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At least 919 records · Page 51

Weather Data from BSEC Weather Stations

This dataset provides measurements of temperature, humidity, rainfall, wind, and sunlight at Ambient Weather and OttHydro stations across Baltimore city. These surface weather stations were deployed by the Baltimore Social-Environmental Collaborative (BSEC) Urban Integrated Field Laboratory (UIFL) project, funded by the Department of Energy (DOE). This dataset currently contains measurements from 2023 to June 2026 and will be periodically updated to include more stations and recent observations when available. Data File Information This dataset contains surface weather measurements data in comma-separated value (CSV) format and documents that describe the weather stations, locations, and measured parameters and units. data/[TIMEAVG]/[YEAR]/BSEC-[STATIONID]_[SENSORTYPE]_[TIMEAVG]_[YEAR].csv Surface weather measurements data in CSV format, where STATIONID indicates the weather station, SENSORTYPE is the type of weather station ('AWS' = Ambient Weather Station and 'OTT' = 'OttHydro Station'), TIMEAVG is time period for each entry (= daily, hourly, or 5min), and YEAR indicate the year in which the measurements were made. Example data file name: BSEC-AAC_AWS_hourly_2023.csv. documents/Station_Locations.csv This CSV file provides location information and measurement start date for each surface weather station. documents/Weather_Station_Descriptions.pdf This document provides detailed description of the instruments along with their setup and accuracy of measurement. documents/File_Contents.pdf This document describes the contents on the data files, including time notation, weather parameters and units of measurement. documents/site-metadata/[STATOINID]-metadata.pdf These PDF files provide information on weather station sites, including land cover characteristics, station mounting, and photographs. Each PDF file corresponds to one station, as indicated by STATIONID.

Ambient Weather Stations↗

A Fast, Accurate Prediction for System-Wide Damage Due to Dynamic Wind Loading

The complex relationship between photovoltaic (PV) hardware configurations, overall system dynamics, and turbulent aerodynamic phenomena generates highly unsteady, non-uniform loads that can lead to damaging instabilities. These effects may result in glass breakage, cell cracking, and structural failures in frames and mounting systems, even under moderate wind conditions. Addressing industry concerns about premature system failures in field conditions deemed survivable, our research aims to develop a fast and accurate predictive model for system damage. This model integrates configurable hardware choices with advanced simulation tools to represent the overall system-specific dynamics effectively. Using this model, we predict responses under varying weather conditions and hardware setups, translating these predictions into pre-trained surrogate models capable of accurately identifying failure risks and rapidly testing new system hardening measures. In this presentation, we will showcase preliminary results in capturing system dynamics through our customizable library of PV hardware configurations. Additionally, we will highlight how these new tools build upon PVade's established wind load modeling capabilities and foster the development of advanced AI/ML surrogates for improving system robustness.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Three-Dimensional Grid Visualization for Planning Activities: A Dubai Case Study

National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), in collaboration with the Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Infra-X, has undertaken the Energy Visualization Analysis Project. The aim of this project is to enhance analytical and 3D visualization capabilities for distribution network planning and renewable energy integration. As modern grid continues to evolve with large-scale solar PV deployment and emerging distributed energy resources (DERs), the ability to effectively analyze, visualize, and communicate complex grid behaviors has become increasingly critical. The project focuses on developing empirical use cases based on real distribution feeder data and engineering workflows, ensuring the outcomes are directly aligned with operational environment. Through time-series power flow simulations and nodal hosting capacity analysis, the study quantifies the impacts of high PV penetration on voltage and thermal limits within representative 11 kV feeders. These analyses identify specific nodes and conditions where DER integration challenges arise. Furthermore, a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) optimization algorithm was applied to determine the optimal size and placement of storage systems that can mitigate network constraints and enhance hosting capacity. The comparative results between base-case and BESS-augmented scenarios clearly demonstrate improvements in network stability and load management efficiency. In parallel, the NLR team developed an immersive 3D visualization framework, enabling interactive exploration of grid simulations using commodity head-mounted display (HMD) systems. This framework transforms conventional 2D simulation data into spatially intuitive visual environments - allowing engineers to analyze feeder conditions, PV hosting potential, and BESS effects in real time. This report represents the first foundational phase in establishing a visualization-driven analytical ecosystem. It provides a methodological foundation for data integration, visualization architecture, and simulation-based decision support, paving the way for large-scale adoption of immersive visualization across DEWA's Smart Grid Initiative, R&D activities, and future network resilience studies.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

