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NASA NTRS1994

(abstract) MEASURE-Jupiter: Low Cost Missions to Explore Jupiter in the Post-Galileo Era

MEASURE-Jupiter is a new mission concept for the exploration of giant planets, with initial application to Jupiter. By flying sets of lightweight spacecraft with highly focused measurement objectives, it is designed to break the apparent impass in giant planet exploration beyond Cassini. The MEASURE-Jupiter concept is characterized by: 1) intensive exploration of a giant planet system, 2) multiple small missions flown in focused waves using spacecraft costing $100M to $200M, and 3) mission sets launched every 2 to 3 years. Why Jupiter? Jupiter is the most complex planetary system in the Solar System with many scientifically intriguing bodies and phenomena to explore. The Galileo mission will scratch the surface of the exploration of Jupiter, posing many questions for the MEASURE-Jupiter missions to address. Jupiter is also the easiest planet in the Outer Solar System to reach, making possible flight times of 2 years and total mission durations of 3 years or less. Concept design studies have uncovered a number of scientifically rewarding, simple, low-cost mission options. These options have the additional attraction of being able to launch on 2-year trajectories to Jupiter with low-cost Delta II expendable launch vehicles. A partial list of mission concepts studied to date include: Io Very Close Flyby, Jupiter Close Polar Pass, Mini-Orbiters, and Galilean Satellite Penetrators. Key to the realization of the MEASURE-Jupiter missions is the judicious use of the new low power consuming advanced technology and applicable systems from the Pluto Fast Flyby mission spacecraft design. Foremost of the new technologies planned for inclusion are the elements of hybrid solar array/battery power systems which make it possible to perform the identified missions without the need for Radioactive Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs). This relieves the mission design of the attendant programmatic complexities, cost, and constraints attendant with the use of RTGs.

MEASURE-Jupiter Jupiter Pluto Fast Flyby low cost ↗

DOE OSTI2024

Best Practices for Resilience in Smart Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

The Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) supports federal agencies' energy decisions with information and guidance on design, funding, and operations to ensure federal buildings are efficient and resilient. The modernization of building infrastructure and the evolution of buildings to support decarbonization involves complex implementation of multiple components across several systems. This includes energy-efficient equipment, on-site energy generation and storage systems, and control systems. These systems have operational modes that can operate more efficiently if they are able to behave responsively to the conditions of the electrical grid. These grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEB) allow facilities to manage power demand according to operational constraints and market signals issued by grid operators. With proper design and planning, these same capabilities have the potential to enable building and facility resilience - coordinating with microgrids, maintaining power on critical circuits to sustain essential operations, and monitoring building health and safety status during an outage. By managing the load of buildings, GEBs can also reduce the cost of backup generation and make better use of renewable power sources on site. This document outlines some of the processes and considerations to guide the design and operation of GEBs in ways that promote facility resilience.

building decarbonization↗

DOE OSTI2023

Optimal mitigation and control over power system dynamics for stochastic grid resilience

Optimal mitigation planning for highly disruptive contingencies to a transmission-level power system requires optimization with dynamic power system constraints, due to the key role of dynamics in system stability to major perturbations. We formulate a generalized disjunctive program to determine optimal grid component hardening choices for protecting against major failures, with differential algebraic constraints representing system dynamics (specifically, differential equations representing generator and load behavior and algebraic equations representing instantaneous power balance over the transmission system). We optionally allow stochastic optimal pre-positioning across all considered failure scenarios, and optimal emergency control within each scenario. This novel formulation allows, for the first time, analyzing the resilience interdependencies of mitigation planning, preventive control, and emergency control. Using all three strategies in concert is particularly effective at maintaining robust power system operation under severe contingencies, as we demonstrate on the western system coordinating council 9-bus test system using synthetic multi-device outage scenarios.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Dynamics Informed Optimization for Resilient Energy Systems

