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At least 739 records · Page 41

Consensus International Solar Resource Standards and Best Practices Development: Preprint

Standardization and best practices of data sets and models enable the industry to develop widely accepted protocols for various stages of solar project development and operations. In collaboration with the International Energy Agency Photovoltaic Power Systems Programme Task 16, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed and regularly updates the Best Practices Handbook for the Collection and Use of Solar Resource Data for Solar Energy Applications. In collaboration with ASTM members on the radiometry subcommittee, NREL assists in and leads the development of radiometric standards that contribute to increased accuracy in the measurement of solar resources available to conversion systems and to the development and improvement of models. These models can then provide long-term geographic distribution of solar resources for areas where measured solar data are not available. Further, these standards play a preeminent role in all aspects of solar energy projects, including standard conditions, methods and instrumentation, accelerated testing, and service lifetime of materials.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

Comparing generator predictions of transverse kinematic imbalance in neutrino-argon scattering

The largest uncertainties in estimating neutrino-nucleus interaction cross sections lie in the incomplete understanding of nuclear effects. A powerful tool to study nuclear effects is Transverse Kinematic Imbalance. This paper presents the first detailed comparison of the predictions of multiple event generators for distributions associated with Transverse Kinematic Imbalance for neutrino interactions on argon. Predictions for muon neutrinos interacting with an argon target are obtained using four standard neutrino event generation tools (GENIE, NuWro, GiBUU and NEUT). Example opportunities for discrimination between nuclear models leveraging future measurements are highlighted. The predictions shown in this paper are motivated by studying muon neutrinos from the Fermilab Booster Neutrino Beam interacting at the location of the MicroBooNE liquid argon time projection chamber, but the methods directly apply to other accelerator-based liquid argon neutrino experiments such as SBND, ICARUS and DUNE.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Leverage Score Sampling for Parametric PDEs (Final Technical Report)

This final technical report summarizes the accomplishments of work performed under DOE Office of Science Award DE-SC0022266, which is titled “Leverage Score Sampling for Parametric PDEs”. The goal of the project was to extend methods from Randomized Numerical Linear Algebra (RandNLA) to tackle central computational challenges in model order reduction and uncertainty quantification (UQ) for parametric partial differential equations (PDEs). In particular, we sought to use importance sampling methods originally developed for RandNLA to develop sample efficient active learning algorithms for approximating high-dimensional scalar functions, e.g. by polynomials, Gaussian process models, and simple neural networks. Such methods can be immediately applied to developing surrogate models or to approximating quantity of interest (QoI) surfaces. In the context of PDEs, each sample used for learning equates to the solution of the differential equation for a particular set of parameters, so sample efficiency translates to improved computational efficiency for a variety of downstream tasks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

GIS Supported Optimal Site Selection for Coastal Structure Integrated Wave Energy Converters: Preprint

There is an urgent need for adaptative engineering towards more resilient coastal communities, and Coastal Structure Integrated Wave Energy Converters (CSI-WECs) are a promising solution. CSI-WECs are wave energy converters (WECs) that are built into coastal protection structures, such as breakwaters. These devices provide the dual benefits of coastal protection and local energy production, and unlike other WECs, maximizing energy production is not always the main objective. CSI-WECs are located near the shore, where the wave resource is lower, thus site selection for these devices differs from the typical offshore WECs. Other attributes of a site that may be more important than wave power include existing coastal structures, port proximity, electric transmission line proximity, and location of disadvantaged communities. Geospatial information systems (GIS) interfaces can be used to easily visualize geospatial data that represents these difference kinds of criteria important for the determination of optimal marine energy sites. Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) is a geospatial analysis method that allows for the evaluation of multiple, usually overlapping, criteria. This project applies GIS-based MCDA methods to two distinct case studies in Puerto Rico and California for CSI-WEC site selection. The two study sites contrast in terms of wave resource, coastal hazards, and local energy needs. This research demonstrates the utility of applying an MCDA framework within GIS to facilitate efficient site selection for devices with unique characteristics in different use cases.

