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All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2021

Additive manufacturing and applications of nanomaterial-based sensors

Nanoscale materials possess distinct physical and chemical attributes including size-dependent properties, quantum confinement, high surface-to-volume ratio, and superior catalytic activity. These unique qualities enable sensors with high sensitivity, robustness, and fast time response. As the emergence of the Internet of Things (IoT) demands increased production of sensors, it also provides an impetus for concentrated nanomaterial-based sensor research. Meanwhile, additive manufacturing (AM) of nanomaterial-based sensors is critical to bridge the gap between one-off, lab-scale fabrication and cost-effective, industrial-scale production with high reproducibility. By applying the design flexibility and cost savings of AM techniques, a new generation of nanomaterial-based sensing platforms can be integrated with IoT devices in the consumer space. Furthermore, emergent research in human-machine interfaces, food safety, and point-of-care diagnostics will be expedited by the development of sensors that can be printed with irregular form factors. In this Review, the relative strengths and weaknesses of printed sensor systems based on zero-, one-, and two-dimensional nanomaterials are discussed. In addition, sensors enabled by printable soft nanomaterials, heterostructures, and nanocomposites are surveyed due to their synergistic advantages for wearable healthcare monitoring and soft robotics. Lastly, a roadmap for the next decade of research on this topic is provided.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

DIVA/DeviceEditor v6.1.2

DIVA is an end-to-end DNA design and construction management platform that streamlines how researchers design, build, and receive sequence-verified DNA constructs. Through a web-based BioCAD interface (DeviceEditor), researchers independently design DNA constructs and submit them to a centralized queue with a single action. Designs progress transparently through standardized states which allow researchers to track status and access finished constructs via a central DNA repository. Submitted designs are reviewed by dedicated staff for feasibility and optimization, reducing costly failures and improving downstream execution. Automated DNA assembly software optimizes construction strategies by reusing existing parts where possible and sourcing synthetic DNA only when needed. Standardized, sequence-agnostic assembly methods enable many independent constructs to be built in parallel using lab automation, dramatically increasing throughput. High-throughput next-generation sequencing is used to verify construct accuracy, with flexible platforms selected based on task requirements. Throughout the process, detailed success and failure data are captured and analyzed, enabling continuous improvement of assembly protocols. Compared to traditional, manual DNA construction workflows, DIVA offers higher scalability, transparency, reproducibility, and data-driven optimization.

Plahar, Hector [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborat↗

DOE OSTI2021

Advanced Multi-Functional Diesel Particulate Filters (CRADA 455)

Diesel engines continue to play crucial roles in many transportation and off-road applications. More specifically, heavy duty diesel engines are expected to remain the only practical option for long-range hauling and many off-road industrial and agricultural applications for decades. As such, the U.S. Department of Energy places high priority on the development and optimization of advanced diesel engine and diesel aftertreatment systems for maximum efficiency and minimum emissions. This collaborative effort between PNNL and Deere & Co. is aimed at enabling the industrially relevant potential of DOCF (diesel oxidation catalyst-on-filter) technology towards the development of the next generation of advanced aftertreatment systems with high performance, superior flexibility, and reduced backpressure.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Innovative Technologies for a Low Carbon Electricity System

The electricity sector represents the centerpiece of decarbonization pathways for the state. Decrease in the cost of renewable electricity generation, combined with ample solar energy, wind and other renewable resources, presents a realistic way to achieve electricity generation that is nearly free of CO 2 emissions by mid-century. Expansion of renewable electricity supply could allow replacement of many CO 2 -emitting technologies with ones that use electricity—in transportation, buildings, and possibly industry. Key elements of the path for California’s electricity sector are: restrain electricity demand through higher efficiency, rapidly expand renewable electricity generation, develop electricity storage to complement renewable electricity, manage flexible electricity loads for a low-carbon electricity system, electrify where appropriate to reduce CO 2 emissions, and maintain reliable and resilient electricity supply. This report provides an overview of a multitude of innovative technologies in each of the above areas that have the potential to help the state meet its decarbonization goals, while lowering costs and promoting greater reliability. The information presented provides a portrait of the landscape of technology innovation that can help policymakers, state agencies, and interested parties develop strategies to meet the state’s goals and to target efforts to support and nurture technology innovation.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2023

