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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 829 records · Page 46

Performance assessment of a real water source heat pump within a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing environment

Over the last decade, the global fight against climate change through electrification has led to an increase in research on building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that utilize intelligent control algorithms to provide demand-side grid service while also maintaining the thermal comfort of building occupants. As the pivotal point between building electricity consumption and indoor thermal comfort, high-efficiency electrical vapor-compression heat pumps are at the center of these emerging studies, and various grid-interactive and occupant-comfort control algorithms have been developed for them. The impact of these algorithms on heat pump operation and performance when subjected to different weather conditions, building loads, and grid requests calls for investigation and verification via experimental testing with actual heat pumps integrated with real-time building and grid responses. This study introduces a Water-Source Heat Pump (WSHP) Hardware-in-The-Loop (HIL) Test Facility that is the first of its kind. This testbed utilizes a 2-ton variable speed water-to-air heat pump that is capable of interacting with a virtual environment currently comprised of an EnergyPlus (E+) building simulation, an agent-based occupant behavioral model, and a single U-tube ground-loop heat exchanger (GLHE) model. Detailed descriptions of the testbed’s physical design and operation, virtual environment, as well as their mutual communication is provided. An uncertainty analysis is also performed under manufacturer specified heating and cooling design conditions. This analysis shows that the total load across the WSHP’s demand side heat exchanger, i.e., the sum of its latent and sensible components, can be measured with a relative uncertainty of ± 10.4% and ± 3.6% in cooling and heating mode respectively. The WSHP’s coefficient of performance (COP) can be measured with relative uncertainties of ± 10.4% in cooling mode, and ± 3.7% in heating mode. A preliminary 24-h experimental demonstration is then performed utilizing the DOE prototype small commercial office building model in E+. The simulation takes place in Atlanta, GA on the date of 08/26/15 from 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM using TMY3 weather data. Here, the results from this demonstration show that over the course of this experiment the simulated outputs of zone dry-bulb temperature, zone humidity ratio, and WSHP inlet water temperature can be tracked by testbed emulators up to a root mean squared error (RMSE) of ± 0.27 °C, ± 0.376 g/kg, and ± 0.85 °C respectively. The WSHP’s dynamic behavioral characteristics and performance are also captured, and correspond well with the authors’ previous understanding of heat pump efficiency as a function of evaporator and condenser fluid inlet conditions respectively.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Development and experimental evaluation of the techniques for automated measurement of birefringence

The general design and principle of operation of the spectral contents analysis (SCA) system, a newly developed system for the automated measurement of birefringence, are described. Several approaches that have been tested for the evaluation of birefringence using the SCA are then discussed; these include the error-summation approach, the Newton-Raphson approach, and the data base approach. Of these, the error-summation technique is found to be the most effective and accurate for extracting the value of retardation from the acquired spectral contents.

Voloshin, Arkady S.↗

Utilization of STRAT Data

One of the goals of the STRAT mission was to improve our understanding of transport in the stratosphere. We have used our coupled 2-D model to analyse transport between the tropics and midlatitudes using aircraft measurements of (CO2) and (N2O) made during the SPADE and ASHOE/MAESA campaigns (Boering et al. 1994) for model validation. We have further used the model to estimate errors in the experimental determination of the age of stratospheric air that arise from nonlinear increases of real tracers such as (CO2) and (SF6). The interpretation of measurements made during STRAT is still in progress. Most of the work performed under this contract has been described in the second year progress report, submitted in April of 1996. In the following, the research is summarized and some additional work that has become relevant in the meantime is described. We have developed an interactive model of the dynamics, chemistry and radiation of the stratosphere with partial support from this contract. The dynamics module integrates the primitive equations on a sphere. Lower boundary zonal winds and eddy geopotential heights are specified from observations. Chemistry and tracer transport are done in two dimensions. The chemistry model is a family model. Long lived species are transported and short lived species are determined in intervals of 5 to 10 days by assuming photochemical steady state. Full diurnal integrations with the fast species are performed periodically and diurnal coefficients, derived from the explicit integration are used to determine the steady state solution. Heating rates in the stratosphere are calculated from model ozone and the model temperatures and circulation fields are used in the chemistry transport module.

