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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2020

Solar+ Optimizer: A Model Predictive Control Optimization Platform for Grid Responsive Building Microgrids

With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this paper, we present the “Solar+ Optimizer” (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1996

Development of Secondary Archive System at Goddard Space Flight Center Version 0 Distributed Active Archive Center

The Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) version 0 Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) has been developed to support existing and pre Earth Observing System (EOS) Earth science datasets, facilitate the scientific research, and test EOS data and information system (EOSDIS) concepts. To ensure that no data is ever lost, each product received at GSFC DAAC is archived on two different media, VHS and digital linear tape (DLT). The first copy is made on VHS tape and is under the control of UniTree. The second and third copies are made to DLT and VHS media under a custom built software package named 'Archer'. While Archer provides only a subset of the functions available with commercial software like UniTree, it supports migration between near-line and off-line media and offers much greater performance and flexibility to satisfy the specific needs of a data center. Archer is specifically designed to maximize total system throughput, rather than focusing on the turn-around time for individual files. The commercial off the shelf software (COTS) hierarchical storage management (HSM) products evaluated were mainly concerned with transparent, interactive, file access to the end-user, rather than a batch-orientated, optimizable (based on known data file characteristics) data archive and retrieval system. This is critical to the distribution requirements of the GSFC DAAC where orders for 5000 or more files at a time are received. Archer has the ability to queue many thousands of file requests and to sort these requests into internal processing schedules that optimize overall throughput. Specifically, mount and dismount, tape load and unload cycles, and tape motion are minimized. This feature did not seem to be available in many COTS pacages. Archer also uses a generic tar tape format that allows tapes to be read by many different systems rather than the proprietary format found in most COTS packages. This paper discusses some of the specific requirements at GSFC DAAC, the motivations for implementing the Archer system, and presents a discussion of the Archer design that resulted.

Sherman, Mark↗

NASA NTRS2009

Water Pump Development for the EVA PLSS

This paper describes the effort by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and Honeywell for NASA to design, fabricate, and test a preflight prototype pump for use in the Extravehicular activity (EVA) portable life support subsystem (PLSS). Major design decisions were driven by the need to reduce the pump s mass, power, and volume compared to the existing PLSS pump. In addition, the pump will accommodate a much wider range of abnormal conditions than the existing pump, including vapor/gas bubbles and increased pressure drop when employed to cool two suits simultaneously. A positive displacement, external gear type pump was selected because it offers the most compact and highest efficiency solution over the required range of flow rates and pressure drops. An additional benefit of selecting a gear pump design is that it is self priming and capable of ingesting noncondensable gas without becoming "air locked." The chosen pump design consists of a 28 V DC, brushless, sealless, permanent magnet motor driven, external gear pump that utilizes a Honeywell development that eliminates the need for magnetic coupling. Although the planned flight unit will use a sensorless motor with custom designed controller, the preflight prototype to be provided for this project incorporates Hall effect sensors, allowing an interface with a readily available commercial motor controller. This design approach reduced the cost of this project and gives NASA more flexibility in future PLSS laboratory testing. The pump design was based on existing Honeywell designs, but incorporated features specifically for the PLSS application, including all of the key features of the flight pump. Testing at TEES will simulate the vacuum environment in which the flight pump will operate. Testing will verify that the pump meets design requirements for range of flow rates, pressure rise, power consumption, working fluid temperature, operating time, and restart capability. Pump testing is currently scheduled for March, 2009, after which the pump will be delivered to NASA for further testing.

Schuller, Michael↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Solid-state Laser Development for the in Situ Spectroscopic Europa Explorer Instrument

