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At least 523 records · Page 29

Network-Capable Application Process and Wireless Intelligent Sensors for ISHM

Intelligent sensor technology and systems are increasingly becoming attractive means to serve as frameworks for intelligent rocket test facilities with embedded intelligent sensor elements, distributed data acquisition elements, and onboard data acquisition elements. Networked intelligent processors enable users and systems integrators to automatically configure their measurement automation systems for analog sensors. NASA and leading sensor vendors are working together to apply the IEEE 1451 standard for adding plug-and-play capabilities for wireless analog transducers through the use of a Transducer Electronic Data Sheet (TEDS) in order to simplify sensor setup, use, and maintenance, to automatically obtain calibration data, and to eliminate manual data entry and error. A TEDS contains the critical information needed by an instrument or measurement system to identify, characterize, interface, and properly use the signal from an analog sensor. A TEDS is deployed for a sensor in one of two ways. First, the TEDS can reside in embedded, nonvolatile memory (typically flash memory) within the intelligent processor. Second, a virtual TEDS can exist as a separate file, downloadable from the Internet. This concept of virtual TEDS extends the benefits of the standardized TEDS to legacy sensors and applications where the embedded memory is not available. An HTML-based user interface provides a visual tool to interface with those distributed sensors that a TEDS is associated with, to automate the sensor management process. Implementing and deploying the IEEE 1451.1-based Network-Capable Application Process (NCAP) can achieve support for intelligent process in Integrated Systems Health Management (ISHM) for the purpose of monitoring, detection of anomalies, diagnosis of causes of anomalies, prediction of future anomalies, mitigation to maintain operability, and integrated awareness of system health by the operator. It can also support local data collection and storage. This invention enables wide-area sensing and employs numerous globally distributed sensing devices that observe the physical world through the existing sensor network. This innovation enables distributed storage, distributed processing, distributed intelligence, and the availability of DiaK (Data, Information, and Knowledge) to any element as needed. It also enables the simultaneous execution of multiple processes, and represents models that contribute to the determination of the condition and health of each element in the system. The NCAP (intelligent process) can configure data-collection and filtering processes in reaction to sensed data, allowing it to decide when and how to adapt collection and processing with regard to sophisticated analysis of data derived from multiple sensors. The user will be able to view the sensing device network as a single unit that supports a high-level query language. Each query would be able to operate over data collected from across the global sensor network just as a search query encompasses millions of Web pages. The sensor web can preserve ubiquitous information access between the querier and the queried data. Pervasive monitoring of the physical world raises significant data and privacy concerns. This innovation enables different authorities to control portions of the sensing infrastructure, and sensor service authors may wish to compose services across authority boundaries.

Figueroa, Fernando↗

LANL Critical Benchmark Comparison Study and Subsequent Revision for Cases Involving LEU and MIX

As part of an international collaboration within the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP), LANL is involved in a comparison study to quantify differences in k-effective results from neutron transport simulations of critical benchmark experiments. The DOE NCSP Mission and Vision details the activity in which the French Institut de Radioprotection et de Sûreté Nucléaire (IRSN) leads the study with LANL, ORNL, and LLNL to compare results of various neutron transport codes and nuclear data libraries for ICSBEP benchmarks held in common by the entities. The task statement from the DOE NCSP Five-Year Execution Plan is given as: "The proposal is for IRSN to lead a new intercomparison based on the MORET code with the latest JEFF-3.3 data and ENDF/B-VIII.0 data, when available, using their existing comprehensive selection of 2,714 benchmarks and collate their results together with those from LLNL (COG), LANL (MCNP) and ORNL (SCALE). Due to the large number of benchmarks involved, this effort is envisioned to take three years with an additional year for IRSN to complete a summary report. The benchmark development will be performed independently to minimize modeling errors through discovery and resolution of discrepant results. A summary report will be generated (led by IRSN) to document the results of this study." This report documents results obtained for revisions made to cases involving Intermediate Enriched Uranium (IEU) and a mixture of Pu and Uranium (MIX), with a focus on the changes made to LANL benchmarks modeled with MCNP6 using ENDF/B-VII.1 nuclear data that appeared to have discrepant results when compared with results of other codes. Feedback was used to pinpoint review of particular benchmark input files and to revise them when necessary. This report documents the results of review and revision of specific benchmarks highlighted as possibly discrepant in the comparison study. In addition, there is an effort tied to this work involving collaboration between LANL XCP and NCS Divisions in the development of a shared review/revision procedure and use of a new benchmark repository.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Energy-Flow-Environment Linkage Map

