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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 937 records · Page 52

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

DOE OSTI2020

Machine Learning for Synchrophasor Analysis

The report presents results from the development of a cloud-based, Big Data analysis framework for power systems. The computational pipeline uses the Apache Spark framework running in an OpenStack cloud infrastructure. A real-world phasor measurement unit (PMU) dataset has been used to carry out the analysis. Several Machine Learning (ML) methods have been developed and implemented for event and anomaly detection and classification. Actual examples of power system events detection and analysis using synchrophasor data are presented. It has been shown that applications of the cloud-based computing environment and the Apache Spark framework enable a significant increase in the computational efficiency of large-scale PMU data analysis.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS1993

Lunar lander configuration study and parametric performance analysis

Future Lunar exploration plans will call for delivery of significant mounts or cargo to provide for crew habitation, surface tansportation, and scientific exploration activities. Minimization of costly surface based infrastructure is in large part directly related to the design of the cargo delivery/landing craft. This study focused on evaluating Lunar lander concepts from a logistics oriented perspective, and outlines the approach used in the development of a preferred configuration, sets forth the benefits derived from its utilization and describes the missions and system considered. Results indicate that only direct-to-surface downloading of payloads provides for unassisted cargo removal operations imperative to efficient and low risk site buildup, including the emplacement of Space Station derivative surface habitat modules, immediate cargo jettison for both descent abort and emergency surface ascent essential to piloted missions carrying cargo, and short habitat egress/ingress paths necessary to productive surface work tours for crew members carrying hand held experiments, tools and other bulky articles. Accommodating cargo in a position underneath the vehicles structural frame, landing craft described herein eliminate altogether the necessity for dedicated surface based off-loading vehicles, the operations and maintenance associated with their operation, and the precipitous ladder climbs to and from the surface that are inherent to traditional designs. Parametric evaluations illustrate performance and mass variation with respect to mission requirements.

Donahue, Benjamin B.↗

NASA NTRS2019

Cloud Giovanni: Reining in Costs and Improving Performance with Analytical Data Stores Using Scalable Serverless Architecture

Giovanni is the Geospatial Interactive Online Visualization ANd aNalysis Infrastructure developed at NASA GES DISC which provides a simple and intuitive way to visualize, analyze, and access vast amounts of Earth science data. It receives large number of user requests each day for a variety of analysis and visualization services, which leads to the big data challenge of serving gradually increasing large data volumes with diverse statistical algorithms. We hereby propose a multi-dimensional accumulation method which provides fast and cost-efficient cloud analysis for diverse services including both area averaging and time averaging. This method involves the weighted volume integration over multiple variable dimensions (time and space), and is implemented in AWS using Athena providing serverless and highly scalable data analysis. Compared to the standard method, this approach dramatically reduced the computational time by order of magnitude with a minimal AWS cost incurred. For example, for a benchmark of 10-year area averaging over the 1x1 degree daily variable, the computational time was reduced from minutes to seconds, and the Athena cost is only $5 for 100,000 requests.

Zhang, Hailiang↗

DOE OSTI2025

Large Language Model Integration for Knowledge Retrieval and Interaction for the DUNE Experiment

The Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) is a next-generation neutrino experiment that will generate an unprecedented volume of heterogeneous information-from documentation and technical notes to experimental data and reconstruction pipelines. Efficient knowledge retrieval and contextual understanding are increasingly critical for collaboration-wide productivity and onboarding. In this work, we present DUNE-GPT, a prototype framework that leverages large language models (LLMs) and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) to enable natural-language querying of DUNE's internal documentation and technical resources. The system provides an intelligent interface for DUNE collaborators to interact with experiment-specific knowledge while maintaining data privacy and infrastructure compliance within Fermilab computing resources.

Rafique, A. [Argonne (main)]↗

DOE OSTI2019

Approaches to investigate the role of chelation in the corrosivity of biomass-derived oils

