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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 361 records · Page 20

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DOE OSTI2011

Controls system developments for the ERL facility

The BNL Energy Recovery LINAC (ERL) is a high beam current, superconducting RF electron accelerator that is being commissioned to serve as a research and development prototype for a RHIC facility upgrade for electron-ion collision (eRHIC). Key components of the machine include a laser, photocathode, and 5-cell superconducting RF cavity operating at a frequency of 703 MHz. Starting with a foundation based on existing ADO software running on Linux servers and on the VME/VxWorks platforms developed for RHIC, we are developing a controls system that incorporates a wide range of hardware I/O interfaces that are needed for machine R&D. Details of the system layout, specifications, and user interfaces are provided.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2021

Recent Advances in Precision Clock Synchronization Protocols for Power Grid Control Systems

With the advent of a new Precision Time Protocol specification, new opportunities abound for clock synchronization possibilities within power grid control systems. The third iteration of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Standard 1588 specification provides several new features specifically aimed at complex, wide-area deployments in which situational awareness and control require precise time agreement. This paper describes the challenges faced by existing technology, introduces the new time distribution specification, and provides examples to explain how it represents a game-changing innovation.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

The Automatic Reactor Control System (ARCS) Upgrade, version 2.0 for TREAT

The Transient REActor Test Facility (TREAT) recently underwent an upgraded to the Automatic Reactor Control System (ARCS). The purpose of the upgrade was to institute a new software architecture that is better suited for the programming environment, patched software bugs and applied two new segments for reactor control. This paper will focus on the new segments for reactor control. The two new control segments added to ARCS are called Generic Power and Generic Rods. The original version of ARCS provided only two power related functions, namely periods and ramps, that had to be spliced together to generate any power shape. The Generic Power segment allows the user to input data points to define the function and then the algorithm does its best to create the desired shape. The original ARCS program utilized two direct rod commands (i.e. open loop control), these were a rod stop and clip. A Generic Rod segment extends the ability of the computer to directly command any rod position. The functionality of these new segments was proven during the TREAT outage in 2024.

46 - INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AN↗

DOE OSTI2018

Forecasting and Early Warning for Adversarial Targeting in Industrial Control Systems

A new feature-based forecasting framework of abnormalities is presented for early warning for cyber-physical control systems. The abnormalities may refer to intelligent cyber-attacks or naturally occurring faults and failures. Techniques presented here are aimed at protecting against unauthorized intrusions as well as fault prevention. Time series signals from system monitoring nodes are converted to features using feature discovery techniques. The feature behavior for each monitoring node is characterized in the form of decision boundaries, separating normal and abnormal space with operating data collected from the plant or by running virtual models of the plant. A set of ensemble state-space models are constructed for representing feature evolution in time-domain, where the ensembles are selected using Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering. The forecasted outputs are anticipated time-evolution of features, computed by applying an adaptive Kalman predictor to each ensemble model. The overall features forecast is then obtained through dynamic ensemble averaging. This is done by projecting evolution of feature vector to future times in a receding horizon fashion. The features forecast are compared to the decision boundary to estimate if/when the feature vectors will cross the boundary. Simulation results in a high fidelity GE gas turbine platform, show the effectiveness of our approach for forecasting abnormalities.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2018

Attitude control system proposed for SERPENS-2 space mission

SERPENS mission involves research and development of nanosatellites and is inserted in a set of activities carried on by Brazilian universities in the scope of strategies coordinated by AEB (Brazilian Space agency). The first satellite of a series, SERPENS-1, was put into orbit in September 2015, retiring in March 2016. SERPENS-2 mission is currently being designed. The experiments to be carried out in SERPENS-2 are: X and Gamma rays detection; South Atlantic magnetic anomaly detection and testing of a pulsed plasma thruster. Each experiment is related to the attitude. This paper is concerned with the Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) design of a 3U CubeSat. A proposal of ADCS for SERPENS-II mission is described concerning both the mission and the attitude requirements. The modeling of the satellite and of its attitude dynamics is preliminarily studied considering the proposed ADCS. Results of the first control mode (de-tumbling) are presented and meet the requirements, as expected. An initial development of the second control mode is also evaluated: an attitude regulator in the local horizontal local vertical frame, with pure magnetic actuation.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2012

