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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 73 records · Page 4
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Predictive Indicators of the Performance of Large Language Models

In several mission contexts, it is desirable to estimate the performance of large language models (LLMs) on tasks that we cannot run directly. In light of published “scaling laws” our hypothesis is that some tasks should be consistently more challenging than others based on characteristics of the task. The goal of this project was to begin quantifying how much information about LLM performance can be gained from the features of a model and a task. Two of our statistical models struggled to converge. Pass/fail test results may provide limited information for inference beyond model quality and task difficulty, but we see no evidence at this time for significant feature interaction effect sizes, arguing for simple models. Future work extending the models to capitalize on perplexity of ground truth answers is suggested. This project also introduces “Depth of Knowledge Variant Testing” as a strategy for more finely assessing language models on open domain question and answer tasks. We developed sets of questions that ask a language model to produce similar information while demonstrating increasing depth of knowledge, and also relabeled existing Q&A test questions with their depth of knowledge. Our results suggest further consideration of Bloom’s taxonomy and further refinement of prompts to properly elicit information at varying depths. In the course of this work, we set up a basic infrastructure for standardizing tasks and testing many language models on these tasks. In addition to testing the predictive quality of model features and performance across test suites, with this project we have introduced two new task features to contextualize each test question: the Dewey Classification main category of information covered, and the Bloom’s taxonomy level that corresponds to the depth of knowledge probed by the question. Splits across these and other features produced over five hundred task subtypes with distinct feature vectors, which we tested on half a dozen models.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

What are the Principles Controlling Biomimetic Heteropolymer Secondary Structure? (Final Technical Report)

The goal of the project was to develop improved theories to understand how nonbiological oligomers could be designed to cooperatively fold into 3D structures. These studies would lay the groundwork for materials made of such molecules, making it possible to create controlled and ordered materials for electron transport, efficient protein-like catalysts that work under extreme conditions, and sensors with highly-specific chemical responsiveness. Two different simulation thrusts were investigated, one focused on programs to identify stable low energy folded structures at a coarse-level of description of oligomers, and another to calculate thermodynamics of such oligomers. We used these theories to answer several specific questions about what properties of oligomers lead to cooperative transitions, and to identify how oligomer knots could serve as secondary structure elements. We also carried out significant collaborative investigation with Dr. Samuel Gellman (UW-Madison, National Academy of Sciences member) on stability for foldamers of interest to them. Only one of the experimentally tested foldamers stably folded, which was indicated by simulations as being the most likely to fold. Finally, we developed new theoretical descriptions of foldamers, showing how cooperativity was determined primarily by the entropy difference between the folded and unfolded state. The research did not answer all questions laid out in the original proposal but laid the groundwork for later efforts to design folded oligomers materials with high switchability.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement among Ames Laboratory; NexTech Materials, Ltd. dba Nexceris; and National Energy Technology Laboratory [Abstract]

The CRADA focuses on pressurized testing of Nexceris solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stacks in a hybrid configuration with a recuperated gas turbine with the ultimate goal of demonstrating efficiencies in excess of 70% (LHV NG). NETL’s cyber-physical approach will be used to develop and test control strategies before installing the Nexceris SOFC stacks to maximize the chances of success. A successful test will represent a demonstration of the Nexceris stack to endure pressures associated with hybrid operation and the first public demonstration of automated hybrid SOFC/GT technology.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Interaction–Deletion: A Composite Energy Method for the Optimization of Molecular Systems Selectively Removing Specific Nonbonded Interactions