Optimal mitigation planning for highly disruptive contingencies to a transmission-level power system requires optimization with dynamic power system constraints, due to the key role of dynamics in system stability to major perturbations. We formulate a generalized disjunctive program to determine optimal grid component hardening choices for protecting against major failures, with differential algebraic constraints representing system dynamics (specifically, differential equations representing generator and load behavior and algebraic equations representing instantaneous power balance over the transmission system). We optionally allow stochastic optimal pre-positioning across all considered failure scenarios, and optimal emergency control within each scenario. This novel formulation allows, for the first time, analyzing the resilience interdependencies of mitigation planning, preventive control, and emergency control. Using all three strategies in concert is particularly effective at maintaining robust power system operation under severe contingencies, as we demonstrate on the Western System Coordinating Council (WSCC) 9-bus test system using synthetic multi-device outage scenarios. Towards integrating our modeling framework with real threats and more realistic power systems, we explore applying hybrid dynamics to power systems. Our work is applied to basic RL circuits with the ultimate goal of using the methodology to model protective tripping schemes in the grid. Finally, we survey mitigation techniques for HEMP threats and describe a GIS application developed to create threat scenarios in a grid with geographic detail.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2005

International Space Station Electric Power System Performance Code-SPACE

The System Power Analysis for Capability Evaluation (SPACE) software analyzes and predicts the minute-by-minute state of the International Space Station (ISS) electrical power system (EPS) for upcoming missions as well as EPS power generation capacity as a function of ISS configuration and orbital conditions. In order to complete the Certification of Flight Readiness (CoFR) process in which the mission is certified for flight each ISS System must thoroughly assess every proposed mission to verify that the system will support the planned mission operations; SPACE is the sole tool used to conduct these assessments for the power system capability. SPACE is an integrated power system model that incorporates a variety of modules tied together with integration routines and graphical output. The modules include orbit mechanics, solar array pointing/shadowing/thermal and electrical, battery performance, and power management and distribution performance. These modules are tightly integrated within a flexible architecture featuring data-file-driven configurations, source- or load-driven operation, and event scripting. SPACE also predicts the amount of power available for a given system configuration, spacecraft orientation, solar-array-pointing conditions, orbit, and the like. In the source-driven mode, the model must assure that energy balance is achieved, meaning that energy removed from the batteries must be restored (or balanced) each and every orbit. This entails an optimization scheme to ensure that energy balance is maintained without violating any other constraints.

Hojnicki, Jeffrey↗

DOE OSTI2022

Economic Impact of Permitting Timelines on Geothermal Power in California, Nevada, and Utah

The United States has great geothermal power potential; however, only a small fraction of this resource has been utilized for power generation. Various barriers, including technical, financial, and regulatory permit delays, are attributed to the lower penetration of geothermal energy into the national grid. Unpredictable environmental reviews and permitting timelines are some of the non-technical barriers that can cause delays in geothermal exploration and utilization plans. This document provides an assessment of the potential economic impact of permitting costs and timelines on geothermal power in California, Nevada, and Utah. Development of geothermal resources requires multi-layered regulatory permitting by local, state, and federal agencies. In this study, we collected and reviewed permit timelines and associated cost data for several existing geothermal power plants as well as for geothermal projects currently undergoing permitting processes for exploration and development activities in California, Nevada, and Utah. We interviewed several geothermal developers and staff from multiple permitting agencies to obtain insight from both sides (i.e., people applying for permits and people processing those applications for California Environmental Quality Act [CEQA] and National Environmental Policy Act [NEPA] reviews and other regulatory compliance). The intent of this project was also to identify informative pathways for the geothermal stakeholder community by which the permitting process could be streamlined.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2021

Spatiotemporal energy infrastructure datasets for the United States: A review

Not Available

Tavakkoli, Sakineh↗

NASA NTRS2009

Physical Principle for Generation of Randomness

A physical principle (more precisely, a principle that incorporates mathematical models used in physics) has been conceived as the basis of a method of generating randomness in Monte Carlo simulations. The principle eliminates the need for conventional random-number generators. The Monte Carlo simulation method is among the most powerful computational methods for solving high-dimensional problems in physics, chemistry, economics, and information processing. The Monte Carlo simulation method is especially effective for solving problems in which computational complexity increases exponentially with dimensionality. The main advantage of the Monte Carlo simulation method over other methods is that the demand on computational resources becomes independent of dimensionality. As augmented by the present principle, the Monte Carlo simulation method becomes an even more powerful computational method that is especially useful for solving problems associated with dynamics of fluids, planning, scheduling, and combinatorial optimization. The present principle is based on coupling of dynamical equations with the corresponding Liouville equation. The randomness is generated by non-Lipschitz instability of dynamics triggered and controlled by feedback from the Liouville equation. (In non-Lipschitz dynamics, the derivatives of solutions of the dynamical equations are not required to be bounded.)

