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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 91 records · Page 5

Securing 3D NAND Without Density Loss via In-Situ Encryption Using a Single Transistor XOR Cell

In this article, we push lightweight XOR-based in-situ encryption to extreme density by proposing a singletransistor XOR memory cell and applying it to 3D NAND, enabling secure data storage without density loss. Using a ferroelectric field-effect transistor (FeFET) as an example technology, we demonstrate that: i) a single-transistor memory can realize the XOR function by exploiting the ability to charge the source and drain separately and control current flow direction, eliminating the need for conventional encrypted cells that rely on complementary devices; ii) with a XOR-based cipher, encryption and decryption can be mapped to in-situ array operations, where ciphertext is stored as the threshold voltage (VTH) states of FeFETs in a NAND string, and decryption is achieved through read operations using key-dependent complementary source/drain bias; iii) the proposed technique is scalable to multi-level cell (MLC) storage by encrypting and decrypting data bit by bit; iv) using an integrated NAND FeFET array, we experimentally demonstrate encryption and decryption operations for both single-level cell (SLC) and MLC storage; v) systemlevel benchmarking shows that the proposed technique achieves 48× and 278× improvements in encryption and decryption throughput, respectively, compared to AES.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Level-conversion circuits utilizing level-dependent inverter supply voltages

Voltage level conversion circuits include PMOS pull-down devices or NMOS pull-up devices, and inverters with outputs that determine gate voltages of these devices. The inverters are powered by moving supply voltages, for example complementary supply voltages generated from a pair of cross-coupled inverters. The cross-coupled inverters may implement a data storage latch with the moving supply voltages generated from the internal data storage nodes of the latch.

Turner, Walker Joseph↗

Semiconductor: Supply Chain Deep Dive Assessment

In February 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order (EO) 14017, “America’s Supply Chains,” directing seven executive agencies to evaluate the resilience and security of the nation’s critical supply chains and to craft strategies for six industrial bases that underpin America’s economic and national security. See Sec. 3(b) of E.O. 14017. As part of the one-year response to EO 14017, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the national laboratories, conducted evaluations of the supply chains that encompass the Energy Sector Industrial Base, with a particular focus on technologies required to decarbonize the U.S. by 2050. This report focuses on one of these technologies, semiconductors, both conventional and wide bandgap (WBG) power electronics (PE). As noted in the 100-Day report, conventional semiconductors are a keystone technology that are essential for the operation of nearly every electronic device, including those that are critical to decarbonization, such as electric vehicles (EVs), industrial and building applications, and electricity generation and end use. In addition, power electronics have been applied to industrial equipment to improve energy efficiency and enhance controllability. Power electronics have also been used to improve the reliability of data centers and critical infrastructure, including the stabilization of the electric grid while subjected to disturbances. Increasingly, power electronics are being used to integrate renewable energy and battery storage systems, enabling new grid services and the development of microgrids. It is estimated that 30% of the electricity used in the U.S. passes through power electronic devices, and studies suggest that this number could reach 80% as power electronics are deployed in more markets. Nearly all forms of electrified transportation will depend on power electronics. Power electronic systems utilize high-capacity semiconductor devices at their core. The continued growth in power electronics depends on sustained innovation in the semiconductor industry.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Properties of Electronic Materials

This final technical report summarizes the research conducted under DOE Grant DE-SC0002623, "Properties of Electronic Materials," led by Principal Investigator Shengbai Zhang at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Over the 16-year period, the project employed first-principles computational methods to investigate the structural, electronic, and dynamic properties of a wide range of electronic materials, with applications in energy technologies, optoelectronics, and data storage. Key areas included topological insulators, phase-change materials, graphene and two-dimensional systems, perovskites for photovoltaics, defect engineering in semiconductors, kagome lattices, and ultrafast carrier dynamics. The research resulted in 115 peer-reviewed publications, advancing fundamental understanding of material behaviors at the atomic scale and contributing to innovations in renewable energy, memory devices, and quantum materials. Findings have implications for improving energy efficiency, developing lead-free solar cells, and enabling high-speed data processing. The work has trained numerous graduate students and postdocs, fostering the next generation of computational materials scientists. The original goals were to develop theoretical models and computational tools to predict and optimize electronic properties of materials for energy applications. All objectives were accomplished, with no major departures from planned methodologies. Challenges in computational scaling were addressed through access to high-performance computing resources.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Identification and Testing of Electric Vehicle Fast Charger Cybersecurity Mitigations

Fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles (EVs) is needed to enable and achieve the national goals of transitioning the vehicle fleet toward more electrification. Idaho National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have jointly worked to identify, evaluate, and mitigate potential cyber-related consequences associated with fast charger systems. NREL contributed by considering cyberattack scenarios and consequences associated with integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) at fast-charging stations. The dynamic nature of fast-charger load profiles would encourage site operators to incorporate solar for energy cost reduction and energy storage for peak demand cost management at future charging facilities with multiple fast chargers at a site. These energy resources would be monitored and coordinated via a site energy management controller with data exchange between devices and local power metering infrastructure; thus, networking between devices and the design of the system becomes important in the overall cybersecurity posture. In addition, component vendors and system operators might have remote interfaces to any of these systems. It is therefore important to understand the breadth of the cyberattack surface and potential strategies to mitigate impacts. This project has focused on components and protocols expected to be found within a local charging site that includes multiple chargers and DER resources. Our methods and results are summarized in this final report.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Offloading Calculations to Computational Storage Devices: Spark and HDFS [Slides]

The objective is to evaluate the capabilities of multiple CSDs (provided by NDG Systems) using Hadoop Filesystem and Apache Spark. The independent variables are: number of CSDs, 0, 1, 2, 4, or 6; size of dataset, 1 GB, 5 GB, 10 GB; type of dataset, one large file with all of the data, 10 files, 100 files. The dependent variables are: job time; execution time. the constants are operations on the dataset.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Open-source simulation platform for air source heat pump integrated with thermal energy storage

Here, this article introduces a modular simulation platform for assessing thermal energy storage (TES) integrated with air source heat pumps (ASHP). The Python platform is an open-source library that includes classes for modeling air-air and air-water heat pumps, TES devices, and the heating load of residential buildings. To validate the ASHP model, the study utilized experimental data obtained from a commercial heat pump evaluated at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The results indicate a mean deviation of 0.7% for COP across the operating range, with a maximum relative deviation of 12.6%. In terms of system heating capacity, the model had an average deviation of 4.3% compared to experimental results, with a maximum deviation of 8.2%. Three classes were implemented for modeling distinct types of TES devices: a generic TES based on energy balances, a sensible isothermal water tank, and a stratified water tank. Details of the mathematical models are provided, along with their respective strengths and limitations. An example is provided showcasing the integration of a residential 10 kWh thermal storage unit with an ASHP operating in Denver, CO. The comparison of two different discharge criteria for the TES unit highlights the importance of control strategies in the system performance.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Battery Equivalent Model for Residential HVAC

Flexible loads, especially heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems can be used to provide a battery-like service to the power grid by varying their demand up and down over a baseline. Recent work has reported that the round-trip efficiency for providing grid services with HVAC systems can be close to 1. Inspired by this promising result, in this work, we rigorously develop a battery equivalent model (BEM) for residential HVAC systems. Relying only on typically available data, the proposed BEM will bridge the observability and controllability gaps between utility companies and customers. The proposed BEM will enable the utility companies to manage the flexible HVAC devices as easy as charging/discharging the conventional energy storage devices. Validated physics-based models are used to train the BEM, whose prediction accuracy is illustrated through a simulation study.