coastal protection↗

Wellbore Stability and Mud Loss Management in Geothermal Drilling: Optimizing Mud Weight to Mitigate Tensile Wellbore Fracturing at The Geysers, California

As part of a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office-funded initiative, Geysers Power Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Calpine Corporation, has been working to enhance drilling performance at the world’s largest geothermal field, The Geysers, in northern California. In a recent drilling operation of the GDC-36 well, excessive mud losses were encountered, initially addressed through repeated but largely ineffective cement plugging. Ultimately, the most effective strategy was to drill blind through the loss zones, made feasible by the high rate of penetration (ROP) achieved with PDC bits, allowing significant progress before the mud tanks were depleted and water-sensitive argillic formation layers could collapse. In response to these challenges, the project team explored alternative methods to minimize downtime and risks associated with cement plugging and continuous mud loss and to contemplate the driving mechanisms for the losses. Wellbore imaging using Formation MicroImager (FMI) and Ultrasonic Borehole Imager (UBI) tools revealed longitudinal tensile fractures, which were attributed to mud weights exceeding the minimum circumferential stress resulting from the native stress field and formation pressure. This study examines the mud losses encountered and leverages wellbore imaging data to understand the mechanisms behind mud induced tensile fracturing in specific rock facies. Understanding fracture behavior across different lithologies is crucial, as fractures within the reservoir can enhance steam migration throughout the system. The reservoir at The Geysers lies within the Mesozoic Franciscan Assemblage, a tectonic mélange formed by subduction. It consists of metamorphosed turbidite sandstone (greywacke) and mudstone (argillite), oceanic upper crust (including greenstone and chert), and serpentinized ultramafic rocks - each exhibiting distinct geomechanical fracturing properties. The structural fabric of the Franciscan Assemblage was shaped by low-angle Mesozoic thrust faulting and later overprinted by sub-vertical strike-slip structures related to the Pacific-North American plate boundary. A wellbore stability model was developed using core measurements and logs to simulate fracturing scenarios during drilling under varying stress conditions. These simulations guided the development of an optimized mud weight management strategy that should enable adaptive adjustments during drilling, reducing the likelihood of tensile fracturing and mud losses, ultimately improving operational efficiency.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Error and Complexity Analysis for a Collocation-Grid-Projection Plus Precorrected-FFT Algorithm for Solving Potential Integral Equations with LaPlace or Helmholtz Kernels

In this paper we derive error bounds for a collocation-grid-projection scheme tuned for use in multilevel methods for solving boundary-element discretizations of potential integral equations. The grid-projection scheme is then combined with a precorrected FFT style multilevel method for solving potential integral equations with 1/r and e(sup ikr)/r kernels. A complexity analysis of this combined method is given to show that for homogeneous problems, the method is order n natural log n nearly independent of the kernel. In addition, it is shown analytically and experimentally that for an inhomogeneity generated by a very finely discretized surface, the combined method slows to order n(sup 4/3). Finally, examples are given to show that the collocation-based grid-projection plus precorrected-FFT scheme is competitive with fast-multipole algorithms when considering realistic problems and 1/r kernels, but can be used over a range of spatial frequencies with only a small performance penalty.

