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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

UMass 2-Body WEC Techno-Economic Assessment

The University of Massachusetts (UMass) is developing a 2-body wave energy converter (WEC) device that is converting mechanical power into electricity using a mechanical motion rectifier that allows the system to couple to a flywheel. UMass has completed numerical modeling, wave tank testing, and PTO sub-system testing and needed assistance in developing a techno-economic model to enable optimization of their topology, comparison to a generic heaving point absorber topology, and guide the next steps in their development efforts. The core objective was to develop a techno-economic approach and modeling tool that allows benchmarking of the two topologies across a wide range of scales to evaluate their respective competitiveness in different application spaces. This data includes the final report as well as a supporting spreadsheet containing the data produced for this report.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Lessons Learned: Summary of Insights From the HERO WEC and Waves to Water Deployments Between 2022 and 2024

In 2020, a team from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) partnered with the East Carolina University Coastal Studies Institute to develop a small, modular, wave-powered point absorber desalination prototype. That prototype, known as the hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter (HERO WEC), was intended to de-risk the installation activities planned for the Waves to Water Prize sponsored by the Water Power Technologies Office. The NREL team was given approximately 18 months to design, build, bench test, and deploy the HERO WEC prototype. Since the initial HERO WEC development, it has been used for two in-lab test programs and three ocean deployments. The first in-lab test program focused on ensuring that the overall operation of the device occurred as expected and on validating the operation of safety systems such as pressure relief valves or electrical breakers for load mitigation. The second in-lab test program was the first time the NREL team leveraged NREL’s large-amplitude motion platform to characterize the performance of the HERO WEC. Of the three in-water deployments, the first deployment was effectively an installation and recovery practice with no meaningful wave activity during the time that it was installed. The second deployment was a 2-week effort that enabled both the electric and hydraulic configurations of the device to be in the water for approximately 5 days each. This deployment was also the first time that the team had the opportunity to perform a drivetrain swap on the Coastal Studies Institute research vessel. The third deployment had to be split into two separate installations due to minor damage incurred from the WEC spinning during the initial installation. This report summarizes the deployments, the challenges encountered with each deployment, and the lessons learned for future work.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2026

Applied Research and Development to Support Open-Water Testing at PacWave

This report presents the findings from Task 7 of the project, which focused on improving the performance and reliability of wave energy converters (WECs) under real-world conditions, particularly in the presence of marine growth (biofouling) and system faults. The work was conducted using the RM3 point absorber WEC model, a marine current turbine based on the SHARKS project model, and the WEC-Sim simulation platform, and it included both modeling and control system development.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

Analysis on Evaluations of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Wave Energy Converter’s Field Data Using WEC-Sim and Gazebo: A Simulation Tool Comparison

Although many studies have validated wave energy converter (WEC) numerical models against scaled prototype experimental data, there remains a notable lack of validation using data from full-scale deployed WECs. This paper compares two numerical models of Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute’s Wave Energy Converter (MBARI-WEC), a two-body point absorber with an electro-hydraulic power take-off system (PTO). The models are implemented in WEC-Sim/Simscape and Gazebo Simulator. A statistical analysis of the models was performed, and field results were obtained to compare the models’ accuracy in predicting the RMS piston velocity, RMS motor speed, and mean electric power compared to field data for 56 observations across varying sea states. The Gazebo model demonstrated a closer agreement across all three parameters for a majority of the observations. When compared to the field data, the Gazebo and WEC-Sim models exhibited average mean electric power overestimations of 13% and 22%, respectively.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Real-Time Wave Energy Converter Control Using Instantaneous Frequency

Wave Energy Converters (WECs) rely on effective Power Take-Off (PTO) control strategies to maximize energy absorption under dynamic sea conditions. Traditional hydrodynamic modeling techniques may require computationally intensive convolution calculations, making real-time control implementation challenging. This paper presents an alternative approach by leveraging instantaneous frequency estimation to dynamically adjust PTO damping in response to varying wave frequencies. Two real-time frequency estimation methods are explored: the Hilbert Transform (HT) and Phase-Locked Loop (PLL). The Hilbert Transform method provides accurate frequency tracking but introduces a delayed response due to its dependence on causal data. Conversely, the PLL approach demonstrates strong potential in frequency tracking but requires careful gain tuning, particularly in complex sea states. Comparative evaluations across multiple test cases—including sinusoidal variations, amplitude steps, frequency step changes, and real-world JONSWAP spectrum waves—highlight the strengths and limitations of each method. The two different PTO control techniques across the various frequency estimation methods were tested under real-sea states using a state-space model of a point-absorbing Wave Energy Converter. The Capture Width Ratio (CWR) is used as a performance metric, with results showing that the HT achieves a 10.6% improvement, while the PLL estimation yields a 0.9% improvement relative to the fixed parameter control baseline. These results highlight the effectiveness of real-time frequency estimation in improving energy absorption compared to static control parameters.

