Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “Distributed model predictive control”

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

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

At least 829 records · Page 46

Dynamic Surface Incorporation of Pb 2+ Ions at the Actively Dissolving Calcite (104) Surface

The reaction of dissolved Pb 2+ with calcite surfaces at near-equilibrium conditions involves adsorption of Pb 2+ and precipitation of secondary heteroepitaxial Pb-carbonate minerals. A more complex behavior is observed under far-from-equilibrium conditions, including strong inhibition of calcite dissolution, development of microtopography, and near-surface incorporation of multiple monolayers (ML) of Pb 2+ without precipitation of secondary phases [where 1 ML ≡ 1 Ca/20.2 Å 2 , the crystallographic site density of the calcite (104) lattice plane]. However, the mechanistic controls governing far-from-equilibrium reactivity are not well understood. Here, in this study, we observe the interfacial incorporation of dissolved Pb 2+ during the dissolution of calcite (104) surfaces at pH ~3.7 in a flow-through reaction cell, revealing the formation of a ~1 nm thick Pb-rich calcite layer with a total Pb coverage of ~1.4 ML. These observations of the sorbed Pb distribution used resonant anomalous X-ray reflectivity, X-ray fluorescence, and nanoinfrared atomic force microscopy. We propose that this altered surface layer represents a novel sorption mode that is stabilized by conditions of sustained disequilibrium. This behavior may significantly impact the transport of dissolved metals during disequilibrium processes occurring in acid mine drainage and subsurface CO 2 injection and, if appropriately accounted for, could improve the predictive capability of geochemical reactive-transport models.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Interactions of electrons with two lower hybrid waves

The effects of perturbed orbits on the interactions of electrons with two lower hybrid waves, one of which is resonant with electrons at a low phase velocity (v p1 = 3.8V the , where v p1 is the wave phase velocity and V the is the electron thermal speed) while the other is off-resonant at a high phase velocity (v p2 = 5.5V the ), have been studied by using the particle simulation code based on the gyro-kinetic electron and fully-kinetic ion (GeFi) model [Lin et al., Plasma Phys. Controlled Fusion 47, 657 (2005)]. When the amplitude of the off-resonant wave is sufficiently small so that the resonances of these two waves do not overlap, the variation of the resonant wave amplitude is similar to that predicted by O'Neil's theory [O'Neil, Plasma Fluid 8, 12 (1965)]. With the increasing amplitude, the two resonances overlap and large scale chaos emerges. As a result, the damping of the resonant wave can be enhanced, which is due to that the trapped electron orbits are significantly perturbed by the off-resonant wave. The diffusion process gives rise to the enhanced damping. In conclusion, when the overlap is sufficiently large, the damping of the off-resonant wave and the oscillatory behavior of the wave amplitude are observed. In addition, the resonant plateau in the distribution function can be broadened due to the change in the chaotic region boundaries as the electron perturbed orbits are taken into account.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Meteorological Controls on Wind Turbine Wakes

The primary control on the magnitude of the power losses induced by wind turbine wakes in large wind farms is the hub-height wind speed via its link to the turbine thrust coefficient. Hence, at low to moderate wind speeds (between cut-in and rated turbine wind speeds) when the thrust coefficient is high, wake losses are proportionally larger and decrease to be virtually undetectable at wind speeds above rated wind speeds. Wind direction is also critical. Not only does it determine the effective spacing between turbines but also the wind speed distribution is primarily determined by synoptic forcing and typically has a predominant direction from which wind speeds tend to be higher (from southwest for much of the central United States and northern Europe). Two other interlinked variables, turbulence intensity (TI), and atmospheric stability also dictate wake losses. Quantifying, understanding, modeling, and predicting this complex and interdependent system is therefore critical to understanding and modeling wind farm power losses due to wakes, and to optimizing wind farm layout. This paper quantifies the impact of these variables on the power loss due to wakes using data from the large offshore wind farms located at Horns Rev and Nysted in Denmark.