Small Reactors in Microgrids: Technology Modeling and Selection (Net-Zero Microgrid Program Project Report)

This report demonstrates the capabilities of the net-zero microgrid (NZM) Xendee platform for modeling an SR module with electricity, heat extraction and thermal storage in microgrids configurations. The model effectively captures the most important technical and economic considerations for SR technology specific analysis: cost and operational characteristics of SR technology and financial costs and incentives. The model can analyze multiple scenarios to establish metrics for cost-competitive and zero-carbon microgrids connected to the grid or completely isolated. The model is fully integrated within the Xendee platform for modeling and analysis of clean energy microgrids with storage and generation from renewable energy sources. The model captures the capabilities, constraints, and nuances of SR by incorporating parameters related to plant economics, design efficiency and performance, plant operation and component and fuel lifespan. The cost and operational parameters modeled in the SR module are specific to the technology selected for integration in the microgrid. Cost parameters recognize advanced nuclear technology for modular production and installation based on economies of scale from factory manufacture and related commissioning, and cost reduction through technology maturation—first-of-a-kind (FOAK) and nth-of-a-Kind (NOAK). The cost parameters include installation, operations and maintenance (O&M), fuel refueling cycle, and reactor life. Installation cost reflects economies of scale due to unit sizing at scale and colocation. O&M economies of scale for both fixed- and variable-cost fuel life-cycle costs are incurred at every refueling interval, with separate front- and back-end fuel costs, as well as waste-handling and disposition costs. This report investigates key characteristics of different SR technologies suitable for microgrid applications, including design principles, sizing, coolant properties, temperature ratings, fuel structures, and life-cycle considerations. This also includes fuel technologies applicable to these SR systems, alongside strategies for nuclear-waste and spent-fuel management and approaches to address safety, security, and proliferation challenges. Four primary groups of SR technologies are examined: water-cooled, liquid-metal-cooled, high-temperature gas-cooled, and molten-salt-cooled systems. In this report, an initial guideline for technology selection is established, aligning the characteristics of the technologies with the requirements of microgrids. The selection of technology in a microgrid is influenced by various factors, including financial capacity, location and accessibility, demand type and characteristics, reliability and resilience requirements, area constraints, and the lifespan of the microgrid. The types of electrical and non-electrical applications within the microgrid also play a significant role in technology selection. The characteristics of SRs, such as their smaller size, modularity, transportability, long refueling interval, improved safety features, ability to operate in autonomous or semi-autonomous mode, and provision of high-grade heat, are particularly appealing for microgrids. Furthermore, a list of considerations for implementing SRs in microgrids is outlined. The SR model is created to be continuously improved with the acquisition of actual data on investment and operational costs, experience with supply chains, production at scale, and field deployments. In the near term, performance data on applications in microgrids will become available from lessons learned from laboratory tests, such as those planned for the Microreactor Applications Research Validation and Evaluation Project (MARVEL), led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). The SR model incorporates scenario data and known SR design specifications, enabling technoeconomic analysis for SR deployment in microgrids. It specifically considers the distinctive attributes of SRs as generators in technoeconomic studies. SRs can be modeled and analyzed with generation from renewable-energy sources, energy storage, and flexible loads over a range of functionality and applications. This offers a comprehensive tool for feasibility studies, scenario development, and sensitivity analysis for “what-if” consideration of any range of assumptions about SRs in microgrids and other aggregations of distributed-energy resources, including virtual power plants.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

