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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 OSTI2020

Distributed Temperature Sensing (DTS) to Monitor CO 2 Migration in an Enhanced Oil Recovery Field in Northern Michigan

The Midwest Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) was founded in 2003 as part of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership initiative. Since its founding, MRCSP has made significant strides toward making CCUS a viable option for states in the region. The public/private consortium, funded through the DOE Regional Carbon Sequestration Initiative, brings together nearly 40 industry partners and 10 states. Battelle, as the project lead, oversees research, development and operations and coordinates activities among the partners. The incremental, phased approach has built a valuable knowledge base for the industry and paved the way for commercial-scale adoption of CCUS technologies. From 2008 to 2020, MRCSP Phase III focused on the development of large-scale injection projects. This report is part of a series of reports prepared under the Midwestern Regional Carbon Sequestration Partnership (MRCSP) Phase III (Development Phase). These reports summarize and detail the findings of the work conducted under the Phase III project. MRCSP conducted analysis of CO 2 flow patterns using distributed temperature sensing (DTS) data acquired from the Chester 16 pinnacle reef located in Otsego County, Michigan. The reef has one injection well Chester 6-16 and one monitoring well Chester 8-16 where DTS is installed. DTS provides a means to track temperature within the wellbores in real time and characterize the migration patterns of CO 2 in the subsurface when DTS data is combined with other operational data such as the injection rates, bottomhole pressures and temperature. The primary objective of this study was to determine the distribution of CO 2 inflow zones in the A1 Carbonate and Brown Niagaran formations.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cost-Optimized Cold Climate Heat Pump Development and Field Test

Cold climate heat pumps (CCHPs) expand the heat pump market to climates where heating demand is dominant. They can achieve more than 70% energy savings compared with electric resistance heating and operate at lower cost than using tank-stored propane to fuel a furnace. A high-efficiency heat pump with a heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF)—as defined by the Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI 2008)—greater than 10.0 would be more efficient than gas heating in terms of source energy. However, developing a cost-effective CCHP involves some challenges. A typical single-speed, air-source heat pump (ASHP) with an HSPF of 7.7 Btu/Wh does not work well under cold outdoor temperature conditions typical of cold climate locations for four major reasons: 1. Discharge temperature is too high—The low suction pressure and high compression pressure ratio at low ambient temperatures causes high compressor discharge temperatures in excess of the maximum limit for many of the compressors on the market. Furthermore, system charge of a heat pump is usually optimized in the cooling mode, which leads to overcharge conditions in the heating mode, further increasing the discharge temperature. 2. Heating capacity is insufficient if sized to meet the building design cooling load— Heating capacity of a single-speed heat pump decreases with ambient temperature. The heating capacity at -13°F (-25°C) typically decreases to 20%–40% of the rated heating capacity at 47°F (8.3°C) (~equivalent to the rated cooling capacity at 95°F [35°C]). Therefore, a single-speed heat pump, typically sized to match the building design cooling load, cannot provide adequate heating capacity to match the building heating load at low ambient temperatures. The capacity deficit is filled by inefficient resistance heat, thus lowering the system efficiency and significantly increasing power demand. 3. Cyclic loss is significant if sized to meet the building design heating load—If a single-speed heat pump is sized to meet the heating load, it will be significantly oversized relative to the cooling load in many cold climates. This will cause excessive on/off cyclic loss during the cooling and heating operations at moderately low ambient temperatures. Thus, capacity modulation capability (e.g., using a variable-speed or multi-stage compressor) is necessary for a CCHP, which uses its full capacity to meet the peak heating load and partial capacity to meet the cooling and part-load heating loads. 4. Coefficient of performance (COP) is low—Heating COP degrades significantly at low ambient temperatures owing to the large temperature difference between the heat source and sink. A target CCHP should be sized to meet the building design heating load while minimizing the cyclic loss for the cooling and heating operations at moderate ambient temperatures.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sensor Selection for MIMO Vibration: Summary Slides [Slides]

Summary: Sensor selection approach for MIMO testing was defined and demonstrated on a model of a practical system. Laboratory response obtained using the approach matched the field response well. Information about how many control sensors, and where to locate sensors can be gleaned from the approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cassio Simulations of X-ray Flow Over Lumps (XFOL) Experiments [Slides]

