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At least 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Dynamic Thermal Performance Analysis of PCM Products Used for Energy Efficiency and Internal Climate Control in Buildings

PCMs are attractive for the future generation of buildings, where energy efficiency targets and thermal comfort expectations are increasingly prioritized. Experimental analysis of local thermal processes in these dynamic components and whole-building energy consumption predictions are essential for the proper implementation of PCMs in buildings. This paper discusses the experimental analysis of the thermophysical characteristics of both a latent heat storage material (PCM) and a product containing this PCM. The prototype product under investigation is a panelized PCM technology containing inorganic, salt-hydrate-based PCM. The thermal analysis includes studies of melting and freezing temperatures, enthalpy changes during phase change processes, nucleation intensity, sub-cooling effects, and PCM stability. The PCM’s stability is also investigated, as is the ability of PCM products to control local temperatures and peak load transmission times. Two inorganic PCM formulations based on calcium chloride hexahydrate (CaCl 2 .6H 2 O) were prepared and tested in laboratory conditions. Material-scale testing results were compared with outcomes from the system-scale analysis, using both laboratory test methods as well as field exposure in test huts. This work demonstrates that PCM technologies used in buildings can effectively control both the magnitude of thermal storage capacity as well as the time of the peak thermal load. It was found that commonly used material-scale testing methods may not always be beneficial in assessing the dynamic thermal performance characteristics of building technologies containing PCMs.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Engineering in Cyber Resilience with Cyber-Informed Engineering

Engineers have super powers to provide cybersecurity resilience with deterministic engineering solutions and to protect systems from the most catastrophic consequences that a cyber saboteur could cause. Come to this session to learn how to use engineering risk management skills to harden your engineered systems from cyberattacks. Objective 1 Identify what system functions could be digitally induced to cause undesired high-impact consequences. Objective 2 Analyze how loss or instability of digital controls in a subsystem could lead to high-impact consequences. Objective 3 Analyze how loss or instability in the digital connectivity between systems could lead to high-impact consequences. Objective 4 Identify engineering controls which could build resilience by eliminating digital loss or instability pathways or reduce the impact of digital loss or instability. This presentation will introduce Cyber-Informed Engineering, described below, and walk participants through specific engineering use cases to show how engineers can consider the potential for cyber sabotage in their existing system designs and enact deterministic engineering-based controls which eliminate pathways for attack or mitigate specific consequences. A wide variety of application use cases will be considered so that audience members can align the material with familiar engineering applications. CIE is an engineering approach that integrates cyber resilience into the conception, design, build, and operation of any physical system that has digital connectivity, sensors, monitoring, or control. CIE offers the opportunity to use engineering to eliminate or mitigate avenues for cyber attack—starting from the earliest stage of design and continuing throughout the system’s lifecycle. Today, engineers and industrial control system (ICS) technicians build engineered systems with specific goals for safety, reliability, and functionality. While systems engineering includes considerable safety and failure mode analysis, cybersecurity risks are often not specifically addressed—particularly the risks of intentional cyber compromise, exploitation, and misuse. Cyber-Informed Engineering pairs well with traditional cyber defenses and offers an extra designed-in protection to eliminate the most catastrophic consequences which can be realized by an adversary should traditional cyber defenses fail.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Digital Engineering Sensor Architectures for Future Microreactor Builds

The development of new nuclear reactors continues to be high risk during the construction phase, with many programs exceeding their budget by 2–3×. This work entails an investigation of sensors that can be utilized during the construction of microreactors and their incorporation into a digital twin supporting the construction process. These sensors can be used to monitor construction progress, inform of variances from the expected design, and verify that the reactor is being built to the planned building information management model. This will ensure reactor equipment and components accurately interact through welding or additive manufacturing technologies. This study illustrates the importance of the digital engineering architecture for microreactor deployment.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Building Performance Database API (BPD API) v2.1

The Building Performance Database (BPD) is the largest publicly-available source of measured energy performance data for buildings in the United States. It contains information about the building's energy use, location, and physical and operational characteristics. The BPD can be used by building owners, operators, architects and engineers to compare a building's energy efficiency against customized peer groups, identify energy efficiency opportunities, and set energy efficiency targets. It can also be used by energy efficiency program implementers and policymakers to analyze energy efficiency features and trends in the building stock. The BPD compiles data from various data sources, converts it into a standard format, cleanses and quality checks the data, and provides users with access to the data in a way that maintains anonymity for data providers. This software is the database and the Application Programming Interface (API). Users can utilize the BPD's data to develop their own applications using the API. Version 2.1 included a major update for multiple years of data and refactoring of code for faster queries.

