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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 469 records · Page 26
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

A Data-Driven Exploration of the Impact of Renewable Energy on Inter-Area Oscillations in the U.S. Eastern Interconnection

As increasing amounts of renewable energy (RE) resources are incorporated into the bulk-power grid, power system oscillations are expected to change. This work investigates how RE generation impacts the frequency and damping ratio (DR) of two dominant inter-area modes in the U.S. Eastern Interconnection (EI) using regularly updated estimates collected over a 12-month period. Quantile regression is used to derive the correlation between operating conditions and mode properties, and a bootstrap method is used to quantify the uncertainty associated with the correlation estimates. Results show that with an increase in system load, the frequency of a mode decreases and DR increases. Evidence that increasing RE generation results in an increase in frequency and decline in DR was found for one of the two modes studied. This work shows that increasing RE levels will impact the properties of inter-area oscillations in the EI, but it does not indicate the presence of immediate threats to grid stability. The outlined approach can be used to periodically assess changing mode properties as RE levels continue to grow and flag stability concerns before they become serious reliability threats.

Inter-area oscillation, mode meters, quantile regr↗
DOE OSTI2014

Evaluation of Production Cost Savings from Consolidation of Balancing Authorities in the US Western Interconnection under High Wind and Solar Penetration

This paper introduces a comprehensive analysis to quantify the potential savings in production cost due to consolidation of 32 US western interconnection Balancing Authorities (BAs). Three simulation scenarios are developed: current Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) BAs structure, full copper-sheet consolidation, and full consolidation with transmission congestion considered. The study uses WECC Transmission Expansion Planning Policy Committee (TEPPC) model that was developed for the year 2020. The model assumes 8% wind and 3% solar energy penetration as percentage of total WECC demand in 2020. Sensitivity analyses are carried out to assess the impact of transmission hurdle rates between WECC BAs on potential benefits. The study shows savings that ranges from $400 Million (2.4% of total one year production cost) to $600 Million (3.2%) per year in thermal units production cost due to consolidation can be achieved. The copper sheet consolidation scenario shows an extra savings of $240 Million (1.4%) per year.

Balancing authorities, hurdle rates, economic disp↗
DOE OSTI2021

YBCO-on-Kapton: Material for High-Density Quan-tum Computer Interconnects with Ultra-Low Thermal Conductance

Development of practical quantum computers would require 1000's of qubits and equally large number of read-outs, bias and drive lines. New materials that combine low passive loss and good RF properties are needed. In this study we report performance of signal interconnects comprised of high-temperature YBCO films that are exfoliated from a metal substrate and transferred to a E-Kapton tape. The technology offers low-loss transition be-tween 60 K to sub-mK environments and interfacing with off-shelf flexible silicon electronics. We demonstrate < 1 dB/m at-tenuation at 6 GHz at 77 K. The microstrip assemblies demon-strated no degradation upon multiple cycles to liquid Nitrogen and conduction cooling down to 18 K. We discuss designs of a practical high-density signal cable with passive heat load well below 1 μW per line. The YBCO-on-Kapton technology offers a practical pathway to large error-corrected quantum computing systems.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2014

On the Configuration of the US Western Interconnection Voltage Stability Boundary

Abstract—Stability limits are considered in power system planning and operations to estimate the available stability margins and, if possible, to maximize the utilization of transmission facilities. These important tasks are influenced by configuration of the stability boundary. The paper introduces a new fast approach to explore the voltage stability boundary of a large system and reveal its detailed multidimensional structure. The 17939-bus U.S. Western Interconnection planning model was used to illustrate the method. Significant peculiarities of the boundary’s configuration were identified, including its nonconvexity, discontinuity, branching and internal singularities (“holes”) that were not known before and could not been found by traditional methods. Experiments using WECC system are performed to evaluate the computation time using different methods. Our results show that the proposed methods are very promising in reducing calculation time and complexity

Makarov, Yuri V.↗
DOE OSTI2018

U.S. Eastern Interconnection (EI) Electromechanical Wave Propagation and the Impact of High PV Penetration on its Speed

A power system electromechanical wave propagates from the disturbance location to the rest of system, influencing various types of protections. In addition, since more power-electronics-interfaced generation and energy storage devices are being integrated into power systems, electromechanical wave propagation speeds in the future power systems are likely to change accordingly. In this paper, GPS-synchronized measurement data from a wide-area synchrophasor measurement system FNET/GridEye are used to analyze the characteristics of electromechanical wave propagation in the U.S. Eastern Interconnection (EI) system. Afterwards, high levels of photovoltaic (PV) penetration are modeled in the EI to investigate the influences of a typical power-electronics--interfaced resource on the electromechanical wave propagation speed.