The need to provide the U.S. market with a renewable liquid fuel energy source from a non-food feedstock stream has gained considerable traction due to benefits such as improved energy efficiency, reduced environmental impacts, and enhanced national security. Practical achievement of these goals via biomass and bio-waste utilization involves production of liquid intermediates containing corrosive, reactive species like carboxylic acids, ketones, aldehydes, and hydroxyaldehydes. Such mixtures challenge materials of containment, processing, and transport. It is widely recognized that the smaller organic acids, such as acetic and formic, are corrosive and can remove protective surface oxides on alloys used in bio-oil processing infrastructure, and ketones can swell sealing polymers. However, literature shows, and findings herein confirm, larger carboxylic acids and bidentate alcohols are present. This highlights the potential for synergistic, detrimental effects of constituents in bio-oil corrosion, including direct reactivity of small acids compounded with the possibility of mobilization of protective metal oxide layers via chelation by larger acids and oxygenates. The question of whether species beyond small acids can significantly contribute to corrosion requires analytical approaches previously not applied to bio-oil corrosion studies and certainly not previously applied corroboratively. As such, this work introduces a combination of optical, mass spectral, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopies with an incubation approach to study metal mobilization, to facilitate elucidating chelation's role in bio-oil corrosive pathways. To enable systematic study of these oxygenates' material compatibility individually and in combination, a model matrix of bio-oil constituents was also developed based on identification of key components of real bio-oils.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

NASA NTRS2010

Using the Two-Burn Escape Maneuver for Fast Transfers in the Solar System and Beyond

The two-burn maneuver to escape the gravitational pull of a central body is described. The maneuver, originally suggested by Hermann Oberth, improves efficiency considerably for a wide range of missions of interest in space exploration and scientific investigation. A clear delineation of when the maneuver is more effective is given, as are methods to extract the most advantage when using the maneuver. Some examples are given of how this maneuver can enable exploration of the outer solar system, near interstellar space, and crewed missions to Mars and beyond. The maneuver has the potential to halve the required infrastructure associated with a crewed mission to Mars and achieve increased solar escape velocities with existing spacecraft technologies.

Adams, Robert B.↗

DOE OSTI2023

Operational and scaling-up barriers of SOEC and mitigation strategies to boost H 2 production- a comprehensive review

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) proffer a flexible and environmentally friendly solution to reduce CO 2 emissions and/or produce H 2 fuel for various applications. Here, the integration of this technology with renewable energy systems makes them even more promising in realizing a near-perpetual green energy infrastructure in the near future. SOEC technology has achieved stupendous improvement in recent years, and some of the limiting factors to the commercialization of this technology have been explored. It is, therefore, necessary to have a succinct outlook of the different factors that contribute to the recent developments in SOEC technology. The current work presents a comprehensive review of the state-of-the-art SOEC component materials and their degradation mechanisms, SOEC modeling essentials and efficiencies, and the scalability of SOECs. Although SOEC is considered a highly promising technology and sufficient multifaceted research has been done, yet not been widely commercialized. Despite the improvement to mitigate degradation of the SOEC materials, a large share of the degradation concerns sprang from charge transfer reaction at the triple-phase boundaries of the H 2 -electrode. Part of which can be improved by microkinetic modeling of these materials supported by their characterization to give insight into their development. Some other directions for the future in advancing this technology toward the commercialization stage are thoroughly addressed.

08 HYDROGEN↗

DOE OSTI2021

Combined Land Use of Solar Infrastructure and Agriculture for Socioeconomic and Environmental Co-Benefits in the Tropics

Solar photovoltaics (PV) are on the rise even in areas of low solar insolation. However, in developing countries with limited capital, land scarcity, or with geographically isolated agrarian communities, large solar infrastructures are often impractical. In these cases, implementation of low-density PV over existing crops may be required to integrate renewable energy services into rural communities. Here, using Indonesia as a model system, we investigated the land use, energy, greenhouse gas emissions, economic feasibility, and the environmental co-benefits associated with off-grid solar PV when combined with high value crop cultivation. The life cycle analyses indicate that small-scale dual land-use systems are economically viable in certain configurations and have the potential to provide several co-benefits including rural electrification, retrofitting diesel electricity generation, and electricity for processing agricultural products locally. A hypothetical full-density off-grid solar PV for a model village in Indonesia shows that electricity output (1907.5 GJ yr-1) is much higher than the total residential consumption (678 GJ yr-1), highlighting the opportunity to downscale the PV infrastructure by half to lower capital cost, to co-locate crops, and to support secondary income generating activities. Economic analysis shows that the 30-year net present cost of electricity from the half-density co-located PV system (12,257 million IDR) is significantly lower than that of the flat cost of diesel required to generate equivalent electricity (14,702 million IDR). Our analysis provides insights for smarter energy planning by optimizing the efficiency of land use and limiting conversion of agricultural and forested areas for energy production.