Mathew, Paul↗
DOE OSTI2025

Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration (SAFER) Plan for Corrective Action Unit 114: Area 25 EMAD Facility Nevada National Security Site, Nevada

This Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration (SAFER) Plan addresses the actions needed to achieve closure for Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 114, Area 25 EMAD Facility, identified in the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO). CAU 114 comprises the following corrective action sites (CASs) located in Area 25 of the Nevada National Security Site: • 25-41-03, EMAD Facility (Building 3900) • 25-99-23, Manned Control Car (MCC) and Engine Installation Vehicle (EIV) • 25-33-05, Building 3901, Engine Transport System Maintenance Building (Train Shed) This plan provides the methodology for field activities needed to gather the necessary information for closing CAU 114. There is sufficient information and process knowledge from historical documentation and investigations of similar sites regarding the expected nature and extent of potential contaminants to recommend closure of CAU 114 using the SAFER process. Additional information will be obtained by conducting a field investigation before selecting the appropriate corrective actions for CAU 114. It is anticipated that the results of the field investigation and implementation of corrective actions will support a defensible recommendation that no further corrective action is necessary. The purpose of the corrective action investigation will be to document and verify the adequacy of existing information; to affirm the decision for either clean closure, closure in place, or no further action; and to provide sufficient data to implement the corrective action. The actual corrective action selected will be based on characterization activities implemented under this SAFER Plan. If specific conditions or findings fall outside the bounds of the conceptual site model, such as an unanticipated release, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) will be consulted to determine the path forward before proceeding. Upon completion of SAFER activities, a closure report (CR) will be prepared and submitted to NDEP for review and approval. The schedule for completion of the CR will be established in consultation with NDEP.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Editorial for Special Issue: Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings - Part 1

We are pleased to present starting with this volume of ASME Journal of Engineering for Sustainable Buildings and Cities (JESBC), a series of peer-reviewed papers related to some of ongoing research projects and applications of Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs). As part of a new program initiated by the Building Technology Office (BTO) with the US Department of Energy (DOE), GEBs are characterized as highly energy-efficient buildings that are equipped with smart technologies and distributed energy resources that can be dynamically controlled to meet grid needs and minimize electricity system costs, while meeting occupants’ comfort and productivity requirements. In simple terms,DOE defines GEBs as efficient, connected, smart, and flexible buildings. The GEB technologies touch on the main topical areas of JESBC aimed at fostering sustainable buildings and cities by providing results of evaluation studies and demonstration projects. Indeed, one of the main goals for JESBC is to disseminate solutions to enhance the built environment energy efficiencies, low carbon services, inter-connectivity services, resilient multi-services, and healthy and comfortable living spaces.

buildings↗
DOE OSTI2024

Mitigation for Removal of Building 01-103 in the Area 1 Subdock, Nevada National Security Site, Nye County, Nevada