Barthelmie, RJ↗

Development of a Digital Twin for Hydrogen Dispersion and Safety Assessment in an Electrolyzer Based Hydrogen Production Facility

Digital twin models are virtual representations of physical systems that use real-time data to simulate and optimize performance. This study presents the development and initial implementation of a digital twin (DT) for the electrolyzer-based hydrogen production facility at NREL's Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES), focused on enhancing safety and optimizing sensor placement through physics-based simulations and metadata integration. The DT incorporates detailed facility-specific information, including component layout, leak locations, and controlled release parameters, to model hydrogen dispersion under varying environmental conditions. Using steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations informed by real meteorological data, such as wind speed, direction, and vertical wind profiles, the DT enables visualization of hydrogen plume behavior and spatial concentration distributions. Comparative analysis between high and low wind speed scenarios illustrates the significant influence of wind dynamics on plume shape and extent, with horizontal momentum dominating dispersion at higher speeds, while buoyancy effects become more prominent under low wind conditions. These simulations generate a rich dataset embedded within the DT, allowing users to assess potential leak outcomes and identify optimal sensor locations based on concentration thresholds. The model supports scenario-based analysis to guide safety strategies and equipment deployment for open-area hydrogen infrastructure. The digital twin thus serves as a dynamic platform for virtual prototyping, providing predictive insight into hydrogen behavior and enhancing risk-informed decision-making. This initial phase establishes a validated foundation for future integration of transient, uncontrolled leak scenarios and real-time sensor feedback, positioning the DT as a critical tool for safety design, operational planning, and adaptive monitoring in hydrogen systems. Overall, the approach demonstrates the value of combining environmental data with digital simulations to inform safer and more efficient deployment of hydrogen technologies.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Development of a Digital Twin for Hydrogen Dispersion and Safety Assessment in an Electrolyzer-Based Hydrogen Production Facility: Preprint

Digital twin models are virtual representations of physical systems that use real-time data to simulate and optimize performance. This study presents the development and initial implementation of a digital twin (DT) for the electrolyzer-based hydrogen production facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)'s Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES), focused on enhancing safety and optimizing sensor placement through physics-based simulations and metadata integration. The DT incorporates detailed facility-specific information, including component layout, leak locations, and controlled release parameters, to model hydrogen dispersion under varying environmental conditions. Using steady-state computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations informed by real meteorological data, such as wind speed, direction, and vertical wind profiles, the DT enables visualization of hydrogen plume behavior and spatial concentration distributions. Comparative analysis between high and low wind speed scenarios illustrates the significant influence of wind dynamics on plume shape and extent, with horizontal momentum dominating dispersion at higher speeds, while buoyancy effects become more prominent under low wind conditions. These simulations generate a rich dataset embedded within the DT, allowing users to assess potential leak outcomes and identify optimal sensor locations based on concentration thresholds. The model supports scenario-based analysis to guide safety strategies and equipment deployment for open-area hydrogen infrastructure. The digital twin thus serves as a dynamic platform for virtual prototyping, providing predictive insight into hydrogen behavior and enhancing risk-informed decision-making. This initial phase establishes a validated foundation for future integration of transient, uncontrolled leak scenarios and real-time sensor feedback, positioning the DT as a critical tool for safety design, operational planning, and adaptive monitoring in hydrogen systems. Overall, the approach demonstrates the value of combining environmental data with digital simulations to inform safer and more efficient deployment of hydrogen technologies.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Internal reversing flow in a tailpipe offtake configuration for SSTOVL aircraft

A generic one-third scale model of a tailpipe offtake system for a supersonic short takeoff vertical landing (SSTOVL) aircraft was tested at LeRC Powered Lift Facility. The model consisted of a tailpipe with twin elbows, offtake ducts, and flow control nozzles, plus a small ventral nozzle and a blind flange to simulate a blocked cruise nozzle. The offtake flow turned through a total angle of 177 degrees relative to the tailpipe inlet axis. The flow split was 45 percent to each offtake and 10 percent to the ventral nozzle. The main test objective was to collect data for comparison to the performance of the same configuration predicted by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Only the experimental results are given - the analytical results are published in a separate paper. Performance tests were made with unheated air at tailpipe-to-ambient pressure ratios up to 5. The total pressure loss through the offtakes was as high as 15.5 percent. All test results are shown as graphs, contour plots, and wall pressure distributions. The complex flow patterns in the tailpipe and elbows at the offtake openings are described with traversing flow angle probe and paint streak flow visualization data.

