Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “building”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Long-Range Ordered Amorphous Atomic Chains as Building Blocks of a Superconducting Quasi-One-Dimensional Crystal

Crystalline and amorphous structures are two of the most common solid-state phases. Crystals having orientational and periodic translation symmetries are usually both short-range and long-range ordered, while amorphous materials have no long-range order. Short-range ordered but long-range disordered materials are generally categorized into amorphous phases. In contrast to the extensively studied crystalline and amorphous phases, the combination of short-range disordered and long-range ordered structures at the atomic level is extremely rare and so far has only been reported for solvated fullerenes under compression. Here, a report on the creation and investigation of a superconducting quasi-1D material with long-range ordered amorphous building blocks is presented. Using a diamond anvil cell, monocrystalline (TaSe4)(2)I is compressed and a system is created where the TaSe(4)atomic chains are in amorphous state without breaking the orientational and periodic translation symmetries of the chain lattice. Strikingly, along with the amorphization of the atomic chains, the insulating (TaSe4)(2)I becomes a superconductor. The data provide critical insight into a new phase of solid-state materials. The findings demonstrate a first ever case where superconductivity is hosted by a lattice with periodic but amorphous constituent atomic chains.

combination of crystalline and amorphous structure↗
DOE OSTI2019

Building a Wide-Area File Transfer Performance Predictor: An Empirical Study

Wide-area data transfer is central to geographically distributed scientific workflows. Faster delivery of data is important for these workflows. Predictability is equally (or even more) important. With the goal of providing a reasonably accurate estimate of data transfer time to improve resource allocation & scheduling for workflows and enable end-to-end data transfer optimization, we apply machine learning methods to develop predictive models for data transfer times over a variety of wide area networks. To build and evaluate these models, we use 201,388 transfers, involving 759 million files totaling 9 PB transferred, over 115 heavily used source-destination pairs (“edges”) between 135 unique endpoints. We evaluate the models for different retraining frequencies and different window size of history data. In the best case, the resulting models have a median prediction error of ≤21% for 50% of the edges, and ≤32% for 75% of the edges. We present a detailed analysis of these results that provides insights into the cause of some of the high errors. We envision that the performance predictor will be informative for scheduling geo-distributed workflows. The insights also suggest obvious directions for both further analysis and transfer service optimization.

Liu, Zhengchun↗
DOE OSTI2020

The effect of lighting environment on task performance in buildings – A review

The effects of indoor environmental conditions on human health, satisfaction, and performance have been the focal point of research for decades. This paper reviews and summarizes the impact of lighting environment on task performance, specifically for the built environment audience. Existing studies included a variety of performance tests on cognitive performance and perception, visual acuity and reaction, memory, reasoning, and labor productivity. Illuminance, luminance ratio and correlated color temperature were found to affect performance in different ways, reflecting the impact of experimental techniques, conditions, performance evaluation methods used and data analysis methods. These were reviewed and categorized, with discussion on limitations related to sample size, modeling approach, carryover effects and other factors affecting individual differences in performance, with recommendations for future improvement. Although no universal conclusions can be made, in general, task performance seems to improve with higher illuminances, contrast ratios in the range of 7–11:1 (while always making sure that glare will not occur in the space) and higher correlated color temperature, while spectral tuning in the red or blue wavelengths has also shown positive effects. To obtain more generic evidence, future studies should be more consistent in terms of experimental procedures and overall light conditions, and also consider the effects of vertical illuminance, daylight provision/control, and outside views on task performance. Finally, studying performance with multi-factorial designs in a human-centered optimized manner (such as deploying variable lighting scenarios optimized for various tasks) can lead to deeper understanding of lighting effects on task performance, and ultimately to improved lighting design and operation in buildings overall.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2012

Creating 3D Web-Based Game Environment Using BIM Models for Virtual On-Site Visiting of Building HVAC Systems

A web-based 3D game project was presented in this paper to demonstrate the process of using building information modeling (BIM) to create an interactive 3D on-line `Green' training environment. The system architecture, the implementation process and major components of this virtual training environment were discussed. Existing studies on BIM-based collaborations mainly focused on local-file-sharing approach using proprietary applications. Limited research focused on using BIM as an online gaming platform to create a web browser-based interactive 3D virtual environment for collaboration, learning and/or training. The gap was partially caused by the lack of understanding how to implement a BIM-based game in web browser environment. In this paper, the authors provided an implementation example using a hospital BIM model to create an interactive web-based 3D BIM game environment to allow users to visualize and interact with the BIM components using regular web browsers. The intention of this project is to create a proprietaryindependent training environment to conduct energy re-commissioning trainings for hospital facility management staff. This virtual BIM environment can potentially be customized for engineering student learning and project collaborations as well. The conclusion was that current BIM and game technology are mature enough to allow us to create serious web-based interactive learning/training virtual environment. The successful integration of BIM and web browsers paved the way for many learning and training applications, which need built-environment as context.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2013