Building 01-103, the Drill Bit Repair Building was originally recorded as SHPO Resource No. B18848 in 2020 during an architectural survey of the Area 1 Subdock (Collins et al. 2022). It was recommended individually eligible for listing in the NRHP under Criteria A and C and contributing to the significance of the Area 1 Subdock Historic District. The SHPO concurred with these determinations in a letter dated April 29, 2022 (Reed 2022). The Drill Bit Repair Building retains all seven aspects of integrity. The location, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association have not changed since its original construction. The design was modified slightly in 1996 with the addition of a removable and non-destructive chain-link fence. Nearby buildings 01-101 and 01-102 were removed (Collins and Menocal 2020) but the other buildings and storage yards remain. Therefore, the integrity of setting has been changed, but not to the degree that the building no longer conveys its significance (see Figures 4 and 5 for comparison). Building 01-103 was constructed in 1985 to coincide with the relocation of the Area 3 Subdock to Area 1. The design for the new Subdock provided a centralized cluster of buildings surrounded by two large storage yards. The buildings included administrative and engineering office space, warehouses, a radiograph building, and Building 01-103 as the drill bit maintenance and repair building, among others. The Drill Bit Repair Building was critical to the success of underground nuclear testing and is eligible under Criterion A for its contribution to broad patterns of history by maintaining specially designed equipment for underground nuclear testing at the NNSS. It is also eligible under Criterion C as it is the only recorded example of a facility built specifically for the maintenance of big-hole drill bits on the NNSS. As it retains both significance and integrity, it remains individually eligible under Criteria A and C. In addition to its individual significance, the Drill Bit Repair Building also contributes to the significance of the Area 1 Subdock Historic District as a representative of a big-hole drilling support facility necessary for underground nuclear testing. The building and the equipment therein were designed specifically for testing at the NNSS, where much of the early technology and methods for big-hole drilling were developed. Its removal will result in not only the demolition of a contributing element but also a change in the physical features of the district’s setting that contribute to its historic significance. The change in setting will diminish the district’s integrity. However, the district still contains numerous examples of other buildings constructed for the purpose of supporting big-hole drilling and remains eligible under Criteria A and C.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Knowledge-based Framework for Building Energy Model Performance Verification

Building energy modeling (BEM) has been widely used by researchers, regulators, and engineers to quantify building energy performance. Quality assurance (QA) and quality control (QC) of the model's performance are essential parts of such analysis. Currently, QA/QC is done in a manual and ad-hoc manner, which is tedious, error-prone, and time-consuming when QA/QC a large number of models. To solve these challenges, we propose a a dAta-driveN buIlding perforMance verificATion framEwork (ANIMATE), which conducts automated output-based verification of building operations requirements (especially for time-series output-based verification of control requirements). While this framework was developed for verifying energy model performance, it can be extended for other applications such as BEM software testing and performance verification of real buildings in the field.

Chen, Yan↗
DOE OSTI2022

Experimental Studies and Energy Modeling for Evaluating Performance of Various Deep Wall Retrofits

The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the University of Minnesota conducted a three-year, multipart study on residential retrofit wall assemblies. The project, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technology Office, aimed to compare a range of residential wall retrofit systems that prioritized affordability, durability, and energy savings potential. The research team identified, constructed, tested, simulated, and analyzed the feasibility and economics of 16 wall retrofit assemblies (14 test configurations and two baseline configurations) that can be applied to the exterior side of existing walls (either with or without the existing cladding). The 16 wall assemblies were installed in an in-situ laboratory environment, to evaluate the ease of construction and study the thermal and hygrothermal performance of the walls. This paper presents the methodology used to evaluate the thermal performance of the walls and discusses the energy modeling results of the study. The results from the experiments were used to calibrate a THERM model of each wall assembly, which was then applied to a whole building using the EnergyPlus 8.6 simulation engine. A residential prototype building was used to extrapolate whole-building energy savings in each U.S. climate zone. To capture the conditions of the largest number of homes in the United States, the most frequent building characteristics (e.g., attic insulation level, window specifications, foundation insulation, etc.) were extracted from ResStock data and applied to the prototype model. Results from the energy modeling showed that the climate zones with the highest potential for retrofit savings are those which are heating-dominated (i.e., Cold and Very Cold climate designations). In these climate zones, heating and cooling energy savings due to the wall retrofits alone ranged from 21.5% to 38.2%.