LSST Commissioning Camera

The LSST Commissioning Camera (LSSTComCam) was mounted on the Simonyi Survey Telescope in August 2022 and observed for seven weeks in late 2024 until it was removed from the telescope in December 2024. It is a smaller, fully functional version of LSSTCam, with only the central raft of 9 4k x 4k CCDs (all ITL sensors) and comprising 144 megapixels. Every CCD has 16 amplifiers, each reading 1 million pixels. LSSTComCam was designed to enable end-to-end testing of the observatory’s systems, including data acquisition, image processing, and observatory operations.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Q1-2024 Solar Cost Benchmarks

Each year, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO) and its national laboratory partners develop cost benchmarks for U.S. solar photovoltaic (PV) systems. These benchmarks track progress toward reducing solar costs and guide R&D priorities. Unlike typical studies that report only $/W, SETO uses intrinsic units (e.g., $/m² for mounting structures) to better capture how technology improvements such as module efficiency would impact system costs. This allows flexible modeling where inputs can vary significantly to assess cost sensitivity. Costs are reported in two ways: Minimum Sustainable Price (MSP): Long term, financially viable price under stable market conditions. Modeled Market Price (MMP): Actual market price, influenced by short term distortions such as tariffs or subsidies. Three national labs collect cost data from industry stakeholders, ensuring no duplication in outreach to stakeholders. Data reflects real transactions (primarily from Q1) and is weighted based on the number of sources per cost element. The PV System Cost Model (PVSCM) divides total installed system cost into eight categories: 1. Module (PV) 2. Inverter 3. Energy Storage System (ESS) 4. Structural BOS (SBOS) 5. Electrical BOS (EBOS) 6. Fieldwork 7. Office work 8. Other (developer/EPC costs) The first five are hardware costs, while the last three are soft costs. Each category includes fixed and variable cost components, where “size” depends on context (e.g., manufacturing capacity for modules vs. system capacity for installation costs). Variable costs are expressed using appropriate intrinsic units. The model reflects the owner’s upfront overnight capital cost, excluding tax credits. Tariffs and subsidies are treated as temporary market distortions affecting MMP but not MSP. PVSCM is implemented in Excel, where cost elements are aggregated into total system cost. Additional sheets handle unit conversions and operation & maintenance (O&M), with O&M costs levelized over the system’s lifetime.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Using millimeter-sized carbon-deuterium foils for high-precision deuterium-tritium neutron spectrum measurements in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion at the OMEGA laser facility

Millimeter-sized CD foils fielded close (order mm) to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions have been proposed as a game-changer for improving energy resolution and allowing time-resolution in neutron spectrum measurements using the magnetic recoil technique. This paper presents results from initial experiments testing this concept for direct drive ICF at the OMEGA laser facility. While the foils are shown to produce reasonable signals, inferred spectral broadening is seen to be high (~5 keV) and signal levels low (by ~20%) compared to expectation. Before this type of foil is used for precision experiments, the foil mount must be improved, oxygen uptake in the foils better characterized, and impact of uncontrolled foil motion prior to detection investigated.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

A 1D Lyman-alpha Profile Camera for Plasma Edge Neutral Studies on the DIII-D Tokamak

A one dimensional, absolutely calibrated pinhole camera system was installed on the DIII-D tokamak to measure edge Lyman-alpha (Ly-a) emission from hydrogenic isotopes which can be used to infer neutral density and ionization rate proles. The system is composed of two cameras, each providing a toroidal fan of twenty lines of sight, viewing the plasma edge on the inboard and outboard side of DIII-D. The cameras' views lie in a horizontal plane 77 cm below the midplane. At its tangency radius, each channel provides a radial resolution of approximately 2 cm full width at half maximum (FWHM) with a total coverage of 22 cm. Each camera consists of a rectangular pinhole, Ly-a reflective mirror, narrow-band Ly-a transmission fiter, and a 20 channel AXUV photodetector. The combined mirror and transmission fiter have a FWHM of 5 nm, centered near the Ly-a wavelength of 121.6 nm and is capable of rejecting significant, parasitic carbon-III (C-III) emission from intrinsic plasma impurities. To provide a high spatial resolution measurement in a compact footprint, the camera utilizes advanced engineering and manufacturing techniques including 3D printing, high stability mirror mounts, and a novel alignment procedure. Absolutely calibrated, spatially resolved Ly-a brightness measurements utilize a bright, isolated line with low parasitic surface reflections and enable quantitative comparison to modeling to study divertor neutral leakage, main chamber fueling and radial particle transport.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Design and Fabrication of the Mu2e Cryogenic Distribution System