Understanding how flexibility in environmental requirements can facilitate co-optimization of hydropower production outcomes and environmental outcomes is critical for future grid decision-making and operations as renewable energy resources increase. The environmental and power system outcomes connectivity linkage maps presented here provide a framework for conceptually and quantitatively linking power system outcomes to environmental outcomes through hydropower flow decisions. The Executive Summary Map serves as a starting for exploring the links between hydropower system performance outcomes and environmental outcomes. The centralized topic is “Flow from Hydropower System,” and connects the hydropower operations through “Flow through turbines” and “Non-turbine flows”, and to environmental outcomes through Reservoir elevation” and “Flow downstream of the hydropower system”. To the left of these central topics, “Hydro-mechanical operations” are linked through “Hydro-electrical operations” to “Hydropower performance outcomes” (“Reliability”, “Resilience”, “Revenue”, “Emissions”). On the right, environmental outcomes are grouped together by their physical location: “Upstream Outcomes” (“Upstream geomorphology”, “Upstream recreation”, “Upstream habitat”, “Upstream biota and biodiversity”, “Upstream water quality and greenhouse gas”), Outcomes relevant to both “Upstream/downstream or dam interface” (“Navigation”, “Dam safety and maintenance", “Human health”, “Water supply”, “Flood control”, ”Fish passage”), and “Downstream outcomes“ (e.g., “Downstream geomorphology”, “Downstream recreations”, “Downstream habitat”, “Downstream biota and biodiversity”, “Downstream water quality and greenhouse gas”). Each of these subtopics (e.g., “Hydro-mechanical operations”, “Hydro-electrical operations”, “Upstream geomorphology”, “Upstream recreation”) is further explored through their corresponding submaps. The “Read Me” file provides more detail information on map navigation. The “Models and tools database” file provides detailed information of models and tools presented in the maps.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Ares I-X Flight Data Evaluation: Executive Overview

NASA's Constellation Program (CxP) successfully launched the Ares I-X flight test vehicle on October 28, 2009. The Ares I-X flight was a developmental flight test to demonstrate that this very large, long, and slender vehicle could be controlled successfully. The flight offered a unique opportunity for early engineering data to influence the design and development of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. As the primary customer for flight data from the Ares I-X mission, the Ares Projects Office (APO) established a set of 33 flight evaluation tasks to correlate flight results with prospective design assumptions and models. The flight evaluation tasks used Ares I-X data to partially validate tools and methodologies in technical disciplines that will ultimately influence the design and development of Ares I and future launch vehicles. Included within these tasks were direct comparisons of flight data with preflight predictions and post-flight assessments utilizing models and processes being applied to design and develop Ares I. The benefits of early development flight testing were made evident by results from these flight evaluation tasks. This overview provides summary information from assessment of the Ares I-X flight test data and represents a small subset of the detailed technical results. The Ares Projects Office published a 1,600-plus-page detailed technical report that documents the full set of results. This detailed report is subject to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and is available in the Ares Projects Office archives files.

Huebner, Lawrence D.↗

Enhancing Monte Carlo Workflows for Nuclear Reactor Analysis with Metamodel-Driven Modeling

Monte Carlo codes are essential components of many reactor physics simulation workflows as high-fidelity continuous-energy neutron transport solvers. Among Monte Carlo radiation transport codes, MCNP is particularly notable due to its diverse simulation capabilities, large user base, and long validation history. Despite being a powerful simulation tool, MCNP provides limited capabilities to allow automated execution, model transformation, or support for user-defined logic and abstractions that limit its compatibility with modern workflows. Here, to better integrate MCNP into a modern scientific workflow, we have developed an intuitive yet full-featured MCNP Application Program Interface (API) in Python, named MCNPy, which provides a specialized set of classes for MCNP input development. Moreover, to guarantee that our reading, writing, and modeling capabilities remain self-consistent (and to render the huge scope of the MCNP API manageable), we have adopted a strategy of model-driven software development in which a generalized model of the MCNP input format has been created. From this generalized model, or “metamodel,” problem-specific implementations such as an engine for input validation or a codebase for programmatic operations may be automatically generated. Since MCNPy primarily acts as a Python front-end to the underlying Java API that directly interfaces with the metamodel, it is intrinsically linked to the metamodel and thus remains maintainable. With MCNPy, users can programmatically read, write, and modify any syntactically valid MCNP input file regardless of its origin. These capabilities allow users to automate complicated tasks like design optimization and model translation for nuclear systems. As examples, this work demonstrates the use of MCNPy to find the critical radius of a plutonium sphere and to translate a 9000+ line MCNP input file into a corresponding OpenMC model.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Wallops Ship Surveillance System

