Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Engineering Model”

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 343 records · Page 19

An Efficient Three-Dimensional CFD-Based Numerical Wave Tank for a Wave Energy Converter in Extreme Irregular Waves

A numerical wave tank approach for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modelling of an extreme irregular seastate is presented. The technique couples a potential flow solution with a CFD solver for more efficient numerical predictions. This method has recently become attractive both for the research community and the industry working with offshore structures. The model is used to determine the response of a submerged pressure differential wave energy converter (WEC) in a fully nonlinear irregular wave condition using the high-fidelity CFD code, STAR-CCM+. Potential flow based numerical models are commonly used to predict motions and performance of wave energy converters. Wave kinematics can deviate from potential flow predictions for extreme wave conditions; the excitation loads on an absorber can also be increasingly influenced by viscous effects, not predicted by potential flow engineering level models. In these extreme conditions, a Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD model can better predict motions and loads for a WEC. Long time series with varying random seed numbers can be used to identify singular extreme wave events from a stochastic irregular sea state. This approach simulates a more realistic wave series for a given sea state than a regular wave or a focused wave. However, it is computationally infeasible to run these long time series for three-dimensional (3D) CFD simulations. In this work, two-dimensional (2D) CFD simulations with a long domain allow the full development of an extreme nonlinear wave condition. The results are used to identify extreme events from a 50-year storm condition for the PacWave site off the coast of Oregon. A relatively short time window including this extreme event is then mapped to a 3D simulation using a user defined wave methodology. Convergence studies for domain length, wave forcing lengths, and time before the extreme event were conducted.

CFD↗

Real Fuel Modeling for Gasoline Compression Ignition Engine

Increasing regulatory demand for efficiency has led to development of novel combustion modes such as HCCI, GCI and RCCI for gasoline light duty engines. In order to realize HCCI as a compression ignition combustion mode system, in-cylinder compression temperatures must be elevated to reach the autoignition point of the premixed fuel/air mixture. This should be co-optimized with appropriate fuel formulations that can autoignite at such temperatures. CFD combustion modeling is used to model the auto ignition of gasoline fuel under compression ignition conditions. Using the fully detailed fuel mechanism consisting of thousands of components in the CFD simulations is computationally expensive. To overcome this challenge, the real fuel is represented by few major components of create a surrogate fuel mechanism. In this study, 9 variations of gasoline fuel sets were chosen as candidates to run in HCCI combustion mode. A study detailing the development of the gasoline real fuel model was performed and various surrogates for gasoline fuel were investigated. The gasoline real fuel model will be used in subsequent CFD modelling activities for the development of an advanced mixed mode combustion system as part of the Department of Energy funded project DE-EE0008478.

Gasoline Compression Ignition, real fuel modeling,↗

Gaussian FLOWERS: Wind-rose-based analytical integration of Gaussian wake model for extremely fast AEP estimation

A major cost in the study of wind farm layout optimization is the repeated evaluation of the annual energy production (AEP). The current approach to estimating AEP requires a large set of flow simulations to be performed that cover each discrete wind speed and direction combination contained within the wind rose, followed by a probability-weighted sum of the power production resulting from each simulation. Even with inexpensive engineering wake models, this numerical integration scheme can lead to high computational costs. In this paper, we derive an analytical formulation for estimating farm AEP across every wind direction, based on a Gaussian wake velocity model, which reduces the number of wind farm simulations to a single function evaluation. As a result, we find that the Gaussian-FLOWERS approach reduces the time for AEP calculations by more than two orders of magnitude with a small trade-off in accuracy when compared to a conventional approach. This massive reduction in computation cost is useful to reduce overall costs in wind farm layout optimization studies.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Graph network heterogeneity predicts interplant wake losses

