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At least 73 records · Page 4

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2013

Expert Meeting Report: Foundations Research Results

The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership held an expert meeting on Foundations–Research Results on November 15, 2011, in Minneapolis, MN. Audience participation was actively encouraged during each presentation to uncover needs and promote dialog among researchers and industry professionals. Key results were: greater understanding of the role of moisture transport through foundation and insulation materials and its potential impact on building durability; greater understanding of the role of foundation type in the process of selecting an insulation system for energy performance and building durability; need for research to quantify the risks associated with insulation processes to better enable users to weigh costs and benefits against the existing conditions of a home; need for improved performance modeling capabilities that address variations in foundation types and soil conditions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2014

Excavationless Exterior Foundation Insulation Field Study

Building science research supports installing exterior (soil side) foundation insulation as the optimal method to enhance the hygrothermal performance of new homes. With exterior foundation insulation, water management strategies are maximized while insulating the basement space and ensuring a more even temperature at the foundation wall. However, such an approach can be very costly and disruptive when applied to an existing home, requiring deep excavation around the entire house. The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team implemented an innovative, minimally invasive foundation insulation upgrade technique on an existing home. The approach consisted of using hydrovac excavation technology combined with liquid insulating foam. The team was able to excavate a continuous 4 inches wide by 4 feet to 5 feet deep trench around the entire house, 128 linear feet, except for one small part under the stoop that was obstructed with concrete debris. The combination pressure washer and vacuum extraction technology also enabled the elimination of large trenches and soil stockpiles normally produced by backhoe excavation. The resulting trench was filled with liquid insulating foam, which also served as a water-control layer of the assembly. The insulation was brought above grade using a liquid foam/rigid foam hybrid system and terminated at the top of the rim joist. Cost savings over the traditional excavation process ranged from 23% to 50%. The excavationless process could result in even greater savings since replacement of building structures, exterior features, utility meters, and landscaping would be minimal or non-existent in an excavationless process.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2015

Building a Bright Future. The Hydro Research Foundation's Fellowship Program

The Hydro Fellowship Program (program) began as an experiment to discover whether the hydropower industry could find mechanisms to attract new entrants through conducting relevant research to benefit the industry. This nationwide, new-to-the-world program was started through funding from the Wind and Water Power Technologies Office of the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Office of the Department of Energy (DOE). Between 2010-2015, the Hydro Research Foundation (HRF) designed and implemented a program to conduct valuable research and attract new entrants to the hydro workforce. This historic grant has empowered and engaged industry members from 25 organizations by working with 91 students and advisors at 24 universities in 19 states. The work funded answered pressing research needs in the fields of civil, mechanical, environmental, and electrical engineering, as well as law, energy engineering and materials innovation. In terms of number of individuals touched through funding, 148 individuals were supported by this work through direct research, mentorship, oversight of the work, partnerships and the day-to-day program administration. Based on the program results, it is clear that the funding achieved the hoped-for outcomes and has the capacity to draw universities into the orbit of hydropower and continue the conversation about industry research and development needs. The Foundation has fostered unique partnerships at the host universities and has continued to thrive with the support of the universities, advisors, industry and the DOE. The Foundation has demonstrated industry support through mentorships, partnerships, underwriting the costs and articulating the universities’ support through in-kind cost sharing. The Foundation recommends that future work be continued to nurture these graduate level programs using the initial work and improvements in the successor program, the Research Awards Program, while stimulating engagement of academia at the community college level for operations and maintenance workforce development.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2014

Building America Case Study: Excavationless Exterior-Side Foundation Insulation for Existing Homes, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Fact Sheet)

Building science research supports installing exterior (soil side) foundation insulation as the optimal method to enhance the hygrothermal performance of new homes. With exterior foundation insulation, water management strategies are maximized while insulating the basement space and ensuring a more even temperature at the foundation wall. However, such an approach can be very costly and disruptive when applied to an existing home, requiring deep excavation around the entire house. The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team implemented an innovative, minimally invasive foundation insulation upgrade technique on an existing home. The approach consisted of using hydrovac excavation technology combined with a liquid insulating foam. The team was able to excavate a continuous 4" wide by 4' to 5' deep trench around the entire house, 128 linear feet, except for one small part under the stoop that was obstructed with concrete debris. The combination pressure washer and vacuum extraction technology also enabled the elimination of large trenches and soil stockpiles normally produced by backhoe excavation. The resulting trench was filled with liquid insulating foam, which also served as a water-control layer of the assembly. The insulation was brought above grade using a liquid foam/rigid foam hybrid system and terminated at the top of the rim joist. Cost savings over the traditional excavation process ranged from 23% to 50%. The excavationless process could result in even greater savings since replacement of building structures, exterior features, utility meters, and landscaping would be minimal or non-existent in an excavationless process.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2014