The muon-to-electron conversion (Mu2e) experiment at Fermilab will be used to search for the charged lepton flavor-violating conversion of muons to electrons in the field of an atomic nucleus. The Mu2e experiment is currently in the design and construction stage and is expected to begin operations in 2022. The Mu2e experiment uses four large superconducting solenoid magnets including a Production Solenoid (PS), an Upstream and Downstream Transport Solenoid (TSu and TSd) and a Detector Solenoid (DS). This paper will focus on the cryogenic distribution system for these four solenoid magnets. Liquid helium will be supplied from two re-purposed Tevatron satellite refrigerators. A large cryogenic distribution box (DB) is located in the Mu2e building to distribute the required cryogens to each of the four solenoid magnets. Each solenoid magnet will have a dedicated transfer line and cryogenic feed box (FB). The solenoid magnets each require two liquid helium circuits and two liquid nitrogen circuits. The most unique feature about this cryogenic system is that the assemblies for the start of the superconducting portion of the power leads are mounted in feed boxes that are in the range of 23 m to 31 m away from the solenoid magnets. The cryogenic feed boxes are located remotely to provide protection from radiation damage and high magnetic fields. The power leads are NbTi superconducting cable stabilized with high conductivity aluminum. The 6061-T6 aluminum grade was selected for the transfer line piping so that the piping would thermally contract at the same rate as the power lead. A major concern for this transfer line is that a small helium leak could create an electric discharge arc due to the Paschen effect. This paper includes a description of the design features and testing done to ensure that the power leads are protected from the Paschen effect while still being adequately cooled to liquid helium temperatures.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Imaging Based Detector with Efficient Scintillators for Neutron Diffraction Measurements

The Anger Camera developed by the detector group at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory was utilized for the present work for its unique advantage of employing multiple modules to obtain large active measurement area for detecting diffracted/scattered thermal neutrons. Considering the relatively small flux associated with diffracted/scattered neutrons, suitable efficiency with high spatial resolution is a requirement for utilizing two-dimensional imaging detectors. The potential to implement pulse shape (in addition to pulse height) discrimination-based scintillators further enhances the ability to detect diffracted neutrons with improved signal to noise ratio. In this paper, initial results associated with 6Li glass-based scintillator will be presented. The authors explored the feasibility of using this system to detect and quantify diffraction peaks and peak shifts at the Neutron Residual Stress Facility (NRSF2), High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR) in the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Suitable camera mounting and shielding had to be developed. Reference measurements using polycrystalline powders with known atomic planar spacing will be discussed along with measurement settings associated with expected resolution for peak shift measurements. Initial results are promising and demonstrate that a suitable scintillation-based neutron detecting system is viable for residual stress-based diffraction measurements. Small area detectors are also feasible with suitable consideration to scattering volume and distance to detector.

Seals, Matthew↗

Broadband Communications Using High Voltage Transmission Lines - A Review

The possibilities afforded by using an existing transmission line infrastructure for the transport of broadband communications are many ranging from (conventional) A-to-B point-to-point links, to integration of Wi-Fi access points mounted at defined network (power and communications) locations, to operation as a fault-tolerant, rollover backup communications fabric (in conjunction with other transport media, such as optical fiber or terrestrial microwave). As stated by RCR Wireless reporter Jeff Kagan – regarding an ongoing in-field demonstration - “This is so much more cost effective for the company and so much easier for them to deliver an ultra-fast, gigabit speed, wireless internet connection anywhere there are power lines.” The same situation arises for a utility looking to augment or simply deploy a communications fabric in their region via treating the transmission line infrastructure as a communication fabric thereby reducing the cost and complexity of deployment. A circa 2020 review of broadband over powerlines (BPL) is presented here.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Tire bead

A tire for a motor vehicle having at least one carcass ply comprised of a crown portion and two axially opposite side portions terminating in beads for mounting the tire on a rim. A tread band and a belt structure are interposed between the carcass structure and the bead. Each bead includes on elongated cord comprised of a first yarn, such as aramid, having a melting or decomposition point T1, and a second yarn, such as nylon, having a melting point T 2 , wherein T 1 >T 2 , and T 2 is greater than 40° C.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Sagnac fourier spectrometer (SAFOS)