You, Shutang↗
DOE OSTI2019

Winter hardiness of Miscanthus (II): Genetic mapping for overwintering ability and adaptation traits in three interconnected Miscanthus populations

Abstract Miscanthus × giganteus (M×g) is the primary species of Miscanthus for bioenergy feedstock production. The current leading biomass cultivar, M×g ‘1993‐1780’, is insufficiently adapted in temperate regions with cold winters such as USDA hardiness zone 5 (average annual minimum temperature of −28.9 to −23.3°C) or lower. Three interconnected Miscanthus F 1 populations that shared a common parent were planted in a replicated field trial at Urbana, IL (hardiness zone 5b; average annual minimum temperature of −26.1 to −23.3°C) in spring 2011. The winter of 2013–2014 was especially cold in Urbana, with a minimum soil temperature at 10 cm of −6.2°C and a minimum air temperature of −25.3°C, giving us an opportunity to evaluate hardiness on established year‐3 plants. The parent in common to all three populations, M. sinensis ssp. condensatus ‘Cosmopolitan’, is native to maritime southern Japan, and in Urbana, it is winter‐damaged most years. In contrast, the three other parents, M. sacchariflorus ‘Robustus’ (MapA), M. sinensis ‘Silberturm’ (MapB), and M. sinensis ‘November Sunset’ (MapC), are typically winter hardy in Urbana. Nearly all MapA progeny plants survived and grew vigorously in spring 2014, whereas in MapB and MapC, many progeny plants did not survive the winter, and most of the survivors were severely damaged, with poor vigor. Negative correlations between overwintering ability and spring regrowth date and autumn dormancy date suggested that the genotypes most likely to survive winters were those that emerged early in spring and/or went dormant early in autumn. Using joint‐population analysis, we identified 53 quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for nine adaptation traits, including nine QTLs for overwintering ability and 11 for spring hardiness scores. Many biologically intuitive candidate genes were observed within or near the QTLs detected in this study, suggesting their validity and potential for further study.

Dong, Hongxu↗
DOE OSTI2014

Self-forming Al oxide barrier for nanoscale Cu interconnects created by hybrid atomic layer deposition of Cu–Al alloy

The authors synthesized a Cu–Al alloy by employing alternating atomic layer deposition (ALD) surface reactions using Cu and Al precursors, respectively. By alternating between these two ALD surface chemistries, the authors fabricated ALD Cu–Al alloy. Cu was deposited using bis(1-dimethylamino-2-methyl-2-butoxy) copper as a precursor and H{sub 2} plasma, while Al was deposited using trimethylaluminum as the precursor and H{sub 2} plasma. The Al atomic percent in the Cu–Al alloy films varied from 0 to 15.6 at. %. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that a uniform Al-based interlayer self-formed at the interface after annealing. To evaluate the barrier properties of the Al-based interlayer and adhesion between the Cu–Al alloy film and SiO{sub 2} dielectric, thermal stability and peel-off adhesion tests were performed, respectively. The Al-based interlayer showed similar thermal stability and adhesion to the reference Mn-based interlayer. Our results indicate that Cu–Al alloys formed by alternating ALD are suitable seed layer materials for Cu interconnects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2015

Characterization of Ru thin films from a novel CVD/atomic layer deposition precursor “Rudense” for capping layer of Cu interconnects

The authors have succeeded in development of a novel Ru precursor, Ru(EtCp)(η{sup 5}-CH{sub 2}C(Me)CHC(Me)O) [Rudense], for CVD and atomic layer deposition (ALD) processes under nonoxidative condition. Rudense has sufficient vapor pressure and good thermal stability (decomposition temperature = ca. 230 °C). Ru thin films were grown on Pt, Ru, Si, and SiO{sub 2} substrates using Rudense and NH{sub 3} as Ru precursor and reactant, respectively. Rudense gave the conformal, low-impurity (<10{sup 21} atoms/cc), and low-resistivity (16 μΩ cm) Ru thin films. Moreover, Rudense showed substrate selectivity; therefore, Rudense will be a candidate for area-selective CVD and ALD precursor for Ru capping layers of Cu interconnects.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Ex Situ Investigation of Anisotropic Interconnection in Silicon-Titanium-Nickel Alloy Anode Material