Technology Solutions Case Study: Excavationless: Exterior-Side Foundation Insulation for Existing Homes

Building America↗

DOE OSTI2015

Innovative Retrofit Insulation Strategies for Concrete Masonry Foundations

Basements in climates 6 and 7 can account for a fraction of a home's total heat loss when fully conditioned. Such foundations are a source of moisture, with convection in open block cavities redistributing water from the wall base, usually when heating. Even when block cavities are capped, the cold foundation concrete can act as a moisture source for wood rim joist components that are in contact with it. Because below-grade basements are increasingly used for habitable space, cold foundation walls pose challenges for moisture contribution, energy use, and occupant comfort.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2025

TPCpp-10M: Simulated proton-proton collisions in a time projection chamber for AI foundation models

Scientific foundation models hold great promise for advancing nuclear and particle physics by improving analysis precision and accelerating discovery. Yet, progress in this field is often limited by the lack of openly available large scale datasets, as well as standardized evaluation tasks and metrics. Furthermore, the specialized knowledge and software typically required to process particle physics data pose significant barriers to interdisciplinary collaboration with the broader machine learning community. This work introduces a large, openly accessible dataset of 10 million simulated proton-proton collisions, designed to support self-supervised training of foundation models. To facilitate ease of use, the dataset is provided in a common NumPy format. In addition, it includes 70,000 labeled examples spanning three well defined downstream tasks: track finding, particle identification, and noise tagging, to enable systematic evaluation of the foundation model's adaptability. The simulated data are generated using the Pythia Monte Carlo event generator at a center of mass energy of $\sqrt{s}$ = 200 GeV and processed with Geant4 to include realistic detector conditions and signal emulation in the sPHENIX Time Projection Chamber at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, located at Brookhaven National Laboratory. This dataset resource establishes a common ground for interdisciplinary research, enabling machine learning scientists and physicists alike to explore scaling behaviors, assess transferability, and accelerate progress toward foundation models in nuclear and high energy physics. The complete simulation and reconstruction chain is reproducible with the sPHENIX software stack. All data and code locations are provided under Data Accessibility.

Data Analysis, Statistics and Probability (physics↗

DOE OSTI2017

Centrifuge modeling of lateral bearing behavior of offshore wind turbine with suction bucket foundation in sand

Suction bucket foundation is a promising alternative for offshore wind turbine foundations. The lateral bearing behavior and failure mechanism are significant topics for optimizing its design criteria. In this study, a group of centrifuge tests were performed to investigate the lateral bearing capacity of suction bucket foundation with three aspect ratios. Force-controlled lateral static and cyclic tests were performed at a centrifuge acceleration of 50g. Four soil conditions were considered in centrifuge tests with a combination of loose/dense and dry/saturated sand. The load-displacement and the stiffness-displacement relationships are presented in the paper, and it is concluded that the lateral bearing capacity can be reached when the normalized lateral displacement (displacement divided by the bucket diameter) reached 3% as the first method. Displacement rates are plotted against the lateral load to give the second method for defining the ultimate lateral capacity. In cyclic tests, the lateral displacement and stiffness are correlated to the cycle numbers in the first 5 cycles, but the change is less apparent in the rest. The results demonstrated the behavior of bucket foundation in service conditions. Finally, a simplified calculation method is used as the third method and checked with tests results.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2017

Lateral capacity assessment of offshore wind suction bucket foundation in clay via centrifuge modelling

The lateral bearing behaviors of suction bucket foundations for offshore wind turbines are investigated by centrifuge modelling in this paper. The centrifuge tests were performed in lightly over-consolidated clay and heavily over-consolidated clay, and three bucket foundation models with aspect ratios of 0.38, 0.5, and 1.3 were tested. The tests were force-controlled, and both static loads and cyclic loads were applied. In static tests, ultimate bearing capacities of suction bucket foundations were extracted from load-displacement curves as the first method, and the results were reinforced by stiffness-displacement curves. The displacement rates were calculated to find critical bearing capacities and ultimate bearing capacities of the foundations as the second method. The cyclic tests include cyclic loads with uniform and increased amplitudes. The accumulated lateral displacements and secant stiffnesses were discussed, and their variations with cycle numbers were studied.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2025

Solving key challenges in collider physics with foundation models

Foundation models are neural networks that are capable of simultaneously solving many problems. Large language foundation models like ChatGPT have revolutionized many aspects of daily life, but their impact for science is not yet clear. In this paper, we use a new foundation model for hadronic jets to solve three key challenges in collider physics. In particular, we show how experiments can (1) save significant computing power when developing reconstruction algorithms, (2) perform a complete uncertainty quantification for high-dimensional measurements, and (3) search for new physics with model agnostic methods using low-level inputs. In each case, there are significant computational or methodological challenges with current methods that limit the science potential of deep learning algorithms. By solving each problem, we take jet foundation models beyond proof-of-principle studies and into the toolkit of practitioners.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Foundation Design Handbook

