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At least 37 records · Page 2

Maximum-impact Adversary Design for Network-based Control System: A Case Study on Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings

The Internet of Things (IoT) technology has dramatically improved the efficiency of today's building operation and management. By connecting controllable devices into a communication network, control signals can be easily passed to the devices, and operating status can be acquired from measurable ends with minimal effort. However, this all-connected configuration could also expose the network-based control system (NBCS) to malicious actions, such as cyberattacks. One of the common NBCSs is the building automation system. With the promotion of grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs), there has been increasing attention on securing the buildings from the network perspective. This research proposes a maximum-impact adversary design framework so that the adversary can provide the most adversarial impact on the controlled system while remaining stealthy. The proposed framework is numerically demonstrated on a network-based building energy and control system. The building energy system is built in a Modelica-based simulation environment and controlled by the state-of-the-art ASHRAE Guideline 36 control sequences. The control commands at the supervisory level, generated from the Guideline 36 controller, are assumed to be sent to local devices through communication networks using the BACnet protocol. Simulation results show that the proposed maximum-impact adversary on such a system can stealthily affect the building system's performance to its maximum extent. It is anticipated that results can be used by researchers and practitioners in the building automation industry to design efficient and robust cyber-attack detection algorithms, especially for stealthy attacks.

Chu, Mengyuan↗

Impact of Open Communication Networks on Load Frequency Control with Plug-in Electric Vehicles by Cyber-Physical Dynamic Co-Simulation: Preprint

With the increasing electrification of the transportation sector, vehicle to grid (V2G) control technologies are promising to improving system frequency stability. However, these control technologies might require non-traditional communication supports. This paper investigates the impacts of electric vehicles (EVs) V2G on power system frequency regulation considering communication variations through transmission-distribution-communication (TDC) dynamic simulation. The simulation model is built based on our previously developed open-source transmission-and-distribution (T&D) dynamic co-simulation framework. Here, we add the communication variation functions (i.e. delay and packet loss) to complete the TDC simulation framework. In the case studies, practical communication variation scenarios are considered when the system experiencing an N-1 generation trip contingency. The considered scenarios include communication delay and packet loss using both homogeneous and heterogeneous assumptions. The delay and packet loss rate are the same in all communication channels in the homogeneous case but varies in the heterogeneous case. The results show the communication delay has an obvious impact on the frequency recovery compared to the communication packet drop. The impacts of the standard deviations of communication delay time and packet drop rate are not significant. The outcomes of this work can help improve the EV frequency regulation services and provide robust and effect supports to the grid.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Impact of Open Communication Networks on Load Frequency Control with Plug-In Electric Vehicles by Cyber-Physical Dynamic Co-Simulation

With the increasing electrification of the transportation sector to achieve the carbon neutrality objective, despite the challenges of charging electric vehicles (EV), there are also opportunities through smart charging EVs to improve system frequency stability; however, EV control technologies might require nontraditional communication support. This paper investigates the impacts of communication variations of EV on power system load frequency control through a cyber-physical dynamic system (CPDS) co-simulation. Here, the CPDS is built upon our previously developed transmission-and-distribution dynamic co-simulation model with the added communication variation functions (i.e., delay and packet loss). The case studies consider multiple communication variation scenarios when the system experiences an N-1 generation trip contingency. The scenarios include communication delays and packet loss using both homogeneous and heterogeneous assumptions. The outcomes of this work can help improve EV frequency regulation services and provide robust and effective tests for different load frequency control algorithms of the future power systems.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗

Machine learning-based analysis of COVID-19 pandemic impact on US research networks

Here in this study we explore how fallout from the changing public health policy around COVID-19 has changed how researchers access and process their science experiments. Using a combination of techniques from statistical analysis and machine learning, we conduct a retrospective analysis of historical network data for a period around the stay-at-home orders that took place in March 2020. Our analysis takes data from the entire ESnet infrastructure to explore DOE high-performance computing (HPC) resources at OLCF, ALCF, and NERSC, as well as User sites such as PNNL and JLAB. We look at detecting and quantifying changes in site activity using a combination of t-Distributed Stochastic Neighbor Embedding (t-SNE) and decision tree analysis. Our findings bring insights into the working patterns and impact on data volume movements, particularly during late-night hours and weekends.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Impacts of Pore Network-Scale Wettability Heterogeneity on Immiscible Fluid Displacement: A Micromodel Study