Wind plants generate large-scale wakes, which can affect the performance of neighboring installations. Such wakes are challenging to estimate due to the inherent complexity in modeling wake interactions between large quantities of turbines at various distances. Weighted directed graph networks can inform complex models by linking turbine pairs into chains of upstream and downstream neighbors for a given wind direction. A novel interpretation of the graph network adjacency matrix is proposed where each element of the matrix represents the cumulative impact of upstream turbines on an individual. In this study, wake losses were estimated with an engineering wake model across a range of inflow conditions for nine parametric variations of a system containing two neighboring wind plants. The parametric nature of the study isolates turbine spacing within the plant, separation distance between plants, and wind direction as the main drivers of wake losses. Spatial heterogeneity is computed from the weighted average adjacency matrix of each plant arrangement. The proposed method is orders of magnitude faster than wake modeling and does not require detailed turbine information or atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, the weighted average adjacency matrix provides insight on the spatial organization of wake losses at various scales. Plant heterogeneity is correlated with wake losses within and among plants. Framing wind plant wake interaction in terms of graph network spatial heterogeneity provides an efficient approach for predicting wake losses within and among neighboring wind plants with applications to other complex systems where wake interactions are key factor.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Integrated Molten Salt Reactor Modeling Capabilities in NEAMS Thermal Hydraulics Tools

The DOE neams program supports a full range of computational thermal fluids analysis capabilities and code developments for a broad range of advanced reactor concepts. The research and development approach under the thermal fluids technical area synergistically combines three length and time scales in a hierarchical multi-scale approach. To enable multi-scale thermal fluids capability using these codes, a key joint effort has been underway to develop an integrated system- and engineering-scale thermal fluids analysis capability, through integration of SAM and Pronghorn codes, both based on the MOOSE framework. This report summarizes recent advances in developing an integrated system- and engineering-scale modeling capability for the msr concept, which has gained significant interest in recent years. A consistent framework was established by coupling Pronghorn and SAM through the Saline interface, with thermophysical properties provided by the Molten Salt Thermal Property Database (MSTDB-TP). Further improvements were made to the coupling schemes and domain-overlapping strategies, enhancing the stability and robustness of multi-code simulations. Verification and validation efforts demonstrate the accuracy of this integration across a range of benchmark problems, including one-dimensional heated pipe flows, three-dimensional natural convection loops with evolving isotopic compositions, and \gls{msre} demonstration cases. Within Pronghorn, new capabilities were introduced to model corrosion and noble-metal plating phenomena, supported by an extended thermal-hydraulics framework and refined turbulence treatments. To capture two-phase flow behavior, a multiphase Euler–Euler model was implemented in Pronghorn, including advanced closure relations, high-resolution advection techniques, and capillary force reconstruction. Preliminary verification cases confirm the fidelity of the approach, while planned validation efforts target canonical multiphase benchmarks and application to msr components such as the msre pump bowl. Finally, updates to SAM’s msr mass transfer modeling were extended to consider noble gas migration into porous structures like graphite. The point kinetics model was updated to include reactivity feedback contributions from any defined species, such as xenon. The gas transport model was expanded for applicability to gas mixtures, bubble efflux phenomena, and species transport between liquid and gas phases. A selection of multi-scale Sherwood number correlations from MOSCATO/NekRS and multi-phase correlations from literature have been added for improved accuracy in calculating mass transfer coefficients. A companion effort on developing system-level redox corrosion has also been incorporated into SAM. Collectively, these enhancements strengthen the predictive capability of SAM and Pronghorn for simulating MSR thermal-hydraulics, corrosion, multiphase behavior, and fission-product transport, providing a more complete toolset for design, safety analysis, and licensing support of next-generation \gls{msr}s.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

Reinforcement Learning for Intentional Islanding in Resilient Power Transmission Systems

Intentional islanding is the process of identifying and deliberately decomposing the transmission network to form self-sustained islands from an endangered network during disruptions to improve resilience and security. Most existing intentional islanding models are offline resilience decision tools and hence do not provide outage responses in a timely manner. In this paper, a reinforcement learning (RL) based model for intentional islanding is developed, which offers real-time switching control, online deployability, and adaptability to varying system conditions. The intentional islanding process is formulated as a Markov decision process, where the optimal transmission switching policy is learned using the RL approach. The control policy is learned over an environment that encompasses a Power System Simulator for Engineering (PSS/E) model of the transmission network, facilitated by an interface to the standard openAI Gym framework. The proposed RL-based methodology aims to form stable and self-sustainable islands by ensuring voltage stability while reducing the power mismatch in the formed islands. A proximal policy optimization algorithm is designed, which is suitable for controlling the on/off status of the switches with multi-layer perceptron as value and actor networks. The effectiveness of the proposed framework in the self-recovery of the grid by island formation is applied on the modified IEEE 39-bus test network and validated by dynamic simulations.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Skeletal model reduction with forced optimally time dependent modes