Mcardle, Jack G.↗

Internal reversing flow in a tailpipe offtake configuration for SSTOVL aircraft

A generic one-third scale model of a tailpipe offtake system for a supersonic short takeoff vertical landing (SSTOVL) aircraft was tested at LeRC Powered Lift Facility. The model consisted of a tailpipe with twin elbows, offtake ducts, and flow control nozzles, plus a small ventral nozzle and a blind flange to simulate a blocked cruise nozzle. The offtake flow turned through a total angle of 177 degrees relative to the tailpipe inlet axis. The flow split was 45 percent to each offtake and 10 percent to the ventral nozzle. The main test objective was to collect data for comparison to the performance of the same configuration predicted by a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. Only the experimental results are given - the analytical results are published in a separate paper. Performance tests were made with unheated air at tailpipe-to-ambient pressure ratios up to 5. The total pressure loss through the offtakes was as high as 15.5 percent. All test results are shown as graphs, contour plots, and wall pressure distributions. The complex flow patterns in the tailpipe and elbows at the offtake openings are described with traversing flow angle probe and paint streak flow visualization data.

Mcardle, Jack G.↗

Detection and Production of Methane Hydrate

This project seeks to understand regional differences in gas hydrate systems from the perspective of as an energy resource, geohazard, and long-term climate influence. Specifically, the effort will: (1) collect data and conceptual models that targets causes of gas hydrate variance, (2) construct numerical models that explain and predict regional-scale gas hydrate differences in 2-dimensions with minimal 'free parameters', (3) simulate hydrocarbon production from various gas hydrate systems to establish promising resource characteristics, (4) perturb different gas hydrate systems to assess potential impacts of hot fluids on seafloor stability and well stability, and (5) develop geophysical approaches that enable remote quantification of gas hydrate heterogeneities so that they can be characterized with minimal costly drilling. Our integrated program takes advantage of the fact that we have a close working team comprised of experts in distinct disciplines. The expected outcomes of this project are improved exploration and production technology for production of natural gas from methane hydrates and improved safety through understanding of seafloor and well bore stability in the presence of hydrates. The scope of this project was to more fully characterize, understand, and appreciate fundamental differences in the amount and distribution of gas hydrate and how this would affect the production potential of a hydrate accumulation in the marine environment. The effort combines existing information from locations in the ocean that are dominated by low permeability sediments with small amounts of high permeability sediments, one permafrost location where extensive hydrates exist in reservoir quality rocks and other locations deemed by mutual agreement of DOE and Rice to be appropriate. The initial ocean locations were Blake Ridge, Hydrate Ridge, Peru Margin and GOM. The permafrost location was Mallik. Although the ultimate goal of the project was to understand processes that control production potential of hydrates in marine settings, Mallik was included because of the extensive data collected in a producible hydrate accumulation. To date, such a location had not been studied in the oceanic environment. The project worked closely with ongoing projects (e.g. GOM JIP and offshore India) that are actively investigating potentially economic hydrate accumulations in marine settings. The overall approach was fivefold: (1) collect key data concerning hydrocarbon fluxes which is currently missing at all locations to be included in the study, (2) use this and existing data to build numerical models that can explain gas hydrate variance at all four locations, (3) simulate how natural gas could be produced from each location with different production strategies, (4) collect new sediment property data at these locations that are required for constraining fluxes, production simulations and assessing sediment stability, and (5) develop a method for remotely quantifying heterogeneities in gas hydrate and free gas distributions. While we generally restricted our efforts to the locations where key parameters can be measured or constrained, our ultimate aim was to make our efforts universally applicable to any hydrate accumulation.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Topography, surface water distribution and subsurface structure in 2023 across an Arctic coastal tundra site near Utqiagvik, Alaska