The purpose of this handbook is to provide information that will enable designers, builders, and homeowners to understand foundation design problems and solutions. The foundation of a house is a somewhat invisible and sometimes ignored component of the building. It is increasingly evident, however, that attention to good foundation design and construction has significant benefits to the homeowner and the builder, and can avoid some serious future problems. Good foundation design and construction practice means not only insulating to save energy, but also providing effective structural design as well as moisture, termite, and radon control techniques where appropriate.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2023

U.S. Offshore Wind Energy Noise Reduction Associated with Installation of Fixed-Bottom Foundations: Workshop Report

As offshore wind energy development grows in the United States, solutions are needed to reduce the underwater noise and substrate vibration generated during fixed-bottom turbine installation to help protect marine life. Monopiles are currently the main turbine foundation type installed globally and impact pile driving, the primary installation method, can be a major source of noise and vibration generation during wind farm construction. Opportunities exist to reduce the amount of noise and vibration produced during future offshore wind farm development. The use of alternative foundation types and installation methods, as well as innovative noise abatement technologies, would help reduce the potential detrimental effects on sensitive marine species. To explore these opportunities, the Department of Energy’s Wind Energy Technologies Office, in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, funded the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to organize, host, and facilitate a virtual workshop in December 2022. The goal of the workshop was to gather input from the offshore wind energy community on noise reduction strategies for the installation of fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines in U.S. waters across multiple regions, including the U.S. Atlantic Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and Great Lakes to inform recommendations on future research. The joint lab team convened industry representatives, subject matter experts, and regulators to discuss potential pathways to reduce noise and vibration associated with fixed-bottom turbine installation, including the practicality of using alternative foundations and installation methods, the effectiveness of noise abatement technologies, as well as research and monitoring needs. In preparation for the workshop, the team invited experts to be part of a steering committee and worked with its members to help focus activities to meet the workshop goals. Additional pre-workshop activities included developing the invitee list and workshop agenda, reviewing existing Construction and Operations Plans (COP) for proposed offshore wind projects, distributing a brief questionnaire to industry representatives, and drafting the workshop discussion questions and Mural boards. In total, 128 workshop participants provided over 600 comments in response to the 17 group discussion questions used over two workshop sessions. Overarching recommendations highlighted across themes included future investments to provide data sharing, consistency, transparency, and opportunities for sharing best available science, knowledge, and expertise. The joint lab team synthesized the comments and identified four key research and development themes that could help advance the successful implementation of noise and vibration reduction strategies (see report). This report provides an overview of the workshop goals and scope, reviews the pre-workshop activities, presents brief summaries of participant feedback, and concludes with detailed research themes and recommendations for future investments. Appendix A includes the group discussion questions, Appendix B includes the results of the COP review, and Appendix C includes the results of the industry questionnaire. Overall, there was a high level of interest and engagement in the workshop. The sessions provided an opportunity for significant exchange of information between workshop participants from across sectors. Participants identified a variety of opportunities for next steps towards the noise reduction of offshore wind turbine installation in U.S. waters, including recommendations for future investments to provide certainty in the use of new technologies associated with alternative foundation types, noise abatement systems, and efficacy monitoring.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1977

Vibration characteristics of a large wind turbine tower on non-rigid foundations

Vibration characteristics of the Mod-OA wind turbine supported by nonrigid foundations were investigated for a range of soil rigidities. The study shows that the influence of foundation rotation on the fundamental frequency of the wind turbine is quite significant for cohesive soils or loose sand. The reduction in natural frequency can be greater than 20 percent. However, for a foundation resting on well graded, dense granular materials or bedrock, such effect is small and the foundation can be treated as a fixed base.

Yee, S. T.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Foundation, excavation and radiation shielding concepts for a 16-m large lunar telescope

NASA is considering a 16-m diameter optical telescope on the moon as a part of the Space Exploration Initiative. Fundamental concepts of engineering activities on the moon and how they can be applied to the establishment of a 16-m large lunar telescope (LLT) are discussed. These fundamental concepts include the engineering response of lunar soils and how they affect construction activities, namely, drilling, blasting, ripping, digging and compaction. A mirror support structure and foundation design concept is proposed. The foundation considered is a multiple contact points spud-can type footing. It does not appear that a deep foundation or the presence of bedrock is required to achieve the telescope foundation stiffness. The LLT system will include a regolith covered housing, the size of a small room, which will contain sensitive electronic equipment including charge coupled devices which need protection from cosmic radiation effects. A brief discussion is made on radiation, radiation transport and radiation effects on electronics and on humans. Radiation protection techniques and the different emplacement schemes for the LLT instrument housing for radiation protection are suggested. A structural concept of an early lunar based telescope is also presented.