The mixed-wet nature of reservoir formations imposes a wide range of rock wettability from strong resident-fluid wetting to strong invading-fluid wetting. The characteristics of two-phase flow in porous media composed of mixed-wetting surfaces remain poorly understood. In this study, we investigated the displacement of resident ethylene glycol (EG) by hexane in two mixed-wet micromodels of identical 2.5-D geometry heterogeneity, with uniformly or heterogeneously distributed patches strongly wetting to hexane. These patches are mixed among pores with unaltered EG-wetting surfaces. Along with control tests in the originally EG-wet micromodel, here we show the classic fingering and transitions in flow regimes at $logCa$ (capillary number) from -7.2 to -3.9. Moreover, pore-scale distributions of wettability and their spatial correlation influence displacement efficiency. In the two mixed-wet micromodels, we found (a) an increase of steady-state hexane saturation at the end of experiments by up to 0.12 in the capillary fingering regime and a decrease of at most by 0.06 in the viscous fingering regime, compared to the EG-wet micromodel, and (b) dispersed and fragmented hexane distribution after displacement. Brine drainage during supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) injections in these micromodels occurs with lower wettability contrasts, and under similar viscosity ratios and interfacial tensions resulted in higher displacement efficiency relative to displacement of EG by hexane. While mixed-wettability can enhance displacement efficiency compared to uniform wettability, the dynamics of immiscible fluids in strong mixed-wet reservoirs are expected to be less pronounced in contributing to the efficiency of geological CO 2 sequestration, oil recovery, and remediation of hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers.

2.5-D micromodel↗

Small-Signal Stability Impacts of Load and Network Dynamics on Grid-Forming Inverters

This paper presents several stability analyses for grid-forming inverters and synchronous generators considering the dynamics of transmission lines and different load models. Load models are usually of secondary importance compared to generation source models, but as the results show, they play a crucial role in stability studies with the introduction of inverter-based resources. Given inverter control time scales, the implications of considering or neglecting electromagnetic transients of the network are very relevant in the stability assessments. In this paper, we perform eigenvalue analyses for inverter-based resources and synchronous machines connected to a load and explore the effects of multiples models under different network representations. We explore maximum loadability of inverter-based resources and synchronous machines, while analyzing the effects of load and network dynamic models on small-signal stability. The results show that the network representation plays a fundamental role in the stability of the system of different load models. The resulting stability regions are significantly different depending on the source and load model considered.

grid forming inverters↗

Evaluating the Impacts of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 45Q Tax Credit on CCS Network Costs

This study evaluates the impact of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 (BBA)-amended 45Q tax credit on integrated carbon capture and storage (CCS) networks for source types and geologic storage reservoirs common to the north-central U.S. The integrated CCS networks evaluated were chosen to closely replicate those in the forthcoming National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) central U.S. CCS cost options study’s Northwest CCS Network Regional Impact Area (Northwest Impact Area).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

An orthologous gene coevolution network provides insight into eukaryotic cellular and genomic structure and function

The evolutionary rates of functionally related genes often covary. We present a gene coevolution network inferred from examining nearly 3 million orthologous gene pairs from 332 budding yeast species spanning ~400 million years of evolution. Network modules provide insight into cellular and genomic structure and function. Examination of the phenotypic impact of network perturbation using deletion mutant data from the baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which were obtained from previously published studies, suggests that fitness in diverse environments is affected by orthologous gene neighborhood and connectivity. Mapping the network onto the chromosomes of S. cerevisiae and Candida albicans revealed that coevolving orthologous genes are not physically clustered in either species; rather, they are often located on different chromosomes or far apart on the same chromosome. The coevolution network captures the hierarchy of cellular structure and function, provides a roadmap for genotype-to-phenotype discovery, and portrays the genome as a linked ensemble of genes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Toward higher-radix switches with co-packaged optics for improved network locality in data center and HPC networks [Invited]