The in Situ Spectroscopic Europa Explorer (iSEE) instrument is an ultra-compact laser-enabled Raman spectrometer instrument that meets the top-level science requirements for multiple future planetary in situ missions to explore the surface and atmospheric chemistry of planetary bodies across the Solar System. Enceladus, Europa, the Moon, Mars, and Venus are some of the primary targets for future NASA missions to search for extraterrestrial life and potentially habitable environments beyond Earth, further our understanding of the timing and formation of the Solar System and identify potentially viable economic resources such as water and/or valuable metal assets. We report on the advancement and space flight qualification of a compact, robust, solid-state laser operating at 515 nm that serves as the excitation source for the iSEE investigation. The iSEE instrument is being developed under a NASA Maturation of Instruments for Solar System Exploration (MatISSE) program. The iSEE laser is a diode pumped 1030 nm Yb:YAG microchip laser with a second harmonic generator to achieve an output wavelength of 515 nm and coupled to a multi-mode fiber for delivery to the Raman spectrometer probe. The fundamental 1030 nm laser operates at a pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of 1-10 kHz with pulse energy of 95 μJ and ~800 ps pulse width. A 15 mm long Type II KTP crystal is used for second harmonic generation from 1030 nm to 515 nm. The residual fundamental 1030 nm is separated from the 515 nm beam using a pair of dichroic filters. A focusing lens couples the 515 nm beam to the optical fiber to produce an output laser pulse energy of 20 μJ. A custom vacuum fiber feedthrough assembly was designed with two 105 μm core fibers, and two 200 μm core fibers. One fiber is needed for coupling the laser to the iSEE instrument, and the additionally fibers provide redundancy and design flexibility. The laser enclosure is pressurized with >1 atm of clean dry air. The laser has been designed to minimize the size, weight, and power (SWaP) for a lander instrument with minimal resources. The laser will go through environmental testing including vibration and thermal vacuum testing for space flight qualification. Here we discuss the design, trade studies, performance, and environmental qualificationtesting of the iSEE laser.

Solid state laser, Raman spectrometer, visible las↗

NASA NTRS1995

Weaves as an Interconnection Fabric for ASIM's and Nanosatellites

Many of the micromachines under consideration require computer support, indeed, one of the appeals of this technology is the ability to intermix mechanical, optical, analog, and digital devices on the same substrate. The amount of computer power is rarely an issue, the sticking point is the complexity of the software required to make effective use of these devices. Micromachines are the nano-technologist's equivalent of 'golden screws'. In other words, they will be piece parts in larger assemblages. For example, a nano-satellite may be composed of stacked silicon wafers where each wafer contains hundreds to thousands of micromachines, digital controllers, general purpose computers, memories, and high-speed bus interconnects. Comparatively few of these devices will be custom designed, most will be stock parts selected from libraries and catalogs. The novelty will lie in the interconnections. For example, a digital accelerometer may be a component part in an adaptive suspension, a monitoring element embedded in the wrapper of a package, or a portion of the smart skin of a launch vehicle. In each case, this device must inter-operate with other devices and probes for the purposes of command, control, and communication. We propose a software technology called 'weaves' that will permit large collections of micromachines and their attendant computers to freely intercommunicate while preserving modularity, transparency, and flexibility. Weaves are composed of networks of communicating software components. The network, and the components comprising it, may be changed even while the software, and the devices it controls, are executing. This unusual degree of software plasticity permits micromachines to dynamically adapt the software to changing conditions and allows system engineers to rapidly and inexpensively develop special purpose software by assembling stock software components in custom configurations.

Gorlick, Michael M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Evidence of Residential Demand Flexibility in a 46 Townhome Neighborhood

Demand response is an important emerging part of smart grids and it has been well researched from the theoretical and modeling perspectives. The empirical evidence on demand response is scarce, resulting in a limited understanding of many important aspects of demand response, including latency, cycling, and overrides - including acceptable impacts to customer comfort, convenience, and productivity in the new remote work era. We attempt to provide additional information to address this knowledge gap by sharing early results from the 46-townhome testbed located in Atlanta, GA. We report our findings from the first three months of experimental work. These focus on the delays associated with device status updates, characteristics of user overrides of control signals, and the share of devices available for demand response. We also provide some information about the duration of demand response events and a discussion of some properties of the testbed neighborhood.

Tsybina, Eve↗

DOE OSTI2022

SolarPlus-Optimizer v0.1

With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this software package, we present the "Solar+ Optimizer" (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.