Status of the CMS Detector Control System

The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is a CERN multi-purpose experiment that exploits the physics of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). The Detector Control System (DCS) is responsible for ensuring the safe, correct and efficient operation of the experiment, and has contributed to the recording of high quality physics data. The DCS is programmed to automatically react to the LHC operational mode. CMS sub-detectors bias voltages are set depending on the machine mode and particle beam conditions. An operator provided with a small set of screens supervises the system status summarized from the approximately 6M monitored parameters. Using the experience of nearly two years of operation with beam the DCS automation software has been enhanced to increase the system efficiency by minimizing the time required by sub-detectors to prepare for physics data taking. From the infrastructure point of view the DCS will be subject to extensive modifications in 2012. The current rack mounted control PCs will be replaced by a redundant pair of DELL Blade systems. These blade servers are a high-density modular solution that incorporates servers and networking into a single chassis that provides shared power, cooling and management. This infrastructure modification associated with the migration to blade servers will challenge the DCS software and hardware factorization capabilities. The on-going studies for this migration together with the latest modifications are discussed in the paper.

Bauer, Gerry↗

DOE OSTI2022

Quantitative evaluation of common cause failures in high safety-significant safety-related digital instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plants

Digital instrumentation and control (DI&C) systems at nuclear power plants (NPPs) have many advantages over analog systems. They are proven to be more reliable, cheaper, and easier to maintain given obsolescence of analog components. However, they also pose new engineering and technical challenges, such as possibility of common cause failures (CCFs) unique to digital systems. Here this paper proposes a Platform for Risk Assessment of DI&C (PRADIC) that is developed by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). A methodology for evaluation of software CCFs in high safety-significant safety-related DI&C systems of NPPs was developed as part of the framework. The framework integrates three stages of a typical risk assessment—qualitative hazard analysis and quantitative reliability and consequence analyses. The quantified risks compared with respective acceptance criteria provide valuable insights for system architecture alternatives allowing design optimization in terms of risk reduction and cost savings. A comprehensive case study performed to demonstrate the framework's capabilities is documented here in this paper. Results show that the PRADIC is a powerful tool capable to identify potential digital-based CCFs, estimate their probabilities, and evaluate their impacts on system and plant safety.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2016

Reliable instrumentation, information, and control (II&C) systems technologies are essential to ensuring safe and efficient operation of the U.S. light water reactor (LWR) fleet. These technologies affect every aspect of nuclear power plant (NPP) and balance-of-plant operations. In 1997, the National Research Council conducted a study concerning the challenges involved in modernization of digital instrumentation and control systems in NPPs. Their findings identified the need for new II&C technology integration.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2015

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2016

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2016

Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program Advanced Instrumentation, Information, and Control Systems Technologies Technical Program Plan for FY 2017

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Control system design and stability analysis for a three phase SiC-based Filter-less grid-connected PV inverter

In this paper, a control system of a filter-less grid-connected SiC inverter is designed. Stability analysis has been researched with a focus on grid disturbance rejection. The analysis shows that the conventional control method with instantaneous grid voltage feedforward (IGVF) will significantly limit the bandwidth or stability margin of a filter-less grid-connected inverter, thus make the inverter sensitive to grid disturbance. Two proposed grid voltage feedforward control methods, which require little additional computation resources, are presented to suppress the grid voltage disturbance. The design methods of control parameters are derived. The effects of the proposed feedforward methods are also compared with that of conventional IGVF. Lastly, the grid-connected experimental results of a three phase SiC based filter-less PV inverter are provided to verify and compare the proposed control methods.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2026

