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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 955 records · Page 53
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Impacts of aluminum-cerium alloy deployment on different cerium commodities

An imbalance problem exists in the rare earth element (REE) market with cerium and lanthanum being more abundant and less valuable than REEs used in permanent magnets such as neodymium, praseodymium, and dysprosium. Research has been conducted on new applications for abundant REEs to improve mining economics. However, potential market impacts of these applications on individual REE commodities are unknown. A system dynamics model was built to investigate the impacts of a new aluminum-cerium (Al-Ce) alloy that can theoretically utilize three separate cerium forms: cerium carbonate, cerium oxide, or cerium metal. Cerium carbonate currently possesses the lowest price of the three available forms making it initially the most favorable choice. However, model results showed that cerium oxide could provide the best economics for future Al-Ce alloy deployment because its larger market size buffers major shocks to price.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2018

Deploying effectively dispatchable PV on reservoirs: Comparing floating PV to other renewable technologies

In this article, we present a detailed simulation of floating photovoltaic's (PV) energy yield and associated evaporation reduction potential for the largest 128 US hydropower reservoirs. A recent article by Cavusoglu et al., published in the journal Nature Communications, outlined a hypothetical evaporation engine that could harness the energy of lake water evaporation while simultaneously conserving the water resource. Its authors suggest that evaporation engines deployed across all US lakes and reservoirs could, collectively, yield up to 70% of the total U.S. electricity production. We show that floating PV technology could: (1) deliver considerably more electrical energy than evaporation engines, amounting to 100% of the US production with only a fraction of the lakes; (2) deliver this energy on a firm, effectively dispatchable basis; and (3) conserve as much water as the evaporation engines.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

A polarimetry-based field-deployable non-interruptive mirror soiling detection method

The soiling level of heliostat mirrors in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) fields is one of the key factors that significantly influences optical efficiency. State-of-the-art methods of monitoring heliostats soiling levels still face various challenges, including slow speed, labor-intensive operations, resolution and accuracy constraints or interruptions to solar field operations. Here, we present a rapid, cost-effective, and non-intrusive method for mirror soiling detection based on polarimetric imaging, referred to as Polarimetric Imaging-based Mirror Soiling (PIMS). The compact PIMS device is designed for integration with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), enabling rapid, large-area assessments of heliostat mirrors for efficient soiling detection. Our method utilizes the correlation between the Degree of Linear Polarization (DoLP) and surface soiling level based on Mie scattering theory and Monte Carlo simulations. Field deployment of the PIMS method requires minimal device installation, and its UAV-based operation allows for soiling detection without interrupting plant activities. The PIMS method holds the potential for mirror soiling detection across various concentrated solar power (CSP) plants and can be further adapted for other types of solar fields, such as parabolic trough systems.

CSP Field↗
DOE OSTI2017

The impact of retail electricity tariff evolution on solar photovoltaic deployment

Here, this analysis explores the impact that the evolution of retail electricity tariffs can have on the deployment of solar photovoltaics. It suggests that ignoring the evolution of tariffs resulted in up to a 36% higher prediction of the capacity of distributed PV in 2050, compared to scenarios that represented tariff evolution. Critically, the evolution of tariffs had a negligible impact on the total generation from PV $-$ both utility-scale and distributed $-$ in the scenarios that were examined.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

AutonomieAI: An efficient and deployable vehicle energy consumption estimation toolkit

Here, this paper presents AutonomieAI, a novel toolkit designed for efficient energy estimation of vehicles across diverse trip scenarios, routes, and drive cycles, applicable to a broad range of vehicle powertrain technologies. It leverages state-of-the-art Machine Learning techniques to deliver real-time energy prediction of vehicles, enabling co-simulation with transportation level system tools and opening doors for large-scale optimization at city, network or national level. Benchmark results show that AutonomieAI achieves high accuracy, with an average percentage error below 2% for most powertrain types, and computational efficiency capable of processing over 10,000 trips per second. Applications of AutonomieAI have potential to offer the flexibility to assist in solving eco-routing problems, optimize for vehicle and powertrain selection, study charging decision behavior, and optimize for charging station placement. AutonomieAI is the result of large neural network based model architectures, trained on very large and unique high fidelity vehicle simulation data. It is lightweight, deployable, efficient and has accuracy comparable to specialized and complex physics based simulation softwares.