DOE OSTI2023

The Synchronic Web

The Synchronic Web is a distributed network for securing data provenance on the World Wide Web. By enabling clients around the world to freely commit digital information into a single shared view of history, it provides a foundational basis of truth on which to build decentralized and scalable trust across the Internet. Its core cryptographical capability allows mutually distrusting parties to create and verify statements of the following form: “I commit to this information—and only this information—at this moment in time.” The backbone of the Synchronic Web infrastructure is a simple, small, and semantic-free blockchain that is accessible to any Internet-enabled entity. The infrastructure is maintained by a permissioned network of well-known servers, called notaries, and accessed by a permissionless group of clients, called journals. Through an evolving stack of flexible and composable semantic specifications, the parties cooperate to generate synchronic commitments over arbitrary data. When integrated with existing infrastructures, adapted to diverse domains, and scaled across the breadth of cyberspace, the Synchronic Web provides a ubiquitous mechanism to lock the world’s data into unique points in discrete time and digital space. This document provides a technical description of the core Synchronic Web system. The distinguishing innovation in our design—and the enabling mechanism behind the model—is the novel use of verifiable maps to place authenticated content into canonically defined locations off-chain. While concrete specifications and software implementations of the Synchronic Web continue to evolve, the information covered in the body of this document should remain stable. We aim to present this information clearly and concisely for technical non-experts to understand the essential functionality and value proposition of the network. In the interest of promoting discourse, we take some liberty in projecting the potential implications of the new model.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2024

Design and Prototyping of Advanced Control Systems for Advanced Reactors Operating in the Future Electric Grid (Final Report)

Despite its significant advantages as a baseload, low-carbon energy source, the U.S. nuclear power industry has faced increasing difficulties in maintaining economic competitiveness in a rapidly evolving energy market. The economic conditions faced by the current fleet of nuclear power plants (NPPs) in the U.S. deregulated electricity market require a concerted effort to mitigate specific cost factors. Many units are struggling to stay competitive, and some premature shutdowns have occurred. Besides, in response to the large penetration of renewable energy sources, the role of nuclear power plants as pure baseload units needs to be reconsidered. Based on these experiences, operational flexibility is considered a fundamental requirement for the next generation of nuclear reactors to be competitive in the future energy market. The deployment of advanced reactors capable of operating within a new power grid paradigm, known as the Integrated Energy System (IES) was investigated. This approach combines new reactor designs with Thermal Energy Storage (TES) technologies, allowing the nuclear reactor to maintain a steady power output without the need for constant adjustments in response to load demand fluctuations. With this configuration, the reactor operates as a baseload unit, experiencing only very gradual power transients, while the energy storage facility within the power conversion cycle acts as a peaking unit.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

NASA NTRS1973

Design and development of the spinning mode synthesizer

Design and development of a flexible source of spinning modes which is capable of generating independent spinning waves of controlled complexity and spin speed without the introduction of broad band elements is reported. These features were accomplished through the use of eight commercial loudspeakers located in an equally spaced circular array with diameter of 11 inches and properly phased so that the system could generate a spinning wave. The constructed apparatus was tested in an anechoic environment and found capable of generating a plane, one and two lobed spinning wave of high quality with a sound pressure level of 120 db and at frequencies ranging from 1500 to 2500 Hz at a distance of 4 ft in the far field. The wave speeds investigated varied from 8000 to 18000 rad/sec which represent supersonic peripheral speeds.

Seiner, J. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Model verification of mixed dynamic systems

A parameter-estimation method is described for verifying the mathematical model of mixed (combined interactive components from various engineering fields) dynamic systems against pertinent experimental data. The model verification problem is divided into two separate parts: defining a proper model and evaluating the parameters of that model. The main idea is to use differences between measured and predicted behavior (response) to adjust automatically the key parameters of a model so as to minimize response differences. To achieve the goal of modeling flexibility, the method combines the convenience of automated matrix generation with the generality of direct matrix input. The equations of motion are treated in first-order form, allowing for nonsymmetric matrices, modeling of general networks, and complex-mode analysis. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated for an example problem involving a complex hydraulic-mechanical system.