Skeletal model reduction based on local sensitivity analysis of time dependent systems is presented in which sensitivities are modeled by forced optimally time dependent (f-OTD) modes. The f-OTD factorizes the sensitivity coefficient matrix into a compressed format as the product of two skinny matrices, i.e. f-OTD modes and f-OTD coefficients. The modes create a low-dimensional, time dependent, orthonormal basis which capture the directions of the phase space associated with most dominant sensitivities. These directions highlight the instantaneous active species, and reaction paths. Evolution equations for the f-OTD modes and coefficients are derived, and the implementation of f-OTD for skeletal reduction is described. For demonstration, skeletal reduction is conducted of the constant pressure ethylene-air burning in a zero-dimensional reactor, and new reduced models are generated. The laminar flame speed, the ignition delay, and the extinction curve as predicted by the models are compared against some existing skeletal models in literature for the same detailed model. Finally, the results demonstrate the capability of f-OTD to eliminate unimportant reactions and species in a systematic, efficient and accurate manner.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Machine learning analysis of RB-TnSeq fitness data predicts functional gene modules in Pseudomonas putida KT2440

ABSTRACT There is growing interest in engineering Pseudomonas putida KT2440 as a microbial chassis for the conversion of renewable and waste-based feedstocks, and metabolic engineering of P. putida relies on the understanding of the functional relationships between genes. In this work, independent component analysis (ICA) was applied to a compendium of existing fitness data from randomly barcoded transposon insertion sequencing (RB-TnSeq) of P. putida KT2440 grown in 179 unique experimental conditions. ICA identified 84 independent groups of genes, which we call fModules (“functional modules”), where gene members displayed shared functional influence in a specific cellular process. This machine learning-based approach both successfully recapitulated previously characterized functional relationships and established hitherto unknown associations between genes. Selected gene members from fModules for hydroxycinnamate metabolism and stress resistance, acetyl coenzyme A assimilation, and nitrogen metabolism were validated with engineered mutants of P. putida . Additionally, functional gene clusters from ICA of RB-TnSeq data sets were compared with regulatory gene clusters from prior ICA of RNAseq data sets to draw connections between gene regulation and function. Because ICA profiles the functional role of several distinct gene networks simultaneously, it can reduce the time required to annotate gene function relative to manual curation of RB-TnSeq data sets. IMPORTANCE This study demonstrates a rapid, automated approach for elucidating functional modules within complex genetic networks. While Pseudomonas putida randomly barcoded transposon insertion sequencing data were used as a proof of concept, this approach is applicable to any organism with existing functional genomics data sets and may serve as a useful tool for many valuable applications, such as guiding metabolic engineering efforts in other microbes or understanding functional relationships between virulence-associated genes in pathogenic microbes. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that comparison of data obtained from independent component analysis of transcriptomics and gene fitness datasets can elucidate regulatory-functional relationships between genes, which may have utility in a variety of applications, such as metabolic modeling, strain engineering, or identification of antimicrobial drug targets.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Oxidation Behavior and Property Degradation of Nuclear Graphites