Nagda, Harshil↗
DOE OSTI2024

Developing Smart Building Technology Modules to Enhance Workforce Preparedness: A Case for AI-Driven Academic and Professional Education

Smart building technologies are resources that improve building energy efficiency and resilience, reduce carbon emissions, and provide load flexibility to the grid. However, in both academic curricula and building professionals’ continuing education, there is a lack of systematic instruction on methods to integrate multiple energy systems including distributed energy resources (DER), smart building technologies, AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools and key concepts, components, and controls, including “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices. In today’s dynamic workforce, this major gap in smart building technology education prevents stakeholders from being able to attract talent with an understanding and preparation to adopt smart building technologies in building design and operations. A federally funded project included a partnership between Slipstream and Texas A&M University (TAMU) to develop a semester-long smart building curriculum for engineering college students with the ability to adapt the contents for workforce development of professionals in building services. The final product consists of 16 training videos adapted for building professionals and the public. The educational content and training materials cover the benefits of building energy systems, the latest sensor technologies and IoT devices, all with a focus on smart building technologies. The key drivers are on topics related to smart building controls (i.e., energy management information systems), smart building control platforms, cybersecurity, grid-interactive-efficient buildings (GEBs), smart building control methods, and occupant-centric control. Although not explicitly included the technologies nod to the need for AI driven technologies to prepare engineers and industry professionals to be future ready. This paper describes the project approach, provides outlines of the training materials, and identifies lessons learned in creating the content for this course. The authors suggest ways to scale the instruction of smart building concepts to empower the workforce to accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies and AI-based teaching and learning in higher education and building sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cyber-Informed Engineering Implementation Guide: Version 1.0 [Slides]

This Implementation Guide describes the principles of Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) and outlines questions that engineering teams should consider during each phase of a system's lifecycle to effectively employ these principles. It describes what it means to engineer systems in a cyber-informed way, rather than offering a comprehensive, step-by-step process or procedure for CIE implementation. This guide complements - but does not replace - the application of cybersecurity standards or practices currently in place within an organization. Engineers and technicians that design critical energy infrastructure installations can use this Implementation Guide to integrate the 12 principles of CIE into each phase of the engineering lifecycle, from concept to retirement. The guide is aimed at system or design engineers, rather than software engineers or operational cybersecurity practitioners. The engineers who design, build, operate, and maintain the physical infrastructure are best positioned to leverage a system's engineering design to diminish the severity of cyber attacks or digital technology failures. CIE expands cybersecurity decisions into the engineering space, not by asking engineers to become cyber experts, but by calling on engineers to apply engineering tools and make engineering decisions that improve cybersecurity outcomes. CIE examines the engineering consequences that a sophisticated cyber attacker could achieve and drives engineering changes that may provide deterministic mitigations to limit or eliminate those consequences.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cyber-Informed Engineering Implementation Guide

This Implementation Guide describes the principles of Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) and outlines questions that engineering teams should consider during each phase of a system’s lifecycle to effectively employ these principles. It describes what it means to engineer systems in a cyber-informed way, rather than offering a comprehensive, step-by-step process or procedure for CIE implementation. This guide complements—but does not replace—the application of cybersecurity standards or practices currently in place within an organization. Engineers and technicians that design critical energy infrastructure installations can use this Implementation Guide to integrate the 12 principles of CIE into each phase of the engineering lifecycle, from concept to retirement. The guide is aimed at system or design engineers, rather than software engineers or operational cybersecurity practitioners. The engineers who design, build, operate, and maintain the physical infrastructure are best positioned to leverage a system’s engineering design to diminish the severity of cyber attacks or digital technology failures. CIE expands cybersecurity decisions into the engineering space, not by asking engineers to become cyber experts, but by calling on engineers to apply engineering tools and make engineering decisions that improve cybersecurity outcomes. CIE examines the engineering consequences that a sophisticated cyber attacker could achieve and drives engineering changes that may provide deterministic mitigations to limit or eliminate those consequences.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Cyber-Informed Engineering Principles: What’s in it for me?

CIE is an emerging method to integrate cybersecurity considerations into the conception, design, development, and operation of any physical system that has digital connectivity, monitoring, or control. CIE complements—but does not replace—the application of cybersecurity standards or practices currently in place within an organization. Rather, it expands cybersecurity decisions into the engineering space, not by asking engineers to become cyber experts, but by calling on engineers to apply engineering tools and make engineering decisions that improve cybersecurity outcomes. CIE examines the engineering consequences that a sophisticated cyber attacker could achieve, and drives engineering changes that may provide deterministic mitigations to limit or eliminate those consequences. Engineers and technicians that design critical energy infrastructure installations can integrate the 12 principles of CIE into each phase of the engineering lifecycle, from concept to retirement. These principles are aimed at system or design engineers, operators, and technicians, rather than software engineers or operational cybersecurity practitioners, because the engineers who design, build, operate, and maintain the physical infrastructure are best positioned to leverage a system’s engineering design to diminish the severity of cyber attacks or digital technology failures. This approach creates new opportunities for engineering teams—and not just cybersecurity teams—to secure the system using the physics and mechanics of engineering controls—not just digital monitoring and controls.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Challenges and Lessons Learned from an Analysis of Three Zero Energy Buildings