Autonomie↗
DOE OSTI2025

Proton Exchange Membrane (PEM) Water Electrolysis: Cell-Level Considerations for Gigawatt-Scale Deployment

Hydrogen produced with no greenhouse gas emissions is termed “green hydrogen” and will be essential to reaching decarbonization targets set forth by nearly every country as per the Paris Agreement. Proton exchange membrane water electrolyzers (PEMWEs) are expected to contribute substantially to the green hydrogen market. However, PEMWE market penetration is insignificant, accounting for less than a gigawatt of global capacity. Achieving substantive decarbonization via green hydrogen will require PEMWEs to reach capacities of hundreds of gigawatts by 2030. This paper serves as an overarching roadmap for cell-level improvements necessary for gigawatt-scale PEMWE deployment, with insights from three well-established hydrogen technology companies included. Analyses will be presented for economies of scale, renewable energy prices, government policies, accelerated stress tests, and component-specific improvements.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

Accelerating the Deployment of Anaerobic Digestion to Meet Zero Waste Goals

The U.S. places approximately 53% of its total municipal solid waste (MSW) in landfills, but state and local governments across the country are now setting ambitious environmental and waste diversion policies requiring, among other things, diversion and utilization of organics. Municipalities across the U.S. are employing anaerobic digestion (AD) as part of their strategy to divert organic MSW from landfills, produce biogas, and yield other beneficial coproducts such as compost and fertilizer. Furthermore, AD faces many technical, regulatory, and economic barriers to greater deployment, including upstream waste contamination, local odor and air pollution concerns, lengthy siting and permitting processes, and requirements and sizable costs for interconnecting to the electric grid. We identify a combination of scientific, operational, and policy advancements that are needed to address these barriers.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Influence of Real-World Wind Turbine Deployments on Local to Mesoscale Climate

Paired simulations are conducted using the Weather Research and Forecasting model applied at convection permitting resolution in order to determine the impact of wind turbines (WTs) on the local to mesoscale climate. Using actual WT locations and a model of the effect of the WT rotor on the flow field, it is shown that while the presence of WT changes wind speeds (WSs) and near-surface air temperature in 4-km grid cells in which WTs are located, the impact at larger scales on near-surface air temperature, specific humidity, the fluxes of latent and sensible heat, boundary layer heights, and precipitation is not significant in any season other than summer. During summer, the maximum pairwise difference in grid cell mean temperatures is 0.5 K and the maximum increase in near-surface specific humidity is 0.4 g/kg. However, a spatial average of the mean seasonal perturbation of air temperature by WT gives a net impact of <0.1 K. Precipitation probability is also not significantly impacted in any season other than summer. In the summer the presence of WT is associated with a small decrease in precipitation probability and a decrease in season total precipitation of -2.6%. The finding of minor magnitude, but significant impacts, during summer should be used to contextualize results of substantial climate impacts from WT arrays deployed in the U.S. Central Plains based on short-term simulations conducted for the summer season.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Hidden delays of climate mitigation benefits in the race for electric vehicle deployment

Although battery electric vehicles (BEVs) are climate-friendly alternatives to internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), an important but often ignored fact is that the climate mitigation benefits of BEVs are usually delayed. The manufacture of BEVs is more carbon-intensive than that of ICEVs, leaving a greenhouse gas (GHG) debt to be paid back in the future use phase. Here we analyze millions of vehicle data from the Chinese market and show that the GHG break-even time (GBET) of China’s BEVs ranges from zero (i.e., the production year) to over 11 years, with an average of 4.5 years. 8% of China’s BEVs produced and sold between 2016 and 2018 cannot pay back their GHG debt within the eight-year battery warranty. We suggest enhancing the share of BEVs reaching the GBET by promoting the effective substitution of BEVs for ICEVs instead of the single-minded pursuit of speeding up the BEV deployment race.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2019