During its multidecade operation in the core of nuclear reactors, graphite components are subjected to aggressive and continuous exposure to a high field of ionizing and neutron irradiation, high temperature, and various types of present and postulated chemical attacks. High density, high crystallinity polygranular synthetic graphite is unique among other materials for its extraordinary capacity of resisting and adapting to the aggression inflicted by high temperature, high energy neutron bombardment and ionizing gamma radiation. But, as a carbonaceous material, even though of very high purity, graphite is reactive towards common oxidizing agents: oxygen, carbon dioxide, water. Safe operation of HTGRs relies, among other aspects, on engineered safeguard systems for efficient and continuous protection of graphite components against oxidation. Graphite oxidation behavior was, and continues to be, an important direction of theoretical and experimental research, engineering analyses, models and simulations, and design and safety regulations. The avalanche of publications, reports, experimental data, computer codes, and regulatory documents related to oxidation behavior of nuclear graphite is now accelerating to new levels, prompted by the increased interest for nuclear energy as a clean, carbon-free energy source. Even though public’s perception of nuclear energy advantages may still be influenced by the memories of past accidents of nuclear reactors from generations II and III, the community of informed scientists and engineers, regulators and statemen knows that generation IV of nuclear reactors is designed at very high safety standards, doubled by great advances of scientific knowledge and technological progress. One of routes of these recent advances is directed at better understanding of graphite oxidation behavior, its relationship with graphite manufacturing and microstructural properties, along with the effects of various environmental factors and process variables. Together, the recent progress in manufacturing, properties characterization, and modeling of intricated physical and chemical processes that concur to the oxidation behavior led to development of powerful simulation codes able to analyze various scenarios of normal operation and hypothetical off-normal events, and thus to clearly specify the allowable parameters envelopes for the designers, constructors, and operators of current and future modular HTGRs. This review begins with an introduction on manufacturing methods, structure, and properties of nuclear graphite, including basic requirements that this specialty graphite type must satisfy for nuclear use. It continues with a chapter on environmental effects on nuclear graphite, where emphasis is placed less on irradiation and much more on oxidation phenomena, their safety implications, and the basic traits of chronic and acute oxidation by air (oxygen) and water (humidity, steam). Particular attention is placed on the three graphite grades of interest for this document (IG-110, NBG-18, PCEA). A chapter on properties degradation induced by oxidation follows, with focus on density, dimensional, and mechanical properties changes. The next chapter is intended as a brief review of various approaches used for modeling of graphite oxidation behavior. It summarizes the progress of oxidation models, from the early attempts to complex computational approaches interfaced with specialized computer codes designed for nuclear reactor simulations. Last, a list is presented of knowledge gaps where more research is needed. A short summary concludes the review.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

A Power Application Developer’s Guide to the Common Information Model: An Introduction for Power Systems Engineers and Application Developers – CIM17v40

A key issue in creating the next generation of energy management system (EMS) and advanced distribution management system (ADMS) platforms will be the ability to represent and exchange power system network model data in a consistent manner. To this end, the Common Information Model (CIM) stands out as the only standardized vocabulary (or ontology) for defining power system network models and asset data in a comprehensive, consistent manner across the generation-transmission-distribution boundary. The CIM is freely available to use and extend. The CIM is maintained by the UCAiug (informally known as the CIM User’s Group) under an Apache 2.0 license. The CIM Users Group collaborates with the IEC and other standards communities for the development of technical and informative specifications. Although portions of the information model are referred to by the corresponding IEC standards naming, it is not necessary to purchase any of the IEC standards to use the CIM information model. This document provides a roadmap for power system engineers and application developers not familiar with semantic modeling to start using the CIM for modeling, simulation, optimization, and development of advanced power applications. The key classes needed for defining power system topology and equipment are explained systematically. Key focus areas include modeling of lines, transformers, generators, switching equipment, loads, and distributed energy resources (DERs).

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

NEAMS-Multiphysics Technical Assistance in FY21

The Multiphysics Object Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) [1] is a massively parallel finite-element/volume package for multiphysics simulation in science and engineering. The package focuses on providing rapid-development capabilities for engineering applications by leveraging well-built features from libMesh [2] and the Portable Extensible Toolkit for Scientific Computation (PETSc) [3]. Fiscal year 2021 (FY-21) was the first year with funding dedicated to supporting MOOSE-derived applications relevant to the Nuclear Engineering Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program. In this report we outline the work done to support NEAMS applications such as BISON, Griffin, Pronghorn, and System Analysis Module (SAM).