Subsurface electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), active layer thickness measurements, photogrammetry, and topographic data were collected in September 2023 along a 475 m long, 20 m wide corridor that traverses various polygon types within the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) on the Alaskan Arctic Coastal Plain, approximately 4 miles from the Beaufort Sea near Utqiaġvik, Alaska. These measurements were designed to assess decadal changes in surface water distribution, topography, and subsurface structure across this dynamic landscape. This archive contains the datasets acquired in 2023 and references to the datasets acquired previously at the same location. The ERT survey was conducted along the 475 m transect using 0.5 m electrode spacing and a roll-along acquisition strategy. Thaw layer thicknesses were measured with a tile probe along the same transect. Photogrammetry data were acquired using an unoccupied aerial vehicle (UAV) and were used to generate a digital elevation model and an RGB mosaic. A real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS was used to survey the ERT electrodes and the ground control points for the aerial imagery. The dataset contains 5 *.csv data files, 6 *.csv metadata files, and 6 *.tif files.The Next-Generation Ecosystem Experiments: Arctic (NGEE Arctic), was a research effort to reduce uncertainty in Earth System Models by developing a predictive understanding of carbon-rich Arctic ecosystems and feedbacks to climate. NGEE Arctic was supported by the Department of Energy's Office of Biological and Environmental Research. The NGEE Arctic project had two field research sites: 1) located within the Arctic polygonal tundra coastal region on the Barrow Environmental Observatory (BEO) and the North Slope near Utqiagvik (Barrow), Alaska and 2) multiple areas on the discontinuous permafrost region of the Seward Peninsula north of Nome, Alaska. Through observations, experiments, and synthesis with existing datasets, NGEE Arctic provided an enhanced knowledge base for multi-scale modeling and contributed to improved process representation at global pan-Arctic scales within the Department of Energy's Earth system Model (the Energy Exascale Earth System Model, or E3SM), and specifically within the E3SM Land Model component (ELM).

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Testing in Support of NASA Launch Vehicle Loads and Controls Analysis

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ares Projects Office (APO) is continuing to make progress toward the final design of the Ares I crew launch vehicle and Ares V cargo launch vehicle. Ares I and V will form the space launch capabilities necessary to fulfill NASA's exploration strategy of sending human beings to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. As with all new space vehicles there will be a number of tests to ensure the design can be Human Rated. One of these is the Integrated Vehicle Ground Vibration Test (IVGVT) that will be measuring responses of the Ares I as a system. All structural systems possess a basic set of physical characteristics unique to that system. These unique characteristics include items such as mass distribution, frequency and damping. When specified, they allow engineers to understand and predict how a structural system like the Ares I launch vehicle behaves under given loading conditions. These physical properties of launch vehicles may be predicted by analysis or measured through certain types of tests. Generally, these properties are predicted by analysis during the design phase of a launch vehicle and then verified through testing before the vehicle is Human Rated. The IVGVT is intended to measure by test the fundamental dynamic characteristics of Ares I during various phases of operational/flight. This testing includes excitations of the vehicle in lateral, longitudinal, and torsional directions at vehicle configurations representing different trajectory points. During the series of tests, properties such as natural frequencies, mode shapes, and transfer functions are measured directly. These data will then be used to calibrate loads and Guidance, Navigation, and Controls (GN&C) analysis models for verifying analyses of Ares I. NASA launch vehicles from Saturn to Shuttle have undergone Ground Vibration Tests (GVTs) leading to successful launch vehicles. A GVT was not performed on the unmanned Delta III. This vehicle was lost during launch. Subsequent analyses indicated that had a GVT been conducted on the vehicle, problems with vehicle modes and control may have been discovered and corrected, avoiding loss of the vehicle/mission. This paper will address GVT planning, set-up, conduction and analyses, for the Saturn and Shuttle programs, and also focus on the current and on-going planning for the Ares I and V IVGVT.