Chrostowski, J. D.↗

NASA NTRS1978

V/STOL AND digital avionics system for UH-1H

A hardware and software system for the Bell UH-1H helicopter was developed that provides sophisticated navigation, guidance, control, display, and data acquisition capabilities for performing terminal area navigation, guidance and control research. Two Sperry 1819B general purpose digital computers were used. One contains the development software that performs all the specified system flight computations. The second computer is available to NASA for experimental programs that run simultaneously with the other computer programs and which may, at the push of a button, replace selected computer computations. Other features that provide research flexibility include keyboard selectable gains and parameters and software generated alphanumeric and CRT displays.

Liden, S.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Branch strategies - Modeling and optimization

The authors provide a common platform for modeling different schemes for reducing the branch-delay penalty in pipelined processors as well as evaluating the associated increased instruction bandwidth. Their objective is twofold: to develop a model for different approaches to the branch problem and to help select an optimal strategy after taking into account additional i-traffic generated by branch strategies. The model presented provides a flexible tool for comparing different branch strategies in terms of the reduction it offers in average branch delay and also in terms of the associated cost of wasted instruction fetches. This additional criterion turns out to be a valuable consideration in choosing between two strategies that perform almost equally. More importantly, it provides a better insight into the expected overall system performance. Simple compiler-support-based low-implementation-cost strategies can be very effective under certain conditions. An active branch prediction scheme based on loop buffers can be as competitive as a branch-target-buffer based strategy.

Dubey, Pradeep K.↗

NASA NTRS2004

On the Use of Parmetric-CAD Systems and Cartesian Methods for Aerodynamic Design

Automated, high-fidelity tools for aerodynamic design face critical issues in attempting to optimize real-life geometry arid in permitting radical design changes. Success in these areas promises not only significantly shorter design- cycle times, but also superior and unconventional designs. To address these issues, we investigate the use of a parmetric-CAD system in conjunction with an embedded-boundary Cartesian method. Our goal is to combine the modeling capabilities of feature-based CAD with the robustness and flexibility of component-based Cartesian volume-mesh generation for complex geometry problems. We present the development of an automated optimization frame-work with a focus on the deployment of such a CAD-based design approach in a heterogeneous parallel computing environment.

Nemec, Marian↗

NASA NTRS2010

The Geostationary Operational Satellite R Series SpaceWire Based Data System Architecture

The GOES-R program selected SpaceWire as the best solution to satisfy the desire for simple and flexible instrument to spacecraft command and telemetry communications. Data generated by GOES-R instruments is critical for meteorological forecasting, public safety, space weather, and other key applications. In addition, GOES-R instrument data is provided to ground stations on a 24/7 basis. GOES-R requires data errors be detected and corrected from origin to final destination. This paper describes GOES-R developed strategy to satisfy this requirement

Krimchansky, Alexander↗

NASA NTRS2019

Lessons from Modeling Flexible Aircraft for Active Flutter Suppression

These slides describe a method and technology of modeling flexible aircraft for active control of structural dynamics. Objective: Generate models useful for the design and evaluation of control laws for active structural control and flutter suppression that are able to accurately predict body freedom flutter.

Lessons Learned↗

DOE OSTI2020

Advanced Sensors & Controls FWP Overview

Fossil energy power generation is needed now and in the future, but its role is shifting from baseload operation to fulfilling dispatchable power needs in regions of the United States. Novel sensors and controls will help to increase efficiency, minimize emissions, and reduce operating costs of existing power generation technologies under this increased load following role; and help enable next generation power systems with high efficiency and greater operational flexibility.<br>

