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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 847 records · Page 47
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Hardware-based Advanced Electromagnetic Transient Simulation for A Large-Scale PV Plant in Real Time Digital Simulator

Power electronics-based resources, such as high-voltage direct current (HVdc) substations, photovoltaic (PV) plants, wind plants, electric vehicle charging stations, and energy storage systems, are increasingly being integrated within the power grid. Recently, multiple reports have emphasized the necessity for high-fidelity electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations of these large-scale power electronics-based resources to accurately understand their behavior in power grids. However, performing hardware-based EMT simulations with high-fidelity models for such large power electronics systems is challenging due to the small time-step requirements and the involvement of a large number of states. This paper presents the implementation of hardware-based high-fidelity EMT dynamic model of a large-scale PV plant, accomplished through custom model development using the specific-C language in real-time digital simulator hardware (RTDS) and software (RSCAD).

Choi, Jongchan↗
DOE OSTI2018

Measuring Monodisperse Aerosol Transmission in the Los Alamos Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber

The transmission ratio of monodisperse aerosol (between 1 and 20 μm aerodynamic equivalent diameter) was measured in a modified configuration of the Los Alamos RRFMC (Respirable Release Fraction Measurement Chamber). The RRFMC is a newly built, 20- foot tall, airtight chamber for the drop testing of nuclear material storage containers. The RRFMC was integrated into an existing HEPA filtered wind tunnel system, and is capable of direct measurement of Airborne Release Fraction (ARF) and Respirable Release Fraction (RRF) for plutonium and uranium under various accident conditions. Cerium oxide powder is used as a surrogate for plutonium oxide. Real-time aerosol measurements for aerodynamic diameters from 0.5 to 20 μm are performed with a TSI Inc (Shoreview, MN) Model 3321 APS (Aerodynamic Particle Sizer) spectrometer.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN)

The national laboratories, directed by the U.S. Department of Energy Wind Energy Technologies Office, will organize, design, and execute a landmark international wake observation and validation campaign known as the American WAKE experimeNt or AWAKEN. This document describes the vision and purpose for AWAKEN and describes some of the organizational activities that have taken place to date. The driving need for this experimental campaign is that wake interactions are among the least understood physical phenomena in wind plants today, leading to unexpected power and financial losses. New observation data gathered will be used to further validate wind plant models and lead to both improved layout and more optimal operation of wind farms with greater power production and improved reliability, ultimately leading to lower wind energy costs. This campaign will occur in the U.S. Midwest, where the largest concentration of wind farms in the U.S. is located and where significant future growth is most likely. The field campaign will provide a data set that is unique among wake studies, based on location, scope, and observational fidelity: most wake studies have largely focused on offshore wind farms, which are not currently critical to the U.S. wind energy supply, and with a limited number of observations. While AWAKEN is focused on land-based wind farms in flat terrain, many of the observations will help researchers understand fundamental wake behavior applicable in both offshore and complex terrain environments.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Advanced Lightweight HiE PMDD Generator for WTGs

Preliminary designs of advanced lightweight permanent magnet direct drive generators for offshore and “tall wind” onshore applications utilizing funding from DOE/EERE/WETO were developed by WEG, RTX, NREL and supporting partners. This work significantly reduces tower head mass, increases efficiency, reduces the rare earth content of the generator, and leads to additional turbine system benefits that improve competitiveness, such as the use of taller towers onshore and less expensive foundations (“hull”) for floating offshore. The end result is an approximately 10% reduction of LCOE in both cases, which could significantly improve competitiveness and support the EERE/DOE goal of promoting US manufacturing.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Ringed Pole-on Outflow from DO Tauri Revealed by ALMA

We present new Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) Band 6 observations including the CO(2−1) line and 1.3 mm continuum emission from the surroundings of the young stellar object DO Tauri. The ALMA CO molecular data show three different series of rings at different radial velocities. These rings have radii around 220 and 800 au. We make individual fits to the rings and note that their centers are aligned with DO Tauri and its optical high-velocity jet. In addition, we notice that the velocity of these structures increases with the separation from the young star. We discuss the data under the hypothesis that the rings represent velocity cuts through three outflowing shells that are possibly driven by a wide-angle wind, dragging the environment material along a direction close to the line of sight (i = 19°). We estimate the dynamical ages, the mass, the momentum, and the energy of each individual outflow shell and those of the whole outflow. The results are in agreement with those found in outflows from Class II sources. We make a rough estimate for the size of the jet/wind launching region, which needs to be of ≲15 au. We report the physical characteristics of DO Tauri’s disk continuum emission (almost face-on and with a projected major axis in the north–south direction) and its velocity gradient orientation (north–south), indicative of disk rotation for a 1–2 M {sub ⊙} central star. Finally, we show a Hubble Space Telescope [S ii] image of the optical jet and report a measurement of its orientation in the plane of the sky.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Composites and additive manufacturing for high-field coil supports for stellarators

