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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

Ultrafast charging of energy-dense lithium-ion batteries for urban air mobility

Urban air mobility (UAM) demands batteries with high energy density, long cycle life, and fast rechargeability. In this paper, we demonstrate an energy-dense lithium-ion battery (LiB) with ultralong cycle life under ultrafast charging. By using the asymmetric temperature modulation (ATM) method, i.e., charging at an elevated temperature and discharging around the ambient temperature, it is experimentally shown that the 209 Wh/kg LiB is charged to 88% state of charge (SOC) in ~5 min under UAM cycling while retaining 97.7% capacity after 1,000 cycles. Moreover, an experimentally validated electrochemical-thermal (ECT) model is developed to elucidate the fast charging process and the degradation mode of UAM batteries, quantitatively capturing lithium plating during fast charging. We find that the LiBs for UAM applications are most prone to lithium plating due to their higher initial SOC required as the reserve for safety; nevertheless, the ATM method is effective in minimizing or preventing lithium plating in the high SOC range of 30-90%. In addition to slowing down capacity fade, the ATM method also raises the usable capacity by 10%, which boosts the battery energy density and ensures the battery to perform full UAM cycles even at the end of life.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

PV O&M Cost Model [SWR-21-14]

This tool presents a method for calculating costs associated with the operation and maintenance (O&M) of photovoltaic (PV) systems. The tool compiles details regarding the cost and frequency of multiple O&M services to estimate annual O&M costs ($/year) for each year of an analysis period, the net present value ($) of life cycle costs accumulated over the analysis period, and the reserve account amount ($) that might be required to fund unexpected repairs. The reserve account includes parts inventory and is important for providing a source of funds to make repairs quickly and avoid lost production. This method allows a detailed selection of services to perform based on system size, market served (e.g., residential, commercial, or utility), type and configuration of system components (e.g., micro-, string, or central inverter), and site and environmental conditions (e.g., pollen, bird populations) which is an improvement over simple per unit valuations of O&M costs ($/kW/year). This model also distinguishes costs that vary from year to year and increase at different rates over time as modeled by heuristic failure distributions (e.g., Weibull or Lognormal distribution) based on actuarial data for many of the services.

Walker, Andy↗

International Space Station Microgravity Analytical Model Correlation And Update

The acceleration environment aboard the completed International Space Station (ISS) is a key resource for scientific and technological endeavors. Hardware verification activIties and early measurements indicate that the ISS is well on the way of meeting these "Assembly Complete" "microgravity" provisions, however, the simulation models that compute these accelerations have, to date, lacked the high degree of empirical validation typical of standard aerospace industry practices. Assembly stage, on-orbit measurements are used to address this shortcoming and to develop higher confidence in the simulation models. The Phase I correlation results show the analyses to be consistently conservative, producing higher than measured levels. The 25 to 30% greater quasi-steady computations are deemed acceptable for verification. Updates are made to localized structural dynamic and vibroacoustic parameters that reduce responses in selected one-third octave bands by almost 50%. These models are then used for the Assembly Complete verification analysis which concludes that the ISS vehicle meets the ISS microgravity requirements with minor reservations. Two of the sixteen rack are marginally non-compliant in the quasi-steady regime, and operational constraints are needed on the U. S. Lab and ESA APM vacuum resource vents, and the Russian Resistive Exercise Device in the structural dynamic regime.

DelBasso, Steve↗

Developing Data Citations from Digital Object Identifier Metadata

NASA's Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS) Project has been processing information for the registration of Digital Object Identifiers (DOI) for the last five years of which an automated system has been in operation for the last two years. The ESDIS DOI registration system has registered over 2000 DOIs with over 1000 DOIs held in reserve until all required information has been collected. By working towards the goal of assigning DOIs to the 8000+ data collections under its management, ESDIS has taken the first step towards facilitating the use of data citations with those products. Jeanne Behnke, ESDIS Deputy Project Manager has reviewed and approved the poster.

digital object idenifiers↗

Nuclear's Role in the U.S. Electricity System: A Multi-Model Inter-Comparison Analysis

Multiple capacity expansion models (CEMs) for the U.S. power system represent the balance of options among generation, transmission, and storage assets that can satisfy electric loads, operating and planning reserves, and policy requirements. These models are typically set up to find the least-cost portfolio of assets that meet specified requirements, and model decisions can include both investments in new, and retirement of existing, resources. The scenarios explored by CEMs can help inform strategies for meeting future electricity and energy needs under a range of future conditions. However, projections can differ between models, sometimes dramatically, for a seemingly similar scenario. Differences in model coverage, structure, and input assumptions contribute to the range of model outcomes. Understanding what drives the biggest differences in model outputs improves model insights and provides context for interpreting results. This summary presents analysis that was performed through a forum of analysts who own, update, and apply CEMs, as well as nuclear experts from national laboratories, industry, and the research community. The following sections describe methods, results, and findings from an original, innovative inter-model comparison that provides insights into what drives the greatest differences in nuclear retirement and deployment projections across models and a range of technology, market, and policy conditions.