Tuma, Margaret L.↗

Case Study of Using Flocad to Model a Ground Test Station Ln2 Heat Exchanger

This paper presents a case study of using FLOCAD to model the heat transfer and boiling flow behavior of a Liquid Nitrogen (LN2) ground station equipment heat exchanger. The unique aspect of this work is that is one of very few studies documenting the use of FLOCAD in the spacecraft thermal control community. The results of the simulations described herein were used to guide and plan the execution of thermal vacuum testing spacecraft hardware using a ground test heat exchanger such as the one modeled herein. The paper will review the theory of two-phase boiling flow and correlations used by SINDA/FLUINT as well as the terminology and nomenclature used within Thermal Desktop / FLOCAD regarding two-phase boiling flow heat transfer modeling and simulation. Results for using the ground station heat exchanger as a heat sink in a thermal vacuum test set up are shown in order to demonstrate the set-up and execution of a typical FLOCAD model. Results indicate that properly modeling of the two-phase behavior is critical in order to ascertain the time constant associated with the heat exchanger, as well as understanding the temperature distribution across the test equipment and prediction of required LN2 flowrates to be used during testing. The paper is meant to augment the FLOCAD user’s manual and serve as a tutorial for thermal engineers and analysts wishing to learn and apply FLOCAD to industrial problems.

Anderson, Kevin R.↗

Boreal Winter Predictions with the GEOS-2 GCM: The Role of Boundary Forcing and Initial Conditions

Ensembles of atmospheric General Circulation Model (GCM) seasonal forecasts and long-term simulations (1980-94) are analyzed to assess the controlling influences of boundary forcing and memory of the initial conditions. Both the forecasts and simulations are carried out with version 2 of the Goddard Earth Observing System (GEOS-2) GCM forced with observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs). While much of the focus is on the seasonal time scale (January- March) and the Pacific North American (PNA) region, we also present results for other regions, shorter time scales, and other known modes of variability in the northern hemisphere extratropics. Forecasts of indices of some of the key large-scale modes of variability show that there is considerable variability in skill between different regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The eastern North Atlantic region has the poorest long lead forecast skill showing no skill beyond about 10 days. Skillful seasonal forecasts are primarily confined to the wave-like ENSO response emanating from the tropical Pacific. In the Northern Hemisphere, this is associated with the well-known Pacific/North American (PNA) pattern. Memory of the initial conditions is the major factor leading to skillful extratropical forecasts of lead time less than one month, while SST forcing is the only factor at the seasonal time scale. SST forcing contributes to skillful forecasts at sub- seasonal time scales only over the PNA region. The GEOS-2 GCM produces average (1980-94) signal to noise ratios which are less than one everywhere in the extratropics, except for the subtropical Pacific where they approach 1.5. When confined to the ENSO years, the maximum signal to noise ratios occur in the PNA region where they exceed three. An assessment of the sampling distribution of the forecasts suggests the model's ENSO response is very likely too weak. These results show some sensitivity to the uncertainties in the estimates of the SST forcing fields. In the North Pacific region, the sensitivity to SST forcing manifests itself primarily as changes in the variability of the PNA response, underscoring the need for an ensemble approach to the seasonal prediction problem.

Chang, Yehui↗

Coupled Monte Carlo Probability Density Function/ SPRAY/CFD Code Developed for Modeling Gas-Turbine Combustor Flows

