Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “control software”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 703 records · Page 39
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Practical applications of model checking in the finnish nuclear industry - 281

Model checking is a powerful, formal, computer-assisted verification method that can be used to prove that a model of a (hardware or software) system fulfills stated properties. When used right, model checking can prove the correctness of instrumentation and control (I and C) system application logic, be it a software or a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based design. The verified properties can also address unwanted functionality, making model checking a very effective method for analyzing spurious actuation. Despite the benefits, model checking is still not widely adopted in the verification of I and C systems, one exception being the Finnish nuclear industry. Since 2008, VTT has applied model checking in practical customer work related to the Olkiluoto 3 EPR, Loviisa 1 and 2 VVER-440, and Hanhikivi 1 AES-2006 nuclear power plants, on commission from either the regulator or the utilities. In this paper, we look at how the method has been used in each of these three projects. We also introduce a user-friendly, graphical modelling tool called MODCHK. We then present an overall view of the design issues detected during nine years of customer work, and one practical example. The 100% coverage means that the design errors that are found often relate to scenarios that are otherwise hard to account for (e.g., exact timing of events, or improper operator actions). (authors)

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2024

GQuEST Control System Resolution

This is presentation display of the software theory research I have done this summer in the pursuit of constructing the most optimal FPGA for the GQuEST apparatus.

Nguyễn, David↗
DOE OSTI2017

Resource management based on physical authentication and authorization

Systems and methods are disclosed that provide for management of resources of one or more systems included in an access-controlled area of a distributed site of an electric power delivery system. In certain embodiments, one or more users entering and access-controlled area may be identified via physical access control credentials provided to an associated access control system. A determination may be made as to whether the users have access rights to one or more hardware and/or software resources of systems included in the access-controlled area. Based on the determination, control signals may be generated by the access control system to enable and/or disable associated resources.

Gammel, Dennis↗
DOE OSTI2020

TEAM project review, year 1

This note summarizes our research activities within the TEAM project between October 2019 and November 2020, funded by the ASCR Advanced Research in Quantum Computing program. Three research efforts have begun during the review period. The first effort, resulting in the JuQBox software, implemented a novel algorithm for optimal control in closed quantum systems based on symplectic time integration and exact calculations of the gradient of the discretized objective function. In our second effort, resulting in a code called Quandary, we consider the optimal control problem for open quantum systems. Here the evolution of the quantum system is modeled by the Lindblad master equation. In this code, we are considering both the realization of quantum gates as well as the optimal reset problem in which a general mixed quantum state is driven towards its ground state. In our third research effort we have begun the development of computational software for what we call Lindblad learning, i.e. the process of characterizing the equations governing our quantum computing hardware.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2014

Analysis of the Space Propulsion System Problem Using RAVEN

This paper presents the solution of the space propulsion problem using a PRA code currently under development at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). RAVEN (Reactor Analysis and Virtual control ENviroment) is a multi-purpose Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA) software framework that allows dispatching different functionalities. It is designed to derive and actuate the control logic required to simulate the plant control system and operator actions (guided procedures) and to perform both Monte- Carlo sampling of random distributed events and Event Tree based analysis. In order to facilitate the input/output handling, a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and a post-processing data-mining module are available. RAVEN allows also to interface with several numerical codes such as RELAP5 and RELAP-7 and ad-hoc system simulators. For the space propulsion system problem, an ad-hoc simulator has been developed and written in python language and then interfaced to RAVEN. Such simulator fully models both deterministic (e.g., system dynamics and interactions between system components) and stochastic behaviors (i.e., failures of components/systems such as distribution lines and thrusters). Stochastic analysis is performed using random sampling based methodologies (i.e., Monte-Carlo). Such analysis is accomplished to determine both the reliability of the space propulsion system and to propagate the uncertainties associated to a specific set of parameters. As also indicated in the scope of the benchmark problem, the results generated by the stochastic analysis are used to generate risk-informed insights such as conditions under witch different strategy can be followed.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2015