Zero energy buildings, or zero energy ready buildings, which are designed and operated by public or private commercial property owners can play an important role in reducing carbon emissions. This paper discusses lessons learned and key takeaways from an in-depth analysis of three zero energy buildings that took an integrated design and construction approach to significantly reduce energy use. Two of these projects are new construction and one is a retrofit to zero energy. Findings are based on project literature review, data analysis, and in-depth interviews with the building design teams and staff who were involved during the design, construction, and operation of the buildings. The paper addresses value proposition and cost data in such a way that other building owners can replicate the strategies and technology solutions in response to regulatory mandates or organizational goals. It also provides details on operational improvements taken at each zero energy building to enhance energy performance and increase the potential for load flexibility, and discusses challenges and lessons gleaned from design teams and building staff. The findings serve as a reference for building owners, designers, engineers, contractors, or others interested in, or involved with, the design, construction, or use of new or existing buildings. The paper also includes recommended pathways for widespread adoption of zero energy strategies that can be applied in various locations.

ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Energy innovation in the US buildings sector: Setting the stage and mapping the future

Jared Langevin is a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, where he leads modeling of US buildings sector innovation and its implications for energy demand, consumer costs, and the power grid. Eric Wilson is a senior research engineer in the Building Technologies and Sciences Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Much of his 15-year career at NREL has revolved around modeling and analysis of the US building stock. Jared and Eric co-led the development of a National Blueprint for buildings sector innovation while serving as advisors to the US Department of Energy’s Deputy Assistant Secretary for Buildings and Industry.

Langevin, Jared↗
DOE OSTI2022

Automated compatibility checking of prefabricated components using 3D as-built models and BIM

There have been recent efforts to use reality capture technologies to perform remote quality control in construction. However, there is a lack of research efforts in detecting construction incompatibilities in modular construction using reality capture technologies. The construction incompatibilities in modular construction often cause reworks and delays in the project schedule. To address this issue, this paper presents a general compatibility analysis method that propose scanning the modules in manufacturing plant and construction site, and check module-to-module compatibility remotely, prior to the shipment and installation. This study provides three sample module-to-module compatibility scenarios to validate the proposed compatibility analysis. The case study results show that the compatibility analysis method was able to identify the compatibility issues with high accuracy. Lastly, the compatibility analysis method was validated in terms of accuracy and time performance in six scenarios that was defined on the modules.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Thermoelectric air conditioning undergarment for personal thermal management and HVAC energy saving

Personal thermal management systems (PTMS) are highly desirable for improving individual thermal comfort and reducing indoor HVAC energy consumption. Although there have been many attempts in developing PTMS, existing PTMS are generally bulky, heavy or immobile. Besides, previous analysis on additional personal cooling and heating power required for maintaining thermal comfort in changing environments did not consider the individual difference in metabolism and the variability of comfort skin temperature with environmental conditions. In this paper, we report on the development of a novel lightweight (<1 kg) thermoelectric air conditioning undergarment system with a preferred design of branching tubing network (branching angle of 60° and diameter ratio of 0.782) for air distribution. Through thermal manikin and human subject tests, we demonstrated that the novel system is capable of providing a maximum of 15.5 W of personal cooling and 18.1 W personal heating with a coefficient of performance (COP) greater than 0.4, which is sufficient to the expansion of the indoor set-points by at least 2.2 °C (4 °F) on both sides without compromising thermal comfort and the potential saving of about 15% HVAC energy. Furthermore, our study improved the understanding of the required additional personal cooling and heating power for changing environmental conditions, which are essential guidelines for the further development of PTMS.

42 ENGINEERING↗