capacity expansion model↗

Continuous-time look-ahead flexible ramp scheduling in real-time operation

This paper develops a novel continuous-time look-ahead optimization model for co-optimizing balancing energy and flexible ramp products in real-time power systems operation. In addition, a continuous-time day-ahead operation model is developed to commit and schedule an adequate subset of generating units for providing balancing energy and ramping requirements in real-time operation. The up and down flexible ramp products are defined as continuous-time decision trajectories that continuously supply the real-time up and down ramping requirements of the system. The deliverability of flexible ramp products is secured through reserving the respective power requirements in generation capacity constraints of generating units. A function space solution method is proposed to reduce the dimensionality of day-ahead and real-time models through projecting them into finite-dimensional function spaces spanned by Bernstein polynomials, where the real-time operation decisions are modeled with a higher accuracy level than day-ahead decisions. Simulations are conducted on the IEEE-RTS system using CAISO load data, and the numerical results showcase the effectiveness of the proposed model in supplying the energy and flexible ramp requirements and avoiding ramping scarcity in the system, while reducing the operation costs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Grid-Forming PV Inverter: Technology Development and Microgrid Applications

Presently, excluding residential backup power applications, grid-forming (GFM) inverters are commercially available for battery energy storage system (BESS) and some PV plus battery systems but not yet for stand-alone PV. This tech update investigates the control design for GFM PV inverter, especially the control required to provide active power reserve and to stabilize the dc link voltage. Subsequently, the use cases of GFM PV plants in utility-level microgrids are discussed considering fully inverter-based microgrids (i.e., with PV and BESS) as well as mixed-source microgrids (i.e., with PV and diesel generator). Scenarios where active power up-reserve from GFM PV plants is beneficial are illustrated. Moreover, requirements and specifications for GFM PV plant, especially for its active power reserve function are developed. In addition, stability of an example utility-level microgrid with two GFM PV plants and a diesel generator is analyzed to shed light on the potential unstable interaction between multiple GFM resources and the countermeasures. This research aims to advance GFM PV technology to offer more flexibility in microgrid design. With GFM PV available, depending on the level of reliability required, cost-benefit analysis, etc., the GFM BESS or diesel generator may be sized smaller while leveraging the full potential of PV generation inside the microgrid.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

How Can Probabilistic Solar Power Forecasts Be Used to Lower Costs and Improve Reliability in Power Spot Markets? A Review and Application to Flexiramp Requirements

Net load uncertainty in electricity spot markets is rapidly growing. There are five general approaches by which system operators and market participants can use probabilistic forecasts of wind, solar, and load to help manage this uncertainty. These include operator situation awareness, resource risk hedging, reserves procurement, definition of contingencies, and explicit stochastic optimization. We review these approaches, and then provide a case study in which a method for using probabilistic solar forecasts to define needs for reserves is developed and evaluated. The case study has three parts. First, we describe building blocks for enhancing the Watt-Sun solar forecasting system to produce probabilistic irradiance and power forecasts. Second, relationships between Watt-Sun forecasts for multiple sites in California and the system's need for flexible ramp capability (flexiramp) are defined by machine learning and statistical methods. Third, the performance of present methods to defining flexiramp requirements, which are not conditioned on weather and renewables forecasts, is compared with that of probabilistic solar forecast-based requirements, using a multi-timescale production costing model with an 1820-bus representation of the WECC power system. Significant potential savings in fuel and flexiramp procurement costs from using solar-informed reserve requirements are found.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Subsurface Hydrogen and Natural Gas Storage (State of Knowledge and Research Recommendations Report)

Global efforts to decrease carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions will result in increased reliance on renewable energy sources. One of the most significant obstacles to implementing this transition is the need for energy storage to compensate for varying, and sometimes intermittent, production rates and ever-increasing demand. An attractive solution is to use surplus energy to produce hydrogen gas (H 2 ), which can then be used to produce energy on demand without emitting CO 2 . This approach would require a vast H 2 network linking generators with consumers via transmission systems. Additionally, H 2 storage would be needed to support immediate needs, but larger storage reserves also will be required to ensure energy reliability and mitigate the impact of the mismatch between variable production rates and demand. Large-scale storage of H 2 may be achieved by using underground resources similar to how natural gas (NG) has been stored for the past century. While there is much experience in underground NG storage (UGS), significant technical challenges must be addressed to economically and safely store H 2 at the commercial scale. The purpose of this report is to assess the current state of knowledge and to identify technical research needs to facilitate deployment of large-scale underground hydrogen storage (UHS).