Alfvén wave collisions, the fundamental building block of plasma turbulence. II. Numerical solution

This paper presents the numerical verification of an asymptotic analytical solution for the nonlinear interaction between counterpropagating Alfvén waves, the fundamental building block of astrophysical plasma turbulence. The analytical solution, derived in the weak turbulence limit using the equations of incompressible MHD, is compared to a nonlinear gyrokinetic simulation of an Alfvén wave collision. The agreement between these methods signifies that the incompressible solution satisfactorily describes the essential dynamics of the nonlinear energy transfer, even under the weakly collisional plasma conditions relevant to many astrophysical environments.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Building blocks for correlated superconductors and magnets

Recent efforts at Los Alamos to discover strongly correlated superconductors and hard ferromagnets are reviewed. While serendipity remains a principal engine of materials discovery, design principles and structural building blocks are beginning to emerge that hold potential for predictive discovery. Successes over the last decade with the so-called “115” strongly correlated superconductors are summarized, and more recent efforts to translate these insights and principles to novel hard magnets are discussed. While true “materials by design” remains a distant aspiration, progress is being made in coupling empirical design principles to electronic structure simulation to accelerate and guide materials design and synthesis.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2018

First-Principles Prediction of New Electrides with Nontrivial Band Topology Based on One-Dimensional Building Blocks

In this work, we introduce a new class of electrides with nontrivial band topology by coupling materials database searches and first-principles-calculations-based analysis. Cs 3 O and Ba 3 N are for the first time identified as a new class of electrides, consisting of one-dimensional (1D) nanorod building blocks. Their crystal structures mimic β-TiCl 3 with the position of anions and cations exchanged. Unlike the weakly coupled nanorods of β-TiCl 3 , Cs 3 O and Ba 3 N retain 1D anionic electrons along the hollow interrod sites; additionally, a strong interrod interaction in C 3 O and Ba 3 N induces band inversion in a 2D superatomic triangular lattice, resulting in Dirac-node lines. The new class of electrides can serve as a prototype for new electrides with a large cavity space that can be utilized for various applications such as gas storage, ion transport, and metal intercalation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2015

Comparative Study of DC and AC Microgrids in Commercial Buildings Across Different Climates and Operating Profiles

Bosch has developed and demonstrated a novel direct current (DC) microgrid system that maximizes the efficiency of locally generated photovoltaic energy while offering high reliability, safety, redundancy, and reduced cost compared to equivalent alternating current (AC) systems. Several demonstration projects validating the system feasibility and expected efficiency gains have been completed and additional ones are in progress. This paper gives an overview of the Bosch DC microgrid system and presents key results from a large simulation study done to estimate the energy savings of the Bosch DC microgrid over conventional AC systems. The study examined the system performance in locations across the United States for several commercial building types and operating profiles. It found that the Bosch DC microgrid uses generated PV energy 6%-8% more efficiently than traditional AC systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Deep Reinforcement Learning Based HVAC Control for Reducing Carbon Footprint of Buildings

In this paper, we present our work on deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based intelligent control of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) with the goal of reducing carbon emission. We performed this task using 1) Marginal Operating Emission Rates (MOER), where the objective was to shift the demand to the low emission period of the day and 2) Time-Of-Use (TOU) demand-response price where the objective was to shift the demand to low price period of the day. This was achieved by learning an optimal pre-cooing strategy. We found the carbon emission reduction in the range of 6%-16% depending on the opportunity presented by the MOER signal. Similarly, we observed the carbon emission reduction in the range of 23%-29% during the peak price period when TOU price was used. The results clearly demonstrated the applicability of our approach in reducing the carbon footprint of the building.

carbon emission↗
DOE OSTI2020

Allocation and Operation of A Hydropneumatic Energy Storage with Building Microgrid