A comprehensive data acquisition and management system for an ecosystem-scale peatland warming and elevated CO 2 experiment

Ecosystem-scale manipulation experiments represent large science investments that require well-designed data acquisition and management systems to provide reliable, accurate information to project participants and third party users. The SPRUCE project (Spruce and Peatland Responses Under Climatic and Environmental Change, http://mnspruce.ornl.gov ) is such an experiment funded by the Department of Energy's (DOE), Office of Science, Terrestrial Ecosystem Science (TES) Program. The SPRUCE experimental mission is to assess ecosystem-level biological responses of vulnerable, high carbon terrestrial ecosystems to a range of climate warming manipulations and an elevated CO 2 atmosphere. SPRUCE provides a platform for testing mechanisms controlling the vulnerability of organisms, biogeochemical processes, and ecosystems to climatic change (e.g., thresholds for organism decline or mortality, limitations to regeneration, biogeochemical limitations to productivity, and the cycling and release of CO 2 and CH 4 to the atmosphere). The SPRUCE experiment will generate a wide range of continuous and discrete measurements. In order to successfully manage SPRUCE data collection, achieve SPRUCE science objectives, and support broader climate change research, the research staff has designed a flexible data system using proven network technologies and software components. The primary SPRUCE data system components are the following; 1. data acquisition and control system – set of hardware and software to retrieve biological and engineering data from sensors, collect sensor status information, and distribute feedback to control components; 2. data collection system – set of hardware and software to deliver data to a central depository for storage and further processing; and 3. data management plan – set of plans, policies, and practices to control consistency, protect data integrity, and deliver data. This publication presents our approach to meeting the challenges of designing and constructing an efficient data system for managing high volume sources of in situ observations in a remote, harsh environmental location. Finally, the approach covers data flow starting from the sensors and ending at the archival/distribution points, discusses types of hardware and software used, examines design considerations that were used to choose them, and describes the data management practices chosen to control and enhance the value of the data.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Tough Errors Are no Match (TEAM): Optimizing the quantum compiler for noise resilience

This report summarizes Unitary Fund’s contributions to the Department of Energy’s TEAM project (DE-SC0020266) under Thrust 2: Quantum Programming and Compilation. The central outcomes of this work have been the development of Mitiq, an open-source Python toolkit for applying quantum error mitigation (QEM) techniques to noisy quantum programs, and the invention, benchmarking and theoretical investigation of novel QEM techniques. Additional outcomes include the development of other open source software packages for the usage, simulation and control of quantum computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2019

A Simple Control to Reduce Device Over-Voltage Caused by Non-Active Switch Loop in Three-Level ANPC Converters

With the development of wide band-gap (WBG) technology, the switching speed of power semiconductor devices increases, which makes circuits more sensitive to parasitics. For three-level active neutral point clamped (3L-ANPC) converters, the over-voltage caused by additional non-active switch loop can be an issue. This paper analyzes the multiple commutation loops in 3L-ANPC converter and summarizes the impact factors of the device over-voltage. The nonlinearity of the output capacitance of the device can significantly influence the over-voltage. A simple control without introducing additional hardware circuit or complex software algorithm is proposed to attenuate the effect of the nonlinear output capacitance. Multi-pulse test is conducted for a 3L-ANPC converter built with silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFETs. With the proposed control, the testing results show that the peak drain-source voltage of both active and non-active switches is reduced by more than 20% compared to the conventional control.