Phillips, J. R.↗

Spherical Coordinate Systems for Streamlining Suited Mobility Analysis

When describing human motion, biomechanists generally report joint angles in terms of Euler angle rotation sequences. However, there are known limitations in using this method to describe complex motions such as the shoulder joint during a baseball pitch. Euler angle notation uses a series of three rotations about an axis where each rotation is dependent upon the preceding rotation. As such, the Euler angles need to be regarded as a set to get accurate angle information. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to visualize and understand these complex motion representations. One of our key functions is to help design engineers understand how a human will perform with new designs and all too often traditional use of Euler rotations becomes as much of a hindrance as a help. It is believed that using a spherical coordinate system will allow ABF personnel to more quickly and easily transmit important mobility data to engineers, in a format that is readily understandable and directly translatable to their design efforts. Objectives: The goal of this project is to establish new analysis and visualization techniques to aid in the examination and comprehension of complex motions. Methods: This project consisted of a series of small sub‐projects, meant to validate and verify the method before it was implemented in the ABF's data analysis practices. The first stage was a proof of concept, where a mechanical test rig was built and instrumented with an inclinometer, so that its angle from horizontal was known. The test rig was tracked in 3D using an optical motion capture system, and its position and orientation were reported in both Euler and spherical reference systems. The rig was meant to simulate flexion/extension, transverse rotation and abduction/adduction of the human shoulder, but without the variability inherent in human motion. In the second phase of the project, the ABF estimated the error inherent in a spherical coordinate system, and evaluated how this error would vary within the reference frame. This stage also involved expanding a kinematic model of the shoulder, to include the torso, knees, ankle, elbows, wrists and neck. Part of this update included adding a representation of 'roll' about an axis, for upper arm and lower leg rotations. The third stage of the project involved creating visualization methods to assist in interpreting motion in a spherical frame. This visualization method will be incorporated in a tool to evaluate a database of suited mobility data, which is currently in development.

Benson, Elizabeth↗

Spherical Coordinate Systems for Streamlining Suited Mobility Analysis

Introduction: When describing human motion, biomechanists generally report joint angles in terms of Euler angle rotation sequences. However, there are known limitations in using this method to describe complex motions such as the shoulder joint during a baseball pitch. Euler angle notation uses a series of three rotations about an axis where each rotation is dependent upon the preceding rotation. As such, the Euler angles need to be regarded as a set to get accurate angle information. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to visualize and understand these complex motion representations. It has been shown that using a spherical coordinate system allows Anthropometry and Biomechanics Facility (ABF) personnel to increase their ability to transmit important human mobility data to engineers, in a format that is readily understandable and directly translatable to their design efforts. Objectives: The goal of this project was to use innovative analysis and visualization techniques to aid in the examination and comprehension of complex motions. Methods: This project consisted of a series of small sub‐projects, meant to validate and verify a new method before it was implemented in the ABF's data analysis practices. A mechanical test rig was built and tracked in 3D using an optical motion capture system. Its position and orientation were reported in both Euler and spherical reference systems. In the second phase of the project, the ABF estimated the error inherent in a spherical coordinate system, and evaluated how this error would vary within the reference frame. This stage also involved expanding a kinematic model of the shoulder to include the rest of the joints of the body. The third stage of the project involved creating visualization methods to assist in interpreting motion in a spherical frame. These visualization methods will be incorporated in a tool to evaluate a database of suited mobility data, which is currently in development. Results: Initial results demonstrated that a spherical coordinate system is helpful in describing and visualizing the motion of a space suit. The system is particularly useful in describing the motion of the shoulder, where multiple degrees of freedom can lead to very complex motion paths.

Benson, Elizabeth↗

Data-driven Event Identification in the U.S. Power Systems Based on 2D-OLPP and RUSBoosting Trees

Accurate event identification is an essential part of situation awareness ability for power system operators. Therefore, this work proposes an integrated event identification algorithm for power systems. First, to obtain and filter suitable inputs for event identification, an event detection trigger based on the rate of change of frequency (RoCoF) is presented. Then, the wave arrival time difference-based triangulation method considering the anisotropy of wave propagation speed is utilized to estimate the location of the detected event. Next, the two-dimensional orthogonal locality preserving projection (2D-OLPP)-based method, which is suitable for multiple types of measured data, is employed to achieve higher effectiveness in extracting the event features compared with traditional one-dimensional projection and principle component analysis (PCA). Finally, the random undersampling boosted (RUSBoosted) trees-based classifier, which can mitigate the data sample imbalance issue, is utilized to identify the type of the detected event. Furthermore, the proposed approach is demonstrated using the actual measurement data of U.S. power systems from FNET/GridEye. Comparison results show that the proposed event identification algorithm can achieve better performance than existing approaches.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Dimensionality reduction using elastic measures