Approved as a Wallops control center backup system, the Wallops Ship Surveillance Software is a day-of-launch risk analysis tool for spaceport activities. The system calculates impact probabilities and displays ship locations relative to boundary lines. It enables rapid analysis of possible flight paths to preclude the need to cancel launches and allow execution of launches in a timely manner. Its design is based on low-cost, large-customer- base elements including personal computers, the Windows operating system, C/C++ object-oriented software, and network interfaces. In conformance with the NASA software safety standard, the system is designed to ensure that it does not falsely report a safe-for-launch condition. To improve the current ship surveillance method, the system is designed to prevent delay of launch under a safe-for-launch condition. A single workstation is designated the controller of the official ship information and the official risk analysis. Copies of this information are shared with other networked workstations. The program design is divided into five subsystems areas: 1. Communication Link -- threads that control the networking of workstations; 2. Contact List -- a thread that controls a list of protected item (ocean vessel) information; 3. Hazard List -- threads that control a list of hazardous item (debris) information and associated risk calculation information; 4. Display -- threads that control operator inputs and screen display outputs; and 5. Archive -- a thread that controls archive file read and write access. Currently, most of the hazard list thread and parts of other threads are being reused as part of a new ship surveillance system, under the SureTrak project.

Smith, Donna C.↗

Enforcing End-to-end I/O Policies for Scientific Workflows using Software-Defined Storage Resource Enclaves

Data-intensive knowledge discovery requires scientific applications to run concurrently with analytics and visualization codes executing in situ for timely output inspection and knowledge extraction. Consequently, I/O pipelines of scientific workflows can be long and complex because they comprise many stages of analytics across different layers of the I/O stack of high-performance computing systems. Performance limitations at any I/O layer or stage can cause an I/O bottleneck resulting in greater than expected end-to-end I/O latency. In this paper, we present the design and implementation of a novel data management infrastructure called Software-Defined Storage Resource Enclaves (SIREN) at system level to enforce end-to-end policies that dictate an I/O pipeline's performance. SIREN provides an I/O performance interface for users to specify the desired storage resources in the context of in-situ analytics. If suboptimal performance of analytics is caused by an I/O bottleneck when data are transferred between simulations and analytics, schedulers in different layers of the I/O stack automatically provide the guaranteed lower bounds on I/O throughput. Lastly, our experimental results demonstrate that SIREN provides performance isolation among scientific workflows sharing multiple storage servers across two I/O layers (burst buffer and parallel file systems) while maintaining high system scalability and resource utilization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

FUSRAP Data Management and Information Transitions - 19459

The Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) was created in the mid-1970's to clean up radiological contamination resulting from early development of nuclear weapons. The US Department of Energy (US DOE) was responsible for FUSRAP until October 1997, when Congress transferred administration and execution of FUSRAP site cleanup to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Currently, the US DOE Office of Legacy Management (LM) determines the eligibility of a site for referral to USACE. USACE determines whether the site is included in FUSRAP for cleanup, conducts remedial actions, and transfers sites back to LM for long-term surveillance and maintenance (LTS and M). LM and USACE established the Data Management Working Group (DMWG) to (1) establish a common understanding of US DOE and USACE district-specific data, records practices, and requirements as they apply to FUSRAP programmatic documents for site transition and transfer; (2) establish methods to ensure accurate data transfer; and (3) develop a timeline for data and records transfer. These methods will ensure continuity of stewardship while transitioning from cleanup to LTS and M and beyond as more FUSRAP sites transfer from USACE to LM. The DMWG has met monthly and the meetings are attended by a wide range of LM and USACE project managers and subject matter experts. Discussion topics have addressed site records management, including data needs and uses; transfer and posting of Administrative Record and Permanent Record files for public accessibility; and management of legal and classified files. There have been a number of group successes, including the following: - Establishment of a common understanding of data and records practices and requirements as the sites transition and transfer from USACE to LM; - Development of effective lines of communication between USACE and LM concerning data management for transition; - Establishment of a cohesive approach to data management between the two agencies. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Agilent CRADA (Abstract)