In this work, we study the network locality improvements that can be achieved by using co-packaged optics in data center and high-performance computing (HPC) networks. The increased escape bandwidth offered by co-packaged optics can enable switches with speeds of 51.2 Tb/s and beyond. From a network architecture perspective, the key advantages of introducing co-packaged optics at the switch points include the implementation of large-scale topologies of >12,000 end points with 4× higher bisection bandwidth and the reduction of the required number of switches by >40% compared with state-of-the-art approaches. From a network operation perspective, improved network locality and faster operation can be achieved since the higher-radix switches can mitigate the impact of network contention. Placing applications under fewer leaf switches reduces the number of packets that cross the spine switches in a leaf-spine topology. The proposed scheme is evaluated via discrete-event simulations: we initially evaluate the network locality properties of the system by using virtual-machine traces from a production data center, and we subsequently quantify the performance improvements by simulating an all-to-all pattern for a variety of message sizes over a number of nodes. The results suggest that co-packaged optics form a promising solution for keeping up with bandwidth scaling in future networks. The virtual-machine analysis shows that large-scale applications can be placed under up to 50% fewer first-level switches, while the network analysis shows speedups of up to 7.1, which translates to execution time reductions of up to 26% and 42.7% for applications with communication ratios of 0.3 and 0.5, respectively.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Simulation Evaluation of a Large-Scale Implementation of Virtual-Phase Link-Based Model Predictive Control

Traffic congestion is a serious problem in the US, and traffic signal control is one of the effective solutions to congestion. Previous research on model predictive control (MPC)-based traffic signal control showed substantial benefits over conventional methods. This study focused on implementing MPC over a large-scale network with complex intersections and the impact of cycle length, network size, and imperfect state estimation on performances. This study implemented a virtual phase link (VPL)-based model predictive control method which used the number of vehicles in each VPL as input state variables and was suitable for National Electrical Manufacturing Association (NEMA) ring-barrier control. To test the impact of network size, the performance of distributed MPC (36 intersections in the network are divided into five subnetworks) was compared with that of MPC over the full network for a set of cycle lengths. To test the impact of imperfect state estimation, we synthetically infused estimation error and developed two scenarios, MPC-error and MPC-error narrow, which had higher and lower estimation errors, respectively. The performance of these MPC methods was compared with that of the existing time-of-day (TOD) method and an offline method that used Webster's method for split and MULTIBAND for cycle length and offset optimization. Trajectory and linkwise signal performance measures were collected from the simulation to evaluate performance. The distributed MPC method with perfect state estimation had the lowest delay and highest energy efficiency of all the methods. The performance of MPC decreased as the prediction inaccuracy increased. MPC-error had 7% and 11% more delay than MPC-error narrow in the morning and evening peaks, respectively. Overall, simulation results suggest that even with imperfect state estimation, MPC methods will outperform offline methods significantly.

large-scale simulation↗

Multi-objective Eco-Routing Model Development and Evaluation for Battery Electric Vehicles

This paper develops a multi-objective eco-routing algorithm (eco- and travel time-optimum routing) for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and investigates the network-wide impacts of the proposed multi-objective Nash optimum (user equilibrium) traffic assignment on a large-scale network. Unlike ICEVs, BEVs are more energy efficient on low-speed arterial trips compared with highway trips. Different energy consumption patterns require different eco-routing strategies for ICEVs and BEVs. This study found that single-objective eco-routing could significantly reduce the energy consumption of BEVs but also significantly increase their average travel time. Consequently, the study developed a multi-objective routing model (eco- and travel time-routing) to improve both energy and travel time measures. The model introduced a link cost function that uses the specification of the value of time and the cost of fuel/energy. The simulation study found that multi-objective routing could reduce BEV energy consumption by 13.5%, 14.2%, 12.9%, and 10.7%, as well as ICEV fuel consumption by 0.1%, 4.3%, 3.4%, and 10.6% for “not congested, “slightly congested,”“moderately congested,” and “highly congested” conditions, respectively. The study also found that multi-objective user equilibrium routing reduced the average vehicle travel time by up to 10.1% compared with the standard user equilibrium traffic assignment for highly congested conditions, producing a solution closer to the system optimum traffic assignment. The results indicate that the proposed multi-objective eco-routing strategy can reduce vehicle fuel/energy consumption effectively with minimum impacts on travel times for both BEVs and ICEVs.

Engineering↗

Multi-objective Eco-Routing Model Development and Evaluation for Battery Electric Vehicles.