The complex interactions between different portions of a large molecule can be challenging to analyze through traditional electronic structure calculations. Moreover, standard methods cannot easily quantify the physical consequences of individual pairwise interactions inside a molecule. By creating a set of molecular fragments, we propose a composite energy method to explore changes in a molecule caused by removing selected nonbonded interactions between different molecular portions. Energies and forces are easily obtained with this composite approach, allowing geometry optimizations that lead to chemically meaningful structures that describe how the omitted interactions contribute to changes in the local geometrical minima. We illustrate the application of our new hybrid scheme by computing the influence of intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions in two small molecules: 1,6-(tG + G + TG + G + g – )-hexanediol and a cyclic analogue, cis-1,4-cyclohexanediol. The resulting structural and energetic changes are interpreted to yield key physical insights and quantify concepts such as “preparation energy” or “reorganization energy”. We demonstrate that the composite method can be extended to larger molecular systems by showing its application on a Si(100) surface model containing interactions between dissociated ammonia molecules on adjacent surface dimers. The scheme’s efficacy is also tested by applying it to systems having multiple intramolecular interactions, viz., 310-polyglycine and H+GPGG. Furthermore, the cooperative nature of intramolecular hydrogen bonds is explored by using interaction–deletion in 2-nitrobenzene-1,3-diol.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interconnect: Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-13-00507 (Project 4)

This CRADA modification involves analyses on a variety of CdTe-PV related materials, test structures, solar cells, and modules produced at FSLR and/or NLR and adds analysis related to module degradation and reliability. Materials will be provided by FSLR, NLR, and/or by interleaving FSLR and NLR layers and processes. Module reliability activities will include technical risk assessment, materials characterization, module and test structure characterization, modeling, accelerated test development, and outdoor testing.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

(Ir)Relevance of Disorder for Superconductivity in Cuprates

In cuprates that exhibit high-temperature superconductivity (HTS), as the doping level 𝑝 is increased beyond the optimal value, the superfluid density 𝑛 𝑠⁢0 decreases and eventually vanishes, closely tracking the critical temperature 𝑇 𝑐 . This has been interpreted using a dirty-𝑑-wave extension of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory, assuming that 𝑇 𝑐 and 𝑛 𝑠⁢0 decrease with increasing disorder and pair breaking. Here, to test this hypothesis, we tuned the doping level in overdoped La 2-x ⁢Sr x ⁢CuO 4−𝛿 films by electrolyte gating, measured several parameters used to quantify the level of disorder (the residual resistivity ratio RRR, the mean free path 𝑙 0 , and the electron mobility 𝜇), and studied how 𝑇 𝑐 and 𝑛 𝑠⁢0 scale with these. The experimentally measured dependence turned out to be the opposite of the expected—𝑇 𝑐 and 𝑛 𝑠⁢0 increased with increasing disorder. This brings the question of the true origin of the demise of 𝑇 𝑐 and 𝑛 𝑠⁢0 with overdoping back to the center stage of the quest to decipher the HTS enigma.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Community-Scale Solar Project (Final Technical Report)

Deployment of Community-Scale solar power has been a goal of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (Tribe) for several years. The 1 MW AC photovoltaic power facility was built to power Tribal facilities in a manner that would allow the Tribe to credit residents’ electric bills and Tribal government electric bills with the dollar equivalent of the power generated. Other accomplished project objectives, in addition to learning the intricacies of such an endeavor, included strengthening the relationship with the local electric cooperative and their primary power provider, analysis of the generation and operations and maintenance during a one-year test phase, workforce development and training, and using the project to plan and drive future community scale solar projects. The Tribe’s vision of a net-zero electrical independence for its communities became a clearer reality with this project.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Candidacy Renewal Report for ICERR Designation