The CRADA between Agilent Technologies Inc. and Battelle will focus on five software components as listed below: Prototype 4D Feature Finding functionality with a particular focus on recovering low level features and extending the bottom end dynamic range of IM-MS technology. Compare and contrast developments to current 4D Feature Finding capabilities. Highlight important algorithmic aspects employed. Implement the PNNL saturation correction algorithm. Agilent will give PNNL the needed data file access API and assistance in understanding it implementation and any needed instrumental aspects. Supported high resolution products to include Agilent’s TOF, QTOF and IM-QTOF mass spectrometers. PNNL will then work with Agilent to benchmark performance. Implementation of the PNNL Hadamard de-multiplexing algorithm. Agilent will give provide PNNL the needed date file access API access and as needed assistance in understanding the current Agilent multiplexed IM offering. PNNL will then work with Agilent on benchmark performance. Add ion mobility collision cross sections to existing and new metabolomic libraries for data analysis with Agilent’s informatics program MPP/ID Browser. PNNL will work with Agilent to create a software pipeline that takes data from chemical and metabolic standards and properly formats it for inclusion in MPP accessible libraries, using the collision cross section as a new separation dimension. Improvements of MPP multidimensional matching to identify metabolomic features using multiple characteristics beyond retention time and accurate mass. Most significantly matching will include analyte collision cross section with proposed support for sample fraction or RapidFire cartridge and fragmentation spectra. PNNL will work with Agilent to modify and improve the current MPP analysis pipeline to allow for creating, aligning, and identifying MS features defined by accurate mass, collision cross section and chromatographic retention time. As additional criteria such as fraction or RapidFire cartridge type are supported in the identification process, then they also will become part of the automation workflow. This includes the automation of said system to work with command line program (i.e. not a GUI) sufficient for programmatic execution in a pipeline.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Accuracy Enhancement of Nuclear Power Plant Simulators Utilizing High Accuracy Simulation Predictions

More recently, reactor core simulators for core designs associated with commercial nuclear power plants that utilize what is believed to be higher fidelity models have been developed. Features such as neutronics models that utilize transport equation solvers with fine spatial meshes and many energy-groups, thermal-hydraulic models that utilize sub-channel solvers with fine spatial mesh and capable of treating a wide range of fluid conditions, and fuel-coolant chemistry interaction models capable of treating CRUD deposition are to be found in these higher fidelity core simulators. These reactor core simulators require access to higher performance computers, characterized by many processors, cores and large memory. So associated with utilization of these simulators is access to high performance computers and ability to accommodate in one’s workflow longer execution times. By contrast, currently used core simulators by the nuclear industry can execute on engineering workstations and have execution times of seconds to minutes. The desirability for having short execution times is not only desired for support of time critical tasks but supports the mental process of decision making by engineers. The goal of the work reported upon here has the objective of retaining the fidelity of higher fidelity models while retaining the ability to utilize engineering workstations. Beyond the core simulator goal, additional goals of this work include incorporating the just described core simulator capability into a Nuclear Steam Supply System (NSSS) simulator, and to incorporate the resulting capability into an environment supportive of design and operational decision making associated with nuclear power stations. The model selected for the core neutronics model is the NESTLE code, for the core thermal-hydraulic model is the CTF code utilizing coarse mesh, and for the NSSS model is the RELAP5-3D code. WSC’s proprietary 3KEYMASTERTM platform is being used to provide software coupling, user interface, visualization, and reporting. The NESTLE core neutronics simulator was first integrated with the CTF core thermal-hydraulic simulator using CTF developed communication commands which are also used for CTF to communicate with RELAP5-3D under WSC’s proprietary 3KEYMASTERTM platform. To assure NESTLE prediction consistency with higher fidelity core neutronic simulators, buffer codes have been created to automatically generate from output files written by the VERA core simulator the NESTLE nodal neutronic parameter’ library, geometry, and pin-power reconstruction input files, thereby avoiding a number of challenges associated with utilizing lattice physics codes and providing consistency with VERA predictions. To treat absorber rod effects a multi-set library is utilized, where a set refers to a specific absorber rod fully inserted pattern. A coarse spatial mesh CTF model was developed with features added that support using CTF as envisioned in the engineering quality simulator. A hybrid meshing approach was implemented to allow for automated construction of models with mixed levels of refinement. Specifically, a core model could resolve some assemblies at a nodal level (4 subchannels per assembly) and others at a pin-resolution (one subchannel per coolant subchannel in the assembly). The intention is that this will allow for better resolution of limiting conditions such as DNBR and PCT, which are based on local rod and subchannel conditions. Further development was done of features that enhance the capabilities for the envisioned engineering quality simulator that has been developed, but now for RELAP-3D. The RELAP5-3D code development includes ability to model more than 999 components and the addition of the cross-channels turbulence mixing model and the void drift model that are implemented in CTF, aiming to achieve closer prediction agreement of the two codes for transient simulations, specifically, more accurate matches of the overall mass, momentum, and energy exchanges of both the liquid and gas phases between the neighboring core assemblies. Graphics were also developed for the Instructor Station for this project under WSC’s proprietary 3KEYMASTERTM platform to facilitate design and operational decision making.