AI-Ready Control System for the Fermilab Accelerator Complex

Reliable, high-intensity operation of the Fermilab Accelerator Complex is critical to the success of the Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment. We describe the requirements and infrastructure necessary to support routine use of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) in the accelerator control system. Three capabilities are identified: a machine learning operations (MLOps) framework standardizing the lifecycle of AI/ML automation from data management through deployment and monitoring; a data quality framework defining and enforcing standards required to build trustworthy AI/ML applications; and workflow integration with large language models to assist physicists, engineers, and operators with information retrieval, code development, and routine analysis. Use cases spanning beam diagnostics, beam control, and support system automation illustrate the technical requirements across the complex.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2023

Evaluating Named Data Networking for Industrial Control System [Slides]

Current proposed work is: See if the inherent security that comes with Named Networking (NDN) can be applied to Industrial Control Systems; and, Every packet is required to be cryptographically signed which makes every single piece of data communicated in the system secure and authenticated.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2023

Integrate FARM with PID controllers: IES Simulation Ecosystem Control System Development

The FARM (Feasible Actuator Range Modifier) software module is a component of the RAVEN-based FORCE framework for analysis of Integrated Energy Systems (IES). FARM was designed to support the HERON software module in the solution of the optimal dispatch problem for IES units. As the result of HERON-FARM dispatch simulation, the set-point trajectories are optimized to meet constraints on both the production variables (i.e., the variables to be optimized such as the electrical power, the hydrogen production rate, etc.) and the process variables tied to the service life of equipment (e.g., steam flowrate, vessel pressure, turbine firing temperature, etc.) at a coarse time resolution (every 10 or 100 seconds) over long time horizons (several days or weeks). In case the operational constraints need to be met at finer time resolution, the computational burden of HERON-FARM would linearly increase with the sampling rate, and sub-optimal solutions might be obtained. System responses characterized by overshoots and damped oscillations temporarily violating the imposed constraints might occur during abrupt power transients. In this report, a hierarchical control system architecture for the operation of the Dynamic Energy Technology and Integration Laboratory (DETAIL) facility constructed at INL was proposed. First, the preliminary studies on the proposed control strategy for operating the facility and the designed PI controllers were reviewed. In particular, the current approach for generating the set-point trajectories was studied, and its limits were identified. To this aim, the inclusion of a Supervisory Control layer embedding a modified version of the FARM algorithm for preserving the system safe operation over both long and real-time horizons was proposed. In this way, FARM would be applied twice, i.e., the original version (“FARM Validator”) aiding the solution of the power dispatch problem, and the modified version (“FARM Supervisory” coordinating the PI controllers to address the real-time control tasks. Despite the kernel of the two modules is the same algorithm, their roles, tasks, and capabilities are quite different. A detailed description of the role of FARM at addressing low-level control tasks is provided, along with tentative operational procedures for training the models embedded into the algorithm by using the collected experimental data.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2014

Experimental Validation of a Resilient Monitoring and Control System

Complex, high performance, engineering systems have to be closely monitored and controlled to ensure safe operation and protect public from potential hazards. One of the main challenges in designing monitoring and control algorithms for these systems is that sensors and actuators may be malfunctioning due to malicious or natural causes. To address this challenge, this paper addresses a resilient monitoring and control (ReMAC) system by expanding previously developed resilient condition assessment monitoring systems and Kalman filter-based diagnostic methods and integrating them with a supervisory controller developed here. While the monitoring and diagnostic algorithms assess plant cyber and physical health conditions, the supervisory controller selects, from a set of candidates, the best controller based on the current plant health assessments. To experimentally demonstrate its enhanced performance, the developed ReMAC system is then used for monitoring and control of a chemical reactor with a water cooling system in a hardware-in-the-loop setting, where the reactor is computer simulated and the water cooling system is implemented by a machine condition monitoring testbed at Idaho National Laboratory. Results show that the ReMAC system is able to make correct plant health assessments despite sensor malfunctioning due to cyber attacks and make decisions that achieve best control actions despite possible actuator malfunctioning. Monitoring challenges caused by mismatches between assumed system component models and actual measurements are also identified for future work.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2020