Prakash, AnandKrishnan↗

NASA NTRS1991

Macintosh II based space Telemetry and Command (MacTac) system

The general architecture and the principal functions of the Macintosh II based Telemetry and Command system, presently under development, are described, with attention given to custom telemetry cards, input/output interfaces, and the icon driven user interface. The MacTac is a low-cost, transportable, easy to use, compact system designed to meet the requirements specified by the Consultative Committeee for Space Data Systems while remaining flexible enough to support a wide variety of other user specific telemetry processing requirements, such as TDM data. In addition, the MacTac can accept or generate forward data (such as spacecraft commands), calculate and append a Polynomial Check Code, and output these data to NASCOM to provide full Telemetry and Command capability.

Dominy, Carol T.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Characteristics of a semi-custom library development system

Standard cell and gate array macro libraries are in common use with workstation computer aided design (CAD) tools for application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) semi-custom application and have resulted in significant improvements in the overall design efficiencies as contrasted with custom design methodologies. Similar design methodology enhancements in providing for the efficient development of the library cells is an important factor in responding to the need for continuous technology improvement. The characteristics of a library development system that provides design flexibility and productivity enhancements for the library development engineer as he provides libraries in the state-of-the-art process technologies are presented. An overview of Gould's library development system ('Accolade') is also presented.

Yancey, M.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Volume serving and media management in a networked, distributed client/server environment

The E-Systems Modular Automated Storage System (EMASS) is a family of hierarchical mass storage systems providing complete storage/'file space' management. The EMASS volume server provides the flexibility to work with different clients (file servers), different platforms, and different archives with a 'mix and match' capability. The EMASS design considers all file management programs as clients of the volume server system. System storage capacities are tailored to customer needs ranging from small data centers to large central libraries serving multiple users simultaneously. All EMASS hardware is commercial off the shelf (COTS), selected to provide the performance and reliability needed in current and future mass storage solutions. All interfaces use standard commercial protocols and networks suitable to service multiple hosts. EMASS is designed to efficiently store and retrieve in excess of 10,000 terabytes of data. Current clients include CRAY's YMP Model E based Data Migration Facility (DMF), IBM's RS/6000 based Unitree, and CONVEX based EMASS File Server software. The VolSer software provides the capability to accept client or graphical user interface (GUI) commands from the operator's console and translate them to the commands needed to control any configured archive. The VolSer system offers advanced features to enhance media handling and particularly media mounting such as: automated media migration, preferred media placement, drive load leveling, registered MediaClass groupings, and drive pooling.

Herring, Ralph H.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Bumper 3 Update for IADC Protection Manual

The Bumper code has been the standard in use by NASA and contractors to perform meteoroid/debris risk assessments since 1990. It has undergone extensive revisions and updates [NASA JSC HITF website; Christiansen et al., 1992, 1997]. NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) has applied BUMPER to risk assessments for Space Station, Shuttle, Mir, Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMU) space suits, and other spacecraft (e.g., LDEF, Iridium, TDRS, and Hubble Space Telescope). Bumper continues to be updated with changes in the ballistic limit equations describing failure threshold of various spacecraft components, as well as changes in the meteoroid and debris environment models. Significant efforts are expended to validate Bumper and benchmark it to other meteoroid/debris risk assessment codes. Bumper 3 is a refactored version of Bumper II. The structure of the code was extensively modified to improve maintenance, performance and flexibility. The architecture was changed to separate the frequently updated ballistic limit equations from the relatively stable common core functions of the program. These updates allow NASA to produce specific editions of the Bumper 3 that are tailored for specific customer requirements. The core consists of common code necessary to process the Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) environment models, assess shadowing and calculate MMOD risk. The library of target response subroutines includes a board range of different types of MMOD shield ballistic limit equations as well as equations describing damage to various spacecraft subsystems or hardware (thermal protection materials, windows, radiators, solar arrays, cables, etc.). The core and library of ballistic response subroutines are maintained under configuration control. A change in the core will affect all editions of the code, whereas a change in one or more of the response subroutines will affect all editions of the code that contain the particular response subroutines which are modified. Note that the Bumper II program is no longer maintained or distributed by NASA.