42 ENGINEERING↗

MCNP6.3: A Year in Review [Slides]

This presentation discusses the past year and the many accomplishments of the MCNP6.3 team. It states that the MCNP6.3 release is imminent and that the approved, final documents have been making their way to the website. The code executables and source are already packaged up for distribution and the new installer is being finalized and tested now, for all platforms. The package will be sent to RSICC before the end of October 2022. Additionally, the presentation discusses some things to think about as MCNP6.3 is requested and/or used. For example, many of the recent efforts have been focused on making development, updates, and distribution of the code and documents more robust and streamlined. They will be revising/updating documents more frequently than ever before and they will be exploring avenues to distribute official patches to MCNP6.3. As they explain, this allows them to be more responsive to bugs and issues that are identified. In conclusion, the application of a patch to MCNP6.3 will require having the source code.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗

FOSWEC v2: System identification and control testing at Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory

This report summarizes the design and execution of a wave tank test of the floating oscillating surge wave energy converter (FOSWEC) in the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory Directional Wave Basin at Oregon State University. This device, which uses two "flaps" that pivot about a central platform when excited by waves, has a natural frequency within the range of the waves by which it is excited. The FOSWEC was originally considered to be a 1:33 scale device, however, for the current tests, no fixed relative scale is used (i.e., the WEC is considered to be scaled for the basin’s wave environment in which it operates). The primary goal of this test was to assess the degree to which previously developed modeling, experimentation, and control design methods could be applied to a broad range of wave energy converter designs. Testing was conducted to identify a dynamic model for the impedance and excitation behavior of the device. Using these models, a series of closed loop tests were conducted using a causal impedance matching controller. This report provides a brief description of the results, as well as a summary of the device and experimental design. The results show that the methods applied to this experimental device perform well and should be broadly applicable. The data collected during testing is compressed into FOSWEC.zip. Please refer to Appendix C (pages 61-63) of the test report for descriptions of each test ID corresponding to the compressed files.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Implementation of the D1S Methodology for Shutdown Dose Rate Calculations in the OpenMC Monte Carlo Particle Transport Code

We present an implementation of the direct one-step (D1S) methodology for shutdown dose rate (SDR) calculations in the OpenMC Monte Carlo particle transport code. In addition to being the first fully open-source D1S implementation, it is also the first to require no ad hoc source code or nuclear data library modifications. The code can seamlessly switch between production of prompt and decay photons based on a user input parameter, and the decay data needed for decay photon generation are made available through a depletion chain file, which is already used for OpenMC’s built-in depletion/activation solver. A set of Python functions significantly eases the burden of computing and applying time correction factors needed to properly account for the time dependence of radionuclide activity. To assess the accuracy of the D1S implementation, SDR calculations have been carried out for three problems: a prism of iron irradiated by 14-MeV neutrons, the ITER port plug computational benchmark, and the Frascati Neutron Generator (FNG) ITER dose rate benchmark problem from the Shielding INtegral Benchmark Archive and Database (SINBAD). For each of these problems, comparisons were made to calculations using the rigorous two-step (R2S) method. The results on the iron prism problem illustrate how the D1S method achieves superior spatial resolution compared to the R2S method without the need for spatial discretization of the activation regions. The D1S and R2S results for the ITER port plug benchmark agree well with previously reported results in the literature. While the D1S results are 10% to 15% lower than the R2S results, this may be due to stochastic uncertainty and/or spatial discretization in the R2S calculations. On the FNG dose rate benchmark problem, the D1S method produces dose rate estimates that are within 4% of the dose rates predicted using a cell-based R2S workflow. The D1S estimates of the SDR are also in reasonable agreement with the experimental measurements and show the same basic trends that have been observed in previous works. A qualitative analysis of the execution time and uncertainty for the R2S and D1S workflows suggests that the D1S method would attain a higher figure of merit.

D1S method↗

Management and International Sorption Model Collaboration (M4SF-23LL010302062-NEA-TDB)

This progress report (Level 4 Milestone Number M4SF-23LL010302062) summarizes research conducted at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) within the Crystalline International Collaborations Activity Number SF-23LL01030206. The activity is focused on our long-term commitment of engaging our partners in international nuclear waste repository research. This includes participation in the Nuclear Energy Agency Thermochemical Database (NEA-TDB) Project and development of methodologies for integrating US and international thermodynamic databases for use in SFWST Generic Disposal System Assessment (GDSA) efforts. A continuing focus for FY23 efforts has been to support the US participation in the NEA-TDB effort (Mavrik Zavarin replaced Cindy Atkins-Duffin on the NEA-TDB Management Board (MB) and Executive Group (EG)) and developing mechanisms for integration of NEA-TDB thermochemical data with LLNL’s SUPCRTNE thermodynamic database that supports the SFWST GDSA activities. This effort is coordinated with the Argillite work package SUPCRTNE database development efforts. The goal is to provide a downloadable database that will be hosted on a LLNL website which integrates NEA-TDB data into the LLNL SUPCRTNE database where appropriate. As part of our international activities, we continue our effort to integrate international sorption databases into L-SCIE (Zavarin et al., 2022b). We presented opportunities to include sorption in the next phase of NEA-TDB efforts at the April 2023 EG meeting in Paris. FY23 efforts focused on ensuring interoperable database development across multiple international database development activities. The overall goal is to produce an open source database that can be shared and integrated with multiple nuclear waste programs internationally and harness modern data science workflows and algorithms to incorporate these new approaches into reactive transport and performance assessment models. In collaboration with our Helmholtz Zentrum Dresden Rossendorf partners, we recently demonstrated the power of FAIR open source databases by fitting iron oxide (hydrous ferric oxide, goethite, hematite, and magnetite) protolysis constants to all available L-SCIE data. The results were submitted as a manuscript to J. Colloid Interface Science. This work will inform future metal sorption studies on a variety of iron oxides in order to discern the most appropriate acidity constants and surface complexation modeling constructs to account for pH-dependent mineral surface charge behavior. This work also explored automated surface complexation model development workflows in order to generate higher throughput model input files for a more facile incorporation into GDSA activities.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗

