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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 487 records · Page 27
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

A North Carolina Retrospective: Major Outage Event Trends & Hurricane Helene using TASTI-GRID

The impacts of Hurricane Helene in September of 2024 showed magnifying effects on the number of major power outages reported both during and after the catastrophic weather event. The affected areas on the western edge of North Carolina, particularly Buncombe County (Asheville), endured a disproportionate number of outage impacts than surrounding counties atop the Piedmont Plateau. In 2024, each of the counties with the highest frequency of major outage events received at least one category of FEMA Disaster Declaration following Hurricane Helene. While the storm’s impacts certainly skewed 2024’s yearly major outage frequencies, we use TASTI-GRID to identify existence resilience challenges in the years prior to 2024 that may have given way to understanding how geography, topography, population density and other factors have compounding effects on existing resilience challenges in Buncombe and Mecklenburg counties, specifically.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Community Choice Aggregation(CCA) Data Collection Webinar for Status and Trends in the Voluntary Market Report (2024 Data) [Slides]

We have subcontracted LEAN Energy US, to help us improve our CCA data collection effort for the Annual Voluntary Energy Markets Data Report. LEAN Energy US (Local Energy Aggregation Network) is a national 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the country's transition to clean and renewable power, supporting competition and customer choice in the energy sector, and maintaining affordable electricity rates. We work in partnership with a range of organizations to actively support the formation and operational success of Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) programs around the country. This webinar, hosted in partnership with LEAN Energy US, is intended to introduce their members to our data collection effort and encourage CCAs in their network to participate.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluating User Errors and Temporal Trends in Marine Fish Communities Using 360-Degree Underwater Photography

The use of environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling has been proposed as a complementary method to monitor fish species in marine environments, offering a non-invasive and potentially more efficient approach to marine species observations. eDNA monitoring could be especially useful in and around sites targeted for marine energy generation as these regions need regular monitoring that would be impractical with traditional techniques. Before we can fully rely upon eDNA, we must first verify its accuracy against other proven methods, such as the use of underwater photography. In this study, I deployed a 360-degree camera in the tidal channel of Sequim Bay once a month during several hours overlapping slack tide. I investigated how having multiple people identify and count fish on underwater images could affect the overall results. Using chi square tests in R, I compared my fish identifications and counts to those made by another intern on the same images recorded in August. I found significant differences in the number of species identified and the total individual counts between the two different datasets. I also tested the statistical differences in both Shannon diversity and Pielou evenness indices between the August, September, and November camera deployments using a Hutcheson t-test. Only one significant difference was found in the Shannon index comparisons, and none were found between the Pielou evenness comparisons. These findings show that if multiple identifiers are used to process underwater images, quality control checks must be made to reduce the potential for error. This also points toward the possibility to leverage more advanced image analysis processes, such as automated image analysis software. The findings from this study also show that the dynamics of marine fish communities can vary over a few months; however, further analysis is needed to determine the extent of the seasonal changes in Sequim Bay.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Wind Turbine Sound Setbacks and Supply Curves: Ordinances and Extrapolated Trends, 110 Hub Height, 130 Rotor Diameter

This dataset provides a comprehensive set of wind turbine sound setbacks from every residential structure in the contiguous United States (CONUS). A sound setback is defined as the minimum required distance between a residential structure and a hypothetical turbine installation site to ensure that modeled sound levels received at the residence do not exceed local sound ordinances, which are commonly expressed in A-weighted decibels (dBA). Therefore, sound setbacks are a local spatial assessment combining multiple factors, including the sound pressure curve as a function of the observer location (distance and direction) relative to the turbine, local sound regulations, and the geographical distribution of residential structures. The dataset is organized into multiple scenario-based products, detailed as follows: 1. Existing and extrapolated sound setbacks. An existing scenario characterizes sound setbacks only in states or counties that have implemented sound regulations as of 2022. The extrapolated scenarios extend a constant sound threshold to counties that lack explicit sound regulations, with thresholds ranging from 35 to 60 dBA, in 5-dBA increments reflecting the variation observed in current sound ordinances. 2. Sound setbacks in directional and worst scenarios. The directional scenario accounts for the distance and orientation of residential structures relative to a hypothetical turbine location, utilizing the turbine's sound emissions in that specific direction. In contrast, the worst scenario takes loudest sound level at each distance step from the turbine, irrespective of directional considerations, which aligns with current industry practice. 3. Supply curves for Open and Reference Access scenarios. This dataset includes supply curves generated by the reV model, which integrates each of the above sound setbacks into both Open and Reference siting scenarios. In addition, two Open and Reference baselines scenarios were included which do not consider sound setbacks for comparative analysis. All sound setback data are stored in TIF files, with partial maps of the data provided in PNG format. The values in the sound setback raster range from 0 to 1, representing the fraction of developable land within a 90 meter by 90 meter pixel due to sound ordinances. A value of 0 indicates areas where wind energy development is prohibited, while a value of 1 signifies areas fully permissible. The wind turbine parameters used in the sound modeling are based on the land-based turbine from International Energy Agency (IEA), featuring a rated electrical power of 3.4 MW, a rotor diameter of 130 meters, and a hub height of 110 meters. The atmospheric conditions, including wind speed/direction, turbulence, air temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure, that drive the sound generation are obtained from the WIND Toolkit dataset.