The success of any solution methodology for studying gas-turbine combustor flows depends a great deal on how well it can model various complex, rate-controlling processes associated with turbulent transport, mixing, chemical kinetics, evaporation and spreading rates of the spray, convective and radiative heat transfer, and other phenomena. These phenomena often strongly interact with each other at disparate time and length scales. In particular, turbulence plays an important role in determining the rates of mass and heat transfer, chemical reactions, and evaporation in many practical combustion devices. Turbulence manifests its influence in a diffusion flame in several forms depending on how turbulence interacts with various flame scales. These forms range from the so-called wrinkled, or stretched, flamelets regime, to the distributed combustion regime. Conventional turbulence closure models have difficulty in treating highly nonlinear reaction rates. A solution procedure based on the joint composition probability density function (PDF) approach holds the promise of modeling various important combustion phenomena relevant to practical combustion devices such as extinction, blowoff limits, and emissions predictions because it can handle the nonlinear chemical reaction rates without any approximation. In this approach, mean and turbulence gas-phase velocity fields are determined from a standard turbulence model; the joint composition field of species and enthalpy are determined from the solution of a modeled PDF transport equation; and a Lagrangian-based dilute spray model is used for the liquid-phase representation with appropriate consideration of the exchanges of mass, momentum, and energy between the two phases. The PDF transport equation is solved by a Monte Carlo method, and existing state-of-the-art numerical representations are used to solve the mean gasphase velocity and turbulence fields together with the liquid-phase equations. The joint composition PDF approach was extended in our previous work to the study of compressible reacting flows. The application of this method to several supersonic diffusion flames associated with scramjet combustor flow fields provided favorable comparisons with the available experimental data. A further extension of this approach to spray flames, three-dimensional computations, and parallel computing was reported in a recent paper. The recently developed PDF/SPRAY/computational fluid dynamics (CFD) module combines the novelty of the joint composition PDF approach with the ability to run on parallel architectures. This algorithm was implemented on the NASA Lewis Research Center's Cray T3D, a massively parallel computer with an aggregate of 64 processor elements. The calculation procedure was applied to predict the flow properties of both open and confined swirl-stabilized spray flames.

Source record↗

Development of A Maximum Anti-Slosh Baffle Pressure Load Model

The sloshing of propellants can affect the stability of a spacecraft and the integrity of the tank structure. Undesirable sloshing can be controlled by the addition of anti-slosh baffles, and the spacing and configuration of baffles are driven by damping requirements. The structural design of the baffle is determined after consideration of many factors, such as the strength and rigidity needed to support the baffle for its lifetime. Therefore, knowledge of distributed pressure loading is important for detailed structural design. In addition, the resultant force and moment produced by the distributed pressure are of direct importance to the design of a vehicle’s control system. Previous experimental investigations have been conducted to determine the liquid pressure loads and slosh damping associated with a rigid ring baffle. The results suggested that when the nondimensional velocity parameter is larger than 1.0, the theories agree with the test. However, when the velocity parameter is less than 1.0, all theories are nonconservative and under-predict the pressure loads. The present study has derived a maximum pressure load on the slosh baffle based on the energy conservation principle. It is verified from CFD that pressure in the slosh flow field can be decomposed into static and transient components. The CFD results confirm that there is a phase shift in pressure across the baffle, which depends on the fluid damping. Higher damping leads to a higher phase shift. The CFD investigation further verifies the proposed theory: the maximum pressure load occurs when the phase shift is 90 degrees. A comparison of the present computational results to the previous comprehensive experimental data validates the maximum pressure theory. When the baffle is submerged, the maximum pressure theory envelopes all the experimental data points.

CFD↗

A Survey on Social Media to Enhance the Cyber-PhysicalSocial Resilience of Smart Grid

Smart sensor that enables power grid resiliency at distribution network is a very expensive solution and its implementation has been very sluggish. Social media has great potential to become an alternate abstract information channel that can replace/reinforce smart sensor capabilities towards a more resilient power grid. In this paper, we present a survey on the progress of utilizing social media as a platform to extract and analyse abstract data to produce intelligent information. This information can be utilized to plan and implement resources towards power grid resiliency from micro level (consumers) to macro level (cities/states). This paper discusses the reliability of social sensors, various concepts relating to social media and their implementation to solve problems, and how we can develop a framework based on the social media towards a resilient power grid. The realization of social media framework for information will benefit as robust communication and control channels that can be used together with prediction models to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of system operators' decision-making.