EGS Collab Experiment 1: Microseismic Monitoring

The U.S. Department of Energy's Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Collab project aims to improve our understanding of hydraulic stimulations in crystalline rock for enhanced geothermal energy production through execution of intensely monitored meso-scale experiments. The first experiment is being performed at the 4850 ft level of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), approximately 1.5 km below the surface at Lead, South Dakota. Here we report on microseismic monitoring of repeated stimulation experiments and subsequent flow tests between two boreholes in the Poorman Formation. Stimulations were performed at several locations in the designated injection borehole at flow rates from 0.1 to 5 L/min over temporal durations from minutes to hours. Microseismic monitoring was performed using a dense 3D sensor array including two cemented hydrophone strings with 12 sensors at 1.75 m spacing accompanied by 18 3-C accelerometers, deployed in 6 monitoring boreholes, completely surrounding the stimulation region. Continuous records were obtained over a two-month period using a novel dual recording system consisting of a conventional 96 channel exploration seismograph and a high-performance 64 channel digitizer sampling sensors at 4 and 100 kHz respectively. Using a standard STA/LTA triggering algorithm, we detected thousands of microseismic events with recorded energy in a frequency range generally above 3 kHz and up to 40 kHz. The locations of these events are consistent with creation of a hydraulic fracture and additional reactivation of pre-existing structures. Using manual pick refinement and double-difference relocation we are able to track the fracture growth to high precision. We estimate the times and locations of the fracture intersecting a monitoring and the production borehole using microseismic events. They are in excellent agreement with independent measurements using distributed temperature sensing, in-situ strain observations and measurements of conductivity changes. This submission includes a microearthquake catalog, raw event files, a subset of the continuous microseismic monitoring data collected during stimulations and flow test activity on 05/22/2018, 05/23/2018, 05/24/2018, 05/25/2018, 06/25/2018, 07/19/2018, 07/20/2018, 12/7/2018, 12/20/2018, and 12/21/2018 (in binary format), and a binary file interpreter to read the continuous microseismic monitoring data. A Stanford Geothermal Workshop paper is also included to describe microseismic monitoring activities at SURF during these periods.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

The Transition of High-Resolution NASA MODIS Sea Surface Temperatures into the WRF Environmental Modeling System