This paper develops a multi-objective eco-routing algorithm (combined eco- and travel time-optimum routing) for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs) and investigates the network-wide impacts of the proposed multi-objective Nash optimum (user equilibrium) traffic assignment on a large-scale network. Eco-routing is a technique that finds the most energy efficient route. ICEV and BEV energy consumption patterns are significantly different with regard to their sensitivity to driving cycles. Unlike ICEVs, BEVs are more energy efficient on low-speed arterial trips compared to highway trips. Different energy consumption patterns require different eco-routing strategies for ICEVs and BEVs. This study found that single objective eco-routing could significantly reduce the energy consumption of BEVs but also significantly increase their average travel time. Consequently, the study developed a multi-objective routing model (eco- and travel time-routing) to improve both energy and travel time measures. The model introduced a link cost function that uses the specification of the value of time and the cost of fuel/energy. The simulation study found that multi-objective routing could reduce the BEV energy consumption by 13.5%, 14.2%, 12.9%, and 10.7%, as well as ICEV fuel consumption by 0.1%, 4.3%, 3.4%, and 10.6% for “not congested, “slightly congested,” “moderately congested,” and “highly congested” conditions, respectively. The study also found that multi-objective user equilibrium routing reduced the average vehicle travel time by up to 10.1% compared to the standard user equilibrium traffic assignment for highly congested conditions, producing a solution closer to the system optimum traffic assignment. The results indicate that the proposed multi-objective eco-routing strategy can reduce vehicle fuel/energy consumption effectively with minimum impacts on travel times for both BEVs and ICEVs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Virtual Agents-Based Attack-Resilient Distributed Control for Islanded AC Microgrid

Due to its dependence on a communication network, distributed secondary control of microgrids is susceptible to denial-of-service (DoS) attacks in channel shutdown mode, which may negatively impact the network connectivity and thus deteriorate the coordination and power sharing among distributed generators (DGs). Honeypot is a common method for cyber deception by introducing fake targets. However, in the context of microgrid, the misleading information spread by honeypots will also impact the system performance. This paper proposes an attack-resilient distributed control for AC microgrids utilizing virtual agents (VAs) to counteract both DoS edge and node attacks. The VAs are designed to not impact the system’s steady state during normal operation but to share information among neighboring real agents and serve as dummy targets for DoS attacks. The control with VAs is implemented by a primal-dual gradient based distributed algorithm to efficiently obtain a practical solution for voltage/frequency regulation and power sharing. The simulation results on a 4-DG test system and a modified IEEE 34-bus system show that 1) VAs do not impact the normal functionality of the test system, and 2) deploying VAs can enhance the resilience of the microgrid control against DoS edge and node attacks.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Examining the Net Revenue and Downstream Flow Impact Trade-Offs for a Network of Cascading, Small-Scale Hydropower Facilities: Preprint

In this work, we used a price-taker model to investigate the trade-offs between net revenue and downstream flow impacts for a network of small, cascading hydro facilities. The network consisted of 36 facilities, each with a small amount of local storage (between 2 and 45 minutes). Generator sizes ranged between 0.5 and 1 MW, nominal, and the total capacity of the network was 33.5 MW. We used a multi-integer linear programing model to maximize the net revenue of the combined network subject to operating and environmental constraints. Net revenue optimizations relied on historic price data, and dry, typical, and wet years were studied to help ensure robustness. Energy and ancillary service sales were included in the net revenue calculations, and both unit commitment and dispatch simulations were performed. We found that limiting the downstream flows to ±50% of the river’s natural flows had a negligible impact on net revenues (<1% reduction), irrespective of hydrologic conditions, and even when downstream flows were limited to ±5%, net revenues were only impacted by 4%. These outcomes are significant because they demonstrate how an array of small-scale hydropower facilities can be operated to have minimal impact on natural stream flows—addressing a critical environmental concern.

downstream flow↗

Component Assessment of the Electric Transmission Grid to Hurricanes

The increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events from climate change necessitates understanding impacts on critical infrastructure, particularly electrical transmission grids. One of the foundational concepts of a grid's resilience is its robustness to extreme weather events, such as hurricanes. Resilience of the electric grid to high wind speeds is predicated upon the location and physical characteristics of the system components. Previous modeling assessments of electric grid failure were done at the systems level with assumptions on location and type of specific components. To facilitate more explicit adaptation metrics, accurate component-level information is needed. In this study, we build and utilize a data set of location, physical characteristics, and age of transmission structures for nine counties in the Florida Panhandle. These component characteristics were then simulated for failure under a variety of scenarios using fragility curves. Eight hurricanes were modeled using Hazus from the Federal Emergency Management Administration and the resulting impact to the network was assessed. The network was generated using the transmission lines and towers, showing increasing impacts to network efficiency with larger storms. Although modern transmission structures are built under the more stringent extreme wind loading construction standards, the prevalence of older, wooden transmission structures throughout the region poses a substantial risk to reliable electricity transmission during tropical cyclone events from the Gulf of Mexico.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Impact of in situ nuclear networks and atomic opacities on neutron star merger ejecta dynamics, nucleosynthesis, and kilonovae