WEC control↗
DOE OSTI2025

Real-Time Sea State Estimation for Wave Energy Converter Control via Machine Learning

Wave energy converters (WECs) harness the untapped power of ocean waves to generate renewable energy, offering a promising solution to sustainable energy. An optimal WEC control strategy is essential to maximize power capture that dynamically adjusts system parameters in response to rapidly changing sea states. This study presents a novel control approach that leverages neural networks to estimate sea states from onboard WEC measurements such as position, velocity, and force. Using a point absorber WEC device as a test platform, our proposed approach estimates sea states in real-time and subsequently adjusts PID controller gains to maximize energy extraction. Simulation results across diverse sea conditions demonstrate that our strategy eliminates the need for external wave monitoring equipment while maintaining power capture efficiency. The results show that our neural network-based control technique can improve power capture by 25.6% while significantly reducing system complexity. This approach offers a practical alternative for WEC deployments where direct wave measurements are either infeasible or cost prohibitive.

PIDcontrol↗
NASA NTRS2001

Relative effectiveness of kinetic analysis vs single point readings for classifying environmental samples based on community-level physiological profiles (CLPP)

The relative effectiveness of average-well-color-development-normalized single-point absorbance readings (AWCD) vs the kinetic parameters mu(m), lambda, A, and integral (AREA) of the modified Gompertz equation fit to the color development curve resulting from reduction of a redox sensitive dye from microbial respiration of 95 separate sole carbon sources in microplate wells was compared for a dilution series of rhizosphere samples from hydroponically grown wheat and potato ranging in inoculum densities of 1 x 10(4)-4 x 10(6) cells ml-1. Patterns generated with each parameter were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) and discriminant function analysis (DFA) to test relative resolving power. Samples of equivalent cell density (undiluted samples) were correctly classified by rhizosphere type for all parameters based on DFA analysis of the first five PC scores. Analysis of undiluted and 1:4 diluted samples resulted in misclassification of at least two of the wheat samples for all parameters except the AWCD normalized (0.50 abs. units) data, and analysis of undiluted, 1:4, and 1:16 diluted samples resulted in misclassification for all parameter types. Ordination of samples along the first principal component (PC) was correlated to inoculum density in analyses performed on all of the kinetic parameters, but no such influence was seen for AWCD-derived results. The carbon sources responsible for classification differed among the variable types with the exception of AREA and A, which were strongly correlated. These results indicate that the use of kinetic parameters for pattern analysis in CLPP may provide some additional information, but only if the influence of inoculum density is carefully considered. c2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

NASA Center KSC↗
DOE OSTI2026

Biconjugate Impedance Matching Control of the HERO WEC: Preprint

Effective control strategies are essential for maximizing the power output of wave energy converters (WECs). In this study, we explore the methodology of port-based modelling which can be used for bi-conjugate impedance matching, a type of reactive control that involves maximizing power transfer by setting the load (PTO) impedance to be the complex conjugate of the source impedance (WEC). Despite its foundational role in electrical engineering, this method has seen limited application in wave energy and has not yet been demonstrated in wave-powered desalination systems. We represent our complex multidisciplinary system as an equivalent circuit to explore frequency-based relations. The HERO WEC, a small-scale, modular point absorber (PA) designed for reverse osmosis desalination is used as a case study to demonstrate port-based modelling for control applications. Improving the performance of wave-powered water desalination systems could play a critical role in addressing freshwater scarcity for coastal communities, especially those in remote or disaster-prone regions.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS1977

Dynamic characteristics of rotor blades with pendulum absorbers

The point transmission matrix for a vertical plane pendulum on a rotating blade undergoing combined flapwise bending, and chordwise bending and torsion is derived. The equilibrium equation of the pendulum is linearized for small oscillations about the steady state. A FORTRAN program was written for the case of a vertical plane pendulum attached to a uniform blade with flapwise bending degree of freedom for cantilever boundary conditions. The frequency has a singular value right at the uncoupled pendulum natural frequency and thus introduces two frequencies corresponding to the nearest natural frequency of the blade without pendulum. In both of these modes it was observed that the pendulum deflection is large. One frequency can be thought of as a coupled pendulum frequency and the other as a coupled bending and pendulum frequency.