agrivoltaics↗

DOE OSTI2020

Development of a Fast Spectrum Test Loop at the Advanced Test Reactor

The United States currently has no infrastructure to provide a fast neutron flux for research purposes. With the increased interest in Sodium Fast Reactor (SFR) technology, this type of infrastructure is necessary for further development of key components such as Versatile Test Reactor. The purpose of this research is to characterize the thermal hydraulics of a test loop capable of providing SFR like operating conditions. This includes showcasing feasibility in mechanical design, reaching a high fast to thermal neutron flux ratio ideally near 15, an inlet temperature of 600 K, a temperature increase of 50 K from inlet to outlet, and test chamber radial temperature profiles similar to SFR fuel rods. Existing infrastructure must be used to provide the neutron flux for the test loop, and it was decided that the Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) was the optimal choice due to its availability and previous work conducted similar to this project. To achieve the goals of this project, several mechanical designs were put forward with the most feasible design being chosen. The neutronics and thermal hydraulics analysis were conducted in tandem, with an iterative process used to maximize efficiency of both systems. Analysis of the neutronics system was done using Attila and MCNP while the thermal hydraulic analysis was done using RELAP5. This document outlines the thermal hydraulic analysis, though it includes the results from the mechanical design and neutronics analysis. The loop design includes a primary system with molten sodium, a set of “booster fuel plates” to increase the fast flux within the test section, a water system to cool the booster fuel plates, a helium system to separate the sodium and water systems, and a thermal neutron shield to decrease the thermal flux. Each of these systems is modeled in the neutronics and thermal hydraulic analyses. The RELAP5 model showcased the feasibility of the design proposed by this report. For all designs tested, the desired 50 K temperature increase from inlet to outlet was reached. The fuel rod radial temperature profile was lower than was expected, likely due to a lower rod thermal power than expected. A parametric study was also conducted to characterize the system with three fuel pins. This study showed the effect of thermal power, fluid pressure, fluid velocity, and inlet temperature on the system. ©Copyright by Anton Higgins December 11, 2019 All Rights Reserved

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2025

Pulsar’s Application in Energy Systems: Review of Current Status, Challenges, and Opportunities

To accelerate progress toward the realization of advanced energy systems, this review explores the potential of pulsar technology to create a more stable, economical, and environmentally friendly energy infrastructure. Pulsars, with their precise and reliable timing characteristics, have emerged as a promising tool for enhancing energy systems. This review begins by examining the development history of pulsar technology, shedding light on its evolution and the milestones achieved. It then provides a comprehensive summary of the current state of research, highlighting recent advancements and breakthroughs in this field. It also explores transformative pulsar applications in energy systems, including improved grid stability, advanced energy synchronization, and efficient energy storage management. However, implementing pulsar-related technologies presents significant technical, economic, and operational challenges. This review examines these hurdles and proposes strategies to overcome them, emphasizing the need for innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and supportive policies to fully integrate pulsar technologies into sustainable energy systems.

application↗

DOE OSTI2022

PAS: Privacy Algorithms in Systems

Today we face an explosion of data generation, ranging from health monitoring to national security infrastructure systems. More and more systems are connected to the Internet that collects data at regular time intervals. These systems share data and use machine learning methods for intelligent decisions, which resulted in numerous real-world applications (e.g., autonomous vehicles, recommendation systems, and heart-rate monitoring) that have benefited from it. However, these approaches are prone to identity thief and other privacy related cyber-security attacks. So, how can data privacy be protected efficiently in these scenarios? More dedicated efforts are needed to propose the integration of privacy techniques into existing systems and develop more advanced privacy techniques to address the complex challenges of multi-system connectivity and data fusion. Therefore, we have introduced Privacy Algorithms in Systems (PAS) at CIKM which provides a venue to gather academic researchers and industry researchers/practitioners to present their research in an effort to advance the frontier of this critical direction of privacy algorithms in systems.