Source record↗

Flavor dependence of unpolarized quark transverse momentum distributions from a global fit

We present an extraction of the unpolarized transverse-momentum-dependent parton distribution and fragmentation functions that takes into account possible differences between quark flavors and final-state hadrons. The extraction is based on experimental measurements from Drell-Yan processes and semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering, whose combination is essential to distinguish flavor differences. The analysis is carried out at N 3 LL accuracy. The extracted flavor-dependent distributions give a very good description of the data (χ 2 /N dat = 1.08). The resulting error bands take fully into account also the uncertainties in the determination of the corresponding collinear distributions.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Validation Analysis of Medium-Scale Methanol Pool Fire Simulated in SIERRA/Fuego [Slides]

Analysis of methanol pool fire conducted as part of validation study for SIERRA/Fuego. Results showed trends & errors consistent with related studies. Area validation metric provides way to quantify model form uncertainty. AVM shows that more work could be done to understand how model form uncertainty varies with mesh resolution. There is a possible atypical use of MAVM on time-series data. AVM shows mismatch between predicted flame height and experimental value less sensitive to variations in mixture fraction than temperature. Mismatch about experimental value also more symmetric for mixture fraction. Our analysis showed that mixture fraction is preferable for this application.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

QES-Plume v1.0: a Lagrangian dispersion model

Low-cost simulations providing accurate predictions of transport of airborne material in urban areas, vegetative canopies, and complex terrain are demanding because of the small-scale heterogeneity of the features influencing the mean flow and turbulence fields. Common models used to predict turbulent transport of passive scalars are based on the Lagrangian stochastic dispersion model. The Quick Environmental Simulation (QES) tool is a low-computational-cost framework developed to provide high-resolution wind and concentration fields in a variety of complex atmospheric-boundary-layer environments. Part of the framework, QES-Plume, is a Lagrangian dispersion code that uses a time-implicit integration scheme to solve the generalized Langevin equations which require mean flow and turbulence fields. Here, QES-Plume is driven by QES-Winds, a 3D fast-response model that computes mass-consistent wind fields around buildings, vegetation, and hills using empirical parameterizations, and QES-Turb, a local-mixing-length turbulence model. In this paper, the particle dispersion model is presented and validated against analytical solutions to examine QES-Plume’s performance under idealized conditions. In particular, QES-Plume is evaluated against a classical Gaussian plume model for an elevated continuous point-source release in uniform flow, the Lagrangian scaling of dispersion in isotropic turbulence, and a non-Gaussian plume model for an elevated continuous point-source release in a power-law boundary-layer flow. In these cases, QES-Plume yields a maximum relative error below 6 % when compared with analytical solutions. In addition, the model is tested against wind-tunnel data for a uniform array of cubical buildings. QES-Plume exhibits good agreement with the experiment with 99 % of matched zeros and 59 % of the predicted concentrations falling within a factor of 2 of the experimental concentrations. Furthermore, results also emphasize the importance of using high-quality turbulence models for particle dispersion in complex environments. Finally, QES-Plume demonstrates excellent computational performance.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

A collection of articles on S/X-band experiment zero delay ranging tests, volume 1

Articles are presented which are concerned with the development of special test equipment and a dual-frequency zero delay device (ZDD) that were required for range tests and the measurement of ground station delays for the Mariner-Venus-Mercury 1973 S/X-band experiment. Test data obtained at DSS 14 after installation of the ZDD on the 64-m antenna are given. It is shown that large variations of range were observed as a function of antenna elevation angle and were sensitive to antenna location. A ranging calibration configuration that was subsequently developed and a technique for determining the appropriate Z-correction are described. Zero delay test data at DSS 14 during the Mariner 10 Venus-Mercury-Encounter periods (1974 days 12-150) are presented. The theoretical analysis and experimental verifications are included of the effects of multipath and effects of discontinuities on range delay measurements. A movable subreflector technique and the multipath theory were used to isolate principal multipath errors on the 64-m antenna and to enable a more accurate determination of the actual ground station range delay.

Otoshi, T. Y.↗

Holographic flow visualization of time-varying shock waves

Rapid-double-exposure, diffuse-illumination holography is evaluated analytically and experimentally as a flow visualization method for time-varying shock waves. Conditions are determined that minimize the distance (localization error) between the surface or curve of interference-fringe localization and the shock surface. Treated specifically are the cases of shock waves in a transonic compressor rotor for which there is laser anemometer data for comparison and shock waves in a flutter cascade.