Murthy, V. R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Absorbing boundary conditions in material point method adopting perfectly matched layer theory

This study focuses on solving the numerical challenges of imposing absorbing boundary conditions for dynamic simulations in the material point method (MPM). To attenuate elastic waves leaving the computational domain, the current work integrates the Perfectly Matched Layer (PML) theory into the implicit MPM framework. The proposed approach introduces absorbing particles surrounding the computational domain that efficiently absorb outgoing waves and reduce reflections, allowing for accurate modeling of wave propagation and its further impact on geotechnical slope stability analysis. The study also includes several benchmark tests to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, such as several types of impulse loading and symmetric and asymmetric base shaking. The conducted numerical tests also demonstrate the ability to handle large deformation problems, including the failure of elasto-plastic soils under gravity and dynamic excitations. The findings extend the capability of MPM in simulating continuous analysis of earthquake-induced landslides, from shaking to failure.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS1978

Alternate working fluids for solar air conditioning applications

An experimental investigation of sixteen different refrigerant-absorbent fluid pairs has been carried out in order to determine their suitability as the working fluid in a solar-powered absorption cycle air conditioner. The criteria used in the initial selection of a refrigerant-absorbent pair included: high affinity (large negative deviation from Raoult's Law), high solubility, low specific heat, low viscosity, stability, corrosive properties, safety, and cost. For practical solar considerations of a fluid pair, refrigerants were selected with low boiling points whereas absorbent fluids were selected with a boiling point considerably above that of the refrigerant. Additional restrictions are determined by the operating temperatures of the absorber and the generator; these temperatures were specified as 100 F (39 C) and 170 F (77 C). Data are presented for a few selected pressures at the specified absorber and generator temperatures.

Evans, R. D.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Peridynamic elastic waves in two-dimensional unbounded domains: Construction of nonlocal Dirichlet-type absorbing boundary conditions

The focus of this paper is on application of peridynamics (PD) to propagation of elastic waves in unbounded domains. We construct absorbing boundary conditions (ABCs) derived from a semi-analytical solution of the PD governing equation at the exterior region. This solution is made up of a finite series of plane waves, as fundamental solutions (modes), which satisfy the PD dispersion relations. The modes are adjusted to transmit the energy from the interior region (near field) to the exterior region (far field). The corresponding unknown coefficients of the series are found in terms of the displacement field at a layer of points adjacent to the absorbing boundary. This is accomplished through a collocation procedure at subregions (clouds) around each absorbing point. The proposed ABCs offer appealing advantages, which facilitate their application to PD. They are of Dirichlet-type, hence their implementation is relatively simple as no derivatives of the field variables are required. They are constructed in the time and space domains and thus application of Fourier and Laplace transforms, cumbersome for nonlocal models, is not required. At the discrete level, the modes satisfy the same numerical dispersion relations of the near field, which makes the far-field solution compatible with that of the near field. We scrutinize the performance of the proposed ABCs through several examples. So our investigation shows that the proposed ABCs perform stably in time with an appropriate level of accuracy even in problems characterized by highly-dispersive propagating waves, including crack propagation in semi-unbounded brittle solids.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hydrodynamic characterization of the coastal pioneer array ocean observing system

Ocean observation buoys require relatively small amounts of power, yet traditionally necessitate costly resupply trips for battery replacement. With the offshore location of the buoys and small power requirements, wave energy may be an effective solution for providing consistent and reliable power to support the buoy instrumentation. The US National Science Foundation Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) includes arrays of point absorber-like buoy systems used for ocean observation that have been deployed at multiple locations including the Southern Mid-Atlantic Bight. A study is currently underway to design a pitch resonator wave energy converter to supplement existing renewable energy generation for powering observation instrumentation. This paper details field measurements from surface moorings of the OOI Coastal Pioneer Array, which informs the subsequent development of a numerical model for the moored observation system. The model is developed in Wave Energy Converter Simulator (WEC-Sim), which leverages the Simscape multibody solver within the MATLAB/Simulink framework and linear potential flow theory to simulate the hydrodynamic interactions and multibody dynamics in 6 degrees of freedom. Multiple tuning variables are considered to produce a model for the system that matches well with empirical data (about 8% error). In conclusion, the WEC-Sim model will serve as a platform for integrating the pitch resonator wave energy converter concept and deployment preparation (detailed design including power take-off and control systems, response evaluation, etc.).

hydrodynamic modeling↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of a Wave Powered Water Pump Performance by Ocean Field Testing and WEC-Sim Modeling

This submission from AMEC (the Atlantic Marine Energy Center) includes data from an ocean field deployment of a wave powered water pump in March 2023. The wave pump is an upweller device, designed to enhance macroalgal aquaculture. The wave pump device was deployed off the coast of Isles of Shoals Appledore Island in Maine, USA. The data were collected using a custom-built DAQ module comprised of Arduino Unos. GPS time stamp accompanies the data. The data are volumetric flow rate from the wave pump, and relative motion of the device between float and spar buoys. Flow rate is measured by flow meter, and relative motion is measured by lidar. Calibration data for the lidar and flow meter sensors are included. This data set also includes synchronous Sofar Spotter buoy data from a mooring approximately 300 feet away from the wave pump mooring. Video data from the deployment are included from both on-board the device sporadically throughout the deployment, and from a webcam for a short duration of the deployment. Hydrophone data were also taken co-currently, and are available by contacting Martin Wosnik at the University of New Hampshire. The Matlab code used to process the field data is incorporated. A biological assessment is included which aided the NEPA consultation process, prior to conducting the field deployment. A WEC-Sim numerical model of the wave pump, and a re-design effort are part of this work. Code used to validate the WEC-Sim model from the field data are also included.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2023

