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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2005

Health Management Applications for International Space Station

Traditional mission and vehicle management involves teams of highly trained specialists monitoring vehicle status and crew activities, responding rapidly to any anomalies encountered during operations. These teams work from the Mission Control Center and have access to engineering support teams with specialized expertise in International Space Station (ISS) subsystems. Integrated System Health Management (ISHM) applications can significantly augment these capabilities by providing enhanced monitoring, prognostic and diagnostic tools for critical decision support and mission management. The Intelligent Systems Division of NASA Ames Research Center is developing many prototype applications using model-based reasoning, data mining and simulation, working with Mission Control through the ISHM Testbed and Prototypes Project. This paper will briefly describe information technology that supports current mission management practice, and will extend this to a vision for future mission control workflow incorporating new ISHM applications. It will describe ISHM applications currently under development at NASA and will define technical approaches for implementing our vision of future human exploration mission management incorporating artificial intelligence and distributed web service architectures using specific examples. Several prototypes are under development, each highlighting a different computational approach. The ISStrider application allows in-depth analysis of Caution and Warning (C&W) events by correlating real-time telemetry with the logical fault trees used to define off-nominal events. The application uses live telemetry data and the Livingstone diagnostic inference engine to display the specific parameters and fault trees that generated the C&W event, allowing a flight controller to identify the root cause of the event from thousands of possibilities by simply navigating animated fault tree models on their workstation. SimStation models the functional power flow for the ISS Electrical Power System and can predict power balance for nominal and off-nominal conditions. SimStation uses realtime telemetry data to keep detailed computational physics models synchronized with actual ISS power system state. In the event of failure, the application can then rapidly diagnose root cause, predict future resource levels and even correlate technical documents relevant to the specific failure. These advanced computational models will allow better insight and more precise control of ISS subsystems, increasing safety margins by speeding up anomaly resolution and reducing,engineering team effort and cost. This technology will make operating ISS more efficient and is directly applicable to next-generation exploration missions and Crew Exploration Vehicles.

Alena, Richard↗
DOE OSTI2014

EnergyFit Nevada (formerly known as the Nevada Retrofit Initiative) final report and technical evaluation

The EnergyFit Nevada (EFN) Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP, and referred to in this document as the EFN program) currently encourages Nevada residents to make whole-house energy-efficient improvements by providing rebates, financing, and access to a network of qualified home improvement contractors. The BBNP funding, consisting of 34 Energy Efficiency Conservation Block Grants (EECBG) and seven State Energy Program (SEP) grants, was awarded for a three-year period to the State of Nevada in 2010 and used for initial program design and implementation. By the end of first quarter in 2014, the program had achieved upgrades in 553 homes, with an average energy reduction of 32% per home. Other achievements included: Completed 893 residential energy audits and installed upgrades in 0.05% of all Nevada single-family homes1 Achieved an overall conversation rate of 38.1%2 7,089,089 kWh of modeled energy savings3 Total annual homeowner energy savings of approximately $525,7523 Efficiency upgrades completed on 1,100,484 square feet of homes3 $139,992 granted in loans to homeowners for energy-efficiency upgrades 29,285 hours of labor and $3,864,272 worth of work conducted by Nevada auditors and contractors4 40 contractors trained in Nevada 37 contractors with Building Performance Institute (BPI) certification in Nevada 19 contractors actively participating in the EFN program in Nevada 1 Calculated using 2012 U.S. Census data reporting 1,182,870 homes in Nevada. 2 Conversion rate through March 31, 2014, for all Nevada Retrofit Initiative (NRI)-funded projects, calculated using the EFN tracking database. 3 OptiMiser energy modeling, based on current utility rates. 4 This is the sum of $3,596,561 in retrofit invoice value and $247,711 in audit invoice value.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2013

Retrofitting Las Vegas: Implementing Energy Efficiency in Two Las Vegas Test Homes