Zak, Michail↗

DOE OSTI2021

Deploying Intra-hour Uncertainty Analysis Tools to ABB’s GridView - CRADA 445

The quickly-changing generation resource mix in the US grid, with large additions of variable resources, retirements of traditional thermal generation, distributed generation and demand response, are creating new challenges on the traditional operation of both the generation and transmission systems. The ability to perform intra-hour high fidelity production cost modeling (PCM) is needed to allow grid operators and grid planners to integrate high penetration (more than 50%) of variable energy resources, and to make prompt well informed decisions in market operations and planning. In the last decade, PNNL has developed several stand-alone tools to enable grid operators and planners to understand the impact of high variable generation on their systems. These tools have been used is studies such as: (1) Evaluation the benefits of WECC balancing authorities coordination under high variable generation penetration , (2) Benefits of Energy Imbalance Market in the North West Power Pool and (3) Duke Energy and NV Energy solar integration studies. ABB’s GridView is a widely used commercial PCM tool. It is the tool used by WECC and their stakeholders to develop the WECC PCM planning model on bi-annual basis. This proposal is focused on the integrating of PNNL intra-hour uncertainty analysis tools to GridView.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2025

Assessment of NuScale SMR Steam Heat Augmentation for Chemical Plant Decarbonization

Nearly 50% of the total energy consumed by the industrial sector in the United States is used to produce process steam with natural gas and coal-fired boilers1 . This project conducts a technoeconomic assessment of a NuScale Small Modular Reactor (SMR) coupled with a chemical plant as an Integrated Energy System (IES) where nuclear produces steam and electric power to meet the requirements of a large chemical plant. In a 2020 study, ORNL evaluated the feasibility of using advanced SMRs, including the NuScale design, to supply energy to the Eastman Chemical Plant. However, since that report was published, NuScale received NRC approval for its uprated 77 MWe design with 56% more power and has also introduced a high-temperature, high pressure, steam heat-augmentation system, a key focus of the new study. The new study also benefits from revised capital costs, a 10-day refueling outage time, reduced plant staffing, higher capacity factors, and a site boundary Emergency Planning Zone methodology. The study consists of a techno-economic assessment of two possible energy sources (nuclear and natural gas) in a number of steam and power generation configurations (NuScale Power Modules (NPMs), boilers and combinations of both) to satisfy the steam and power demand with the most reliable and cost competitive system. A total of 2,947.3 klb/hr of steam and 72.5 MWe of electricity are required for the demonstration case. A range of scenarios and solutions are explored, from a 12-NPM plant (3,000 MWth)—with excess capacity and redundancy, capable of supplying a significant amount of extra power to the grid—to a 4-NPM (1,000 MWth) plant—supplemented with existing boilers or grid power for redundancy. The study uses historical steam and power data from a chemical plant and examines the sensitivity to natural gas and grid power cost variations. Scenarios with up to two times gas and electricity costs were considered. Profitability in a 60-year time horizon was analyzed, consistent with NuScale’s design life specification. A steady-state site integration and reliability analysis was performed, and trade-offs were identified.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS1986

The Science and Applications Tethered Platform (SATP) project

The capabilities of tether systems in orbit are going to be demonstrated by the first planned flights of the Tethered Satellite System (TSS). These test flights will investigate the properties of tether systems as low altitude atmospheric research facilities and as electric power generators. Studies are being conducted with the purpose of testing a variety of concepts and approaches. A comparative analysis of results will allow the choosing of the most promising ideas for further development. The broad range of applications presently under study include applications in electrodynamics, transportation, microgravity in addition to basic research. The SATP project definition study is now about midway through its first phase. The analyses conducted have led to an appraisal of users interest in the project and to a deeper understanding of the problems associated with large, long-lived tether systems in space. In addition, two specialized platform designs, devoted to microgravity and precise pointing applications, are being studied because of their potential usefulness and the promise of technical feasibility.