Kotevska, Olivera↗

DOE OSTI2020

Efficient Mesofluidic Separation of Large Particles in nuclear slurries - 20408

Efficient and effective particle separation is essential to cleanup of many nuclear wastes. For example, particle separation may be used to accelerate settle-decant bottlenecks that limit the throughput necessary to achieve the U.S. Department of Energy waste cleanup mission in a timely manner. Particle separation may be used to protect downstream processing equipment from pulses of solids that may be encountered near (within a few feet of) liquid-solid interfaces during waste transfer operations, thereby preventing work stoppages. Effective particle separation may permit efficient sludge washing. These are only a few of the ways in which particle separation is important. Yet, efficient and effective particle separation in nuclear processing environments remains challenging. For example, settle-decant operations permit larger and heavier particles to settle, leaving smaller, lighter particles suspended. However, settle-decant operations are slow, convection currents may resuspend solids, hindered settling of multicomponent slurries remains incompletely understood, and predictive models for settling in graduated cylinders fail to match limited observations of settling in large waste tanks. Additionally, pumping operations can cause turbulent resuspension of particles when the pump intake is close to the settled solids layer. Filtration techniques that use membranes or partially permeable barriers retain larger particles, permitting smaller particles to permeate. However, filters, including dead-end filtration, are prone to clogging and caking, operate at elevated pressures due to minimal void volume, and increase in pressure during operations, which require more control systems. Therefore, the need for high throughput particle separation techniques that operate with modest pressure drops persists. A novel mesofluidic separator presents the opportunity to effectively and efficiently accelerate the waste cleanup mission. The separator separates large particles from process streams across a broad range of particle sizes and has no moving parts or media to replace, regenerate, or clean. This separator design has an unusually large void volume, permitting operation at much higher flow rates (and lower pressures) than traditional filtration (e.g., dead-end filtration). Industrial-scale flow rates have been demonstrated. In performance testing, mesofluidic separators operate at might flow rates (>90 gpm (0.0006 m{sup 3}/s) in piping 3 inches (0.08 m) in diameter; Re>10{sup 5}), with modest pressure drop (∼25 psi (170 KPa) in testing). In complex, aggregating waste simulants, the separator loses <25% of flow projected over months without back pulsing or chemical cleaning. Mesofluidic separation presents infrastructure advantages, reduces risk, and provides mission impact. Infrastructure advantages include implementation within existing transfer systems, plug and play without facility modifications to safety systems, and operation at low pressures. The separator is flexible in location, may be positioned within or outside of waste tanks, and may replace or augment dead-end and cross-flow filters. Mesofluidic separation reduces risk by minimizing waste (no media to replace or regenerate and no cleaning chemicals to handle and dispose) and by minimizing filter change-out consistent with as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) exposure to workers. The potential mission impact of these separators is substantial. The separator has potential to support, simplify, and accelerate in-farm transfers and waste feed delivery. Furthermore, the separator can free up settling and holding tanks in the Direct Feed Low-Activity Waste (DFLAW) mission by reducing or eliminating post-transfer settling and wait times with the potential to free up 1 Mgal (4000 m{sup 3}) of double-shell tank space. This paper quantitatively compares mesofluidic separation to dead-end filtration, discusses scale-up results, and considers the separator's potential to efficiently and effectively reduce the long-term environmental ability of particulate-rich nuclear wastes. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

NASA NTRS2016

UUI: Reusable Spatial Data Services in Unified User Interface at NASA GES DISC

Unified User Interface (UUI) is a next-generation operational data access tool that has been developed at Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center(GES DISC) to provide a simple, unified, and intuitive one-stop shop experience for the key data services available at GES DISC, including subsetting (Simple Subset Wizard -SSW), granule file search (Mirador), plotting (Giovanni), and other legacy spatial data services. UUI has been built based on a flexible infrastructure of reusable web services self-contained building blocks that can easily be plugged into spatial applications, including third-party clients or services, to easily enable new functionality as new datasets and services become available. In this presentation, we will discuss our experience in designing UUI services based on open industry standards. We will also explain how the resulting framework can be used for a rapid development, deployment, and integration of spatial data services, facilitating efficient access and dissemination of spatial data sets.

EOSDIS↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST): An Open-Source Software Architecture for Arc Jet Data Management, Modeling, and Automation

Big-data Efficient and Automated Science Transfer (BEAST) was conceived to address the existing ground testing data management of the NASA Ames arc jet facilities (e.g., manually entered Excel files and USB drive data transfers). These data management practices were seen as a choke point for future thermal protection system (TPS) development as they limit statistical tracking, resolution of diagnostics, coordination between video/time series, data throughput, and data processing speed/efficiency. Consequently, BEAST was developed to provide a new data infrastructure with streamlined data collection, processing, transfer, and analysis. This new framework also seeks to implement the FAIR principles of data stewardship: Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. The BEAST framework is based on a combination of the Python Django web framework and the Python data stack to provide a monolithic, open-source platform for data management, automation, and machine learning. This architecture was chosen for maintainability and scalability for a small, in-house development team. This paper will describe the application framework, deployment, and discuss the benefits and future plans for the system.