Chua, Koon M.↗

DOE OSTI2016

Excavationless Exterior Foundation Insulation Field Study - Minnesota

The NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team implemented an innovative, minimally invasive foundation insulation upgrade technique on an existing home. The approach consisted of using hydrovac excavation technology combined with a liquid insulating foam. Two houses were originally selected for this field study. One was not ready for retrofit at the time of study and had to be eliminated. The collaborative nature of the one field installation, however, enabled the team to advance the methodology as the work progressed. Improvements to the method of installation and reduction of costs were developed on site. This is a repository for all "excavationless" foundation insulation retrofit projects performed by the NorthernSTAR research team. Minneapolis, MN 55411 - Test house for first NorthernSTAR excavationless foundation insulation retrofit.

Array↗

DOE OSTI2025

Uncertainty quantification for neural network potential foundation models

Abstract For neural network potentials (NNPs) to gain widespread use, researchers must be able to trust model outputs. However, the blackbox nature of neural networks and their inherent stochasticity are often deterrents, especially for foundation models trained over broad swaths of chemical space. Uncertainty information provided at the time of prediction can help reduce aversion to NNPs. In this work, we detail two uncertainty quantification (UQ) methods. Readout ensembling, by finetuning the readout layers of an ensemble of foundation models, provides information about model uncertainty, while quantile regression, by replacing point predictions with distributional predictions, provides information about uncertainty within the underlying training data. We demonstrate our approach with the MACE-MP-0 model, applying UQ to the foundation model and a series of finetuned models. The uncertainties produced by the readout ensemble and quantile methods are demonstrated to be distinct measures by which the quality of the NNP output can be judged.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2026

Foundation models for atomistic simulation of chemistry and materials

Conventional computational methods for modeling chemical and materials systems are limited by system size and timescale, forcing a trade-off between quantum-mechanical accuracy and the sampling needed for realistic observables. Large language and vision foundation models — pre-trained on massive datasets using transformer architectures — have revolutionized many fields. It is thus interesting to ask whether a foundation model — subject to suitable data, parameter scaling and training — could enable learned simulations of chemistry and materials. Here, in this study, we review the field of machine-learned interatomic potentials (MLIPs) and posit that scaling up large and diverse chemical and materials datasets and highly expressive architectures using advanced training strategies should result in models that are: more efficient, transferable, robust to out-of-distribution scenarios, and easier to fine-tune to a variety of downstream physical observables than models trained from scratch on small datasets corresponding to specific, targeted atomistic simulation tasks. We provide specific criteria for creating such large-scale MLIP foundation models, coordinated strategies for their development, evaluation and deployment, and highlight potential emergent capabilities that could transform predictive simulations in chemistry and materials science and accelerate discovery across multiple technological domains.

Yuan, Eric C.-Y. [University of California, Berkel↗

DOE OSTI2024

Calibration and validation of the foundation for a multiphase strength model for tin

In this work, the Common Model of Multi-phase Strength and Equation of State (CMMP) model was applied to tin. Specifically, calibrations of the strength-specific elements of the CMMP foundation were developed with a combination of experiments and theory, and then the model was validated experimentally. The first element of the foundation is a multi-phase analytic treatment of the melt temperature and the shear modulus for the solid phases. These models were parameterized for each phase based on ab initio calculations using the software VASP (Vienna Ab initio Simulations Package) based on density functional theory. The shear modulus model for the ambient phase was validated with ultrasonic sound speed measurements as a function of pressure and temperature. The second element of the foundation is a viscoplastic strength model for the phase, upon which strength for inaccessible higher-pressure phases can be scaled as necessary. The stress–strain response of tin was measured at strain rates of 10 -3 to 3 x 10 3 s -1 and temperatures ranging from 87 to 373 K. The Preston–Tonks–Wallace (PTW) strength model was fit to that data using Bayesian model calibration. For validation, six forward and two reverse Taylor impact experiments were performed at different velocities to measure large plastic deformation of tin at strain rates up to ⁠10 5 s -1 . The PTW model accurately predicted the deformed shapes of the cylinders, with modest discrepancies attributed to the inability of PTW to capture the effects of twinning and dynamic recrystallization. Some material in the simulations of higher velocity Taylor cylinders reached the melting temperature, thus testing the multiphase model because of the presence of a second phase, the liquid. In simulations using a traditional modeling approach, the abrupt reduction of strength upon melt resulted in poor predictions of the deformed shape and non-physical temperatures. With CMMP, the most deformed material points evolved gradually to a mixed solid–liquid but never a fully liquid state, never fully lost strength, stayed at the melt temperature as the latent heat of fusion was absorbed, and predicted the deformed shape well.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