The utilization of composites layered on an additive manufactured substrate, for the production of coil supports for modular coils in small or middle size experimental stellarators is assessed. The focus of the study is a monolithic coil support comprising the coils of a half-period of a stellarator, somewhat similar to the ones in UST_2 and ARIES-CS stellarators. However, the concept may be applicable to quasi-monolithic coil supports (coil forms of NCSX type) or individual coil casings (W7-X type).Coil supports for stellarators require high precision, stiffness and strength for large contorted parts. Traditionally, monolithic coil supports are produced by steel casting/forging and final machining. This production method and material gives accurate, stiff and strong coil supports, but the method may be expensive for monolithic supports due to the geometrical complexity and required accuracy of the structure. In relation to those matters, this work investigates whether a monolithic coil support comprising an additive manufactured resin substrate, which is externally (outward from the coils) surrounded with a thick layer of fibre-reinforced resin, may achieve enough strength and stiffness under middle/high magnetic fields. Finite element calculations are produced to obtain the direction of the principal stresses and their values in compression and tension at different areas of the monolithic support, which is relevant for anisotropic materials. The feasibility of directional application of (carbon) fibres on the winding surface of the stellarator outward from the coils is experimentally tested on a scaled-down additively manufactured prototype of a monolithic support. The strength and stiffness of the composite structure appears sufficient for common magnetic fields in experimental stellarators, and the 3D-composite design and manufacturing was technically feasible.

Queral, Vicente↗
DOE OSTI2017

Development of a Wind Plant Large-Eddy Simulation with Measurement-Driven Atmospheric Inflow: Preprint

This paper details the development of an aeroelastic wind plant model with large-eddy simulation (LES). The chosen LES solver is the Simulator for Wind Farm Applications (SOWFA) based on the OpenFOAM framework, coupled to NREL's comprehensive aeroelastic analysis tool, FAST. An atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) precursor simulation was constructed based on assessments of meteorological tower, lidar, and radar data over a 3-hour window. This precursor was tuned to the specific atmospheric conditions that occurred both prior to and during the measurement campaign, enabling capture of a night-to-day transition in the turbulent ABL. In the absence of height-varying temperature measurements, spatially averaged radar data were sufficient to characterize the atmospheric stability of the wind plant in terms of the shear profile, and near-ground temperature sensors provided a reasonable estimate of the ground heating rate describing the morning transition. A full aeroelastic simulation was then performed for a subset of turbines within the wind plant, driven by the precursor. Analysis of two turbines within the array, one directly waked by the other, demonstrated good agreement with measured time-averaged loads.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

ESTABLISHING A STEREOSCOPIC TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING THE KINEMATIC PROPERTIES OF SOLAR WIND TRANSIENTS BASED ON A GENERALIZED SELF-SIMILARLY EXPANDING CIRCULAR GEOMETRY

The twin-spacecraft STEREO mission has enabled simultaneous white-light imaging of the solar corona and inner heliosphere from multiple vantage points. This has led to the development of numerous stereoscopic techniques to investigate the three-dimensional structure and kinematics of solar wind transients such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). Two such methods—triangulation and the tangent to a sphere—can be used to determine time profiles of the propagation direction and radial distance (and thereby radial speed) of a solar wind transient as it travels through the inner heliosphere, based on its time-elongation profile viewed by two observers. These techniques are founded on the assumption that the transient can be characterized as a point source (fixed φ, FP, approximation) or a circle attached to Sun-center (harmonic mean, HM, approximation), respectively. These geometries constitute extreme descriptions of solar wind transients, in terms of their cross-sectional extent. Here, we present the stereoscopic expressions necessary to derive propagation direction and radial distance/speed profiles of such transients based on the more generalized self-similar expansion (SSE) geometry, for which the FP and HM geometries form the limiting cases; our implementation of these equations is termed the stereoscopic SSE method. We apply the technique to two Earth-directed CMEs from different phases of the STEREO mission, the well-studied event of 2008 December and a more recent event from 2012 March. The latter CME was fast, with an initial speed exceeding 2000 km s{sup –1}, and highly geoeffective, in stark contrast to the slow and ineffectual 2008 December CME.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hybrid Energy-Powered Electrochemical Direct Ocean Capture Model