Buric, Michael↗

DOE OSTI2022

Optimization of Integrated Energy Systems

Integrated energy systems that couple nuclear power plants with additional products including hydrogen, storage, or synthetic fuels provide a more flexible energy source that can be more economical than generating electricity alone. Determining the size and shape of these systems and optimizing their operation is challenging. INL, through the IES program, has developed optimization software to help solve these challenges. Holistic Energy Resource Optimization Network (HERON) is a software tool to optimize the size and capacity of integrated energy systems using stochastic optimization. Optimization of Real-time Capacity Allocation (ORCA) is a software tool under development to perform real-time economic optimization of these systems using economic model predictive control. An overview of these tools and a discussion of their optimization methods will be presented in this talk.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2022

Multiscale simulation of integrated energy system and electricity market interactions

Accelerating the deep decarbonization of the world's electric grids requires the coordination of complex energy systems and infrastructures across timescales from seconds to decades. Here, we present a new multiscale simulation framework that integrates process- and grid-centric modeling paradigms to better design, operate, and control integrated energy systems (IESs), which combine multiple technologies, in wholesale energy markets. Traditionally, IESs are analyzed with a process-centric paradigm such as levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) or annualized net revenue, ignoring important interactions with electricity markets. This framework explicitly models the complex interactions between an IES's bidding, scheduling, and control decisions and the energy market's clearing and settlement processes, while incorporating operational uncertainties. Through two case studies, we show the importance of understanding and quantifying complex resource-grid interactions. In case study 1, we demonstrate that optimized bidding from one resource shifts the profit distribution for all energy systems in the market. This result suggests new and more flexible IES technologies can disrupt the economics of all market participants, possibly leading to accelerated retirements of less flexible resources. Interestingly, the optimized bidding has little impact on grid-level aggregate statistics, such as total generation costs and renewable penetration rate. While aggregate modeling strategies may remain valid under some IES adoption scenarios for analysis focused on regional outcomes, direct comparisons of IES technologies at specific locations without considering these interactions may lead to misleading or incorrect conclusions. In case study 2, we consider the design and flexible operation of IESs that hybridize conventional generators with energy storage. Through a sensitivity analysis, we find that as the size of the storage system increases, the total number of start-ups for coal- and natural gas-based IESs reduced by 25% and 33.6%, and the total thermal generator ramping (i.e., mileage) reduced by 86.5% and 62.5%, respectively. This shows the primary benefit of storage may not be reduced operational costs (which do not change significantly) but fewer start-ups and less ramping, which may greatly simplify the design, operation, and control of carbon capture systems. The new modeling and optimization capabilities from this work enable the coupling of rigorous, dynamic process models with grid-level production cost models to quantitatively identify the nuanced interdependencies across these vast timescales that must be addressed to realize clean, safe, and secure energy production. Moreover, the proposed general multiscale simulation framework is applicable to all IES technologies and can be easily extended to consider other energy carriers (e.g., hydrogen, ammonia) and energy infrastructures (e.g., natural gas pipelines).

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating power grid model hydropower feasibility with a river operations model

Production cost models (PCMs) simulate dispatch of generators across a large power grid and are used widely by planners to study the reliability of electricity supply. As energy systems transition away from the thermoelectric technologies that have traditionally balanced electricity supply and demand, hydropower and its representation in PCMs is of increasing importance. A limitation of PCMs applied to continental power grids with diverse generation portfolios is that hydropower generation is simulated without full consideration of complex river dynamics, leading to possible misrepresentation of grid flexibility and performance. In addition, data used in PCMs may reflect outdated operating policies. In this paper we propose a hydropower generation feasibility test for PCMs. The approach uses a detailed hydropower model to determine whether the hourly hydropower schedule from a PCM with simplified monthly parameterization can be attained after accounting for realistic river dynamics and operating policies, such as spill requirements and general water movement and balance through a cascade reservoir system. We perform this hydropower generation test for the ‘Big 10’ hydropower system on the Columbia River (part of the Western Interconnect of the United States), revealing 9% overestimation of available hydropower generation in a PCM solution in an average hydrologic year. Our evaluation provides insight on the cost and opportunities for better representing hydropower in PCMs.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