Homogeneous media is not a good approximation for stochastic media with large clump sizes and therefore not valid for our experiments. The media created for these experiments is not Markovian distributed. Stochastic media transport methods don’t work well with non-Markovian mixtures. Sphere at various axial locations in the dmain encounter very different radflow characteristics and therefore result in different spectroscopic signatures. Ongoing analysis of tally surfaces will allow for better characterization of the radiation flow in radiation hydrodynamics simulations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Using Infrasound to Inform Avalanche Hazard Forecasts

Avalanches are natural hazards that occur when an unstable mass of snow breaks away from a mountain slope. It is expected that climate change will lead to increased avalanche activity, which can cause interruptions to water and power infrastructure, transportation blockages, higher risk for loss of life, and changes to ecosystems. Avalanche forecasts are key to mitigating hazards, and observations of recent avalanches comprise one of the key observations for deciding danger level. It is well understood that infrasound can be used to detect and locate snow avalanches in transitional snowpacks, even during snowstorms, but similar studies are lacking for maritime snowpacks. Here we show results from an infrasound field experiment in Tutl’uh (Turnagain Arm), Alaska, USA between January 31 – April 30 field deployment campaign. We show that (1) methods developed for transitional snowpacks can be applied to maritime snowpacks in Alaska, (2) background noise may be higher in this region due to natural and anthropogenic influences, and (3) low-cost infrasound sensors can withstand the harsh Alaskan winter and successfully collect data. We also discuss the impact of this work and a path forward.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Review of internal cyber attacks in nuclear facilities and an artificial neural network model for implementing internal cyberforensics

Deployment of digital technologies within a modern shift in cyber defense systems is essential for protecting the energy production units. One of the important components of defense is cyberforensics: once an attack has been detected to locate its origin. In this paper, a review of well-known cyberattacks in nuclear facilities is provided, with the lessons learned leading to the development of a machine learning approach implementing identification of internal at- tacks in the facility's data networks. Our approach may be seen as one of the layers in a defense-in-depth strategy that identifies if the attack comes from inside, which may result in identifying faster the attacker's origin. The presented model exploits network packet examination to cast accurate predictions on detailing the origin of malicious network connections. The approach fuses multiple mathematical functions within an artificial neural network to provide a response in the form of 0/1, i. e., whether the attack is identified as internal or not. The utilization of a variety of test cases is developed to explore the relevance and validity of the predictive approach. The proposed implementation is examined with network data packet variance, and the results obtained exhibit a highly accurate detection rate.

Nuclear Science & Technology↗
DOE OSTI2020

TESS Reveals a Short-period Sub-Neptune Sibling (HD 86226c) to a Known Long-period Giant Planet

The Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite mission was designed to find transiting planets around bright, nearby stars. Here, we present the detection and mass measurement of a small, short-period (≈4 days) transiting planet around the bright (V = 7.9), solar-type star HD 86226 (TOI-652, TIC 22221375), previously known to host a long-period (∼1600 days) giant planet. HD 86226c (TOI-652.01) has a radius of 2.16 ± 0.08 R {sub ⊕} and a mass of 7.25{sub −1.12}{sup +1.19} M {sub ⊕}, based on archival and new radial velocity data. We also update the parameters of the longer-period, not-known-to-transit planet, and find it to be less eccentric and less massive than previously reported. The density of the transiting planet is 3.97 g cm{sup −3}, which is low enough to suggest that the planet has at least a small volatile envelope, but the mass fractions of rock, iron, and water are not well-constrained. Given the host star brightness, planet period, and location of the planet near both the “radius gap” and the “hot Neptune desert,” HD 86226c is an interesting candidate for transmission spectroscopy to further refine its composition.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Characterization of HRRR-simulated rotor layer wind speeds and clouds along the coast of California

Stratocumulus clouds, with their low cloud base and top, affect the atmospheric boundary layer wind and turbulence profile, thereby modulating wind energy resources. GOES satellite data reveal an abundance of stratocumulus clouds in the late spring and summer months off the coast of northern and central California, where there are active plans to deploy floating offshore wind farms at two lease areas (near Morro Bay and Humboldt). Since the fall of 2020, two buoys equipped with multiple instruments, including Doppler lidar, have been deployed for about 1 year in these wind farm lease areas to assess the rotor layer wind conditions in these locations. The objective of this study is to evaluate how well the High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) model represents stratocumulus cloud characteristics and turbine-relevant rotor layer winds (surface to 300 m) by comparing HRRR simulations with buoy and satellite observations. We first find that the HRRR model reproduces the seasonal cycle of cloud top height reasonably well in these regions. However, during the warm season – especially at Morro Bay – the HRRR-simulated stratocumulus clouds tend to have lower tops by about 150 m and exhibit weaker diurnal cycles than satellite observations. Our analysis also shows that rotor layer wind speeds and vertical shear are stronger at Humboldt than at Morro Bay, and both are generally stronger under clear-sky conditions. Finally, the HRRR model bias in rotor layer wind speed is small under cloudy conditions but larger and dependent on observed wind speed under clear skies. Specifically, HRRR underestimates wind speeds at Morro Bay and overestimates them at Humboldt under clear-sky conditions.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Electrifying Road Trips to and from National Parks in the Western United States