Array↗
DOE OSTI2021

Protective coatings with nanoscale multilayer architecture: current state and main trends

Binary systems (layers) and multicomponent layers with bilayer thicknesses varying from microns to a few nanometers are considered. A strong dependence of the microstructure formation on the deposition conditions (the magnitude of the bias potential, the flow of inert and reactive gases, the ion beam power (current density) supplied to the target) is found. General regularities in the change in the functional properties and structural state of the coatings are formulated. The conditions for the formation of a columnar structure and growth texture are noted; various mechanisms and their interpretation are proposed. Finally, the relationship among the size of nanograins, diffusion at the interphase boundary, and effects determining the physico-mechanical, tribological characteristics, as well as resistance to corrosion and oxidation, is shown.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Emerging Trends in Biological Treatment of Wastewater From Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction

Unconventional oil and gas exploration generates an enormous quantity of wastewater, commonly referred to as flowback and produced water (FPW). Limited freshwater resources and stringent disposal regulations have provided impetus for FPW reuse. Organic and inorganic compounds released from the shale/brine formation, microbial activity, and residual chemicals added during hydraulic fracturing bestow a unique as well as temporally varying chemical composition to this wastewater. Studies indicate that many of the compounds found in FPW are amenable to biological degradation, indicating biological treatment may be a viable option for FPW processing and reuse. This review discusses commonly characterized contaminants and current knowledge on their biodegradability, including the enzymes and organisms involved. Further, a perspective on recent novel hybrid biological treatments and application of knowledge gained from omics studies in improving these treatments is explored.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Global trends in Akkermansia muciniphila research: A bibliometric visualization

Background Akkermansia muciniphila is a member of the gut microbiome, using mucin as sources of carbon, nitrogen, and energy. Since the first discovery of this unique bacterium in 2004, A. muciniphila has been extensively studied. It is considered a promising “next-generation beneficial microbe.” The purpose of this paper is to sort out the research status and summarize the hotspots through bibliometric analysis of the publications of A. muciniphila. Methods The publications about A. muciniphila from January 2004 to February 2022 were obtained from the Web of Science Core Collection. Visualization analyses were performed using three bibliometric tools and GraphPad Prism. Results A total of 1,478 published documents were analyzed. Annual publication number grew from 1 in 2004 to 336 in 2021, with China being the leading producer (33.36%). De Vos, Willem M was the most productive author with the highest H-index (documents = 56, H-index = 37), followed by Cani, Patrice D (documents = 35, H-index = 25). And Scientific Reports published the most papers. PNAS was the keystone taxa in this field, with high betweenness centrality (0.11) and high frequency. The keywords with high frequency in recent years include: oxidative stress, diet, metformin, fecal microbiota transplantation, short-chain fatty acids, polyphenols, microbiota metabolites and so on. The keyword “oxidative stress” was observed to be increasing in frequency recently. Conclusion Over time, the scope of the research on the clinical uses of A. muciniphila has gradually increased, and was gradually deepened and developed toward a more precise level. A. muciniphila is likely to remain a research hotspot in the foreseeable future and may contribute to human health.

Li, Zitong↗
DOE OSTI2024

COVID-19 trends at the University of Tennessee: predictive insights from raw sewage SARS-CoV-2 detection and evaluation and PMMoV as an indicator for human waste

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a valuable tool for monitoring the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 on university campuses. However, concerns about effectiveness of raw sewage as a COVID-19 early warning system still exist, and it’s not clear how useful normalization by simultaneous comparison of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV) is in addressing variations resulting from fecal discharge dilution. This study aims to contribute insights into these aspects by conducting an academic-year field trial at the student residences on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus, raw sewage. This was done to investigate the correlations between SARS-CoV-2 RNA load, both with and without PMMoV normalization, and various parameters, including active COVID-19 cases, self-isolations, and their combination among all student residents. Significant positive correlations between SARS-CoV-2 RNA load a week prior, during the monitoring week, and the subsequent week with active cases. Despite these correlations, normalization by PMMoV does not enhance these associations. These findings suggest the potential utility of SARS-CoV-2 RNA load as an early warning indicator and provide valuable insights into the application and limitations of WBE for COVID-19 surveillance specifically within the context of raw sewage on university campuses.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Trends and future outlooks in circularity of desalination membrane materials

Reverse osmosis desalination is one of the most important and increasingly popular technologies to augment available water resources. Central to the technology is a thin-film-composite polyamide membrane capable of separating pure water from seawater or brine. Since its conception and initiation, the membrane industry has followed a linear life-cycle scheme. However, increasing production costs of fossil-based materials and more stringent environmental regulations drive the initiatives to adapt to a circular economy of membrane materials. In this perspective, we briefly summarize the pressing issues in the state-of-the-art membrane industry, then discuss the opportunities in future technology innovations with a focus on sustainable membrane manufacturing and recycling, and lastly provided an outlook for future membrane design and fabrication towards a circular economy.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