Offshore synthetic fuel production and marine carbon dioxide removal can be enabled by direct ocean capture, which extracts carbon dioxide from the ocean that then can be used as a feedstock for fuel production or sequestered underground. To maximize carbon capture, plants require a variety of low-carbon energy sources to operate, such as variable renewable energy. However, the impacts of variable power on direct ocean capture have not yet been thoroughly investigated. To facilitate future deployments, a generalizable model for electrodialysis-based direct ocean capture plants is created to evaluate plant performance and electricity costs under intermittent power availability. This open-source Python-based model captures key aspects of the electrochemistry, ocean chemistry, post-processing, and operation scenarios under various conditions. To incorporate realistic energy supply dynamics and cost estimates, the model is coupled with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s H2Integrate tool, which simulates hybrid energy system performance profiles and costs. This integrated framework is designed to provide system-level insights while maintaining computational efficiency and flexibility for scenario exploration. Initial evaluations show similar results to those predicted by the industry, and demonstrate how a given plant could function with variable power in different deployment locations, such as with wind energy off the coast of Texas and with wind and wave energy off the coast of Oregon. The results suggest that electrochemical systems with greater tolerances for power variability and low minimum power requirements may offer operational advantages in variable-energy contexts. However, further research is needed to quantify these benefits and evaluate their implications across different deployment scenarios.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2021

Wind plants can impact long-term local atmospheric conditions

Abstract Long-term weather and climate observatories can be affected by the changing environments in their vicinity, such as the growth of urban areas or changing vegetation. Wind plants can also impact local atmospheric conditions through their wakes, characterized by reduced wind speed and increased turbulence. We explore the extent to which the wind plants near an atmospheric measurement site in the central United States have affected their long-term measurements. Both direct observations and mesoscale numerical weather prediction simulations demonstrate how the wind plants induce a wind deficit aloft, especially in stable conditions, and a wind speed acceleration near the surface, which extend $$\sim 30$$ ∼ 30 km downwind of the wind plant. Turbulence kinetic energy is significantly enhanced within the wind plant wake in stable conditions, with near-surface observations seeing an increase of more than 30% a few kilometers downwind of the plants.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2014

SN 2008D: A WOLF-RAYET EXPLOSION THROUGH A THICK WIND

Supernova (SN) 2008D/XRT 080109 is considered to be the only direct detection of a shock breakout from a regular SN to date. While a breakout interpretation was favored by several papers, inconsistencies remain between the observations and current SN shock breakout theory. Most notably, the duration of the luminous X-ray pulse is considerably longer than expected for a spherical breakout through the surface of a type Ibc SN progenitor, and the X-ray radiation features, mainly its flat spectrum and its luminosity evolution, are enigmatic. We apply a recently developed theoretical model for the observed radiation from a Wolf-Rayet SN exploding through a thick wind and show that it naturally explains all of the observed features of SN 2008D X-ray emission, including the energetics, the spectrum, and the detailed luminosity evolution. We find that the inferred progenitor and SN parameters are typical for an exploding Wolf-Rayet. A comparison of the wind density found at the breakout radius and the density at much larger radii, as inferred by late radio observations, suggests an enhanced mass-loss rate taking effect about 10 days prior to the SN explosion. This finding joins accumulating evidence for a possible late phase in the stellar evolution of massive stars, involving vigorous mass loss a short time before the SN explosion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Anisotropy of third-order structure functions in MHD turbulence

The measure of the third-order structure function, Y, is employed in the solar wind to compute the cascade rate of turbulence. In the absence of a mean field B{sub 0}=0, Y is expected to be isotropic (radial) and independent of the direction of increments, so its measure yields directly the cascade rate. For turbulence with mean field, as in the solar wind, Y is expected to become more two-dimensional (2D), that is, to have larger perpendicular components, losing the above simple symmetry. To get the cascade rate, one should compute the flux of Y, which is not feasible with single-spacecraft data; thus, measurements rely on assumptions about the unknown symmetry. We use direct numerical simulations (DNSs) of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence to characterize the anisotropy of Y. We find that for strong guide field B{sub 0}=5 the degree of two-dimensionalization depends on the relative importance of shear-Alfvén and pseudo-Alfvén polarizations (the two components of an Alfvén mode in incompressible MHD). The anisotropy also shows up in the inertial range. The more Y is 2D, the more the inertial range extent differs along parallel and perpendicular directions. We finally test the two methods employed in observations and find that the so-obtained cascade rate may depend on the angle between B{sub 0} and the direction of increments. Both methods yield a vanishing cascade rate along the parallel direction, contrary to observations, suggesting a weaker anisotropy of solar wind turbulence compared to our DNSs. This could be due to a weaker mean field and/or to solar wind expansion.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Imprint of the Sun’s Evolving Polar Winds on IBEX Energetic Neutral Atom All-sky Observations of the Heliosphere