Merlina, P.↗

NASA NTRS2005

Two-Phase Flow Technology Developed and Demonstrated for the Vision for Exploration

NASA s vision for exploration will once again expand the bounds of human presence in the universe with planned missions to the Moon and Mars. To attain the numerous goals of this vision, NASA will need to develop technologies in several areas, including advanced power-generation and thermal-control systems for spacecraft and life support. The development of these systems will have to be demonstrated prior to implementation to ensure safe and reliable operation in reduced-gravity environments. The Two-Phase Flow Facility (T(PHI) FFy) Project will provide the path to these enabling technologies for critical multiphase fluid products. The safety and reliability of future systems will be enhanced by addressing focused microgravity fluid physics issues associated with flow boiling, condensation, phase separation, and system stability, all of which are essential to exploration technology. The project--a multiyear effort initiated in 2004--will include concept development, normal-gravity testing (laboratories), reduced gravity aircraft flight campaigns (NASA s KC-135 and C-9 aircraft), space-flight experimentation (International Space Station), and model development. This project will be implemented by a team from the NASA Glenn Research Center, QSS Group, Inc., ZIN Technologies, Inc., and the Extramural Strategic Research Team composed of experts from academia.

Sankovic, John M.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Hydropower Resilience Database for Assessing Microgrid Formation Capability and Enhancing Power Grid Resilience

In the face of increasing frequency of extreme events, enhancing resilience and reliability of energy infrastructure demands innovative solutions. Hydropower, with its inherent generation flexibility and grid-forming capability, offers significant potential for enhancing power grid resilience through the establishment of microgrids. To enable informed decision-making and strategic planning, we present the Hydropower Resilience Database (HRD) that integrates data from various sources such as Oakridge National Laboratory (ORNL) HydroSource, National Inventory of Dams, and US Western Grid database. By integrating relevant information on hydropower plant characteristics, including dams, reservoirs, and connected electrical grid, this resource enables hydropower plant owners, utilities, and community stakeholders to identify and evaluate the feasibility of using hydropower resources in microgrids to support nearby communities and critical infrastructure in various challenging scenarios. Using HRD, a set of metrics are evaluated to quantify the capability of hydropower plants to support essential microgrid functions. An interactive tool is developed using ArcGIS, enabling the visualization and analysis using HRD. Our research contributes to strategic planning efforts for fortifying energy infrastructure, ensuring reliable power supply during disruptions, and advancing the development of robust and resilient energy systems in regions susceptible to grid vulnerabilities.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Hydropower Resilience Database for Assessing Microgrid Formation Capability and Enhancing Power Grid Resilience

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Need for research and training reactors for advanced reactor designs

Full text of publication follows. Research and training reactors have served a valuable role in helping train workforce for currently operating fleet of light water reactors. These research and training reactors have been used in reactor laboratory classes to familiarize the students with such vital concepts as approach to criticality, reactor period, neutron moderation, reactivity, flux distribution and leakage, etc. As the industry moves toward advanced non-light-water reactor designs, it is critical that research and training reactors be developed and deployed at university campuses to help train the new generation of nuclear and non-nuclear engineers who are likely to design, build, and operate these advanced reactors. Among the designs currently being pursued for nuclear power generation include molten salt, sodium cooled, and gas cooled designs, with options for various fuel forms. Thus, industry and DOE in collaboration with academic institutions should devise plans on how to familiarize the next generation of nuclear workforce with hands-on experience necessary for such designs. These research and training reactors will play a vital role in familiarizing the future workforce with hands-on experience with concepts associated with fast spectrum reactors, gas cooled reactors, and other features not associated with light water reactors. In addition to classical nuclear engineering concepts, these advanced research and training reactors can also be used for hands-on training as well as for research on features being considered in the design of GEN-IV reactors: cyber security for digital control room operations, hybrid energy system, hydrogen generation, district heating, autonomous control... (author)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Stochastic Adaptive Droop Control in Frequency Regulation of Power Systems With Intermittent Generators