Decker, A. J.↗

Automation of Command and Data Entry in a Glovebox Work Volume: An Evaluation of Data Entry Devices

The present study was designed to examine the human-computer interface for data entry while performing experimental procedures within a glovebox work volume in order to make a recommendation to the Space Station Biological Research Project for a data entry system to be used within the Life Sciences Glovebox. Test subjects entered data using either a manual keypad, similar to a standard computer numerical keypad located within the glovebox work volume, or a voice input system using a speech recognition program with a microphone headset. Numerical input and commands were programmed in an identical manner between the two systems. With both electronic systems, a small trackball was available within the work volume for cursor control. Data, such as sample vial identification numbers, sample tissue weights, and health check parameters of the specimen, were entered directly into procedures that were electronically displayed on a video monitor within the glovebox. A pen and paper system with a 'flip-chart' format for procedure display, similar to that currently in use on the Space Shuttle, was used as a baseline data entry condition. Procedures were performed by a single operator; eight test subjects were used in the study. The electronic systems were tested under both a 'nominal' or 'anomalous' condition. The anomalous condition was introduced into the experimental procedure to increase the probability of finding limitations or problems with human interactions with the electronic systems. Each subject performed five test runs during a test day: two procedures each with voice and keypad, one with and one without anomalies, and one pen and paper procedure. The data collected were both quantitative (times, errors) and qualitative (subjective ratings of the subjects).

Steele, Marianne K.↗

Assessment of the time constant of relaxation: insights from simulations and hemodynamic measurements

The objective of this study was to use high-fidelity animal data and numerical simulations to gain more insight into the reliability of the estimated relaxation constant derived from left ventricular pressure decays, assuming a monoexponential model with either a fixed zero or free moving pressure asymptote. Comparison of the experimental data with the results of the simulations demonstrated a trade off between the fixed zero and the free moving asymptote approach. The latter method more closely fits the pressure curves and has the advantage of producing an extra coefficient with potential diagnostic information. On the other hand, this method suffers from larger standard errors on the estimated coefficients. The method with fixed zero asymptote produces values of the time constant of isovolumetric relaxation (tau) within a narrow confidence interval. However, if the pressure curve is actually decaying to a nonzero pressure asymptote, this method results in an inferior fit of the pressure curve and a biased estimation of tau.

NASA Discipline Cardiopulmonary↗

Reannealed Fiber Bragg Gratings Demonstrated High Repeatability in Temperature Measurements

Fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) are formed by periodic variations of the refractive index of an optical fiber. These periodic variations allow an FBG to act as an embedded optical filter, passing the majority of light propagating through a fiber while reflecting back a narrow band of the incident light. The peak reflected wavelength of the FBG is known as the Bragg wavelength. Since the period and width of the refractive index variation in the fiber determines the wavelengths that are transmitted and reflected by the grating, any force acting on the fiber that alters the physical structure of the grating will change the wavelengths that are transmitted and reflected by it. Both thermal and mechanical forces acting on the grating will alter its physical characteristics, allowing the FBG sensor to detect both the temperature variations and the physical stresses and strains placed upon it. This ability to sense multiple physical forces makes the FBG a versatile sensor. To assess the feasibility of using Bragg gratings as temperature sensors for propulsion applications, researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center evaluated the performance of Bragg gratings at elevated temperatures for up to 300 C. For these purposes, commercially available polyimide-coated high-temperature gratings were used that were annealed by the manufacturer to 300 C. To assure the most thermally stable gratings at the operating temperatures, we reannealed the gratings to 400 C at a very slow rate for 12 to 24 hr until their reflected optical powers were stabilized. The reannealed gratings were then subjected to periodic thermal cycling from room temperature to 300 C, and their peak reflected wavelengths were monitored. The setup shown is used for reannealing and thermal cycling the FBGs. Signals from the photodetectors and the spectrum analyzer were fed into a computer equipped with LabVIEW software. The software synchronously monitored the oven/furnace temperature and the optical spectrum analyzer as well as processed the data. Experimental results presented in the following graph show typical wavelength versus temperature dependence of a reannealed FBG through six thermal cycles (80 hr). The average standard deviation of the temperature-to-wavelength relationship ranged from 1.86 to 2.92 C over the six thermal cycles each grating was subjected to. This is an error of less than 1.0 percent of full scale throughout the entire evaluation temperature range from ambient to 300 C.