The NASA Short-term Prediction Research and Transition (SPoRT) Center has developed a Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sea surface temperature (SST) composite at 2-km resolution that has been implemented in version 3 of the National Weather Service (NWS) Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Environmental Modeling System (EMS). The WRF EMS is a complete, full physics numerical weather prediction package that incorporates dynamical cores from both the Advanced Research WRF (ARW) and the Non-hydrostatic Mesoscale Model (NMM). The installation, configuration, and execution of either the ARW or NMM models is greatly simplified by the WRF EMS to encourage its use by NWS Weather Forecast Offices (WFOs) and the university community. The WRF EMS is easy to run on most Linux workstations and clusters without the need for compilers. Version 3 of the WRF EMS contains the most recent public release of the WRF-NMM and ARW modeling system (version 3 of the ARW is described in Skamarock et al. 2008), the WRF Pre-processing System (WPS) utilities, and the WRF Post-Processing program. The system is developed and maintained by the NWS National Science Operations Officer Science and Training Resource Coordinator. To initialize the WRF EMS with high-resolution MODIS SSTs, SPoRT developed the composite product consisting of MODIS SSTs over oceans and large lakes with the NCEP Real-Time Global (RTG) filling data over land points. Filling the land points is required due to minor inconsistencies between the WRF land-sea mask and that used to generate the MODIS SST composites. This methodology ensures a continuous field that adequately initializes all appropriate arrays in WRF. MODIS composites covering the Gulf of Mexico, western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean are generated daily at 0400, 0700, 1600, and 1900 UTC corresponding to overpass times of the NASA Aqua and Terra polar orbiting satellites. The MODIS SST product is output in gridded binary-1 (GRIB-1) data format for a seamless incorporation into WRF via the WPS utilities. The full-resolution, 1-km MODIS product is sub-sampled to 2-km grid spacing due to limitations in handling very large dimensions in the GRIB-1 data format. The GRIB-1 files are posted online at ftp://ftp.nsstc.org/sstcomp/WRF/, which is directly accessed by the WRF EMS scripts. The MODIS SST composites are also downloaded to the EMS data server, which is accessible by the WRF EMS users and NWS WFOs. The SPoRT MODIS SST composite provides the model with superior detail of the ocean gradients around Florida and surrounding waters, whereas the operational RTG SST typically depicts a relatively smooth field and is not able to capture sharp horizontal gradients in SST. Differences of 2-3 C are common over small horizontal distances, leading to enhanced SST gradients on either side of the Gulf Stream and along the edges of the cooler shelf waters. These sharper gradients can in turn produce atmospheric responses in simulated temperature and wind fields as depicted in LaCasse et al. Differences in atmospheric verification statistics over a several month study were generally small in the vicinity of south Florida; however, the validation of SSTs at specific buoy locations revealed important improvements in the biases and RMS errors, especially in the vicinity of the cooler shelf waters off the east-central Florida coast. A current weakness in the MODIS SST product is the occurrence of occasional discontinuities caused by high latency in SST coverage due to persistent cloud cover. An enhanced method developed by Jedlovec et al. (2009, GHRSST User Symposium) reduces the occurrence of these problems by adding Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer -- EOS (AMSR-E) SST data to the compositing process. Enhanced SST composites are produced over the ocean regions surrounding the Continental U.S. at four times each day corresponding to Terra and Aqua equator crossing times. For a given day and overpass time, both MODInd AMSR-E data from the previous seven days form a collection used in the compositing. At each MODIS pixel, cloud-free SST values from the collection are used to form a weighted average based on their latency (number of days from the current day). In this way, recent SST data are given more weight than older data. One of the primary issues involved in incorporating the AMSR-E microwave data in the composites is the tradeoff between the decreased spatial resolution of the AMSR-E data (25 km) and the increased coverage due to its near all-weather capability. Currently, the AMSR-E is given a weight of 20% compared to MODIS data, thereby preserving the spatial structure observed in the MODIS data. Day-time (night-time) AMSR-E SST data from Aqua are used with both Terra and Aqua MODIS day-time (night-time) SST data sets.

Case, Jonathan L.↗

Land-Based Wind Market Report: 2021 Edition

The U.S. Department of Energy's 2021 edition of its land-based wind market report provides an overview of key trends in the U.S. wind power market, with a focus on 2020. You can find a report, data file and presentation on the Files tab, below. Additionally, several data visualizations are available on the Visualizations tab. Highlights of this year’s update include: -Wind comprises a growing share of electricity supply: U.S. wind power capacity grew at a record pace in 2020, with 25 billion dollars invested in 16.8 GW of capacity. Wind energy output rose to account for more than 8% of the entire nation’s electricity supply, and is more than 20% in 10 states. At least 209 GW of wind are seeking transmission interconnection; 61 GW of this capacity are offshore wind and 13 GW are hybrid plants that pair wind with storage or PV. -Wind project performance has increased over time: The average capacity factor among recently built projects was over 40%, considerably higher than projects built earlier. The highest capacity factors are seen in the interior ‘wind belt’ of the country. -Turbines continue to get larger: Improved plant performance has been driven by larger turbines mounted on taller towers and featuring longer blades. In 2010, no turbines employed blades that were 115 meters in diameter or larger, but in 2020, 91% of newly installed turbines featured such rotors. Proposed projects indicate that total turbine height will continue to rise. -Low wind turbine pricing has pushed down installed project costs over the last decade: Wind turbine prices are averaging 775–850 dollars/kW. The average installed cost of wind projects in 2020 was 1,460 dollars/kW, down more than 40% since the peak in 2010, though stable for the last three years. The lowest costs were found in Texas and the (non-ISO) West. -Wind energy prices remain low, around 20 dollars/MWh in the interior of the country: After topping out at 70 dollars/MWh for power purchase agreements (PPAs) executed in 2009, the national average price of wind PPAs has dropped. In the interior ‘wind belt’ of the country, recent pricing is around 20 dollars/MWh. In the West and East, prices tend to average 30 dollars/MWh or more. These prices, which are possible in part due to federal tax support, fall below the projected future fuel costs of gas-fired generation. -Wind PPA prices are often attractive compared to wind’s grid-system market value: The value of wind in wholesale power markets is affected by the location of wind plants, their hourly output profiles, and how those characteristics correlate with real-time electricity prices and capacity markets. The market value of wind declined in 2020, following natural gas prices lower and averaging under 15 dolalrs/MWh in ERCOT, MISO, NYISO and SPP; higher values were seen in CAISO, ISO-NE and PJM. -The average levelized cost of wind energy is down to 33 dollars/MWh: Levelized costs, which exclude the impacts of federal tax incentives, vary across time and geography, but the national average stood at 33 dollars/MWh in 2020—down substantially historically, though consistent with the previous two years. Levelized costs were lowest in ERCOT, SPP, and the (non-ISO) West. -The health and climate benefits of wind in 2020 were larger than its grid-system value, and the combination of all three far exceeds the current levelized cost of wind: Wind generation reduces power-sector emissions of carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and sulfur dioxide. These reductions, in turn, provide public health and climate benefits that vary regionally, but together are economically valued at an average of 76 dollars/MWh-wind nationwide in 2020. -The domestic supply chain for wind equipment is diverse: For wind projects recently installed in the U.S., domestically manufactured content is highest for nacelle assembly (>85%), towers (60-75%), and blades and hubs (30-50%), but is much lower for most components internal to the nacelle.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Supervisory Control with Dual Tasking in Post G-Transition Vehicle Landings