Christiansen, Eric L.↗

DOE OSTI2021

Opportunities and Challenges to Capturing Distributed Battery Value via Retail Utility Rates and Programs

Distributed battery deployment is increasing with advanced metering, control, and communication technologies, leaving electric utilities with an under-utilized, flexible grid resource in aggregate. Rates can reflect locational and temporal prices while utility incentive-based programs allow DERs to provide direct grid services. However, utilities must balance accurately reflecting dynamic grid conditions versus simple and feasible design that encourages customer participation. Currently, most rates and incentive-based programs are simple, but as penetration of DER and advanced controls increase, dynamic designs could become prevalent. Utilities could encourage providing multiple services to optimize distributed battery dispatch and value streams, however, challenges persist when stacking services across distribution and bulk systems. A DER committed to multiple discrete services concurrently necessitates coordination between operators and a clear hierarchy of commitments. One way to address this is to separate commitments by time or capacity. For services that follow cyclic, predictable patterns, or those that are peak driven with predictability, an operator could ensure sufficient state of charge for participation, leaving time where a distributed battery could otherwise provide different services by segmenting participation temporally. To provide continuous or unexpected services, a battery operator may use state of charge management to reserve some percentage of the battery and segment participation by capacity. Macroeconomic trends, load patterns, generation profiles, and grid configurations drive variation in value and the subsequent implications for utility offerings and how a customer might participate. As distributed battery adoption increases, both regulators and utilities will need to ensure no adverse grid impacts and encourage provision of societal value beyond the customer domain.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2009

Custom Unit Pump Design and Testing for the EVA PLSS

This paper describes the effort by the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) and Honeywell for NASA to design and test a pre-flight prototype pump for use in the Extra-vehicular activity (EVA) portable life support subsystem (PLSS). Major design decisions were driven by the need to reduce the pump s mass, power, and volume compared to the existing PLSS pump. In addition, the pump must accommodate a much wider range of abnormal conditions than the existing pump, including vapor/gas bubbles and increased pressure drop when employed to cool two suits simultaneously. A positive displacement, external gear type pump was selected because it offers the most compact and highest efficiency solution over the required range of flow rates and pressure drops. An additional benefit of selecting a gear pump design is that it is self priming and capable of ingesting non-condensable gas without becoming air locked. The chosen pump design consists of a 28 V DC, brushless, sealless, permanent magnet motor driven, external gear pump that utilizes a Honeywell development that eliminates the need for magnetic coupling. Although the planned flight unit will use a sensorless motor with custom designed controller, the pre-flight prototype to be provided for this project incorporates Hall effect sensors, allowing an interface with a readily available commercial motor controller. This design approach reduced the cost of this project and gives NASA more flexibility in future PLSS laboratory testing. The pump design was based on existing Honeywell designs, but incorporated features specifically for the PLSS application, including all of the key features of the flight pump. Testing at TEES verified that the pump meets the design requirements for range of flow rates, pressure drop, power consumption, working fluid temperature, operating time, gas ingestion , and restart capability under both ambient and vacuum conditions. The pump operated between 40 and 240 lbm/hr flowrate, 35 to 100 F pump temperature range, and 5 to 10 psid pressure rise. Power consumption of the pump controller at the nominal operating point in both ambient and vacuum conditions was 9.5 W, which was less than the 12 W predicted. Gas ingestion capabilities were tested by injecting 100 cc of air into the fluid line; the pump operated normally throughout this test. The test results contained a number of anomalies, specifically power increases and a few flow stoppages, that prompted TEES and Honeywell to disassemble and inspect the pump. Inspection indicated contamination in the pump and fit issues may have played roles in the observed anomalies. Testing following reassembly indicated that the performance of the pump 1) matched both the predicted performance values, 2) the performance values measured prior to disassembly, and 3) was free of the anomalies noted in the pre-disassembly testing.

Schuller, Michael↗

DOE OSTI2021

OCHRE: The Object-oriented, Controllable, High-resolution Residential Energy Model for Dynamic Integration Studies