Adamovsky, Grigory↗

Sensing Small Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles with Distributed Radars for Advanced Air Mobility Surveillance

In the context of Advanced and Urban Air Mobility major attention is being reserved to the development of sensing strategies for small Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (sUAVs) to enable their safe operations in and around urban areas. Such strategies should rely on non-cooperative distributed sensors to strengthen the surveillance solution towards the unreliability of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) positioning information, which is typical for low-altitude-flying platforms in urban regions, and increase the monitored airspace volume. To this aim, this paper proposes a fusion solution for a network of distributed ground-based radars, which can be exploited to not only increase the coverage over large airspace volumes but also improve the overall detectability and traceability of sUAVs by leveraging on multiple views over the same area. The solution exploits a centralized fusion scheme in which measurements collected by each radar are shared with a Fusion Center where Kalman Filtering is exploited to build a unique, fused track. Tests conducted on experimental data collected using two sUAVs as flying targets and three distributed radars showed that the proposed solution can produce an increase in coverage from about 20 % (single radar configuration) to about 80 % of the targets’ flight path, as well as a finer accuracy yielding meter and meter-per-second root mean square error values on position and velocity components.

Federica Vitiello↗

The interior structure of Jupiter (Consequences of Pioneer 10 data)

Models of the Jovian interiors based on theoretical equations of state of hydrogen and helium supported by a few experimental points and on observed parameters such as oblateness, gravitational coefficients, heat emission, magnetic fields, are discussed. The models fall into three categories: (1) those that assume a uniform and rather low H2/He ratio throughout the planet; (2) those in which this ratio is solar and thus higher; and (3) those that take into account the lack of complete miscibility of the two elements in the condensed state. It appears now also that within the limits of error the planet is in a hydrostatic equilibrium. The large heat emission and the need for an efficient source of internal heat are confirmed, but the results do not indicate which one of the various possible mechanisms is favored, although new evolutionary models suggest that the primordial heat may be insufficient. A new red spot has been discovered. Finally, the presence of a highly eccentric and inclined magnetic field poses new problems related to the pattern of internal convection and to the possibility of a north-south asymmetry of the interior. Further analysis of the available data may throw additional light on these questions.

Smoluchowski, R.↗

Quadrature Based Neural Network Learning of Stochastic Hamiltonian Systems

Hamiltonian Neural Networks (HNNs) provide structure-preserving learning of Hamiltonian systems. In this paper, we extend HNNs to structure-preserving inversion of stochastic Hamiltonian systems (SHSs) from observational data. We propose the quadrature-based models according to the integral form of the SHSs’ solutions, where we denoise the loss-by-moment calculations of the solutions. The integral pattern of the models transforms the source of the essential learning error from the discrepancy between the modified Hamiltonian and the true Hamiltonian in the classical HNN models into that between the integrals and their quadrature approximations. This transforms the challenging task of deriving the relation between the modified and the true Hamiltonians from the (stochastic) Hamilton–Jacobi PDEs, into the one that only requires invoking results from the numerical quadrature theory. Meanwhile, denoising via moments calculations gives a simpler data fitting method than, e.g., via probability density fitting, which may imply better generalization ability in certain circumstances. Numerical experiments validate the proposed learning strategy on several concrete Hamiltonian systems. The experimental results show that both the learned Hamiltonian function and the predicted solution of our quadrature-based model are more accurate than that of the corrected symplectic HNN method on a harmonic oscillator, and the three-point Gaussian quadrature-based model produces higher accuracy in long-time prediction than the Kramers–Moyal method and the numerics-informed likelihood method on the stochastic Kubo oscillator as well as other two stochastic systems with non-polynomial Hamiltonian functions. Moreover, the Hamiltonian learning error εH arising from the Gaussian quadrature-based model is lower than that from Simpson’s quadrature-based model. These demonstrate the superiority of our approach in learning accuracy and long-time prediction ability compared to certain existing methods and exhibit its potential to improve learning accuracy via applying precise quadrature formulae.

Mathematics↗

Identification of the Liquid Argon Scattering Experimental Discrepancies Using Simulation

Scintillation light analysis in liquid argon based neutrino detectors is restrained in capability due to uncertainty in fundamental constants critical to the analysis process. One such property is the Rayleigh scattering length of liquid argon. In the fall of 2023, the TallBo cryostat, located in the Proton Assembly Building at Fermilab, was used to study the scattering length of liquid argon in the Liquid Argon Scattering (LArS) experiment. Due to systematic errors unknown during measurement analysis, LArS’s measurements were quite uncertain. By simulating the LArS experiment, we found that the downturn in detector count rate as a function of liquid argon height at low heights was caused by a misplaced photo multiplier. With concentrated effort, we may be able to successfully correct this effect by understanding the relationship between the specified Rayleigh scattering length and the measured attenuation length. With this information and further progression in analysis, we may be able to extract corrected measurements from the LArS data and attain a tangible experimental measurement of the scattering length of liquid argon.