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has established a designation for an International Centre based on Research Reactors (ICERR). The intention of this designation is to provide a vehicle for IAEA member states to access international research-reactor and ancillary nuclear research and development infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has made a commitment to world leadership in the development of advanced nuclear energy, science, and technology. To this end, DOE has established programs and initiatives to enhance this leadership role. ICERR designation constitutes an important step in achieving the DOE vision. DOE, represented by Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), is submitting this application for re-designation as an IAEA ICERR. Both INL and ORNL have a decades-long and storied history that supports nuclear research, development, and deployment both nationally and internationally. Both have a history of safe and efficient nuclear operations and have demonstrated a track record of international collaboration and cooperation. INL and ORNL are home to two primary and two secondary research reactors. The primary reactors are Advanced Test Reactor at INL, and High-Flux Isotope Reactor at ORNL. Secondary reactors include: Neutron Radiography Reactor at INL, Transient Reactor Test (TREAT) Facility at INL, and INL Advanced Test Reactor: Critical Facility (ATRC). ICERR designation will also include numerous ancillary facilities at both laboratories, including the following: Multiple post-irradiation examination facilities at both INL and ORNL, Radiochemistry hot-cell facilities at ORNL, INL nuclear-fuel-fabrication and materials-science facilities, and INL and ORNL radiological and nuclear analytical capabilities.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advancing Platooning with ADAS (Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems) Control Integration and Assessment

Application of Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control (CACC) to heavy duty trucks known as truck platooning has shown fuel economy improvements on the test track under ideal driving conditions. However, limited test data is available to assess the truck platooning under real-world driving conditions. Under this Cummins-led project that was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, truck platooning with CACC has been tested on a real-world interstate highway and the results of the project are reviewed in this report. At first, the real-world driving conditions were characterized using National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Fleet DNA database to define test factors, including route, terrain, and highway traffic. Afterward, both test track and on-highway testing guided by SAE J1321 procedures were conducted to assess truck platooning under controlled and real-world driving conditions. On-highway testing was done on a highway route in Indiana, consisting of low, medium, and high road grade segments. The highway test results of 2-truck and 3-truck platooning showed considerably reduced fuel savings compared to the controlled test track data, which mainly stems from the traffic or high-grade portions of the route. However, integration of Cummins powertrain and vehicle eco-driving features such as predictive cruise control and neutral coasting called ADEPT™ on the lead truck showed an improvement of fuel saving for the trucks in CACC operation. Furthermore, the importance of tire connectivity in efficient and safe operation of the trucks in platooning is characterized.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

TrustDER: Trusted, Private and Scalable Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources

In this project, the Stanford and SLAC Teams have developed a Trusted, Private and Scalable platform for coordinating Coordination of Distributed Energy Resources (TrustDER). This is a layered system that ensures private, trusted and scalable coordination and monitoring of DERs. It accommodates a variety of resources, such as solar generation, gensets and loads, with a particular focus on battery systems-based resources, as they are a transformational technology experiencing fast growth in adoption by large critical facilities. The platform can be used as standalone or added to existing aggregation systems to enable trust, privacy and resilience. TrustDER consists of layers that address each of the shortcomings of the existing state of the art. Each layer in the platform can operate independently but provides information to the layers above it to enable a novel form of overall coordination architecture. The project consists of several tasks, with each task dedicated to the design of each layer. Task 2 Resource Virtualization defined a software abstraction layer for distributed energy resources (DERs). The goal of this abstraction was to simplify the implementation of algorithms utilizing cooperation of DERs resources in a variety of use cases. Task 3 is on Secure ID for Asset Authentication. Identity Management Systems (IDMS) are a foundational infrastructure for interactions between entities (organizations, users, devices, and services). Secure ID is blockchain-based a distributed identity management system allowing (1) identity provisioning, (2) authentication, (3) authorization, and (4) identity data sharing for IoT-enabled assets on the electricity grid. In this project, the SLAC team focused on designing and testing Keymaker, a protocol for authenticating device identity managed by Secure ID. Task 5 Private and Safe Integration is focused on the design and evaluation of a DER cooperation scheme which allows for the aggregation of DERs without impacting network reliability. The approach is designed based on realistic assumptions regarding data availability, communication infrastructure limitations, and privacy. Task 6 Scalable Distributed Privacy for Information explored how virtualized batteries could be managed privately. Specifically, it examined the case in which a principal provides a partitioned battery to multiple clients. Task 7 Use Cases was to ensure that this technology was applied in relevant situations and scenarios. Primarily, this means that virtualization needed to be employed in a manner that either improved flexibility, bolstered security or privacy, or decreased costs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between National Energy Technology Laboratory and Susteon, Inc. (Final Report)