Dong, Jin↗

Establishment of a Vertically Integrated Domestic Manufacturing Process for Production of Substrates Needed for Manufacture of Gas Diffusion Layers

In this project, AvCarb, LLC evaluated the baseline performance metrics of commercial carbon veils and their corresponding Gas Diffusion Layers (GDLs) with the goal of establishing an optimized, vertically integrated production system for wet-laid nonwoven substrates used in gas diffusion media for electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices. Mechanical testing and microstructural characterization were conducted and used to develop a multiscale computational model capable of simulating and predicting the performance of GDLs in fuel cells. Although the project successfully generated foundational transport and modeling data, it was terminated prior to identifying the critical GDL design parameters necessary for full optimization. The program aimed to improve carbon veil fabrication through enhanced fiber dispersion, fiber-fiber adhesion control, and improved web formation, enabling the production of high-quality, uniform substrates. Simulations were intended to guide mixing and solution delivery system design and process conditions, followed by production-scale trials to evaluate fiber dispersion, web uniformity, and mechanical robustness. At full deployment, the proposed production line would have been capable of producing approximately 650,000 m² of carbon veil annually. This capability remains strategically important, as the United States currently lacks a domestic source of wet-laid nonwoven carbon substrates that satisfy the stringent quality requirements for fuel-cell GDLs and electrolyzers representing an ongoing supply-chain vulnerability. Beyond supply-chain benefits, the project established a robust benchmarking dataset for existing commercial carbon veils while advancing next-generation material concepts targeting improved performance and manufacturing consistency.

Olson, Cynthia Lemay↗

Demonstrating Distribution System Resiliency through Grid-Edge Microgrids, on a Multi-Site Networked Hardware-in-Loop Platform

With the increasing penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) at the grid-edge, power systems include more energy storage, remote switches, relays, voltage regulators, and other intelligent electronic devices (IED). Effective control of these grid-edge devices by using Advanced Distribution Management Systems (ADMS) can yield substantial improvements to the resiliency and power quality of distribution systems. In this paper, improvements to the resiliency of a distribution system are demonstrated using a multi-site evaluation environment consisting of a real-time Hardware-in-Loop (HIL) setup in which DERs and other IEDs are modeled; and an ADMS which monitors and is able to control the distribution system assets. The HIL model and the ADMS are located 2400 km away, with communication between the sites enabled by a data manager using Distributed Network Protocol 3 (DNP3), demonstrating the system's capabilities even over long distances. After a simulated transmission system failure in the HIL demonstration setup, DERs and other devices are operated to restore critical loads and node voltage profile (to within the 'nominal +/-5%' band) in the distribution system.

ADMS↗

Savings in Action: Lessons from Observed and Modeled Residential Solar Plus Storage Systems

The electric grid is rapidly evolving as small-scale, demand-side resources play increasingly important roles in grid operations and decarbonization. Maximizing the potential of demand-side resources involves incentivizing electricity customers to use those resources in ways that benefit the broader electrical grid. These incentives depend largely on the electricity cost savings that customers can realize from demand-side resource adoption. Determining these potential cost savings is a complex task. Cost savings depend on numerous factors, including the characteristics of different technologies, the algorithms that control these devices, system performance, customer behavior, electricity rate structures, and climatic factors. Another challenge is that estimated cost savings are frequently based on modeled rather than observed system performance, particularly in the academic literature. In this study, we begin to fill the gap in empirical research of demand-side resources using data from a new construction residential community equipped with rooftop solar and storage (S+S) in Arizona. We use these data to analyze the factors that determine customer electricity cost savings and emissions impacts of S+S in the real world. We then compare these data to modeled system performance to understand how models deviate from real-world outcomes. Based on these findings, we explore ways to improve such models and, conversely, use modeled results to suggest improvements to actual S+S deployment. The results of these analyses can be summarized in four key findings: 1) rate structures play a central role in the grid and customer value of demand-side resources; 2) certain customers can benefit more from demand-side resource adoption than others; 3) modeled battery dispatch and sizing reveals opportunities for additional cost savings; and 4) optimal dispatches can reduce grid emissions while maximizing bill savings.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

A Data-Driven Algorithm for Enabling Delay Tolerance in Resilient Microgrid Controls Using Dynamic Mode Decomposition