In 2009, the state of Nevada received nearly $40 million in Neighborhood Stabilization Funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to use to stabilize communities that have suffered from foreclosures and abandonment. In order to provide guidance to local officials and maximize how effectively this NSP funding is used in retrofitting homes, the CARB team provided design specifications, energy modeling, and technical support for the BARA team and its local partners—Better Building Performance, Nevada Energy Star Partners Green Alliance, and Home Free Nevada—for two retrofit test homes. One home demonstrated a modest retrofit and the other a deep energy retrofit. This report describes the retrofit packages, which were used as an educational experience for home performance professionals, building trades, remodelers, and the general public.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

PPPL Laboratory Directed Research and Development (Project Final Reports, FY2018 - FY2020)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) is a collaborative national center for fusion energy science, basic sciences, and advanced technology. The Laboratory has three major missions: (1) to develop the scientific knowledge and advanced engineering to enable fusion to power the U.S. and the world; (2) to advance the science of nanoscale fabrication for technologies of tomorrow; and (3) to further the development of the scientific understanding of the plasma universe from laboratory to astrophysical scales. PPPL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program supports and encourages creativity and innovation and contributes to its long-term viability. New scientific and technical research areas emerge and are nurtured through the program. Furthermore, new capabilities are developed to enable the Laboratory to meet its and DOE’s missions. The program is used to systematically diversify the Laboratory’s programs and mission. In the last few years, the program has started projects in nanomaterial synthesis, microelectronics, advanced x-ray spectroscopy, high-energy-density physics, superconducting magnet technology, machine learning and artificial intelligence, 3D magnetic fields to optimize fusion plasmas, integration of permanent magnets with simple high-field magnets to reduce the cost of producing complex 3D magnetic fields, advanced computational methods for predictive understanding and control of fusion plasma, development of quantum computing algorithms for plasma physics, liquid metal plasma-facing components for fusion reactors, virtual engineering, and plasma-based space propulsion. The program is also the vehicle to recruit and train talented scientists and engineers with the new skills needed to perform the Laboratory’s mission. Many of the new hires through the program go on to become world-class scientists and engineers in their fields. This report provides descriptions and accomplishments of those LDRD projects that were completed during fiscal years 2018 through 2020.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS2008

Guidance and Control Software Project Data - Volume 2: Development Documents

The Guidance and Control Software (GCS) project was the last in a series of software reliability studies conducted at Langley Research Center between 1977 and 1994. The technical results of the GCS project were recorded after the experiment was completed. Some of the support documentation produced as part of the experiment, however, is serving an unexpected role far beyond its original project context. Some of the software used as part of the GCS project was developed to conform to the RTCA/DO-178B software standard, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," used in the civil aviation industry. That standard requires extensive documentation throughout the software development life cycle, including plans, software requirements, design and source code, verification cases and results, and configuration management and quality control data. The project documentation that includes this information is open for public scrutiny without the legal or safety implications associated with comparable data from an avionics manufacturer. This public availability has afforded an opportunity to use the GCS project documents for DO-178B training. This report provides a brief overview of the GCS project, describes the 4-volume set of documents and the role they are playing in training, and includes the development documents from the GCS project. Volume 2 contains three appendices: A. Guidance and Control Software Development Specification; B. Design Description for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software; and C. Source Code for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Guidance and Control Software Project Data - Volume 1: Planning Documents

The Guidance and Control Software (GCS) project was the last in a series of software reliability studies conducted at Langley Research Center between 1977 and 1994. The technical results of the GCS project were recorded after the experiment was completed. Some of the support documentation produced as part of the experiment, however, is serving an unexpected role far beyond its original project context. Some of the software used as part of the GCS project was developed to conform to the RTCA/DO-178B software standard, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," used in the civil aviation industry. That standard requires extensive documentation throughout the software development life cycle, including plans, software requirements, design and source code, verification cases and results, and configuration management and quality control data. The project documentation that includes this information is open for public scrutiny without the legal or safety implications associated with comparable data from an avionics manufacturer. This public availability has afforded an opportunity to use the GCS project documents for DO-178B training. This report provides a brief overview of the GCS project, describes the 4-volume set of documents and the role they are playing in training, and includes the planning documents from the GCS project. Volume 1 contains five appendices: A. Plan for Software Aspects of Certification for the Guidance and Control Software Project; B. Software Development Standards for the Guidance and Control Software Project; C. Software Verification Plan for the Guidance and Control Software Project; D. Software Configuration Management Plan for the Guidance and Control Software Project; and E. Software Quality Assurance Activities.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Guidance and Control Software Project Data - Volume 3: Verification Documents