With the recent surge in big data analytics for hyperdimensional data, there is a renewed interest in dimensionality reduction techniques. In order for these methods to improve performance gains and understanding of the underlying data, a proper metric needs to be identified. This step is often overlooked, and metrics are typically chosen without consideration of the underlying geometry of the data. Here, in this paper, we present a method for incorporating elastic metrics into the t-distributed stochastic neighbour embedding (t-SNE) and Uniform Manifold Approximation and Projection (UMAP). We apply our method to functional data, which is uniquely characterized by rotations, parameterization and scale. If these properties are ignored, they can lead to incorrect analysis and poor classification performance. Through our method, we demonstrate improved performance on shape identification tasks for three benchmark data sets (MPEG-7, Car data set and Plane data set of Thankoor), where we achieve 0.77, 0.95 and 1.00 F1 score, respectively.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Inferring Heat Flow in Laser Absorption Regions using Diagnostic Magnetic Fields

This research was motivated by the desire to obtain a measurement of heat-flow in overdense regions of a laser ablated plasma for the first time using a high energy proton beam. For sufficiently high energies, the proton beam can pass through overdense regions and only be deflected by electric and magnetic fields. As the transport of magnetic fields in a plasma are intrinsically linked to the transport of thermal energy, it was posited that such a measurement could be used to infer a heat-flow. While the project did not prove the method to be infeasible, difficulties with understanding the proton radiographs without an imposed magnetic field made the final aim of this project unreached. Instead, however, a closer understanding of proton radiographs of laser-solid interactions without an imposed field has been obtained. 5 shot days on The OMEGA Laser Facility have been awarded (3 through ICF and 2 as ride-along) to further investigate some of these features. Extrapolating current results to hohlraum conditions has the magnetic energy being a significant (10%) fraction of the laser drive energy, which has the potential to explain the NIF hohlraum drive deficit.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Inferring Heat Flow in Laser Absorption Regions using Diagnostic Magnetic Fields: Abstract

This research was motivated by the desire to obtain a measurement of heat-flow in overdense regions of a laser ablated plasma for the first time using a high energy proton beam. For sufficiently high energies, the proton beam can pass through overdense regions and only be deflected by electric and magnetic fields. As the transport of magnetic fields in a plasma are intrinsically linked to the transport of thermal energy, it was posited that such a measurement could be used to infer a heat-flow. While the project did not prove the method to be infeasible, difficulties with understanding the proton radiographs without an imposed magnetic field made the final aim of this project unreached. Instead, however, a closer understanding of proton radiographs of laser-solid interactions without an imposed field has been obtained. 5 shot days on The OMEGA Laser Facility have been awarded (3 through ICF and 2 as ride-along) to further investigate some of these features. Extrapolating current results to hohlraum conditions has the magnetic energy being a significant (10%) fraction of the laser drive energy, which has the potential to explain the NIF hohlraum drive deficit.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Leveraging gradient weighted class activation mapping to improve classification effectiveness: Case study in transportation infrastructure characterization

Roadway “corners†are common for pedestrian use, whether designated with markings or not. Different types of markings have been deployed, ranging from simple parallel lines to more complex designs. Understanding the impact of different types of crosswalks is important for public safety. In this work we explore methods to improve the logging of marked crosswalk types. We used the Roadway Information Database from the Second Strategic Highway Research Project and used active learning methods with transfer learning to identify the crosswalk types (marked or unmarked). Upon completion we found our classifiers were unable to perform above roughly 94% correct classifications. To improve their efficacy, we separated the crosswalks into their “fine grained†types and used Gradient-Weighted Class Activation Mapping to isolate and study the features that classified the crosswalks. We compared this with sampled manually marked crosswalks and present findings. We believe this use case can represent a process to improve the active learning method for some visual machine learning applications.