NETL developed a nanostructured Fe catalyst capable of converting syngas to olefins. Initial laboratory testing demonstrated this technology possessed high reactivity (~70% conversion), good olefin selectivity (~40 weight %), and a long-performance lifetime (greater than 500 h on stream with no degradation). Under CRADA Agreement 0988, NETL and Susteon collaborated to evaluate the commercial potential of this catalyst technology by scaling up the catalyst synthesis and collecting reactivity data to characterize the mass and energy balance associated with utilizing this catalyst in a Fischer Tropsch to Olefins (FTO) reactor. Research under CRADA Agreement 0988 illustrated there are technical barriers associated with synthesizing the catalyst that the team was not able to overcome. Reactivity testing with this material illustrated that the catalyst deactivated in less than 50 hours of time on stream. Due to this technical barrier, the team did not meet its Go/No-Go decision target of creating a FTO process that produces at least a 25% reduction in olefin production cost compared to the current state-of the-art technologies. As a result, the team has stopped all work on CRADA Agreement 0988.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cooperative Automated Cohort Driving on Connected Infrastructure, Arterial Roadways, and Highways: Final Project Demonstration and System-of-Systems Model Correlation

This project seeks to synergize vehicle automated driving and connectivity data to improve mobility and energy efficiency of groups of mixed vehicles operating in close proximity (vehicle cohort) on various infrastructure. A custom cellular communication network links vehicles operating as a cohort with infrastructure to a centralized system-of-systems digital twin with an AI-based optimal behavior planner. The data contained in this set are from final testing and technology demonstrations to U.S. Department of Energy staff at the American Center for Mobility. The data contain single-lane, single-light scenarios; multi-lane, multi-light arterial scenarios; and limited-access highway scenarios. All test cases were derived from simulations and replicated on the test track. The project employed two and four light-duty vehicles with connectivity and drive automation for the testing. The baseline scenario without connectivity was run under the control of the system-of-systems centralized planner but operating each vehicle with an intelligent driver model controlling the velocity, lane utilization, and vehicle gap. This was to ensure the highest compatibility with the simulation in terms of dynamic behavior. The connected cohort case utilized AI optimization to perform coordinated and cooperative control for energy, as well as safe, comfortable behavior for the cohort. The dataset is appropriately named with unconnected and connected designations, with comparisons sharing the same run index number. The included PowerPoint and PDF files describe the test setup and provide an overview of results from the project. ![image](de-EE0009209_March_2023_Data_Arterial_Scenario_Results.png)

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Easier Access to Functional Furans

Traditional furan alkylation utilizes catalyst materials are unsafe, produce hazardous waste, and yield low reaction products. Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have developed a new method to enable industries to produce valuable chemicals from biomass more safely with higher yields and less waste. This method has been successfully demonstrated on the benchtop, and is ready for testing to scale up for industrial synthesis applications. Los Alamos is seeking a licensee to scale this technology in-house, or a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) partner to scale the method within the Laboratory for a specific purpose.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Application Deconfliction Characterization and Alternatives Analysis