The increased implementation of smart grid technologies in the power distribution grid presents unique opportunities that enable resiliency, but also brings challenges motivating needs for novel solutions and mitigation techniques. The bi-directional power and data flow allow for the grid to operate with increased resiliency, which is the ability to avoid discontinuity of service to end-use loads during extreme events. However, in applications where control of the distribution grid or microgrid relies on communication networks, the degradation of communication systems in the form of loss or high latency can cause maloperation and result in loss of end-use loads. Here this paper presents a novel framework to enable delay tolerance of centralized microgrid control schemes to mitigate communication system latency impacts and guarantee successful control action. We demonstrate the delay tolerance on a control scheme that operates a battery energy storage system (BESS) to offset the sudden loss of generation and maintain system frequency. During periods of severely degraded communication system performance, the proposed delay-tolerant algorithm compensates for the latency by utilizing a data-driven model generated at the device level using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) to determine the performance of the communications. The DMD technique predicts the system’s frequency using device-level terminal measurements and provides updated control signals. The HELICS cosimulation platform evaluates the cyber-physical interaction of the power system model in GridLAB-D, the centralized control agent in Python, and the discrete network model in NS-3. The framework is tested and validated on the IEEE-123 node system modified to represent a networked remote microgrid model, and the results show an improvement in the dynamic performance

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Computational Offload with BlueField Smart NICs

The recent introduction of a new generation of "smart NICs" have provided new accelerator platforms that include CPU cores or reconfigurable fabric in addition to traditional networking hardware and packet offloading capabilities. While there are currently several proposals for using these smartNICs for low-latency, in-line packet processing operations, there remains a gap in knowledge as to how they might be used as computational accelerators for traditional high-performance applications. This work aims to look at benchmarks and mini-applications to evaluate possible benefits of using a smartNIC as a compute accelerator for HPC applications. We investigate NVIDIA's current-generation BlueField-2 card, which includes eight Arm CPUs along with a small amount of storage, and we test the networking and data movement performance of these cards compared to a standard Intel server host. We then detail how two different applications, YASK and miniMD can be modified to make more efficient use of the BlueField-2 device with a focus on overlapping computation and communication for operations like neighbor building and halo exchanges. Our results show that while the overall compute performance of these devices is limited, using them with a modified miniMD algorithm allows for potential speedups of 5 to 20% over the host CPU baseline with no loss in simulation accuracy.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Design and implementation of a portable diagnostic system for Thomson scattering and optical emission spectroscopy measurements

A diagnostic system, which has a design goal of high-portability, has been designed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). This project aims at providing measurements of key plasma parameters (ne, Te, ni, Ti) for fusion-relevant devices, utilizing Thomson scattering (TS) and optical emission spectroscopy (OES). The innovative design employs mostly commercial off-the-shelf instrumentation and a traveling team of researchers to conduct measurements at various magnetic-confinement plasma devices. The TS diagnostic uses a Quantel Q-smart 1500 Nd:YAG laser with a 2ω harmonic generator to produce up to 850 mJ of 532 nm laser pulses at 10 Hz. Collection optics placed at the detection port consists of an 11 × 3 optical fiber bundle, where the TS diagnostic uses an 11 × 1 subset array of the fibers, the OES diagnostic uses another 11 fibers, and the remaining fibers are available to the host institution. The detection system is comprised of two separate IsoPlane-320 spectrometers with triple-grating turrets of various line spacing and two PI-MAX 4 intensified CCD detectors, used simultaneously to measure a broad range of ion, impurity, and electron parameters. The self-contained diagnostic package also includes a data processing and storage system. The design and initial implementation of the TS-OES diagnostic system are described. The experiments from the proof-of-principle operation of the portable package on a high density (∼2.5 × 1022 m−3) and low-temperature (∼5 eV) electrothermal arc source at ORNL are also discussed.