BACKGROUND Landing during exploration spaceflight may consist of both planned automated supervisory control and unplanned crew override. Supervisory control, particularly when performed under cognitive load with additional monitoring tasks, is essential for ensuring overall mission success during landing contingencies. Evaluating performance in a relevant Human Landing System (HLS) supervisory landing task after long-duration microgravity exposure can help identify potential risks from human error and sensorimotor alterations. Adaptive changes in the sensorimotor system can manifest during g-transitions as spatial disorientation. Although training and landing aids facilitate successful landings despite disorientation, these adaptive changes may heighten cognitive demand, which must be considered in the landing strategy. It is important to characterize these effects as soon as possible following the G-transition while the sensorimotor system remains in a state of adaptive flux to inform appropriate countermeasures. METHODS A Multi-attribute Lunar Table Battery (MALTB) task was developed for an iOS tablet device to provide flexible crew testing and training capabilities in-flight and on the ground. Elements of the tablet task were derived from the Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB, Cegarra et al. 2020). The task requires crew members to study a map of a planned landing site and memorizing the terrain and surface landmarks to inform potential divert maneuvers during landing. The user will oversee a series of approaches through touchdown simulations on the tablet with an external camera view of the Lunar surface. The primary responsibility of the crew member will be to execute a divert if the guidance recommended site is erroneous (e.g., the guidance projected landing target is not within 10m of the planned landing site center), or the projected landing site is no longer suitable due to surface obstacles. Considering vehicle maneuverability and fuel reserves, the divert capabilities will diminish as the task progresses. In cases where a divert is initiated, a new landing target will need to be designated by the user and will be evaluated for the proximity to the original pre-planned site. A secondary operational monitoring task will challenge the user's cognitive reserve by requiring the user to maintain several gauges within acceptable limits and respond to a visual indicator while completing the landing approach. Outcome measures include distance from the planned landing site to the user-initiate divert landing location, ground slope at the new landing site, time to divert, the ability to accomplish the secondary monitoring tasks, and perceived workload. The tablet task is being evaluated in a ground-based study to determine the learning effect of first-time users. The tablet task will be utilized in a flight study to test performance multiple times postflight. Future potential testing in-flight have been identified for capsules with iOS tablet devices. Multi-attribute Lunar Table Battery Task MALTB comprises video footage of thirty distinct landing conditions. The landing scenarios feature various landing sites (n = 3), hazardous object sizes (n = 6), sun azimuth degrees (n = 4), camera modes (i.e., fixed or gimbaled), and navigation bias (i.e., true or false). Each seventy second trial uses a sixty-degree constant glideslope trajectory. The application architecture and layout include user identification setup and data storing, a guided walkthrough of the task and interface components, practice mode for task familiarization, and a modified Bedford workload scale administered following task completion. The time-based dependent measures are saved locally to the iOS Files application and post-processing scripts have been developed to evaluate the remaining measures of performance. RELEVANCE This project will deliver an operational demonstration of crew monitoring capability following spaceflight and identify potential deficits that may require remediation. Comparison of individual vestibular and cognitive changes with crew performance will help better characterize the landing risks associated with sensorimotor alterations. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: This project is funded by NASA’s Human Research Program Human Health Countermeasures Element. REFERENCES Cegarra J, Valery B, Avril E, Calmettes C, Navarro J (2020) OpenMATB: A Multi-Attribute Task Battery promoting task customization, software extensibility and experiment replicability. Behav Res Methods 52:1980-1990 doi: 10.3758/s13428-020-01364-w

Matthew McDonnell↗