DISASTER RESPONSE, HASHTAGS, POWER GRID RESILIENCE↗

Equatorial Kelvin waves: A UARS MLS view

Data from the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) are used to compare two periods of Kelvin wave activity during different stages of the equatorial quasi-biennial oscillation. The analysis is carried out using an asynoptic mapping technique. A wide bandpass filter is used to isolate the frequency bands where Kelvin waves have been identified in previous studies. Time-height and time-latitude plots of the bandpassed data are used to identify Kelvin wave activity in the temperature and ozone fields. Frequency spectra of temperature and ozone amplitudes are constructed to further analyze the latitudinal and meridional distribution of Kelvin wave activity in zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2. The characteristics identified in these plots agree well with theoretical predictions and previous observations of middle atmosphere Kelvin waves. The time-height and time-latitude plots support the existence of Kelvin waves in discrete frequency bands; the slow, fast, and ultrafast Kelvin modes are all identified in the data. The characteristics of these modes do not vary much despite different mean flow conditions in the two periods examined. For the Kelvin wave-induced perturbations in ozone, the change from a transport-dominated regime below 10 hPa to a photochemically controlled regime above 10 hPa is clearly apparent in the height dependence of the phase difference between temperature and ozone. The ratios of the ozone perturbation amplitude to the temperature perturbation amplitude for the various observed Kelvin wave modes are in agreement with model estimates and LIMS (Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere) observations in the lower half of the region sampled but appear to be too large in the upper stratosphere and lower mesosphere.

Canziani, Pablo O.↗

Magnetization of the Lunar Crust

Magnetic fields measured by the satellite Lunar Prospector show large scale features resulting from remanently magnetized crust. Vector data synthesized at satellite altitude from a spherical harmonic model of the lunar crustal field, and the radial component of the magnetometer data, have been used to produce spatially continuous global magnetization models for the lunar crust. The magnetization is expressed in terms of localized basis functions, with a magnetization solution selected having the smallest root-mean square magnetization for a given fit to the data, controlled by a damping parameter. Suites of magnetization models for layers with thicknesses between 10 and 50 km are able to reproduce much of the input data, with global misfits of less than 0.5 nT (within the uncertainties of the data), and some surface field estimates. The magnetization distributions show robust magnitudes for a range of model thicknesses and damping parameters, however the magnetization direction is unconstrained. These global models suggest that magnetized sources of the lunar crust can be represented by a 30 km thick magnetized layer. Average magnetization values in magnetized regions are 30-40 mA/m, similar to the measured magnetizations of the Apollo samples and significantly weaker than crustal magnetizations for Mars and the Earth. These are the first global magnetization models for the Moon, providing lower bounds on the magnitude of lunar crustal magnetization in the absence of multiple sample returns, and can be used to predict the crustal contribution to the lunar magnetic field at a particular location.

Lunar↗

Large-Signal Impedance Modeling of Three-Phase Voltage Source Converters: Preprint

Resonance problems have become a major hurdle in the large-scale grid integration of renewable energy. It is important to be able to predict the amplitude of resonance-induced distortions for the protection and control design of power electronic converters. We recently presented an impedance-based approach for the prediction of resonance amplitude. It was shown that the impedance response of a converter starts changing with the amplitude of resonance; this blocks the amplitude growth beyond a certain point where the converter forms a limit cycle mode of sustained oscillations. The large-signal impedance of a converter captures the change in its impedance response with the resonance amplitude, and it can be used to predict the resonance amplitude under different operation conditions. This paper presents large-signal sequence impedance modeling for three-phase voltage source converters (VSC) with dq-current control and PLL. Modeling challenges encountered in the absence of the small-signal approximation are addressed by a) leveraging the dominating influence of hard non-linearities such as pulse-width modulation saturation and limiters over soft non-linearities in shaping the converter large-signal behavior and b) modeling the large-signal gain of hard non-linearities using appropriate describing functions. Developed large-signal impedance models are validated using numerical simulations. Measurements of the large-signal impedance responses of a commercial 1-MW VSC-based inverter are also presented to experimentally demonstrate the effects of the injected perturbation amplitude on impedance response as predicted by the developed model.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