, simulation, monitoring and verification, and risk evaluation. • The SWP collected and synthesized legacy data from multiple sources to build initial static geological models and dynamic reservoir models demonstrating project feasibility. • The SWP conducted an initial risk evaluation and developed mitigation plans. Task 5 (Field Operations and Data Collection) • The SWP drilled, logged, and cored three characterization wells to gather critical subsurface data. • The SWP conducted multiple geophysical surveys, including 3D seismic, crosswell seismic, and vertical seismic profiling, to improve reservoir characterization. Task 6 (Monitoring and Verification) • The SWP performed extensive geological characterization using data from characterization wells and seismic surveys. • The SWP established a surface monitoring network to track CO 2 flux in soil gas, groundwater chemistry, and near-surface atmospheric CO 2 levels. • The SWP built and refined reservoir models to study the effects of relative permeability on simulation behavior and improve calibration with experimental data. Task 7 (Risk Assessment and Model Refinement) • The SWP conducted multiple studies to evaluate reservoir integrity, predict CO 2 plume behavior and improve predictive modeling capabilities. • The SWP refined geological models and used them to enhance the accuracy of simulation models. • The SWP continued quantitative risk assessment of top-ranked risks and strengthened the link between qualitative and quantitative risk methodologies.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2025

TEAMER – Harvesting Subsea Water Motion to Provide Clean Electrical Power (Abstract)

Power generation from vortex induced vibration (VIV) is an emerging field with new technologies that are just beginning to be field tested. In this TEAMER project, WITT Energy will be field testing the power production of its pendulum system in two different configurations to evaluate its performance. The amount of power produced by a VIV instrument depend on the frequency at which it vibrates. The vibrational frequency is controlled by the device shape and its interaction with the flow velocity. Computer models are used to predict vibration frequencies as a function of flow velocity but they may be inaccurate due to complicated bathymetry and bottom roughness that is not captures by the models. This project will test the WITT VIV device in the Sequim Bay channel over a range of tidal velocities. Two tests will be completed with different pipe lengths that are expected to vary the vibrational frequency and therefore the power produced. PNNL will use an acoustic doppler current profiler (ADCP) to monitor the flow conditions during the tests. These tests will help WITT Energy evaluate how closely field operations follow computer model predictions and how best to configure their device for electricity production.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2020

MARTA’s (Muon Array with RPC for Tagging Air showers) DAQ system

The successful development of a low-power and standalone DAQ system to be used with RPCs is presented. These will be used to measure the muonic component of cosmic-ray’s air showers. The system includes a front-end, high voltage, detector monitoring and a Central Unit to manage the different components of the system. The front-end is based on the MAROC ASIC coupled to an FPGA respecting the strict demands of field operations in cosmic-ray experiments. Prototypes were produced and deployed, performing as expected. An engineering array will be installed at the Pierre Auger Observatory.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Generation of Data-Driven Expected Energy Models for Photovoltaic Systems

Although unique expected energy models can be generated for a given photovoltaic (PV) site, a standardized model is also needed to facilitate performance comparisons across fleets. Current standardized expected energy models for PV work well with sparse data, but they have demonstrated significant over-estimations, which impacts accurate diagnoses of field operations and maintenance issues. This research addresses this issue by using machine learning to develop a data-driven expected energy model that can more accurately generate inferences for energy production of PV systems. Irradiance and system capacity information was used from 172 sites across the United States to train a series of models using Lasso linear regression. The trained models generally perform better than the commonly used expected energy model from international standard (IEC 61724-1), with the two highest performing models ranging in model complexity from a third-order polynomial with 10 parameters (Radj2 = 0.994) to a simpler, second-order polynomial with 4 parameters (Radj2=0.993), the latter of which is subject to further evaluation. Subsequently, the trained models provide a more robust basis for identifying potential energy anomalies for operations and maintenance activities as well as informing planning-related financial assessments. We conclude with directions for future research, such as using splines to improve model continuity and better capture systems with low (≤1000 kW DC) capacity.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Unraveling the Mysteries of Turbulence Transport in a Wind Farm

A true physical understanding of the mysteries involved in the recovery process of the wake momentum deficit, downstream of utility-scale wind turbines in the atmosphere, has not been obtained to date. Field data are not acquired at sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions to dissect some of the mysteries of wake turbulence. It is here that the actuator line method has evolved to become the technology standard in the wind energy community. This work presents the actuator line method embedded into an Open source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM) large-eddy simulation solver and applies it to two small wind farms, the first one consisting of an array of two National Renewable Energy Laboratory 5 Megawatt (NREL 5-MW) turbines separated by seven rotor diameters in neutral and unstable atmospheric boundary-layer flow and the second one consisting of five NREL 5-MW wind turbines in unstable atmospheric conditions arranged in two staggered arrays of two and three turbines, respectively. Detailed statistics involving power spectral density (PSD) of turbine power along with standard deviations reveal the effects of atmospheric turbulence and its space and time scales. In conclusion, high-resolution surface data extracts provide new insight into the complex recovery process of the wake momentum deficit governed by turbulence transport phenomena.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Data generated during the 2018 LAPSE-RATE campaign: an introduction and overview

Unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) offer innovative capabilities for providing new perspectives on the atmosphere, and therefore atmospheric scientists are rapidly expanding their use, particularly for studying the planetary boundary layer. In support of this expansion, from 14 to 20 July 2018 the International Society for Atmospheric Research using Remotely piloted Aircraft (ISARRA) hosted a community flight week, dubbed the Lower Atmospheric Profiling Studies at Elevation – a Remotely-piloted Aircraft Team Experiment (LAPSE-RATE; de Boer et al., 2020a). This field campaign spanned a 1-week deployment to Colorado's San Luis Valley, involving over 100 students, scientists, engineers, pilots, and outreach coordinators. These groups conducted intensive field operations using unmanned aircraft and ground-based assets to develop comprehensive datasets spanning a variety of scientific objectives, including a total of nearly 1300 research flights totaling over 250 flight hours. This article introduces this campaign and lays the groundwork for a special issue on the LAPSE-RATE project. The remainder of the special issue provides detailed overviews of the datasets collected and the platforms used to collect them. All of the datasets covered by this special issue have been uploaded to a LAPSE-RATE community set up at the Zenodo data archive (https://zenodo.org/communities/lapse-rate/, last access: 3 December 2020).

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