The Guidance and Control Software (GCS) project was the last in a series of software reliability studies conducted at Langley Research Center between 1977 and 1994. The technical results of the GCS project were recorded after the experiment was completed. Some of the support documentation produced as part of the experiment, however, is serving an unexpected role far beyond its original project context. Some of the software used as part of the GCS project was developed to conform to the RTCA/DO-178B software standard, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," used in the civil aviation industry. That standard requires extensive documentation throughout the software development life cycle, including plans, software requirements, design and source code, verification cases and results, and configuration management and quality control data. The project documentation that includes this information is open for public scrutiny without the legal or safety implications associated with comparable data from an avionics manufacturer. This public availability has afforded an opportunity to use the GCS project documents for DO-178B training. This report provides a brief overview of the GCS project, describes the 4-volume set of documents and the role they are playing in training, and includes the verification documents from the GCS project. Volume 3 contains four appendices: A. Software Verification Cases and Procedures for the Guidance and Control Software Project; B. Software Verification Results for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software; C. Review Records for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software; and D. Test Results Logs for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗
NASA NTRS2008

Guidance and Control Software Project Data - Volume 4: Configuration Management and Quality Assurance Documents

The Guidance and Control Software (GCS) project was the last in a series of software reliability studies conducted at Langley Research Center between 1977 and 1994. The technical results of the GCS project were recorded after the experiment was completed. Some of the support documentation produced as part of the experiment, however, is serving an unexpected role far beyond its original project context. Some of the software used as part of the GCS project was developed to conform to the RTCA/DO-178B software standard, "Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification," used in the civil aviation industry. That standard requires extensive documentation throughout the software development life cycle, including plans, software requirements, design and source code, verification cases and results, and configuration management and quality control data. The project documentation that includes this information is open for public scrutiny without the legal or safety implications associated with comparable data from an avionics manufacturer. This public availability has afforded an opportunity to use the GCS project documents for DO-178B training. This report provides a brief overview of the GCS project, describes the 4-volume set of documents and the role they are playing in training, and includes configuration management and quality assurance documents from the GCS project. Volume 4 contains six appendices: A. Software Accomplishment Summary for the Guidance and Control Software Project; B. Software Configuration Index for the Guidance and Control Software Project; C. Configuration Management Records for the Guidance and Control Software Project; D. Software Quality Assurance Records for the Guidance and Control Software Project; E. Problem Report for the Pluto Implementation of the Guidance and Control Software Project; and F. Support Documentation Change Reports for the Guidance and Control Software Project.

Hayhurst, Kelly J.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Is tokenization needed for masked particle modeling?

In this work, we significantly enhance masked particle modeling (MPM), a self-supervised learning scheme for constructing highly expressive representations of unordered sets relevant to developing foundation models for high-energy physics. In MPM, a model is trained to recover the missing elements of a set, a learning objective that requires no labels and can be applied directly to experimental data. We achieve significant performance improvements over previous work on MPM by addressing inefficiencies in the implementation and incorporating a more powerful decoder. We compare several pre-training tasks and introduce new reconstruction methods that utilize conditional generative models without data tokenization or discretization. We show that these new methods outperform the tokenized learning objective from the original MPM on a new test bed for foundation models for jets, which includes using a wide variety of downstream tasks relevant to jet physics, such as classification, secondary vertex finding, and track identification.