This report provides an overview of the domain space and solution techniques that could be used to create a robust, flexible app deconfliction service. Three approaches are reviewed with summaries of the characteristics, elements, and results from preliminary demonstrations of solution techniques based on each approach: 1) rules and heuristics, 2) cooperation, and 3) optimization. The strengths and weaknesses of each solution technique were explored through a set of numerical demonstrations on modified IEEE 123 node and 9500 node test feeders. An alternatives analysis of individual deconfliction elements was performed with each solution technique element evaluated against criteria reflecting the dynamic app environment, need to balance app objectives, and scalability issues versus the number of applications, setpoints, and distributed control areas. It is anticipated that a combined solution for a GridAPPS-D Deconfliction Service can be formulated using a combination of elements from each solution technique. The combined solution would combine 1) device control budgets to reduce the size of the solution space by constraining system setpoints to those will not result in accelerated degradation of physical assets, 2) system operations rules to constrain the solution space by eliminating setpoints that result in violations of system limits or operational best practices, 3) contextual status signals shared with or among apps such that they could update their desired setpoints based on the evolving context, 4) a mediator that incentivizes apps to come to a cooperative solution, and 5) Setpoint-informed optimization as a fallback mechanism if a cooperative solution cannot be agreed upon by applications.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Testing electron–phonon coupling for the superconductivity in kagome metal CsV 3 Sb 5

In crystalline materials, electron-phonon coupling (EPC) is a ubiquitous many-body interaction that drives conventional Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer superconductivity. Recently, in a new kagome metal CsV 3 Sb 5 , superconductivity that possibly intertwines with time-reversal and spatial symmetry-breaking orders is observed. Density functional theory calculations predicted weak EPC strength, λ, supporting an unconventional pairing mechanism in CsV 3 Sb 5 . However, experimental determination of λ is still missing, hindering a microscopic understanding of the intertwined ground state of CsV 3 Sb 5 . Here, using 7-eV laser-based angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and Eliashberg function analysis, we determine an intermediate λ=0.45–0.6 at T = 6 K for both Sb 5p and V 3d electronic bands, which can support a conventional superconducting transition temperature on the same magnitude of experimental value in CsV3Sb5. Remarkably, the EPC on the V 3d-band enhances to λ~0.75 as the superconducting transition temperature elevated to 4.4 K in Cs(V 0.93 Nb 0.07 ) 3 Sb 5 . Our results provide an important clue to understand the pairing mechanism in the kagome superconductor CsV 3 Sb 5 .

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between National Energy Technology Laboratory and West Virginia University Research Corporation (Abstract)

The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and West Virginia University Research Corporation (Participant) will collaborate on the testing of a 3D printed sparger in a temperature and pressure chamber, for the purpose of supporting the “American-Made Geothermal Prize” competition, designed to catalyze manufacturing innovation in the American geothermal industry by harnessing the rapid advances additive manufacturing can provide in improving design, fabrication, and functionality, which is accomplished through a series of prize competitions and the development of a diverse and powerful support network that leverages national laboratories, energy incubators, and other resources from across the United States. The intent is to connect competitor teams with national laboratories that can help accelerate the development of innovative solutions and products. Teams who have won the Set!, Go!, Make! Contests are eligible to utilize vouchers at national laboratories to advance their ideas.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Multi-Agent Graph-Attention Deep Reinforcement Learning for Post-Contingency Grid Emergency Voltage Control

Grid emergency voltage control (GEVC) is paramount in electric power systems to improve voltage stability and prevent cascading outages and blackouts in case of contingencies. While most deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based paradigms perform single agents in a static environment, real-world agents for GEVC are expected to cooperate in a dynamically shifting grid. Moreover, due to high uncertainties from combinatory natures of various contingencies and load consumption, along with the complexity of dynamic grid operation, the data efficiency and control performance of the existing DRL-based methods are challenged. To address these limitations, we propose a multi-agent graph-attention (GATT)-based DRL algorithm for GEVC in multi-area power systems. Here, we develop graph convolutional network (GCN)-based agents for feature representation of the graph-structured voltages to improve the decision accuracy in a data-efficient manner. Furthermore, a cutting-edge attention mechanism concentrates on effective information sharing among multiple agents, synergizing different-sized subnetworks in the grid for cooperative learning. We address several key challenges in the existing DRL-based GEVC approaches, including low scalability and poor stability against high uncertainties. Test results in the IEEE benchmark system verify the advantages of the proposed method over several recent multi-agent DRL-based algorithms.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