Modeling and Cost Benefit Analysis to Guide Deployment of POC Diagnostics for Non-typhoidal Salmonella Infections with Antimicrobial Resistance

Invasive non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) is among the leading causes of blood stream infections in sub-Saharan Africa and other developing regions, especially among pediatric populations. Invasive NTS can be difficult to treat and have high case-fatality rates, in part due to emergence of strains resistant to broad-spectrum antibiotics. Furthermore, improper treatment contributes to increased antibiotic resistance and death. Point of care (POC) diagnostic tests that rapidly identify invasive NTS infection, and differentiate between resistant and non-resistant strains, may greatly improve patient outcomes and decrease resistance at the community level. Here we present for the first time a model for NTS dynamics in high risk populations that can analyze the potential advantages and disadvantages of four strategies involving POC diagnostic deployment, and the resulting impact on antimicrobial treatment for patients. Our analysis strongly supports the use of POC diagnostics coupled with targeted antibiotic use for patients upon arrival in the clinic for optimal patient and public health outcomes. We show that even the use of imperfect POC diagnostics can significantly reduce total costs and number of deaths, provided that the diagnostic gives results quickly enough that patients are likely to return or stay to receive targeted treatment.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Field trials reveal the complexities of deploying and evaluating the impacts of yeast-baited ovitraps on Aedes mosquito densities in Trinidad, West Indies

The use of lure-and-kill, large-volume ovitraps to control Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus populations has shown promise across multiple designs that target gravid females (adulticidal) or larvae post-oviposition (larvicidal). Here we report on a pilot trial to deploy 10 L yeast-baited ovitraps at select sites in Curepe, Trinidad, West Indies during July to December, 2019. Oviposition rates among ovitraps placed in three Treatment sites were compared to a limited number of traps placed in three Control areas (no Aedes management performed), and three Vector areas (subjected to standard Ministry of Health, Insect Vector Control efforts). Our goal was to gain baseline information on efforts to saturate the Treatment sites with ovitraps within 20–25 m of each other and compare oviposition rates at these sites with background oviposition rates in Control and Vector Areas. Although yeast-baited ovitraps were highly attractive to gravid Aedes females, a primary limitation encountered within the Treatment sites was the inability to gain access to residential compounds for trap placement, primarily due to residents being absent during the day. This severely limited our intent to saturate these areas with ovitraps, indicating that future studies must include plans to account for these inaccessible zones during trap placement.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2014

The development and deployment of a ground-based, laser-induced fluorescence instrument for the in situ detection of iodine monoxide radicals

High abundances of iodine monoxide (IO) are known to exist and to participate in local photochemistry of the marine boundary layer. Of particular interest are the roles IO plays in the formation of new particles in coastal marine environments and in depletion episodes of ozone and mercury in the Arctic polar spring. This paper describes a ground-based instrument that measures IO at mixing ratios less than one part in 10{sup 12}. The IO radical is measured by detecting laser-induced fluorescence at wavelengths longer that 500 nm. Tunable visible light is used to pump the A{sup 2}Π{sub 3/2} (v{sup ′} = 2) ← X{sup 2}Π{sub 3/2} (v{sup ″} = 0) transition of IO near 445 nm. The laser light is produced by a solid-state, Nd:YAG-pumped Ti:Sapphire laser at 5 kHz repetition rate. The laser-induced fluorescence instrument performs reliably with very high signal-to-noise ratios (>10) achieved in short integration times (<1 min). The observations from a validation deployment to the Shoals Marine Lab on Appledore Island, ME are presented and are broadly consistent with in situ observations from European Coastal Sites. Mixing ratios ranged from the instrumental detection limit (<1 pptv) to 10 pptv. These data represent the first in situ point measurements of IO in North America.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2016