We evaluate charging infrastructure requirement for electrified long-distance travels to/from national parks in the Western U.S. We conduct a high-resolution spatial and temporal analysis of road trips in the region, accounting for detailed travel volume and pattern, the type of electric vehicles, heterogeneous energy consumption rates depending on driving conditions, charging technology (e.g., power and speed), and charging behavior. The scope includes on-route (or way-point) charging as well as destination charging (in national parks). We estimate the locations and sizes of required charging stations in the entire Western U.S. to enable electrified road trips to/from national parks. We also examine environmental justice and energy equity aspects of projected charging infrastructure (for national parks) in the context of the overall vehicle electrification and charging infrastructure build-out.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗
DOE OSTI2023

Decision-Making Framework to Evaluate Opportunities for Recovery of Rare Earth Elements and Critical Minerals in Produced Water Networks

Oil and gas development activities require a significant amount of water. Given the environmental impacts associated with high consumption and subsequent disposal of this water, there is a need for strategies to support effective reuse of, treatment of, and/or resource recovery from this produced water. These streams can contain appreciable concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) and critical minerals (CM) (e.g., Lithium), which are critical for many important applications in electronics, technology, manufacturing, energy, and medicine [1]. Along with REE/CM present in produced water, other waste streams such as fly ash from coal-fired power plants and acid mine discharge present other potential sources for recovery of REE/CM [2-4]. And with increases in demand for REE/CM, the need for recovery from wastewater streams is becoming even more important. There is a need to develop effective decision-making tools to evaluate the economic and environmental potential for REE/CM recovery from produced water networks while supporting the needs of drilling and hydraulic fracturing activities. In this work, we present our progress in developing a decision-making framework to efficiently design and operate produced water networks for REE/CM recovery. Our approach considers REE/CM recovery from produced water streams alongside other potential wastewater sources. The models consider the location and capacity of storage and decentralized treatment processes as well as the design and operation of pipeline and transportation networks to connect different sources and effectively schedule inventories, reuse, and recovery opportunities. We focus on the evaluation of opportunities for REE/CM recovery with treatment constraints on composition and flow. We demonstrate this framework with an illustrative case study that features diverse production sites, storage facilities, transportation, and treatment sites. This proposed framework will be deployed in an open-source software package that is compatible with the PARETO framework to deliver analysis and decision-making tools that allow stakeholders to quantitatively evaluate potential opportunities for REE/CM recovery in produced water networks.

Pulsipher, Joshua↗
DOE OSTI2023

Regional infrasonic observations from surface explosions – influence of atmospheric variations and realistic terrain

SUMMARY A pair of 1-ton, conventional surface explosions were conducted at the Nevada National Security Site in the fall of 2020 producing seismoacoustic signatures observable hundreds of kilometres from the source location. Regional infrasonic observations include tropospheric ducting at large distances to the south, a wide stratospheric waveguide with signals observed more than 700 km to the east, and anomalous arrivals in the stratospheric shadow zone. Notable differences in propagation between the events are identified despite the explosions being conducted just two days apart due to a sharp temporal shift in the tropospheric winds as well as structural changes in the stratospheric winds. Propagation simulations of the two events have been completed using a combination of ray tracing and parabolic equation (PE) methods. Simulations have been conducted to quantify the impact of the temporal variations in the atmosphere as well as the influence of terrain on propagation. Temporal variations in reflection locations are found to produce notable changes in downrange propagation due to spatially varying terrain features. Finite frequency effects modelled by the PE are found to predict ensonification not included in corresponding 2D ray tracing simulations. Notable variations in predicted signal amplitude are found due to focusing by along-path and cross-path terrain gradients; though, the later of these is only modelled using fully 3D ray tracing analysis.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development and evaluation of a list mode neutron coincidence collar for spatial response measurements of fresh fuel assemblies