Breaux, Auto D. [Tulane U.; Fermilab]↗

Data management for support of the Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research (OTTER) project

Management of data collected during projects that involve large numbers of scientists is an often overlooked aspect of the experimental plan. Ecosystem science projects like the Oregon Transect Ecosystem Research (OTTER) Project that involve many investigators from many institutions and that run for multiple years, collect and archive large amounts of data. These data range in size from a few kilobytes of information for such measurements as canopy chemistry and meteorological variables, to hundreds of megabytes of information for such items as views from multi-band spectrometers flown on aircraft and scenes from imaging radiometers aboard satellites. Organizing and storing data from the OTTER Project, certifying those data, correcting errors in data sets, validating the data, and distributing those data to other OTTER investigators is a major undertaking. Using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Pilot Land Data System (PLDS), a Support mechanism was established for the OTTER Project which accomplished all of the above. At the onset of the interaction between PLDS and OTTER, it was not certain that PLDS could accomplish these tasks in a manner that would aid researchers in the OTTER Project. This paper documents the data types that were collected under the auspices of the OTTER Project and the procedures implemented to store, catalog, validate, and certify those data. The issues of the compliance of investigators with data-management requirements, data use and certification, and the ease of retrieving data are discussed. We advance the hypothesis that formal data management is necessary in ecological investigations involving multiple investigators using many data gathering instruments and experimental procedures. The issues and experience gained in this exercise give an indication of the needs for data management systems that must be addressed in the coming decades when other large data-gathering endeavors are undertaken by the ecological science community.

Skiles, J. W.↗

Geostatistical evaluation of satellite radar altimetry for high-resolution mapping of Lambert Glacier, Antarctica

The potential of satellite radar altimetry for high-resolution mapping of Antarctic ice streams is evaluated, using retracked and slope-corrected data from the Lambert Glacier and Amery Ice Shelf area, East Antarctica, acquired by Geosat during the Exact Repeat Mission (ERM), 1986-89. The map area includes lower Lambert Glacier north of 72.18 deg S, the southern Amery Ice Shelf, and the grounded inland ice sheet on both sides. The Geosat ERM altimetry is found to provide substantially more complete coverage than the 1978 Seasat altimetry, due to improved tracking. Variogram methods are used to estimate the noise levels in the data as a function of position throughout the map area. The spatial structure in the data is quantified by constructing experimental variograms using altimetry from the area of the grounding zone of Lambert Glacier, which is the area chiefly of interest in this topographically complex region. Kriging is employed to invert the along-track height measurements onto a fine-scale 3 km grid. The unsmoothed along-track Geosat ERM altimetry yields spatially continuous maps showing the main topographic features of lower Lambert Glacier, upper Amery Ice Shelf and the adjacent inland ice sheet. The probable position of the grounding line of Lambert Glacier is identified from a break in slope at the grounded ice/floating ice transition. The approximate standard error of the kriged map is inferred from the data noise levels.

Herzfeld, Ute C.↗

Multimodal sensor fusion framework for residential building occupancy detection

For several years now, smart building energy systems have been a research area of intensive activity. In light of the increasing need for sustainable buildings and energy systems, this trend motivates an increasing need for a solution to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and improve energy efficiency. This work proposes a high-performing and transferable occupancy detection framework that combines sensor data from different data modalities, including time series environmental data (temperature, humidity, and illuminance), image data, and acoustic energy data using ensemble method. To draw out the best prediction performance in each modality, the proposed framework was developed, including various models that were designed to learn the occupancy patterns reflected in the physical data streams. To tackle the time series environmental data, we designed two variants of an occupancy detection spatiotemporal pattern network (Occ-STPN) that performs both feature level and decision level fusion, respectively. We also propose a new metric; the fading memory mean square error (FMMSE), that provides a fair evaluation and penalization of delayed occupancy predictions. Multiple open-sourced datasets, including the Electricity Consumption and Occupancy and the University of California, Irvine's (UCI) building occupancy detection dataset, along with our own real data collected from six different houses, were used to validate the algorithms' performance. The experimental results presented herein break down the performance for each sensing modality, and a detailed analysis of the performance is also discussed.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