Gui, Handong↗
DOE OSTI2022

Hierarchical Model-Free Transactive Control of Building Loads to Support Grid Services

Residential buildings consume 4.4 quads of electricity annually, approximately 37% of the total electricity consumption in the United States. This represents a vast resource that can be used for demand management and other ancillary services. This project aims to develop a robust, scalable hierarchical transactional control mechanism incorporating elements of model-free control (MFC) and game theory to harness buildings to provide ancillary services to the grid. This approach is being taken to address the challenges of incorporating traditional transactional control schemes into existing buildings. The challenges include small individual building sizes requiring aggregation of many buildings, unpredictable energy usage that makes model identification difficult, and satisfying the sensitive occupant comfort constraints. In the proposed approach, by separating the control mechanism into two layers above and below the load aggregator, MFC can be used below the aggregator to modulate flexible building loads in response to pricing signals with guaranteed performance. This allows the burden of identifying an accurate model of the system to be shifted to the above-aggregator layer, where fluctuations in individual building usage have less impact on predicted building system behavior. Game theory concepts can then be used to determine pricing curves and control signals among regional aggregators. Managing this control in a game-theoretic approach will allow us to build in financial incentives that increase customer engagement. Additionally, the usage of MFC necessitates less burdensome computational and communication requirements, thus, it is easily deployable on small, embedded devices. In a broader sense, developing a strategy capable of effectively incorporating residential and small commercial buildings will allow greater throughput of existing and emerging grid services in addition to future transactive energy grid management methods. Using MFC within a hierarchical control architecture will allow the shifting of existing forecasting challenges to an aggregate level, where dynamics are slower and more predictable. This will enable a smooth interface between the grid services requests of utilities and the reliable control required by participating buildings. MFC, which supports distributed control architecture, permits a scalable solution that can be deployed to neighborhood-size systems as well as individual buildings. This project focuses on three objectives: (1) developing the mathematical framework, algorithm toolkit, and software toolset of the two-layer transactive control testbed; (2) developing a scalable solution for application over many residential and small-size commercial buildings with sparse distributed communication; and (3) field testing and implementation on hardware of the control strategies developed in the previous two objectives. The research and development activities are focused and designed to be impactful within the relevant 2025 targets timeframe. An open-source control framework for exploiting variability and dispatchability of building loads will be delivered as the outcome of the project. This capability enables greater participation of loads in electricity markets and ancillary services that are both useful for the utility and financially beneficial for building owners.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Test based reliability assessment method for a safety critical software in reactor protection system - 284

Digitalization of the instrumentation and control systems in nuclear power plant entails some new features which do not exist in analog systems. When the new features are applied in safety critical systems, the risk stemming from them should be quantified properly to assure the reliability of the entire power plant. Among the new features, software is considered as the most important factor because it can cause common cause failure to many redundant systems. Therefore, in this work, a test based reliability assessment method for a safety-critical software is developed. An output of a software is determined by not only inputs but also the internal state of the software at the time. In the case of safety critical software developed for usage in nuclear power plant, it is possible to directly investigate probable internal states thanks to detailed design specification and programing features, and the probable inputs also can be identified based on the physical linearity of each process parameter and hardware characteristics related to data acquisition. In this work, a development method for practical exhaustive test case consisting of investigation of internal state and probable input sets to a specific internal state are suggested. In addition to this, software logic simulator for execution of software logic test and the reliability quantification method based on the test result are developed. The feasibility of the suggested method is demonstrated via a case study. (authors)

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Towards a systematic framework for the synthesis of operable process intensification systems

In this work we present an integrated framework to derive intensified designs with guaranteed safety and operability performance. A step-by-step procedure is described featuring: (i) superstructure-based process synthesis using Generalized Modular Representation Framework, (ii) development of advanced multi-parametric control strategies following the PAROC framework and software platform, and (iii) inherent safety analysis at early design stage utilizing quantitative risk assessment. Here, two case studies with increasing intensification complexity, namely heat exchanger network synthesis and reactive distillation column design, are investigated to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed framework.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2021