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Scheduling with Automatic Resolution of Conflicts

DSN Requirement Scheduler is a computer program that automatically schedules, reschedules, and resolves conflicts for allocations of resources of NASA s Deep Space Network (DSN) on the basis of ever-changing project requirements for DSN services. As used here, resources signifies, primarily, DSN antennas, ancillary equipment, and times during which they are available. Examples of project-required DSN services include arraying, segmentation, very-long-baseline interferometry, and multiple spacecraft per aperture. Requirements can include periodic reservations of specific or optional resources during specific time intervals or within ranges specified in terms of starting times and durations. This program is built on the Automated Scheduling and Planning Environment (ASPEN) software system (aspects of which have been described in previous NASA Tech Briefs articles), with customization to reflect requirements and constraints involved in allocation of DSN resources. Unlike prior DSN-resource- scheduling programs that make single passes through the requirements and require human intervention to resolve conflicts, this program makes repeated passes in a continuing search for all possible allocations, provides a best-effort solution at any time, and presents alternative solutions among which users can choose.

Clement, Bradley↗

A simple way to integrate distributed storage into a wholesale electricity market

Abstract Current plans to decarbonize the electric supply system imply that the generation from wind and solar sources will grow substantially. This growth will increase the uncertainty of system operations due to the inherent variability of these renewable sources, and as a result, more reserve capacity will be required to provide the ramping (flexibility) needed for reliable operations. This paper assumes that all of the increased uncertainty comes from wind farms on the grid, and it shows how distributed storage managed locally by aggregators can provide the ramping needed without introducing a separate market for flexibility. This can be accomplished when the aggregators minimize the expected daily cost of the energy purchased from the grid for their customers by submitting optimal bids into the wholesale market with high and low price thresholds for discharging and charging the storage. This model is illustrated using a stochastic multi-period security constrained optimal power flow together with realistic data for a reduction of the network in the Northeast Power Coordinating Council region of the United States. The results show that the bidding strategy for distributed storage provides ramping to the grid just as effectively as storage managed by a system operator.

Lamadrid, Alberto J.↗

Performance-based simulants for Hanford radioactive waste treatment process testing

Radioactive wastes from nuclear fuel processing are stored in large underground storage tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Treatment and remediation require that waste feed from the storage tanks be delivered to the Hanford Tank Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant continually for the duration of the treatment mission. Furthermore, the complex physical and chemical processes required for this mission, the significant scale, and the hazardous nature of the waste necessitate the use of simulants in process testing. A new class of simulants, “performance-based simulants,” has been developed to match the process performance of the simulant to actual waste performance data.

Hanford tank waste treatment↗

MSD CoP Webinar: Energy and AI

Context: This webinar was hosted by the MultiSector Dynamics Community of Practice (MSD CoP; https://multisectordynamics.org). Abstract: Projections of the need for new data centers to support Artificial Intelligence (AI) are large but highly uncertain. Recent projections indicate up to a 15% annual growth rate in data center electricity demand within the next 5-10 years. Given that most electric utilities are required to have a reserve margin of roughly the same magnitude as the projected growth in demand, these new data center loads could soon threaten resource adequacy and reliability unless data centers build their own generation, interruptible loads are negotiated, commensurate new capacity and/or transmission is built, or some combination of these options. Similarly, depending on the cooling technology and geographic location of new data centers, they could threaten water adequacy in water scarce regions. This webinar will provide an overview of the interactions between energy and AI and highlight two MSD projects exploring the grid and water implications of new data centers to support AI. Presenters : Dr. Casey Burleyson (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); Dr. Stephanie Morris (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory); Kendall Mongird (Pacific Northwest National Laboratory) Moderator: Patrick M. Reed (MSD CoP Facilitation Team) This webinar was held on: June 16th, 2025 from 1-2 PM EST.

Artificial Intelligence↗

Energy and AI: Evaluating Future Grid and Water Stress Due to Data Centers

Projections of the need for new data centers to support Artificial Intelligence (AI) are large but highly uncertain. Recent projections indicate up to a 15% annual growth rate in data center electricity demand within the next 5-10 years. Given that most electric utilities are required to have a reserve margin of roughly the same magnitude as the projected growth in demand, these new data center loads could soon threaten resource adequacy and reliability unless data centers build their own generation, interruptible loads are negotiated, commensurate new capacity and/or transmission is built, or some combination of these options. Similarly, depending on the cooling technology and geographic location of new data centers, they could threaten water adequacy in water scarce regions. This presentation highlights the grid and water implications of new data centers to support AI.