A compact neutron scatter camera for field deployment

Here, we describe a very compact (0.9 m high, 0.4 m diameter, 40 kg) battery operable neutron scatter camera designed for field deployment. Unlike most other systems, the configuration of the sixteen liquid-scintillator detection cells are arranged to provide omnidirectional (4π) imaging with sensitivity comparable to a conventional two-plane system. Although designed primarily to operate as a neutron scatter camera for localizing energetic neutron sources, it also functions as a Compton camera for localizing gamma sources. In addition to describing the radionuclide source localization capabilities of this system, we demonstrate how it provides neutron spectra that can distinguish plutonium metal from plutonium oxide sources, in addition to the easier task of distinguishing AmBe from fission sources.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integrating vehicle trajectory planning and arterial traffic management to facilitate eco-approach and departure deployment

Eco-approach and departure (EAD) enable continuous vehicle motion in urban signalized corridors. Since such a motion can extend to the EAD vehicles’ followers, it makes EAD a promising technology to benefit the traffic flow where automated vehicles and conventional vehicles coexist. Most existing EAD studies envision an ideal setting that neglects real-world operational conditions such as lane changes, multi-movement intersection configuration, partially automated fleet, and/or limited traffic state awareness. This study aims to fill the gap by designing an EAD algorithm considering real-world traffic operation constraints. The proposed algorithm uses a model predictive controller to minimize vehicle speed reduction and variation based on the real-time traffic signal control plan and measured queues at the intersection. The required inputs are readily available at many modern intersections. We observed that the proposed controller’s performance might degrade because of lane-changing maneuvers and lead-left turn traffic signals. These observations motivated our development of a lane change management strategy and a signal control implementation strategy to facilitate the EAD implementation. The lane change management strategies separate the EAD operations and lane-changing maneuvers in time and space. The signal control implementation strategy applies lag-left turn signals to enable EAD operation for both the through and left-turn vehicles. Compared to the non-EAD case, our EAD approach produces 2.5% to 7.8% energy savings while keeping similar intersection mobility. Notably, this approach brings about 2.5% to 3.6% energy savings in a 2% CAV case. This result demonstrates the feasibility of deploying EAD at low connected automated vehicle penetration rates.

Arterial corridor management↗
DOE OSTI2017

Scaling the PuNDIT project for wide area deployments

In today’s world of distributed scientific collaborations, there are many challenges to providing reliable inter-domain network infrastructure. Network operators use a combination of active monitoring and trouble tickets to detect problems, but these are often ineffective at identifying issues that impact wide-area network users. Additionally, these approaches do not scale to wide area inter-domain networks due to unavailability of data from all the domains along typical network paths. The Pythia Network Diagnostic InfrasTructure (PuNDIT) project aims to create a scalable infrastructure for automating the detection and localization of problems across these networks. The project goal is to gather and analyze metrics from existing perfSONAR monitoring infrastructures to identify the signatures of possible problems, locate affected network links, and report them to the user in an intuitive fashion. Simply put, PuNDIT seeks to convert complex network metrics into easily understood diagnoses in an automated manner. We present our progress in creating the PuNDIT system and our status in developing, testing and deploying PuNDIT. We report on the project progress to-date, describe the current implementation architecture and demonstrate some of the various user interfaces it will support. We close by discussing the remaining challenges and next steps and where we see the project going in the future.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Deployment of Water-based Liquid Scintillator in the Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment

The Accelerator Neutrino Neutron Interaction Experiment (ANNIE) is a 26-ton water Cherenkov neutrino detector installed on the Booster Neutrino Beam (BNB) at Fermilab. Its main physics goals are to perform a measurement of the neutron yield from neutrino-nucleus interactions, as well as a measurement of the charged-current cross section of muon neutrinos. An equally important focus is the research and development of new detector technologies and target media. Specifically, water-based liquid scintillator (WbLS) is of interest as a novel detector medium, as it allows for the simultaneous detection of Cherenkov light and scintillation. This paper presents the deployment of a 366 L WbLS vessel in ANNIE in March 2023 and the subsequent detection of both Cherenkov light and scintillation from the WbLS. Finally, this proof-of-concept allows for the future development of reconstruction and particle identification algorithms in ANNIE, as well as dedicated analyses within the WbLS volume, such as the search for neutral-current events and the hadronic scintillation component.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