42 ENGINEERING↗

Qualitative trend analysis based on a mixed-integer representation

Shape constrained spline fitting is a useful method to impose prior knowledge onto flexible semi-parametric models during parameter estimation. Most typically, the function shape is imposed through order restrictions on the regression coefficients. The intended shape is considered known or selected based on heuristic rules. In this study, we present a method to estimate the optimal set of order restrictions to segment a univariate data series into episodes with distinct shapes. This is also known as the qualitative trend analysis (QTA) problem. The obtained solution uses a trade-off between lack-of-fit and model complexity. Further, our practical implementation takes inspiration from the generalized order restricted information criterion (GORIC) for inequality-constrained model selection. From this, one learns (a) that QTA can be formulated as a mixed-integer quadratic program (MIQP) and (b) that the newly proposed mixed order restricted information criterion (MORIC) enables optimal segmentation. This is illustrated through didactic case studies.

42 ENGINEERING↗

A generalized machine learning workflow to visualize mechanical discontinuity

Accurate detection and mapping of mechanical discontinuity in materials has widespread industrial and research applications. Herein, we developed a generalized machine-learning framework for visualizing single mechanical discontinuity embedded in material of any composition, velocity, density, porosity, and size with limited data. The proposed visualization of discontinuity requires accurate estimations of the length, location, and orientation of the embedded discontinuity by processing multipoint wave-transmission measurements. k-Wave simulator is used to create a large dataset of elastic waveforms recorded during multi-point wave-transmission measurements through materials containing single mechanical discontinuity. k-Wave simulator considers the wave attenuation, dispersion, and mode conversion in wave motion. Discrete wavelet transform (DWT) and statistical feature extraction are essential for data preprocessing prior to the data-driven model development. DWT also minimizes the effect of noise. Using hyper-parameter tuning and cross validation, gradient boosting regression can visualize the mechanical discontinuity with an accuracy of 0.85, in terms of coefficient of determination. A double-layered neural network-based regression has better performance with an accuracy of 0.95. Use of convolutional neural network converts the predictive task from a waveform processing to an image processing problem. Convolutional neural network achieved a generalization performance of 0.91. The proposed generalized workflow requires robust simulation of wave propagation, signal processing, feature engineering, and model evaluation. Sensors closest to the source and those located opposite the source are the most significant for the desired visualization. Notably, the sensors closest to the source capture the non-linear associations, whereas the sensor on the border opposite to the source capture the linear associations between the measured waveforms and the properties of the mechanical discontinuity.

42 ENGINEERING↗

System Engineers and Decisions: It?s All about Knowledge

In order to guarantee that a system meets adequate levels of reliability and availability, system performances are continuously monitored and analyzed thanks to the technological advancements driving the Industry 4.0 revolution. An Industry 4.0 approach is typically based on advanced statistical, big data mining, machine learning, and internet-of-things methods designed to detect anomalies in the behavior of system, detect the most likely failure modes, and provide indications to system engineers on when maintenance activities should be performed before system performance are deemed unacceptable (which can be generated by diagnostic and prognostic methods). However, these analyses, which are designed to automatize and increase the efficacy of the system maintenance program, require large amount of data which can come in various forms: numeric, textual, images, sounds etc. Such data constitutes the historic knowledge benchmark to track system performances and support system engineer decisions. Here we claim that data is not sufficient to support this kind of analyses when applied to systems characterized by complex architectures and behaviors. Robust system engineer decisions require the ability to understand the system operational context that lies behind the observed data elements. In this respect, system models are in fact necessary to “put data in context” and capture relationships between data elements. Industry 4.0 methods require in fact contextual knowledge as a basis upon which hypotheses can be generated and assumptions tested. In our view, for complex systems, model-based system engineering (MBSE) models can afford this contextual knowledge, as they are typically used to describe systems architecture and dynamic behaviors. System knowledge is here intended as the blending of collected data and system architecture which takes the form of a “knowledge graph”. A knowledge graph is a database which consists of a large set of nodes (in our case an entity can be either a data or an MBSE element) which are linked to each other. The types of nodes and links follow a pre-defined topology, sometimes also refers as an ontology, that is designed to fit the actual decisions that needs to be performed. We show here how a knowledge graph can be defined to support system engineer maintenance decisions and how the same graph can be built based on system MBSE models and pre-processed data from numeric (through anomaly detections and diagnostic methods) and textual elements (through technical language processing TLP).