A traditional safeguards neutron coincidence counting system, the Neutron Coincidence Collar, has been modified to incorporate individual preamplifiers on each of its 18 3He tubes in active interrogation mode. When used with list mode data acquisition (LMDA) and analysis, a signal from each 3He tube can be recorded and analyzed to allow a spatial response measurement to be performed on an item based on count rate and 3He tube location within the system. The ultimate goal of this project is to demonstrate the capabilities of a list mode response matrix for the nondestructive assay of fresh nuclear fuel assemblies. To enable partial defect detection of fuel pin locations and absences within an assembly, the project aims to extend well-established correlated neutron analysis techniques on a preexisting Neutron Coincidence Collar by extracting a greater number of useful signatures from the system than are currently generated. LMDA, combined with the addition of multiple preamplifiers, facilitates this capability by increasing the number of simultaneous signals that can be measured; this allows an in-depth analysis of neutron coincidence events to determine a fissioning item’s location based on the measured doubles count rate in various channel logic coincidence combinations. All of this can be done from a single measurement pulse train in offline analysis, which is the major benefit provided by LMDA. Through various stages of development and testing, a Mirion Technologies model JCC-71 Neutron Coincidence Collar has been successfully retrofit with modern electronics designed in-house at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, matching preexisting JAB-01 electronics performance, while maintaining the original system footprint. This paper presents these various stages of development and experimental evaluation of the proof of concept system.

Moore, Angela S.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Distributed Acoustic Sensing as a Distributed Hydraulic Sensor in Fractured Bedrock

Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) was originally intended to measure oscillatory strain at frequencies of 1 Hz or more on a fiber optic cable. Recently, measurements at much lower frequencies have opened the possibility of using DAS as a dynamic strain sensor in boreholes. A fiber optic cable mechanically coupled to a geologic formation will strain in response to hydraulic stresses in pores and fractures. A DAS interrogator can measure dynamic strain in the borehole, which can be related to fluid pressure through the mechanical compliance properties of the formation. Because DAS makes distributed measurements, it is capable of both locating hydraulically active features and quantifying the fluid pressure in the formation. We present field experiments in which a fiber optic cable was mechanically coupled to two crystalline rock boreholes. The formation was stressed hydraulically at another well using alternating injection and pumping. The DAS instrument measured oscillating strain at the location of a fracture zone known to be hydraulically active. Rock displacements of less than 1 nm were measured. Laboratory experiments confirm that displacement is measured correctly. These results suggest that fiber optic cable embedded in geologic formations may be used to map hydraulic connections in three-dimensional fracture networks. A great advantage of this approach is that strain, an indirect measure of hydraulic stress, can be measured without beforehand knowledge of flowing fractures that intersect boreholes. The technology has obvious applications in water resources, geothermal energy, CO 2 sequestration, and remediation of groundwater in fractured bedrock.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessment of the 3420 Building Filtered Exhaust Stack Sampling Probe Location: Stack Verification Following Fan and Air Blender Additions

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) 3420 Building, which is part of the Physical Sciences Facility (PSF), houses radiological capabilities that results in the requirement that emissions monitoring must be conducted for potential radionuclides in the exhaust air discharge of this building. The air monitoring system is required to conform to Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 61 (40 CFR 61) Subpart H, which in turns requires a sampling probe in the exhaust stream to conform to the criteria of American National Standards Institute / Health Physics Society (ANSI/HPS) N13.1-2011, Sampling and Monitoring Releases of Airborne Radioactive Substances from the Stack and Ducts of Nuclear Facilities. To support the air emissions permit for the 3420 Building on the PNNL campus, stack testing that used computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling as a surrogate stack and verification tests of velocity uniformity and flow angle on the retrofitted facility stack was performed. The ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 criteria for the air monitoring probe location are that velocity uniformity, gaseous tracer uniformity, and particulate tracer uniformity must be less than or equal to 20%COV. Furthermore, no point in the sampling location may have a gaseous tracer concentration that varies from the mean concentration by more than 30%. Additionally, the flow angle at the sampling location must not be more than 20°. The CFD modeling of the stack, as reported by Recknagle et al. (2018) demonstrated that the stack meets the criteria at the probe location. The velocity uniformity and flow angle results from the 3420 stack verification tests, performed in October 2020, demonstrated that the CFD model results may be used to support the qualification of the stack sampling location. The measured velocity uniformity verification test result was 1.4%COV. This value is well within the uniformity criterion, which is that the velocity uniformity be =20%COV. Additionally, this value is well within the criterion that the actual stack measurement must be within 5% of the surrogate stack result of 2.1%COV when all four fans were operating. Additionally, the measured average flow angle at the 3420 stack monitor location was 15.5 degrees. Although this is higher than expected based on the CFD model, the result is =20 degrees, so the criterion is met. Based on these stack verification test results, the reconfigured 3420 Building filtered exhaust stack meets the qualification criteria given in the ANSI/HPS N13.1-2011 standard. Further changes to the system configuration or operating conditions that are outside the bounds described in this and the CFD report (Recknagle et al., 2018) may require additional tests and additional analysis to determine compliance with the standard.