With 7 years of Interstellar Boundary Explorer ( IBEX ) measurements of energetic neutral atoms (ENAs), IBEX has shown a clear correlation between dynamic changes in the solar wind and the heliosphere’s response in the formation of ENAs. In this paper, we investigate temporal variations in the latitudinal-dependent ENA spectrum from IBEX and their relationship to the solar wind speed observed at 1 au. We find that the variation in latitude of the transition in ENA spectral indices between low (≲1.8) and high (≳1.8) values, as well as the distribution of ENA spectral indices at high and low latitudes, correlates well with the evolution of the fast and slow solar wind latitudinal structure observed near 1 au. This correlation includes a delay due to the time it takes the solar wind to propagate to the termination shock and into the inner heliosheath, and for ENAs to be generated via charge-exchange and travel back toward 1 au. Moreover, we observe a temporal asymmetry in the steepening of the ENA spectrum in the northern and southern hemispheres, consistent with asymmetries observed in the solar wind and polar coronal holes. While this asymmetry is observed near the upwind direction of the heliosphere, it is not yet observed in the tail direction, suggesting a longer line-of-sight integration distance or different processing of the solar wind plasma downstream of the termination shock.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Toward Development of a Stochastic Wake Model: Validation Using LES and Turbine Loads

Wind turbines within an array do not experience free-stream undisturbed flow fields. Rather, the flow fields on internal turbines are influenced by wakes generated by upwind unit and exhibit different dynamic characteristics relative to the free stream. The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standard 61400-1 for the design of wind turbines only considers a deterministic wake model for the design of a wind plant. This study is focused on the development of a stochastic model for waked wind fields. First, high-fidelity physics-based waked wind velocity fields are generated using Large-Eddy Simulation (LES). Stochastic characteristics of these LES waked wind velocity field, including mean and turbulence components, are analyzed. Wake-related mean and turbulence field-related parameters are then estimated for use with a stochastic model, using Multivariate Multiple Linear Regression (MMLR) with the LES data. To validate the simulated wind fields based on the stochastic model, wind turbine tower and blade loads are generated using aeroelastic simulation for utility-scale wind turbine models and compared with those based directly on the LES inflow. The study’s overall objective is to offer efficient and validated stochastic approaches that are computationally tractable for assessing the performance and loads of turbines operating in wakes.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2019

KCMP Minnesota Tall Tower Ammonia Observations and Emission Estimates Dataset 2017-2018

This data set contains NH3 mixing ratios, net ecosystem NH3 exchange, and supporting information measured at a tall tower (KCMP, 244 meter) site near St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. The data include NH3 and H2O mixing ratios measured at the 100 meter level, as well as NH3 mixing ratio measured at the 56 meter level. Wind data was measured using a sonic anemometer at the 185 meter level. Also included in this data set are values of wet N and NH3 deposition from 2016 - 2018. This data was collected to improve understanding of the ammonia and reactive nitrogen budget for the region.Ammonia mixing ratios were filtered for periods when the NH3 analyzer measured anomalous (i.e. 10 mmol mol-1) water vapor mixing ratios based on comparison with the IRGA (LI7000). Further, we filtered out NH3 observations obtained during strongly condensing conditions. These periods were identified when the water vapor mixing ratio differences between the 100 m and 56 m levels were more negative than -0.5 mmol mol-1 (i.e. when the water vapor gradient was strong and directed toward the land surface). Finally, we filtered out NH3 fluxes when the atmosphere was strongly stable (i.e. when (z-d)/L exceeded a value of +4.5) and subject to decoupling from the surface fluxes. Approximately 35.1% of the hourly flux data were either missing due to instrument failure or filtered according to the above quality control procedures.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

JHTDB-wind: a web-accessible large-eddy simulation database of a wind farm with virtual sensor querying