Enabling Pulse-level Programming, Compilation, and Execution in XACC

Noisy gate-model quantum processing units (QPUs) are currently available from vendors over the cloud, and digital quantum programming approaches exist to run low-depth circuits on physical hardware. These digital representations are ultimately lowered to pulse-level instructions by vendor quantum control systems to affect unitary evolution representative of the submitted digital circuit. Vendors are beginning to open this pulse-level control system to the public via specified interfaces. Robust programming methodologies, software frameworks, and backend simulation technologies for this analog model of quantum computation will prove critical to advancing pulse-level control research and development. Prototypical use cases for this include error mitigation, optimal pulse control, and physics-inspired pulse construction. Here we present an extension to the XACC quantum-classical software framework that enables pulse-level programming for superconducting, gate-model quantum computers, and a novel, general, and extensible pulse-level simulation backend for XACC that scales on classical compute clusters via MPI. Our work enables custom backend Hamiltonian definitions and gate-level compilation to available pulses with a focus on performance and scalability. We end with a demonstration of this capability, and show how to use XACC for pertinent pulse-level programming tasks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

UAV Resilience Against Stealthy Attacks

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) depend on software components to automate dangerous or critical missions; these components are then a desirable target for adversaries seeking to sabotage the UAV. Some work has been done to prevent an attacker who has either compromised a ground control station or parts of a UAV’s software from sabotaging the vehicle, but not both. We present an architecture running a UAV software stack with runtime monitoring and seL4-based software isolation that prevents attackers from both exploiting software bugs and utilizing stealthy attacks. Our architecture retrofits legacy UAVs and secures the popular MAVLink protocol, making it widely applicable for UAVs to adopt.

42 - ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission

The X-Ray Imaging and Spectroscopy Mission (XRISM) is a joint mission between the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA). In addition to the three space agencies, universities and research institutes from Japan, North America, and Europe have joined to contribute to developing satellite and onboard instruments, data-processing software, and the scientific observation program. XRISM is the successor to the ASTRO-H (Hitomi) mission, which ended prematurely in 2016. Its primary science goal is to examine astrophysical problems with precise, high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy. XRISM promises to discover new horizons in X-ray astronomy. It carries a 6 × 6 pixelized X-ray microcalorimeter on the focal plane of an X-ray mirror assembly (Resolve) and a co-aligned X-ray CCD camera (Xtend) that covers the same energy band over a large field of view. XRISM utilizes the Hitomi heritage, but all designs were reviewed. The attitude and orbit control system was improved in hardware and software. The spacecraft was launched from the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center on 2023 September 6 (UTC). During the in-orbit commissioning phase, the onboard components were activated. Although the gate valve protecting the Resolve sensor with a thin beryllium X-ray entrance window was not yet opened, scientific observation started in 2024 February with the planned performance verification observation program. The nominal observation program commenced with the following guest observation program beginning in 2024 September.

Astronomy and AstroPhysics↗
DOE OSTI2026

An Integrated Framework for Memory-Centric Analysis: From Trace Collection to Co-Design

The memory wall phenomenon—where advances in processor performance significantly outpace those in memory subsystems—poses a fundamental challenge for contemporary computing systems. In memory-bound applications, memory subsystem behavior dominates performance, yet existing analysis approaches present significant limitations: detailed microarchitectural simulators require days to weeks to simulate modest workloads; hardware performance counters provide only aggregate statistics that obscure temporal and spatial access patterns; and scaled simulation approaches face challenges in capturing certain behaviors that emerge at larger scales. These limitations reflect a processor-centric design philosophy increasingly misaligned with memory-bound workloads where detailed understanding of memory access patterns, cache hierarchy interactions, and contention is critical for effective optimization. This paper presents an integrated framework for memory-centric analysis that enables effective hardware-software co-design. We describe practical trace collection techniques, including hardware-assisted processor tracing with minimal overhead and portable software-based instrumentation with statistical sampling. We present multi-perspective analysis methods that examine memory behavior from temporal, sequential, spatial, and relational viewpoints, revealing distinct optimization opportunities invisible in aggregate metrics. We detail an architectural modeling framework that uses sampled traces with temporal interpolation and confidence-based filtering to evaluate cache and memory configurations. Evaluation on representative benchmarks demonstrates that this framework achieves practical accuracy (L2 cache errors of 2.64\%, confidence-filtered L3 errors of 9.92\%, bandwidth errors of 7.33\%) while providing substantial speedup (26.8×) over cycle-accurate simulation, enabling rapid design space exploration. We demonstrate how this integrated framework enables systematic identification of both hardware optimizations (memory controller tuning, bank partitioning, NUMA configuration) and software optimizations (data layout restructuring, prefetching strategies, memory-aware scheduling). Through this comprehensive treatment of the memory-centric analysis pipeline—from trace collection through architectural modeling to co-design application—we provide researchers and practitioners with practical techniques for addressing memory bottlenecks in contemporary computing systems.