Data management↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Big-data Efficient Automated Science Transfer (BEAST): an open-source software architecture for arc jet data management, modeling, and automation

Data management↗

DOE OSTI2026

pyRMG: A framework for high-throughput, large-cell DFT calculations on supercomputers

Exascale computing delivers the raw power to simulate ever larger and more chemically realistic systems, but realizing this potential requires codes that can efficiently use thousands of processors. Our real-space multigrid (RMG) density functional theory (DFT) code’s grid-decomposition approach scales nearly linearly with the number of graphics processing units (GPUs), even for simulations exceeding thousands of atoms. This scalability makes RMG a compelling tool for high-throughput DFT studies of materials that would otherwise be bottlenecked in other codes (for example, by global fast Fourier transforms in plane-wave DFT). However, the limited workflow infrastructure for RMG has thus far constrained its adoption to a small user community. In this work, we present pyRMG, a Python package designed to streamline the setup and execution of RMG DFT calculations. Built on the pymatgen and ASE (Atomic Simulation Environment) computational materials science Python packages, pyRMG automates input generation and convergence checking, and it integrates with modern job schedulers (e.g., Flux) on leadership-class platforms such as Frontier and Perlmutter. Here, we demonstrate pyRMG for a high-throughput study of strain effects in 2D 2L-Bi 2 Se 3 /2L-NbSe 2 heterostructures, which offers chemical insights into this system and shows that RMG-based workflows can converge with limited user intervention.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

NASA NTRS2023

Real Options Analysis for Valuation of Climate Adaptation Pathways With Application to Transit Infrastructure

Climate change and sea level rise (SLR) are expected to increase the frequency and intensity of coastal flood events, posing risks to coastal communities and infrastructure. While regional climate adaptation investments can provide substantive flood protection, existing plans often neglect uncertainty in future climate conditions and adaptation performance, consequently neglecting the option value of flexibly implementing proposed projects. Addressing this gap, we develop and employ a generalizable real options analysis (ROA) valuation framework that considers how uncertainty in adaptation project costs, SLR, flood severity, and flood losses inform the full range of adaptation performance outcomes. We further propose and apply a novel, computationally efficient flood loss sampling algorithm to estimate the consequences of randomly arriving coastal flood events. We apply this ROA framework to assess the option value of flexibly timing adaptation investments over time, investigating an adaptation pathway proposed by the City of Boston from the perspective of the regional transit system manager. Our results suggest that flexible implementation can provide significant option value in the near-to mid-term(>30 years), with highest option values under low-probability, high consequence scenarios. Our results also suggest adaptation pathway performance in the latter half of the 21stcenturyis most sensitive to uncertainty in sea level rise, flood loss estimates, and flood frequency, underscoring the importance of uncertainty quantification in the long-term valuation of adaptation investments.

Michael V. Martello↗

DOE OSTI2020

Mobility Data and Models Informing Smart Cities

This presentation explores the interactions of Emerging Technology, Changing Urban Environments, and Urban Travel Behavior on Mobility and Energy Impacts. Key findings include quantifying impacts of emerging mobility, access and infrastructure associated with new mobility choices and services in urban areas. The results demonstrate new data collection methods and capabilities to understand and identify key levers to improve energy productivity of future mobility systems and of quickly evolving MaaS and COVID-19 contexts to monitor rapidly shifting urban mobility patterns. Under development are mode choice models for new modes versus traditional modes. Initial estimates are developed on the potential of workforce mobility strategies in shaping future energy-efficient mobility system impacts. For mode replacement and workforce mobility, this presentation offers observability into the changes in number of transactions per mode, after ride-hailing/TNC/MaaS introduction and in origins of workforce to enable user need-driven reimagining of efficient mobility systems: Seattle (SEA-TAC) airport: for every 100 new TNC transactions for ground transportation, ~27% replaced transit, 35% replaced parking, 17% replaced car rentals, and 21% replaced taxis. Similarly, at Denver International (DEN), ride-hailing transactions replaced transit, parking, car rental and taxis at a rate of 34.7%, 39.0%, 16.6%, and 9.7%, respectively. A workforce mobility tool, analysis/visualization techniques, and capabilities to understand and identify key job commute needs, new choices in access to job opportunities, and affordability aspects as levers to improve energy productivity of future integrated urban mobility systems.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLIC↗