Modern power systems (MPSs), including microgrids (MGs), are increasingly incorporating multiple renewable energy sources (RESs) such as wind and solar power, as well as battery storage and controllable loads. While environmentally beneficial, these sources pose challenges for control and management due to their intermittent and stochastic nature, especially in maintaining frequency stability with multiple interconnected generators of varying capacities. Traditional droop control methods are effective in systems with generators that are dispatchable and have fixed generation capacities, but they fall short when applied to systems with RESs, where generation capacities are dynamic and affected by unpredictable environmental conditions. To address these challenges, this paper introduces a novel stochastic adaptive droop control (SADC) method for load frequency control (LFC). The proposed method adapts droop coefficients in real time, based on the measured stochastic data of power generation capacities, enabling more effective frequency regulation in systems with variable and intermittent power generation. Unlike traditional adaptive control methods, which assume constant or slowly-varying system parameters, this approach accounts for stochastic processes by modeling them as Markov chains, enabling robust performance under highly dynamic and unpredictable conditions. The key contributions of this work include the development of real-time droop coefficient adaptation algorithms, derivation of their stability and convergence properties, and the demonstration of the advantages of the method through simulations. Case studies highlight the improved performance of frequency regulation, particularly in addressing the impact of stochastic weather conditions and the benefits of reducing dependence on battery reserves in dealing with intermittency of RESs. Finally, this paper provides a comprehensive analysis of the theoretical foundations of the method, as well as practical implementation insights for future power systems with high penetration of RESs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

NASA NTRS2012

Design and Test Plans for a Non-Nuclear Fission Power System Technology Demonstration Unit

A joint National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Department of Energy (DOE) team is developing concepts and technologies for affordable nuclear Fission Power Systems (FPSs) to support future exploration missions. A key deliverable is the Technology Demonstration Unit (TDU). The TDU will assemble the major elements of a notional FPS with a non-nuclear reactor simulator (Rx Sim) and demonstrate system-level performance in thermal vacuum. The Rx Sim includes an electrical resistance heat source and a liquid metal heat transport loop that simulates the reactor thermal interface and expected dynamic response. A power conversion unit (PCU) generates electric power utilizing the liquid metal heat source and rejects waste heat to a heat rejection system (HRS). The HRS includes a pumped water heat removal loop coupled to radiator panels suspended in the thermal-vacuum facility. The basic test plan is to subject the system to realistic operating conditions and gather data to evaluate performance sensitivity, control stability, and response characteristics. Upon completion of the testing, the technology is expected to satisfy the requirements for Technology Readiness Level 6 (System Demonstration in an Operational and Relevant Environment) based on the use of high-fidelity hardware and prototypic software tested under realistic conditions and correlated with analytical predictions.

Mason, Lee↗

NASA NTRS1979

Planning Space Shuttle's maiden voyage

NASA's first Space Shuttle, Columbia, whose technological advances include a space laboratory, navigational and communication satellites, and planetary explorers, is examined, and the first few flights, scheduled for 1980, are described. The Shuttle employs an all-digital, all-electronic, computer-operated avionics system. The onboard data processing and software subsystem, encompassing five computers (four online and one backup), a data-bus network, bus terminals, and software, is analyzed in detail. Attention is given to the basic structure of the Orbiter (37.19 m in length and 23.77 m wingspan), its main engines, and the payload and cargo capacities (29,500 kg). A two-step program that could increase the power and duration of spaceflights is presented. The first step is the creation of a power extension package, using solar arrays, generating electricity to extend the basic five-day flight to 20 days, while the second step uses the same design to create a 25-kW power model capable of providing energy for a 50-day flight. Plans for construction of a manned space construction base and a larger power platform of 250 kW are also presented.

Malkin, M. S.↗