A technique and device to determine the spectrum of electromagnetic radiation in a certain range of wavelengths comprising: splitting said radiation into more than one beam; let these beams counter-propagate in a Sagnac-type ring interferometer; and imprinting a wavelength-dependent angular tilt onto the wavefront of each beam by at least one dispersive element which preferably is a transmission grating or grism; and re-combining the multiple beams on a detector that exhibits spatial resolution and can therefore resolve the fringes formed by interference; and perform the mathematical operations to determine the spectrum of said radiation from the obtained interferogram, wherein the dispersive element is mounted on a stage providing linear and/or rotational movement.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Housing apparatus for sensitive gas sensor

A sensor housing apparatus includes a housing having an enclosure and outer assembly, at least one flow path extending through the housing, a gas sensor disposed in the enclosure and a thermal mass. The thermal mass is mounted within the enclosure in thermal communication with the gas sensor, and is configured to transfer thermal energy from the gas sensor to an ambient environment surrounding the housing and minimize temperature gradients adjacent the gas sensor.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Injectable and implantable cellular-scale electronic devices

Provided are implantable or surface mounted biomedical devices and related methods for interfacing with a target tissue. The devices have a substrate and device component supported by the substrate. The components of the device are specially configured and packaged to be ultra-thin and mechanically compliant. In particular, device thicknesses are less than 1 mm and have lateral dimensions between about 1 m and 10 mm, depending on the application. Delivery substrates may be incorporated to assist with device implantation and handling. The devices can be shaped to provide injection in a minimally invasive manner, thereby avoiding unnecessary tissue damage and providing a platform for long-term implantation for interfacing with biological tissue.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Remotely powered line monitor

Improved devices, apparatuses, systems, and methods involving the use of field probes with voltage-controlled variable impedance elements and surface-launched acoustic wave devices, including surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices and SAW sensor-tag wireless interface devices to measure voltage and current in current carrying conductors (CCCs) via measurement of the electric fields and magnetic fields around said CCCs are disclosed. The devices, apparatuses, systems, and methods taught in the present invention include a remotely powered line-mounted measurement unit that requires no connection to electrical ground for operation, and that has no internal energy source, no energy harvesting or power conditioning circuitry, no discrete energy storage components, and no radio. The devices, apparatuses, systems, and methods taught in the present invention also provide for determining the phase (leading or lagging) of the current relative to the voltage in AC power systems, and also provide for measurement of temperature of the conductor.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Systems, methods and patches for monitoring a structural health of a connector in overhead transmission lines

Systems, methods and piezoelectric patches are provided for monitoring the structural health of connectors in overhead transmission lines. A plurality of piezoelectric patches is mounted to different locations on the connector. At least one of the patches is actuated using an AC voltage and certain electrical properties either from the same patch or of a different patch are evaluated over time to determine the structural health of the connectors.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Method and precision nanopositioning apparatus with compact vertical and horizontal linear nanopositioning flexure stages for implementing enhanced nanopositioning performance

An enhanced method and precision nanopositioning apparatus for implementing enhanced nanopositioning performance is provided. The nanopositioning apparatus includes a vertical linear nanopositioning flexure stage and a horizontal linear nanopositioning flexure stage. The vertical linear nanopositioning flexure stage includes a stage base, a symmetrically configured flexure linear guiding mechanism with precision motion enhancement structure, and a stage carriage. The horizontal linear nanopositioning flexure stage is mounted on the stage carriage of the vertical linear nanopositioning flexure stage, and includes a middle-bar relative position control mechanism to enhance the stiffness of a flexure linear guiding mechanism.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗

Door assembly with collapsible carrier

A door assembly for a motor vehicle comprised of an outer door panel and an inner door panel interconnected to define a door panel structure having an internal door cavity. A collapsible carrier module is configured to be oriented in a collapsed arrangement to facilitate installation into the door cavity through an opening in the inner door panel. The collapsible carrier module can be moved from its collapsed arrangement into an expanded arrangement upon installation within the door cavity to facilitate subsequent mounting to the door panel structure. The collapsible carrier module includes a two-piece carrier plate formed to integrally include a pair of laterally-spaced glass run channels and a pair of laterally-spaced slider rails.

42 ENGINEERING↗