Behind-meter application for a recently invented hydropneumatic Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage (GLIDES) is focused in this research. Considering possible uncertainties from solar radiation and electricity load in a building microgrid, two-stage stochastic programming is adopted for 15-min operation and a mixed-integer nonlinear stochastic model is built with integrated energy systems of GLIDES, solar panel and power generating unit. In order to make the model computationally tractable, we use sample average approximate method to decrease associated complexity with sample size and improve solving efficiency. The experimental results in deterministic and stochastic operation indicate that best candidate solution from SAA are superior to the solution from expected value problem in terms of optimality gap and variance.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Value of Behind-The-Meter Energy Storage for Buildings: A Case Study on a University Building in South Africa

Energy storage systems (ESS) have emerged to play an increasingly important role in modern, complex electricity grid systems due to their potential to balance power supply and demand. Furthermore, ESS systems offer the potential to smooth out electricity supply from variable sources such as wind and solar power. Beyond the technical value they bring to the design and operation of modern power systems, ESS also offer the potential to create economic value to owners through many use cases such as demand charge reduction through peak load shaving, and energy arbitrage, also known as time-of-use shifting. The potential to achieve widespread adoption of ESS systems is largely dependent on demonstrating value to would-be consumers. In this study, the value of one potential use case for ESS systems - “behind-the-meter” energy storage for buildings - is explored. Specifically, this value is explored through the lens of a case study of an academic building located on the Stellenbosch University campus in Western Cape, South Africa.

Odukomaiya, Wale O.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Building guide : how to build Xyce from source code.

While Xyce uses the Autoconf and Automake system to configure builds, it is often necessary to perform more than the customary %E2%80%9C./configure%E2%80%9D builds many open source users have come to expect. This document describes the steps needed to get Xyce built on a number of common platforms.

Keiter, Eric Richard↗
DOE OSTI2017

Sandia National Laboratories, Tonopah Test Range Assembly Building 9B (Building 09-54): Photographs and Written Historical and Descriptive Data

Assembly Building 9B (Building 09-54) is a contributing element to the Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) Tonopah Test Range (TTR) Historic District. The SNL TTR Historic District played a significant role in U.S. Cold War history in the areas of stockpile surveillance and non-nuclear field testing of nuclear weapons designs. The district covers approximately 179,200 acres and illustrates Cold War development testing of nuclear weapons components and systems. This report includes historical information, architectural information, sources of information, project information, maps, blueprints, and photographs.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Installation of Ramps and Utility Cabinet at TA-18-1 Slotin Building (Historic Building Report No. 395)

The information below is presented in response to requests for additional information that resulted from a phone conference on November 12, 2020 between Harvey Kaplan of the New Mexico State Historic Preservation Office, DOE NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Manhattan Project National Historical Park Representative, Vicki Loucks, LANL Program Manager for Manhattan Project National Historical Park, Cheryl Abeyta, and LANL Historic Buildings Program Staff, Jeremy Brunette and J.T. Stark. The DOE NNSA Field Office (Field Office) initiated the call to propose additional work be performed to a previously reviewed project, “Restoration of TA-18-0001 (Slotin Building)” (LA-UR-19-26609) (HPD Log # 111110). Of the six actions discussed on the call, which included (1) exterior paint color, (2) entrance ramps, (3) non-period metal siding removal, (4) interior floor finish, (5) reopening secondary entrance door, and (6) addition of utility cabinet with period doors, additional information for two of the actions was requested for further review. The two actions, the construction of entrance ramps and installation of a utility cabinet are addressed in detail.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator – Technical Assistance Project: Northwest Energy Efficiency Council – A Replicable Analysis for Building Operator Certification Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Objectives

The Northwest Energy Efficiency Council (NEEC) requested technical assistance through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings Workforce Accelerator (BBWA) program, with the objective of developing a replicable analytical approach to understanding Building Operator Certification (BOC) program participants and measure progress towards diversity, equity, and inclusion objectives. The technical assistance advances NEEC’s progress towards their goal of recruiting more diverse students to the BOC training and certification program. This report develops a replicable geospatial analysis of BOC program participants based on DEI indicators that can be applied at a national level, provides a step-by-step guide on repeating and updating the analysis, and presents recommendations for future data collection and analysis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluation of Building 23-117, Administration Building, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Nuclear Security Administration Nevada Field Office (NNSA/NFO) plans to update the façade of Building 23-117, Administration Building (Nevada State Historic Preservation Office [SHPO] Resource No. B15256), at the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) in Nye County, Nevada. The NNSA/NFO is implementing a long-term project to modernize the town of Mercury for future mission needs. The project is considered an undertaking subject to review under Title 54 of United States Code (USC) § 306108, commonly known as Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, Title 54 USC § 300101, et seq., and its implementing regulations, Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (36 CFR) Part 800.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