Karnowski, Thomas↗

Co-Free Cathode Materials and Their Novel Architectures

To enable cobalt-free LiNi 0.5 Mn 1.5 O 4 (LNMO) electrode and novel electrolyte formulation for use in next-generation Li-ion batteries (LIB) capable of high energy density, long cycle life and low cost, several methods were developed throughout this project. To enhance the performance of LNMO, Fe-doping on LNMO, laser treatment and atomic layer deposition (ALD) were adopted. Moreover, dry electrode method has successfully helped to fabricate ultra-high loading LNMO with stable performance. The improvement at anode side includes ALD-coating as well as pre-lithiation of graphite anode. In the novel electrolyte development, it was found that all-fluorinated electrolyte with appropriate additives can effectively extend both cycle and calendar life of LNMO full cells at practical loadings. Additional diagnosis of LNMO full cells showed that different types of carbon and porosity of separator play a critical role in the success of LNMO’s high voltage operation. The combined effort throughout the project pushed forward the understanding and commercialization of LNMO at practical level.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

A Prospective Design Method for Nuclear Power: The Evaluation, Requirements, and Goals Outline for Nuclear (ERGON) Method

Human factors researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) have worked on projects spanning control room modernization, operator support systems, visualization design, and novel system creation. These projects demonstrated the need for an explicit design method for nuclear power. Human factors teams found a high standard in the Human Factors Engineering Program Review Model (NUREG-0711) and needed a design methodology which could be successful in gaining approval. Previous work has been synthesized as the Evaluation, Requirements, and Goals Outline for Nuclear (ERGON) method here. Design tasks are broken into four phases: Context and Orientation, Human Factors Review, Prototyping and Evaluation, Iteration and Improvement. ERGON is intended as a flexible and direct design method for many applications in nuclear power. ERGON has been vetted through collaborative research and development with nuclear utilities and as such, the ERGON method can assist utilities to achieve approval from a NUREG-0711 summative evaluation for HSI implementations.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Bottleneck Detection in Modular Construction Factories Using Computer Vision

The construction industry is increasingly adopting off-site and modular construction methods due to the advantages offered in terms of safety, quality, and productivity for construction projects. Despite the advantages promised by this method of construction, modular construction factories still rely on manually-intensive work, which can lead to highly variable cycle times. As a result, these factories experience bottlenecks in production that can reduce productivity and cause delays to modular integrated construction projects. To remedy this effect, computer vision-based methods have been proposed to monitor the progress of work in modular construction factories. However, these methods fail to account for changes in the appearance of the modular units during production, they are difficult to adapt to other stations and factories, and they require a significant amount of annotation effort. Due to these drawbacks, this paper proposes a computer vision-based progress monitoring method that is easy to adapt to different stations and factories and relies only on two image annotations per station. In doing so, the Scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) method is used to identify the presence of modular units at workstations, and the Mask R-CNN deep learning-based method is used to identify active workstations. This information was synthesized using a near real-time data-driven bottleneck identification method suited for assembly lines in modular construction factories. This framework was successfully validated using 420 h of surveillance videos of a production line in a modular construction factory in the U.S., providing 96% accuracy in identifying the occupancy of the workstations and an F-1 Score of 89% in identifying the state of each station on the production line. The extracted active and inactive durations were successfully used via a data-driven bottleneck detection method to detect bottleneck stations inside a modular construction factory. The implementation of this method in factories can lead to continuous and comprehensive monitoring of the production line and prevent delays by timely identification of bottlenecks.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Examining the Feasibility of Identifying Tau Neutrino Charged Current Events in the DUNE Far Detector

Neutrinos began as theoretical, massless particles, and since their first detection they have continued to be the subject of various experiments. One such experiment is DUNE, which is a long baseline neutrino experiment with the goal of studying neutrino properties, such as neutrino oscillation parameters. In this work, two projects were completed, one dealing with the hardware of DUNE and the other dealing with neutrino simulations. For the hardware project, we designed a quality control method for testing adaptor boards which make up part of the Far Detector circuit boards. This method was completed and prototyped, however was not implemented as planned due to funding changes. For the simulation project, we simulated ντ , νµ, and νe CC interactions using two simulation methods (stand alone GENIE and a full detector simulation) in order to begin to understand what a ντ CC event would look like in the Far Detector and create an initial list of kinematic properties that can be used for this purpose. We found that there is not a complete understanding of what is occurring in the full detector simulation. We also found that there is promise in using kinematic properties to be able to differentiate ντ CC events, however properties beyond those covered here, as well as a more accurate simulation, will be required for any definitive statistical statements.

Choate, Sarah↗