Kafle, N. (ORCID:000000028144787X)↗

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Pilot Demonstration of an Attestation and Anomaly Detection Framework using Distributed Ledger Technology for Power Grid Infrastructure

This report summarizes the design and pilot demonstration of a framework called Grid Guard that was created to provide increased data and device trustworthiness to electric grid devices by leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT), specifically blockchain. Grid Guard contains a combination of core cryptographic methods such as the secure hash algorithm (SHA), and asymmetric cryptography, private permissioned blockchain, baselining configuration data, consensus algorithm (Raft) and the Hyperledger Fabric (HLF) framework. The system implements a low energy, fast, and robust enhancement to system trustworthiness within and across electric grid systems such as substations, control centers and metering infrastructures. Blockchain is a distributed database structured that provides a practically unalterable (immutable) timeline of stored transactions. By relying on hashing and the Raft consensus algorithm, if an entity tries to illegitimately alter a record at one instance of the database the other ledger nodes are not altered. They work to cross-reference each other and easily locate any incorrectly added data and remove it. The bulk raw data is stored in an off-chain storage (outside of the blockchain ledger) and a hash of this baseline data is stored in the Blockchain ledger via hashing windows of time-series and configuration data, after aggregation and filtering. The bulk off-chain data repository is then considered to be trust-anchored using the hashes stored in the blockchain. To secure the electric grid testbed devices and data, device configuration baselines were compared to those baselines that had been previously stored in the ledger. Statistical baselines for device configurations, network communication patterns, and high-speed sensor data are calculated and then stored off-chain and hashes stored in the ledger. Measurements such as three-phase voltage and current, frequency, breaker status, protection scheme settings, network configuration settings (and other device configuration artifacts) and network traffic features (packet interarrival times) are compared every minute or other selected time windows. During phase 1 of the Grid Guard DLT project different DLT technologies were studies, and an assessment was performed on DLT technology vulnerabilities, uses, and key characteristics. DLT consensus protocols were studies (e.g., RAFT, named after Reliable, Replicated, Redundant, And Fault-Tolerant). Also, cryptography, public, private and permissioned or permissionless systems were assessed. Grid Guard implements a permissioned private DLT. Consensus algorithm selection and choice of DLT implementation depended heavily on the use-case. For this use-case, parameters were selected to measure performance and existing tools for assessment. Benchmarking was performed theoretically and practically. During phase 2 hashed transactions/blocks were inserted into the ledger every second. During phase 2 of the Grid Guard DLT project, a prototype framework was developed and demonstrated for attestation of critical substation devices and data using precision timing systems that use PTP and IRIG-B protocols) on a testbed of operational devices that emulated a distribution substation, control center, and power metering infrastructure using real Operational Technology (OT). The testbed includes OT devices such as protective relays, human machine interfaces (HMI), and power meters. To determine when to collect and compare system and network baselines, an initial examination of an anomaly detection capability to identify malicious manipulation of data streams was conducted. The resulting anomaly detection was demonstrated in a set of experiments and leveraged to trigger device artifact attestation checks. Attestation checks occur against device configuration baselines when compared with the immutable blockchain-stored baselines, which provided a cryptographically supported means by which to store baselines. The electrical substation-grid testbed was created to test the Grid Guard framework. The testbed emulates the operations of a portion of a power grid and SCADA systems as closely as possible. The testbed integrates real protocols, mainly IEC 61850 standard protocols, such as the Sampled Value (SV) and the GOOSE protocols. The testbed also supports DNP3 and other layer 2 and layer 3 protocols such as Telnet, SSH, SFTP/FTP and other proprietary protocols needed to connect to industrial control system equipment. The testbed emulates real power conditions using the OpalRT hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) device which can create fault situations that cannot be easily tested on real systems. The electrical substation-grid testbed was created using real measurement, communication, and protection devices that electrical utilities commonly use.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Hod Carrier

SAND2023-06720O Hod Carrier is a simple proof-of-concept library for moving data from host to NVIDIA BlueField device memory using remote direct memory access. The Hod Carrier software also facilitates research activities related to the potential uses of NVIDIA BlueField data processing unit devices. Using well-established technologies (e.g., RDMA over Infiniband), it will move data from the host to the data processing unit’s memory. This software is a middleware utility for moving data without regard to its semantic meaning. Its operation is fundamentally unaffected by storage allocation. Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc., for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

SciDAC↗