Electrification and the growth of distributed energy resources (DERs), including flexible loads, are changing the energy landscape of electric distribution systems and creating new challenges and opportunities for electric utilities. Changes in demand profiles require improvements in distribution system load models, which have not historically accounted for device controllability or impacts on customer comfort. Although building modeling research has focused on these features, there is a need to incorporate them into distribution load models that include DERs and can be used to study grid-interactive buildings. In this paper, we present the Object-oriented, Controllable, High-resolution Residential Energy (OCHRE) model. OCHRE is a controllable thermal-electric residential energy model that captures building thermal dynamics, integrates grid-dependent electrical behavior, contains models for common DERs and end-use loads, and simulates at a time resolution down to 1 minute. It includes models for space heaters, air conditioners, water heaters, electric vehicles, photovoltaics, and batteries that are externally controllable and integrated in a co-simulation framework. Using a proposed zero energy ready community in Colorado, we co-simulate a distribution grid and 498 all-electric homes with a diverse set of efficiency levels and equipment properties. We show that controllable devices can reduce peak demand within a neighborhood by up to 73% during a critical peak period without sacrificing occupant comfort. We also demonstrate the importance of modeling load diversity at a high time resolution when quantifying power and voltage fluctuations across a distribution system.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Real Vector Framework

SAND2025-11463O The Real Vector Framework (RVF) is a modern and flexible C++ vector math library for developing scientific computing software that involves vector computations. RVF allows an opt-in approach to functionality that parallels the familiar base-class and override structures of object-oriented programming. Users can reuse and customize the code without inheritance entanglements and dynamic dispatch, while enabling seamless interoperability between diverse container types. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

von Winckel, Gregory [Sandia National Lab. (SNL-CA↗

DOE OSTI2024

Developing an intrinsically secure information barrier for arms control verification through machine learning

Near-term solutions are needed to allow for flexible engagement in future nuclear arms control discussions. This project developed a method for implementing an information barrier (IB) on commercial systems, shortening the research and development lifecycle for warhead verification technologies while offering improved and inherently flexible capabilities. The crux of the verification challenge remains the difficulty in developing an authenticatable IB which prevents sensitive host country information from inadvertent transmission to an inspector. Many concepts for IB’s rely on dedicated “trusted” processor modules developed with dedicated custom radiation detection systems and associated algorithms. Without a priori knowledge of the treaty item, the parameter space for measurements can be nearly infinite and robustness against spoofing without the ability to view sensitive data is key. This project has produced an unclassified framework capable of ingesting data from common gamma detectors and identifying the presence of weapons grade nuclear material at over 90% accuracy.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗

DOE OSTI2025

Distributed Energy Resource (DER) Integration Framework: Regulatory Innovation for DER Compensation and Cost Allocation

Existing regulatory approaches to DER lack the precision and granularity necessary to ensure that DER can continue to scale in a cost-effective manner that is aligned with the public interest. To address this need, with the support of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity, Berkeley Lab and Current Energy Group developed an illustrative regulatory framework. By adopting a technology-neutral and modular approach, the framework enables flexibility and scalability for DER providers, utilities, and regulators. Clear price signals and incentives encourage the provision of valuable grid services, while equitable cost allocation promotes efficient use of distribution capacity and interconnection resources. This approach mirrors traditional ratemaking principles for importing customers and positions DERs as integral components of a dynamic and cost-effective energy future.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2026

Modeling Framework for Data Center

This chapter highlights the critical need for advanced modeling of data centers due to their rapidly increasing energy consumption and impact on grid reliability. Driven by the demand for AI applications, data centers are projected to consume a significant portion of US energy by 2028, putting stress on an already challenged power grid. The chapter emphasizes the importance of "fast" time-scale models to understand the dynamic interactions between data centers and the grid, especially given the rapid power fluctuations of AI workloads. It outlines a modeling framework that includes both offline and real-time EMT domain simulations, detailing the necessary representations for various components like utility interfaces, transformers, IT loads, UPS, cooling loads, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), generators, protection systems, and higher-level control systems. While standard simulation tools like PSCAD offer basic models, custom development is often required to accurately capture the unique and fast-changing behaviors of modern data centers. The chapter also discusses key metrics and test cases for validating these models, focusing on transient load responses, protection relay coordination, and demand flexibility. Finally, it addresses the challenges of modeling large-scale data centers, such as computational complexity and the trade-off between model fidelity and practicality, suggesting hybrid modeling approaches as a solution. The overarching goal is to create a robust framework that helps assess data center impacts on grid stability, identify vulnerabilities, and inform the development of standards for reliable integration of these large loads into the bulk power system.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