Mongird, Kendall (ORCID:0000000328077088)↗

Air Traffic Management Response to Vertiport Closure

Increasing quantities of urban air mobility operations requires consideration of various contingencies associated with novel operational tempos and airspace management practices. This paper explores a contingency scenario in which a single vertiport closes unexpectedly during high tempo operations. Dynamic re-planning is explored as a function performed both by operators using common operating procedures and through emergency assistance from air traffic control. Implications for airspace capacity, infrastructure requirements, and vehicle energy reserves are discussed.

UAM↗

Air Traffic Management Response to Vertiport Closure

Increasing quantities of urban air mobility operations requires consideration of various contingencies associated with novel operational tempos and airspace management practices. This paper explores a contingency scenario in which a single vertiport closes unexpectedly during high tempo operations. Dynamic re-planning is explored as a function performed both by operators using common operating procedures and through emergency assistance from air traffic control. Implications for airspace capacity, infrastructure requirements, and vehicle energy reserves are discussed.

UAM↗

Thermal Design of a Collapsible Cryogenic Vessel

Strategic planning for human exploration missions to Mars has conclusively identified in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) as an enabling technology. Most mission scenarios include an ISRU plant to produce propellants for ascent from Mars as well as the production of backup reserves of water, oxygen, and process gases. Current mission scenarios call for an ISRU plant to be deployed and then produce and store the required propellants and life support reserves before the arrival of the first human mission. Reliable cryogenic propellant liquefaction and storage technologies for extended period missions are especially critical. This report examines the cryogenic storage problem for liquid oxygen produced by an ISRU plant for a human mission scenario. The analysis examines various hardware configurations including insulation types, packaging techniques, and required cryocoolers to minimize the initial launch mass to low Earth orbit. Results of the analyses indicate that high vacuum insulation systems requiring vacuum pressures below one millitorr will be required to minimize the 'initial launch mass into low Earth orbit even though the temperature on the surface of Mars is much lower than Earth.

Hegab, Hisham E.↗

Evaluation of Technologies to Mitigate the Presence of Gaseous Elemental Mercury in Waste Disposal Containers

A study was conducted to evaluate sorbent technologies that can mitigate the presence of elemental mercury (Hg⁰) in waste containers for mercury-contaminated debris (MCD). Decontamination and demolition (D&D) activities at the Y-12 National Security Complex (Y-12) and other U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) facilities generate MCD requiring offsite disposal. The debris is packaged in appropriate waste containers and may be temporarily stored onsite prior to transport for treatment and/or disposal. During transportation of loads that had no visible liquid Hg at the point of origin, temperature changes can cause Hg⁰ to evaporate, condense, and form droplets on container walls. Furthermore, vibration during transportation could cause beads of Hg to be released from the debris, container walls, and ceiling, resulting in pools of liquid Hg⁰ on the container floor. Waste acceptance criteria (WAC) limitations for commercial disposal facilities, the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), and ORR mixed low-level waste landfills prohibit the presence of any free liquids in containers identified as a solid waste form. Potential solutions to mitigate the presence of residual liquids that could be formed through vapor condensation include the use of sorbents or similar materials to capture and stabilize volatile Hg⁰ vapors and thus ensure compliance with landfill WAC requirements. This report summarizes data from small-scale laboratory experiments conducted to evaluate sorbent materials for Hg⁰ vapor suppression and sorption of liquid Hg⁰ that could form under relevant transportation and disposal conditions. A series of experiments was conducted to evaluate commercial sorbent materials and their effectiveness for Hg⁰ sorption across a temperature range from 19.4°C to 60°C. The impact of residual moisture on sorption was investigated under relevant conditions, and leaching tests were performed to assess the stability of Hg⁰ captured sorbent materials. The results provide estimates for sorbent quantities needed for a given Hg⁰ mass loading based on experimental results exposing sorbents to gaseous and liquid Hg⁰ at various mass ratios. Overall, sorbents that were most effective for Hg⁰ vapor suppression were brominated activated carbons, mackinawite-based sorbents coated on vermiculite, and sulfur-modified granular activated carbon. Elevated temperatures and moisture conditions did not result in significant increases of Hg⁰ headspace concentrations, and the materials also demonstrated high sorption capacities for the sorption of liquid Hg⁰.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