H3 StingRAY Final Design and Technical Report - Section 13 Appendices

These documents are referenced in the public version of the H3 StingRAY Final Design and Technical Report (Linked Dataset can be found in Resources section, below), and are submitted separately to allow for public release of head document. The display names have the corresponding section number for easy reference.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

HERO WEC V1 Upgrade - 2023 Laboratory Testing (processed data)

The following submission includes processed laboratory data from NREL's Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter (HERO WEC), in the form of MATLAB workspaces. This dataset was created using NREL's Large Amplitude Motion Platform (LAMP) and collected between August and September 2023. Included with this submission is a test log of all the processed data "HERO WEC LAMP test run log.xlsx" so that the user can easily find the data of interest. Additionally, more detailed descriptions of the type of data and how it was processed, or calculated, can be found in the document titled "Lamp Data Description.docx". The MATLAB workspaces can be visualized using the file "LAMP_Data_Viewer_Ver2.m/mlx". The user simply needs to upload the workspace of interest and run the file "LAMP_Data_Viewer_Ver2.m/mlx". Both the .m and .mlx file format has been provided depending on the user's preference. The MATLAB workspaces have been separated into zip files corresponding to either Drivetrain, Hydraulic, or Electric configuration runs representing the respective test cases that were run. The drivetrain runs were used to characterize the drivetrain only (no pump or generator). The Hydraulic runs represent the configuration when the seawater pump is installed, and the Electric runs represents the configuration when the generator is installed. The following sub-categories of data are included for each type: - DW - Deep water sine wave profile (not run in drivetrain configuration) - Heave - Heave only sine wave profile - Heave_NoRO (hydraulic configuration only) - Heave_ACC (hydraulic configuration only) - IR - Surge and heave irregular wave profile (not run in drivetrain configuration) - RW - Heave only profile created from real world encoder data (not run in drivetrain configuration) For those interested in the raw, unprocessed, data the authors have created a separate submission, linked below. This submission includes the raw TDMS files and associated files necessary to translate the data into either python or MATLAB formats. This data set has been developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Water Power Technologies Office.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

HERO WEC - Bills of Materials: WEC, RO System, and Submersible Pump

This submission includes detailed Bills of Materials for the NREL-designed and -built Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter (HERO WEC), as well as the reverse osmosis assembly and submersible pump that are used in the HERO WEC. The WEC file is specific to the components and sub-components that are included on the in-water buoy portion of the WEC. The RO file is specific to the components and sub-components that are included on the reverse osmosis module that is used for both the hydraulic and electric configuration. The submersible pumps file is specific to the components and sub-components that are included on the submersible pump module that is used feed the reverse osmosis module when the HERO WEC is in the electric configuration. In addition to this submission, an additional submission available for the WEC model itself, including the power electronics enclosure, and reverse osmosis assembly that is needed to supply water in the electric submission. A link is provided below. More details on this project including data, CAD drawings, etc. can be found in the HERO-WEC main page link below. This data set has been developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Water Power Technologies Office.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2024

HERO WEC V1 Upgrades - SolidWorks Models (WEC, RO System, and Submersible Pump Housing)

The attached zip files include SolidWorks pack-and-go assemblies of NREL's HERO WEC (hydraulic and electric reverse osmosis wave energy converter), the reverse osmosis (RO) assembly, and the submersible pump assembly that is used to provide flow to the RO assembly in the electric configuration. These 3 models were upgraded in 2023 from their baseline models. The HERO WEC model does not include all aspects of the design (i.e. RO system, electrical enclosure, hose, cable), it only includes the WEC and PTO (power take-off) design. This model supersedes the old MHKDR model submission, linked below. The RO model file includes a SolidWorks (version 2023) pack-and-go assembly of the RO assembly that was used for HERO WEC as it was upgraded in 2023. This model ONLY includes the RO assembly and not the WEC, hoses, etc. The submersible pump enclosure model includes a SolidWorks (version 2023) pack-and-go assembly of the submersible pump assembly that is used to provide flow to the RO assembly in the electric configuration HERO WECas it was upgraded in 2023. This model ONLY includes the submersible pump assembly and not the WEC, RO system, hoses, etc. This work has been developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, operated by Alliance for Sustainable Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) under Contract No. DE-AC36-08GO28308. Funding provided U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Water Power Technologies Office.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