97 - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Simulating Thermoelectric Devices Using the MOOSE Framework

Thermoelectric generators (TEG) are devices that generate energy by converting heat into electricity or provide cooling via the Peltier effect. This feature of thermoelectric devices originates from the Seebeck, Peltier, Thomson, and Joule heating effects. TEGs can be applied in energy and thermal management systems such as waste heat recovery and refrigeration, respectively. Thermoelectric device design is influenced by the material selection and the device's geometry operating conditions. Therefore, predicting, verifying, and validating thermoelectric device performance using simulations tools is essential to deploying thermoelectric devices in industry. The Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) Framework is an open-source simulation tool capable of modeling simple to complex systems. In this work, we demonstrate MOOSE's thermoelectric device modeling capabilities by simulating a unicouple, module, and exhaust gas recovery system. The Seebeck, Peltier, Thomson, and Joule heating physics are implemented into MOOSE. The MOOSE thermoelectric physics were thoroughly verified and validated using published COMSOL® results and experimental data. In addition, thermoelectric modules were integrated into an exhaust gas recovery system using the MOOSE MultiApp function as a demonstration of the model's ability. The verification and validation results and exhaust gas heat recovery system showcases MOOSE's capability to model thermoelectric devices and integrate these devices into practical energy systems.

42 - ENGINEERING↗

Real-Twin

Real-Twin is a unified, model-agnostic scenario generation tool designed to streamline and standardize the evaluation of emerging mobility technologies. It provides an end-to-end framework that includes robust workflows, integrated tools, and comprehensive metrics to generate, calibrate, and benchmark microscopic traffic simulation scenarios across multiple platforms. Key Features of Real-Twin include: - Unified Scenario Generation: generate transferable, simulation-ready scenarios from heterogeneous data sources using a consistent workflow. - Automated Calibration Workflow: bridges simulation and real-world data, minimizing manual effort and making traffic simulation more accessible to researchers and engineers. - Model-Agnostic Compatibility: supports SUMO, VISSIM, and AIMSUN for cross-platform scenario generation and benchmarking. Enables reliable comparisons and reproducibility across different simulation tools. - Consistent Scenarios across Different Simulators: generate comparable simulation scenarios across different microscopic traffic simulators, providing users the ability to conduct benchmarking and cross-validation that are crucial for ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of simulation results. - Emerging Technology Support: includes a scenario database and pipeline for studying autonomous vehicles (AVs), with planned extensions to CAVs, EVs, and other advanced technologies.

Wang, Chieh (Ross) [Oak Ridge National Laboratory ↗

Detailed simulations of the first deuterium-tritium-filled double shell implosions on the National Ignition Facility

The first indirectly driven, liquid DT-filled double shell inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions have recently been successfully performed on the National Ignition Facility (NIF). Double shells are a class of alternative designs that use a low-Z outer shell to compress a foam cushion that accelerates a high-Z inner shell to efficiently compress a liquid DT core. Double shells are challenging to fabricate, field, and model. Important engineering features enabling double shell fabrication include a fill-tube penetrating all shells and a carefully designed and very narrow (few μm) step-joint in the ablator. Due to the higher density materials involved, high Atwood number instabilities are also important at many material interfaces. In this paper, numerical simulations of double shell implosions using the Los Alamos National Laboratory multi-physics radiation-hydrodynamics code xRAGE will be discussed. An extensive effort has been under way for several years to develop the code capabilities for ICF simulations in a common modeling framework to allow ease of simulation setup and standardization of the computational methodology. This paper will present a wide range of simulation results capturing, quantifying, and comparing the impact of all these degradation mechanisms on implosion performance. Brief comparisons with recent experimental results and suggestions for future improvements will also be discussed. Our results suggest that capsule surface roughness and the step-joint gap have the largest impact on implosion performance. Initial experimental data may suggest that the sensitivity to the step-joint gap could provide the dominant explanation for DT-filled double shell experiments that have been fielded on NIF thus far.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