This paper introduces JHTDB-wind (https://turbulence.idies.jhu.edu/datasets/windfarms, last access: 11 November 2025), a publicly accessible database containing large-eddy simulation (LES) data from wind farms. Building on the framework of the Johns Hopkins Turbulence Database (JHTDB), which hosts direct numerical simulation (DNS) and some LES datasets of canonical turbulent flows, JHTDB-wind stores the 4D space–time history of the flow and provides users the ability to access and query the data via a web-based virtual sensor interface. The initial dataset comprises LES results from a large wind farm with 10×6 turbines, modeled using a filtered actuator line method, under conventionally neutral atmospheric conditions. These data comprise 1 h (hour) of flow field data (velocity, pressure, potential temperature deviation, subgrid-scale (SGS) eddy viscosity, and turbine forces, approximately 15 TB (terabytes) and wind turbine data – including both turbine-level operational quantities and blade-level aerodynamic quantities (approximately 1.3 TB) – stored in Zarr and Parquet formats, respectively. Data retrieval is facilitated by the giverny Python package, allowing remote users to query the database in Python or MATLAB (C and Fortran support are available for flow field data). This paper details the simulation setup and demonstrates data access through examples that analyze wind farm flow structures and turbine performance. The framework is extensible to future datasets, including the JHTDB-wind diurnal cycle simulation analyzed in Xiao et al. (2025).

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

LOCAL INTERSTELLAR HYDROGEN'S DISAPPEARANCE AT 1 AU: FOUR YEARS OF IBEX IN THE RISING SOLAR CYCLE

NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer (IBEX) mission has recently opened a new window on the interstellar medium (ISM) by imaging neutral atoms. One ''bright'' feature in the sky is the interstellar wind flowing into the solar system. Composed of remnants of stellar explosions as well as primordial gas and plasma, the ISM is by no means uniform. The interaction of the local ISM with the solar wind shapes our heliospheric environment with hydrogen being the dominant component of the very local ISM. In this paper, we report on direct sampling of the neutral hydrogen of the local ISM over four years of IBEX observations. The hydrogen wind observed at 1 AU has decreased and nearly disappeared as the solar activity has increased over the last four years; the signal at 1 AU has dropped off in 2012 by a factor of {approx}8 to near background levels. The longitudinal offset has also increased with time presumably due to greater radiation pressure deflecting the interstellar wind. We present longitudinal and latitudinal arrival direction measurements of the bulk flow as measured over four years beginning at near solar minimum conditions. The H distribution we observe at 1 AU is expected to be different from that outside the heliopause due to ionization, photon pressure, gravity, and filtration by interactions with heliospheric plasma populations. These observations provide an important benchmark for modeling of the global heliospheric interaction. Based on these observations we suggest a further course of scientific action to observe neutral hydrogen over a full solar cycle with IBEX.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Direct cross-section measurement of the weak r -process Sr 88 ( α , n ) Zr 91 reaction in ν -driven winds of core-collapse supernovae

About half of the heavy elements beyond iron are known to be produced by the rapid neutron capture process, known as the r process. However, the astrophysical site producing the r process is still uncertain. Chemical abundances observed in several cosmic sites indicate that different mechanisms should be at play. For instance, the abundances around silver measured in a subset of metal-poor stars indicate the presence of a weak r process. This process may be active in neutrino-driven winds of core collapse supernovae where (α,n) reactions dominate the synthesis of Ζ ≈ 40 elements in the expelled materials. Scarcely measured, the rates of (α,n) reactions are determined from statistical Hauser-Feshbach calculations with α-optical-model potentials, which are still poorly constrained. Further, the uncertainties of the (α,n) reaction rates therefore make a significant contribution to the uncertainties of the abundances determined from stellar modeling. In this work, the 88 Sr (α,n)⁢ 91 Zr reaction which impacts the weak r-process abundances has been probed at astrophysics energy for the first time; directly measuring the total cross sections at astrophysical energies of 8.37–13.09 MeV in the center of mass (3.8–7.5 GK). Two measurements were performed at ATLAS with the electrically segmented ionization chamber MUSIC, in inverse kinematics, while following the active target technique. The cross sections of this α-induced reaction on 88 Sr, located at the shell closure N = 50, have been found to be lower than expected, by a factor of 3, despite recent statistical calculations validated by measurements on neighboring nuclei. This result encourages more experimental investigations of (α,n) reactions, at Ν = 50 and towards the neutron-rich side, to further test the predictive power and reliability of such calculations.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