Herein we investigate the nanostructural evolution of Silicon-Titanium-Nickel (Si-Ti-Ni) ternary alloy material synthesized by melt spinning process for advanced lithium-ion battery anode. The synthesized material was found to have nano-Silicon particles dispersed in the Ti 4 Ni 4 Si 7 (STN) alloy buffering matrix and was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), High resolution- transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM), Scanning transmission electron microscopes - energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer (STEM-EDS), and electrochemical performance test. The role of STN matrix is to accommodate the volume expansion stresses of the dispersed Si nanoparticles. However, an interesting behavior was observed during cycling. The Si nanoparticles were observed to form interconnection channels growing through the weak STN matrix cracks and evolving to a network isolating the STN matrix into small puddles. In conclusion, this unique nanostructural evolution of Si particles and isolation of the STN matrix failing to offer significant buffering effect to the grown Si network eventually accelerates more volume expansions during cycling due to less mechanical confinement and leads to performance degradation and poor cycle stability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2026

Western Interconnect Transmission Line Wildfire Risk

The datasets contain wildfire risk probabilities for transmission lines in the Western Interconnect, identified only by the HIFLD dataset identifier. The dataset is generated using PNNL's WREST Tool (https://www.pnnl.gov/projects/wildfire-risk-resilience/tools/wrest). The input dataset includes HIFLD datasets on transmission lines and wildfire burn potentials and flame lengths from the PNNL RADR-FIRE Tool for 2025.

psps↗
DOE OSTI2021

R3IT: Rapid, Rural, Resilient Interconnection Toolkit

R3IT is a free and open-source web application that allows utilities to automate the processing of solar interconnection requests. It handles request submission, request review workflows, payment collection, signature collection, email notifications for any status changes, and optionally an automated engineering screening and approval process.

Pinney, David↗
DOE OSTI2013

Balancing Authority Cooperation Concepts to Reduce Variable Generation Integration Costs in the Western Interconnection: Intra-Hour Scheduling

The overall objective of this study was to understand, on an Interconnection-wide basis, the effects intra-hour scheduling compared to hourly scheduling. Moreover, the study sought to understand how the benefits of intra-hour scheduling would change by altering the input assumptions in different scenarios. This report describes results of three separate scenarios with differing key assumptions and comparing the production costs between hourly scheduling and 10-minute scheduling performance. The different scenarios were chosen to provide insight into how the estimated benefits might change by altering input assumptions. Several key assumptions were different in the three scenarios, however most assumptions were similar and/or unchanged among the scenarios.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2013

Environmental Regulation Impacts on Eastern Interconnection Performance

In the United States, recent environmental regulations will likely result in the removal of nearly 30 GW of oil and coal-fired generation from the power grid, mostly in the Eastern Interconnection (EI). The effects of this transition on voltage stability and transmission line flows have previously not been studied from a system-wide perspective. This report discusses the results of power flow studies designed to simulate the evolution of the EI over the next few years as traditional generation sources are replaced with environmentally friendlier ones such as natural gas and wind.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2013

Assessment of Industrial Load for Demand Response across U.S. Regions of the Western Interconnect

Demand response (DR) has the ability to both increase power grid reliability and potentially reduce operating system costs. Understanding the role of demand response in grid modeling has been difficult due to complex nature of the load characteristics compared to the modeled generation and the variation in load types. This is particularly true of industrial loads, where hundreds of different industries exist with varying availability for demand response. We present a framework considering industrial loads for the development of availability profiles that can provide more regional understanding and can be inserted into analysis software for further study. The developed framework utilizes a number of different informational resources, algorithms, and real-world measurements to perform a bottom-up approach in the development of a new database with representation of the potential demand response resource in the industrial sector across the U.S. This tool houses statistical values of energy and demand response (DR) potential by industrial plant and geospatially locates the information for aggregation for different territories without proprietary information. This report will discuss this framework and the analyzed quantities of demand response for Western Interconnect (WI) in support of evaluation of the cost production modeling with power grid modeling efforts of demand response.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2013

Energy Zones Study: A Comprehensive Web-Based Mapping Tool to Identify and Analyze Clean Energy Zones in the Eastern Interconnection

This report describes the work conducted in support of the Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC) Energy Zones Study and the development of the Energy Zones Mapping Tool performed by a team of experts from three National Laboratories. The multi-laboratory effort was led by Argonne National Laboratory (Argonne), in collaboration with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL).

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Dynamic Model Validation with Governor Deadband on the Eastern Interconnection

This report documents the efforts to perform dynamic model validation on the Eastern Interconnection (EI) by modeling governor deadband. An on-peak EI dynamic model is modified to represent governor deadband characteristics. Simulation results are compared with synchrophasor measurements collected by the Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET/GridEye). The comparison shows that by modeling governor deadband the simulated frequency response can closely align with the actual system response.

dynamic↗