3420 Building↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Time-Domain Protection Approach for AC Transmission Systems With Grid-Forming Resources

Ac transmission protection must reliably detect, classify, and locate short-circuit faults from voltage and current measurements. At present, these functionalities, which have been classically engineered using phasors approaches, are being challenged by the dynamic behavior and fault-current limits of converter-based generation. This paper tackles these challenges by engineering a time-domain protection approach that leverages the classical Bergeron model in a new manner. Low- and high-impedance faults are detected and classified by ascertaining how well line voltage and current measurements match the Bergeron equations. Faults are located by posing a novel one-variable optimization problem, whereas voltage and current waveforms at the fault location are estimated by unveiling rigorous relationships. The proposed elements are secure against external faults, measurement errors, and variation of line parameters and sampling time. Furthermore, these advances are tested via electromagnetic transient simulations and are significant to satisfy IEEE and North American Electric Reliability Corporation requirements.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Reflection Optical Imaging to Study Oxygen Evolution Reactions

Discovery of high-efficiency water-splitting catalysts is critical for clean hydrogen fuel generation. Quantitative and reliable chemical imaging methods can play a crucial role in providing critical catalyst efficiency information for materials development and screening. Here, we developed a reflection optical imaging method to map the performance of transition metal oxide catalysts for oxygen evolution reaction (OER). The generated high concentration of oxygen in the electrolyte will decrease the refractive index of the solutions near the electrode and change the reflectivity of optical images. We successfully imaged and measured the OER on cobalt oxide, and the localized current density and overpotential distribution maps have been extracted. The oxidation and reduction of cobalt oxide can be imaged with our reflection optical imaging method as well. These maps showed that the catalytic activities are quite different at different locations, and some regions showed much higher activities. This is due to the non-uniformity created by the catalyst synthesis process and demonstrates the importance of using the optical imaging method to map the localized catalytic efficiency. In addition, the NiFe alloy’s OER catalytic activities have been studied as well. The proposed reflection optical imaging method could find many applications in catalyst activity measurement and screening.

Electrochemistry↗
DOE OSTI2020

Analysis of Fault Zone Resonance Modes Recorded by a Dense Seismic Array Across the San Jacinto Fault Zone at Blackburn Saddle

We present observations and modeling of spatial eigen-functions of resonating waves within fault zone waveguide, using data recorded on a dense seismic array across the San Jacinto Fault Zone (SJFZ) in southern California. The array consists of 5-Hz geophones that cross the SJFZ with ~10-30 m spacing at the Blackburn Saddle near the Hemet Stepover. Wavefield snapshots after the S wave arrival are consistent for more than 50 near-fault events, suggesting that this pattern is controlled by the fault zone structure rather than source properties. Data from example event with high signal to noise ratio shows three main frequency peaks at ~1.3 Hz, ~2.0 Hz, and ~2.8 Hz in the amplitude spectra of resonance waves averaged over stations near the fault. The data are modeled with analytical expressions for eigen-functions of resonance waves in a low-velocity layer (fault zone) between two quarter-spaces. Using a grid search-based method, we investigate the possible width of the waveguide, location within the array, and shear wave velocities of the media that fit well the resonance signal at ~1.3 Hz. The results indicate a ~300 m wide damaged fault zone layer with ~65% S wave velocity reduction compared to the host rock. The SW edge of the low-velocity zone is near the mapped fault surface trace, indicating that the damage zone is asymmetrically located at the regionally faster NE crustal block. The imaging resolution of the fault zone structure can be improved by modeling fault zone resonance modes and trapped waves together.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