Context. Binary neutron star merger (BNSM) ejecta are key sites of rapid neutron capture (r-process) nucleosynthesis and they produce kilonovae powered by the radioactive decay of freshly synthesized nuclei. Modeling their evolution requires multi-physics simulations involving hydrodynamics, nuclear reactions, and radiative processes. The impact of nuclear burning and atomic opacity is poorly understood and often treated with simplified prescriptions. Aims. We systematically investigate different treatments of nuclear heating, particle thermalization, and atomic opacities in radiation-hydrodynamics simulations of BNSM ejecta and kilonova light curves. Methods. Ejecta profiles from long-term numerical-relativity simulations of asymmetric neutron star binaries with a massive neutron star remnant were evolved to ∼30 days using a 2D ray-by-ray approach. We compared simplified heating-rate and thermalization prescriptions with in situ Nuclear reaction Network (NN) calculations that track nuclear energy deposition and include a composition-dependent thermalization scheme. We also contrasted various gray opacity models with a frequency-dependent treatment based on atomic calculations. Results. Coupling NN and hydrodynamics significantly affects nucleosynthesis and kilonova emission. Assuming homologous expansion alters abundance evolution and produces a narrower, less populated second r-process peak and a third peak shifted to higher mass numbers. The back-reaction of nuclear heating affects the temperature evolution enough to delay and redden the early (t∼ hours) kilonova peaks. A constant thermalization efficiency underestimates and reddens the early emission while overestimating the late-time luminosity compared to the composition-dependent treatment. Analytical opacity prescriptions yield a more extended, colder photosphere, resulting in dimmer, redder kilonovae at early times (t≲ hour), while the delayed recession of the photosphere prolongs the red emission at t ≳ 5 days. Conclusions. Coupling hydrodynamics to an in situ NN is crucial for reliable nucleosynthesis and kilonova predictions. Resolving the first several hundred milliseconds of the hydrodynamics is essential for robust nucleosynthesis calculations. Composition-dependent thermalization and frequency-dependent, atomic-physics-based opacities are needed to accurately capture the temperature evolution of the ejecta and the brightness and color evolution of the kilonova. Calibrated analytic nuclear-power fits with simplified thermalization and opacity prescriptions can still reproduce the density and temperature evolution of the ejecta.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Refueling infrastructure planning in intercity networks considering route choice and travel time delay for mixed fleet of electric and conventional vehicles

The range anxiety has been a major factor that affects the market acceptance of electric vehicles. Even with the recent development of battery technologies, a lack of charging stations and range anxiety are still significant concerns, specifically for intercity trips. This calls for more investments in building charging stations and advancing battery technologies to increase the market share of electric vehicles and improve sustainability. This study suggests a configuration for plug-in electric vehicle charging infrastructure to support long-distance intercity trips of electric vehicles at the network level. A model is proposed to minimize the total system cost including infrastructure investment (building charging stations/spots) and travel time delays (charging time, waiting time in the queue, and detour time to access charging stations). This study fills existing gaps in the literature by capturing realistic patterns of travel demand and considering flow-dependent charging delays at charging stations. Furthermore, the proposed model, which is formulated as a mixed-integer program with nonlinear constraints, solves the optimization problem at the network level. At the network level, impacts of charging station locations on the traffic assignment problem with a mixed fleet of electric and conventional vehicles need to be considered. To this end, a traffic assignment module is integrated with a simulated annealing algorithm. The numerical experiments show a satisfactory application of the model for a full-scale case study (intercity network in Michigan). The solution quality and efficiency of the proposed solution algorithm are evaluated against those of an enumeration approach for a small case study. The results suggest that even for the current market share and charging stations’ setting, a significant investment is needed to support intercity trips without range anxiety issues and with acceptable delays. Additionally, through sensitivity analyses, the required infrastructure and battery investments to support intercity trips with acceptable delays are established for hypothetical increased market shares and battery size in the future.

42 ENGINEERING↗