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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 325 records · Page 18

A Multi-variable, Multi-value Hydrodynamic Modeling Approach to Support Marine Energy and Coastal Resilience Applications

Funded by the Marine Energy Seedling Laboratory Program, the study reported on here aimed to develop a multi-variable, multi-value hydrodynamic modeling approach based on the Finite-Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM) to support a wide range of marine renewable energy and coastal resilience applications. We migrated the marine hydrokinetic energy module to simulate tidal energy extraction by tidal turbines under wave-current interactions. We explored the particle tracking module in FVCOM and applied it to Sequim Bay, Washington, to illustrate the surface current field and mimic the pollutant transport near the surface. A tracer-water age module was added to FVCOM to examine water exchange through the entrance. Lastly, a user-specified vertical coordinate option was added to FVCOM to improve simulation of the effect of floating turbines on surface currents and scalar transport. The above-described model development has been tested using a simplified model domain and demonstrated in real-world coastal systems. The outcome of this project will provide a useful modeling code and approach for marine renewable energy and coastal resilience research and applications.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Quantum Simulation for High-Energy Physics

It is for the first time that quantum simulation for high-energy physics (HEP) is studied in the U.S. decadal particle-physics community planning, and in fact until recently, this was not considered a mainstream topic in the community. This fact speaks of a remarkable rate of growth of this subfield over the past few years, stimulated by the impressive advancements in quantum information sciences (QIS) and associated technologies over the past decade, and the significant investment in this area by the government and private sectors in the U.S. and other countries. High-energy physicists have quickly identified problems of importance to our understanding of nature at the most fundamental level, from tiniest distances to cosmological extents, that are intractable with classical computers but may benefit from quantum advantage. They have initiated, and continue to carry out, a vigorous program in theory, algorithm, and hardware co-design for simulations of relevance to the HEP mission. This Roadmap is an attempt to bring this exciting and yet challenging area of research to the spotlight, and to elaborate on what the promises, requirements, challenges, and potential solutions are over the next decade and beyond.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Interactive Mesh Generation and Comparison Tools for Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling & Simulation Phase I. Final Report

The promise of computer simulations for nuclear reactor designs is the opportunity to speed up the design process while also improving safety, providing more detail and higher fidelity, reducing cost, minimizing schedule risk, and avoiding many other potential problems; because simulations have the potential to be much less expensive and time-consuming than traditional development – where scale models and physical tests require construction and long lead times – it is possible to consider more alternatives and complete more comprehensive assessments before the design is finalized and constructed. As more design scenarios are studied by simulation, the speed that simulations promise is only available as long as bottlenecks are addressed for these scenarios. A frequent bottleneck is the amount of human labor required to describe the shape of the objects being designed and decompose the shape into simple elements, such as hexahedra, that are small enough to capture the physical phenomena of interest without being so small that even fast computers cannot perform the simulation in a reasonable amount of time. Recently, techniques for creating all-hexahedral decompositions have been developed, but they require some human input. Many simulation codes prefer all-hexahedral decompositions, so we proposed to evaluate the feasibility of these techniques on nuclear reactor geometries to see whether they required too much human input to be commercially viable. Our study concluded that they can be made viable with some additional software tools to reduce the amount of user input required.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Numerical simulation of flare energy build-up and release via Joule dissipation

A new numerical MHD model is developed to study the evolution of an active region due to photospheric converging motion, which leads to magnetic-energy buildup in the form of electric current. Because this new MHD model has incorporated finite conductivity, the energy conversion occurs from magnetic mode to thermal mode through Joule dissipation. In order to test the causality relationship between the occurrence of flare and photospheric motion, a multiple-pole configuration with neutral point is used. Using these results it is found that in addition to the converging motion, the initial magnetic-field configuration and the redistribution of the magnetic flux at photospheric level enhance the possibility for the development of a flare.

Wu, S. T.↗

Issues in Bi-Directional Interoperability between BIM and BEM

The state-of-the-art interoperability between Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Building Energy Modeling (BEM) is mainly one-way. BEM software like EnergyPlus takes design input from BIM and simulates the energy consumption of the building. BIM, however, is unable to leverage energy simulation results from BEM smoothly. This lack of bi-directional interoperability between BIM and BEM prevents buildings from seeking more energy-efficient design options and limits BIM applications in optimal generative design. In this research, the authors have conducted the following activities related to two-way interoperability between BIM and BEM: (1) surveyed its current status through literature review, (2) investigated barriers to the bi-directional interoperability, and (3) suggested possible approaches to enable bi-directional interoperability and research outlook in the field. As a result, the authors have identified three main barriers to BIM BEM interoperability, namely, inefficient collaboration, limited scope in information transformation, and lack of BEM to BIM transformation. Future directions are suggested to address these barriers.

building design↗

Simulation-Based Assessment of Energy Consumption of Alternative Powertrains in Agricultural Tractors

The objectives of this research were to develop simulation models for agricultural tractors with different powertrain technologies and evaluate the energy consumption in typical agricultural operations. Simulation models were developed for conventional, parallel hybrid electric, series hybrid electric, fuel cell hybrid, and battery electric powertrains. Autonomie vehicle simulation software (version 2022) was used for the simulations and the tractor models were simulated in two tilling cycles and in a road transport cycle with a trailer. The alternative powertrains were configured to have at least the same tractive performance as the conventional, diesel engine-powered tractor model. The simulation results showed that the potential of the parallel and series hybrid powertrains to improve energy efficiency depends heavily on the tractor size and the operating cycle conditions. The fuel cell hybrid and battery electric powertrains have a higher potential to reduce energy consumption and emissions but still have inherent technical challenges for practical operation. The battery-powered electric tractor would require improvements in the storage energy density to have a comparable operational performance in comparison to other powertrains. The fuel cell hybrid tractor already provided an adequate operating performance but the availability of hydrogen and refueling infrastructure could be challenging to resolve in the farming context.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Community-Scale Energy Efficiency Assessment for Zero Net Energy Using the URBANopt Simulation Platform: Preprint

This project explored an innovative modeling approach for assessing the energy efficiency potential of the existing low-income Oceano neighborhood, in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County, and its effects on renewable generation requirements for achieving zero net energy (ZNE). One particular challenge faced was ascertaining the technical energy savings potential across a large neighborhood in a timely manner. The project overcame this challenge through the use of the URBANopt simulation platform, developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. URBANopt manages the automated model creation, simulation, and result aggregation for different design scenarios of existing or candidate buildings in a large neighborhood. Customized energy efficiency packages considered for the residential and commercial sector in the neighborhood included lighting, HVAC, plug load, water heating, envelope, and energy education measures. As a result of the analysis for the Oceano community, energy efficiency measures that are available through incentive programs may provide a 7.4% reduction in the required distributed energy resource (DER) size, corresponding to a 25,000 ft2 decrease in PV array area, to achieve ZNE. Through this work, a computational tool was developed and is being leveraged by the County of San Luis Obispo (CoSLO). The tool has enabled the CoSLO staff to perform similar analysis of the technical potential for energy efficiency, and an understanding of the DER asset requirements and potential savings in other communities within the county.

building energy modeling↗