Gajaria, Dhruv Mayur↗
DOE OSTI2012

The E-lens test bench for RHIC beam-beam compensation

To compensate for the beam-beam effects from the proton-proton interactions at IP6 and IP8 in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), we are fabricating two electron lenses that we plan to install at RHIC IR10. Before installing the e-lenses, we are setting-up the e-lens test bench to test the electron gun, collector, GS1 coil, modulator, partial control system, some instrumentation, and the application software. Some e-lens power supplies, the electronics for current measurement will also be qualified on test bench. The test bench also was designed for measuring the properties of the cathode and the profile of the beam. In this paper, we introduce the layout and elements of the e-lens test bench; and we discuss its present status towards the end of this paper.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

AlphaBuilding ResCommunity: A multi-agent virtual testbed for community-level load coordination

Training and validating algorithms in a simulation testbed can accelerate research and applications of optimal control of residential loads to improve energy flexibility and grid resilience. We developed an open-source simulation environment, AlphaBuilding ResCommunity, that can be used to train and validate algorithms to control a single thermostatically controlled load (TCL) or coordinate a group of TCLs. We used reduced-order models to simulate the thermodynamics of TCLs, and the parameter values were determined from the connected smart thermostat data of real households. The environment was built upon the standardized OpenAI Gym interface. Ancillary functions, such as retrieving the parameters and weather forecasts, are provided to facilitate control strategies that require predictive information. Compared with existing efforts, AlphaBuilding ResCommunity has three advantages: (1) more realistic model settings because the parameter values are identified from actual household operating data, and modelling and measurement uncertainty are considered; (2) passive thermal storage control; and (3) ease of use due to a simple software dependency and standardized interface. We demonstrated the applications of the environment by implementing a Kalman Filter and Model Predictive Control on a single TCL and a Priority-Stack-Based Control and Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers to coordinate multiple TCLs for load tracking.

Wang, Z↗
DOE OSTI2013

NV Energy Large-Scale Photovoltaic Integration Study: Intra-Hour Dispatch and AGC Simulation

The uncertainty and variability with photovoltaic (PV) generation make it very challenging to balance power system generation and load, especially under high penetration cases. Higher reserve requirements and more cycling of conventional generators are generally anticipated for large-scale PV integration. However, whether the existing generation fleet is flexible enough to handle the variations and how well the system can maintain its control performance are difficult to predict. The goal of this project is to develop a software program that can perform intra-hour dispatch and automatic generation control (AGC) simulation, by which the balancing operations of a system can be simulated to answer the questions posed above. The simulator, named Electric System Intra-Hour Operation Simulator (ESIOS), uses the NV Energy southern system as a study case, and models the system’s generator configurations, AGC functions, and operator actions to balance system generation and load. Actual dispatch of AGC generators and control performance under various PV penetration levels can be predicted by running ESIOS. With data about the load, generation, and generator characteristics, ESIOS can perform similar simulations and assess variable generation integration impacts for other systems as well. This report describes the design of the simulator and presents the study results showing the PV impacts on NV Energy real-time operations.

Energy↗