Design and Implementation of Full-Scale Industrial Control System Test Bed for Assessing Cyber-Security Defenses

In response to the increasing awareness of the Ethernet-based threat surface of industrial control systems (ICS), both the research and commercial communities are responding with ICS-specific security solutions. Unfortunately, many of the properties of ICS environments that contribute to the extent of this threat surface (e.g. age of devices, inability or unwillingness to patch, criticality of the system) similarly prevent the proper testing and evaluation of these security solutions. Production environments are often too fragile to introduce unvetted technology and most organizations lack test environments that are sufficiently consistent with production to yield actionable results. Cost and space requirements prevent the creation of mirrored physical environments leading many to look towards simulation or virtualization. Examples in literature provide various approaches to building ICS test beds, though most of these suffer from a lack of realism due to contrived scenarios, synthetic data and other compromises. In this paper, we provide a design methodology for building highly realistic ICS test beds for validating cybersecurity defenses. We then apply that methodology to the design and building of a specific test bed and describe the results and experimental use cases.

Gillen, Rob↗

DOE OSTI2026

Python-EPICS RF Conditioning Automatic Control System at the Spallation Neutron Source

The RF Test Facility (RFTF) at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) is used for the conditioning of RF compo-nents such as ceramic vacuum windows and power cou-plers prior to their installation in the H- ion linear accel-erator. This process exposes components to high-power RF fields and thermal cycling to improve performance and remove surface impurities. To automate and optimize this process, a Python-based EPICS control system was developed alongside targeted hardware upgrades. The system enables real-time monitoring and control of RF power levels, temperature, and vacuum pressure. A user-friendly graphical interface was implemented using CS-Studio (Phoebus), allowing operators to adjust parameters and collect data efficiently. The system integrates a High-Power Protection Module (HPM) for interlocks based on vacuum and arc detection, ensuring safe operation. These upgrades have significantly improved the efficiency, accuracy, and safety of RF conditioning at the SNS RFTF. This paper describes the updated RF conditioning sys-tem, highlighting the software and hardware develop-ments and their application in support of the Proton Pow-er Upgrade (PPU) project.

Lee, Sung-Woo [ORNL] (ORCID:000000030915835X)↗

DOE OSTI2017

Power control system modification and simulation of CPR1000 - 181

Due to development of electric power system, the proportion of nuclear power and its needs for load follow operation have become large. Then there would be higher requirements to the power control ability of the nuclear power system. The axial power distribution may change a lot in the operation process and be affected by many factors. In particular, as the power change is performed within a load follow maneuver, several modifications occur in the core from a neutronic view point: the fuel and moderator temperature change, the xenon concentration and distribution are modified, the power distribution skewed axially, etc. These changes need to be adequately counterbalanced to keep both the core critical and the power distribution acceptable. The traditional approach in pressurized water reactors (PWRs) is compensating for the reactivity change due to the power variation by adjusting the soluble boron concentration and moving a limited number of control banks. However, dilution/boronation strategy becomes expensive for short time changes and leads to large volume of liquid effluent, so it is eager about a capability to perform load follow operation without changing soluble boron concentration. CPR1000, one of the main reactor types in China national development, is taken an example in this paper. It adopts a control method called Mode G, using G banks, N banks, R bank and soluble boron to perform the load follow control. According to the analysis of the physics and thermal principle, a two-node dynamic function model was built, putting the coupling coefficient and mutual influence into consideration. By the calculation of these transient parameter values which are acquired by the steady-state calculation of single channel, the core system model of CPR1000 is established. In order to carry out the load follow operation without the boron adjustment, named as BTP mode, the control banks were regrouped to control the average temperature by M banks and axial offset by AO bank. After that, the average temperature control system (M banks control system) and the axial offset control system (AO bank control system) are built. When the optimal control system is connected to the core model simulation platform, the BTP mode load follow operation of the modified CPR1000 is simulated in the end of the paper. (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