conditional generative models↗
DOE OSTI2022

Optimized Machine Learning Model for Predicting Groundwater Contamination

The use of physical models to predict groundwater contaminant movement remains technically challenging due to the complexity of the phenomena, the heterogeneity of key parameters in nature, and the presence of poorly defined interactive and feedback processes. New approaches to address these challenges are needed. In this study, we evaluate various Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based approaches to understand a hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) plumes located on the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Site in Richland, WA. The groundwater monitoring dataset used in this study included data from the 100 Area along the Columbia River and included data collected between 2010 to 2019. This study investigates the most prominent contaminant, Cr(VI), with the Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) machine learning model. The XGBoost models were compared with optimized versions using an Empirical Bayes Search Cross-Validation technique for better prediction. The optimized XGBoost model yielded an R^2 value of 0.99 on the training set and 0.85 on the testing set, whereas XGBoost without optimization yielded a value of 0.83 on the training set and 0.85 on the testing set. This paper provides an overview of a computational method for groundwater contamination modeling that shows promise for improving current remediation efforts.

Mazumdar, Hirak↗
NASA NTRS1997

Training Manual for Elements of Interface Definition and Control

The primary thrust of this manual is to ensure that the format and information needed to control interfaces between equipment are clear and understandable. The emphasis is on controlling the engineering design of the interface and not on the functional performance requirements of the system or the internal workings of the interfacing equipment. Interface control should take place, with rare exception, at the interfacing elements and no further. There are two essential sections of the manual. Chapter 2, Principles of Interface Control, discusses how interfaces are defined. It describes different types of interfaces to be considered and recommends a format for the documentation necessary for adequate interface control. Chapter 3, The Process: Through the Design Phases, provides tailored guidance for interface definition and control. This manual can be used to improve planned or existing interface control processes during system design and development. It can also be used to refresh and update the corporate knowledge base. The information presented herein will reduce the amount of paper and data required in interface definition and control processes by as much as 50 percent and will shorten the time required to prepare an interface control document. It also highlights the essential technical parameters that ensure that flight subsystems will indeed fit together and function as intended after assembly and checkout.

Lalli, Vincent R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

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↗
NASA NTRS2006

Imagine Moving Off the Planet

Moving off the planet will be a defining moment of this century as landing on the Moon was in the last. For that to happen for humans to go where humans cannot go-- simulation is the sole solution. NASA supports simulation for life-cycle activities: design, analysis, test, checkout, operations, review and training. We contemplate time spans of a century and more, teams dispersed to different planets and the need for systems that endure or adapt as missions, teams and technology change. Without imagination such goals are impossible. But with imagination we can go outside our present perception of reality to think about and take action on what has been, is and, especially, what might be. Consciously maturing an imagined, possibly workable, idea through framing it to optimization to design, and building the product provides us with a new approach to innovation and simulation fidelity. We address options, analyze, test and make improvements in how we think and work. Each step includes increasingly exact information about costs, schedule, who will be needed, where, when and how. NASA i integrating such thinking into its Exploration Product Realization Hierarchy for simulation and analysis, test and verification, and stimulus response goals. Technically NASA follows a timeline of studies, analysis, definition, design, development and operations with concurrent documentation. We have matched this Product Realization Hierarchy with a continuum from image to realization that incorporates commitment, current and needed research and communication to ensure superior and creative problem solving as well as advances in simulation. One result is a new approach to collaborative systems. Another is a distributed observer network prototyped using game engine technology bringing advanced 3-D simulation of a simulation to the desktop enabling people to develop shared consensus of its meaning. Much of the value of simulation comes from developing in people their ability to make good decisions and reflexes supporting impressive achievement. Synthesizing imagination systematically into our work - and thus our success - is a challenge. NASA engineers have inventive minds, and the task is determining how best to enable them to devise the simulation and other innovations that will make a story so clear and so intellectually sound that people can carry out the mission for 50-100 years. This demands skills and knowledge traditionally under-respected and under-represented in technology organizations. But we are beginning to see that the process encourages efficiency and enables us to attain more effective results. We have to elicit imaginative, intelligent and effective ways to make better use than ever of the minds we have and will have available. We have to accept the challenge to accomplish tasks among dispersed interdisciplinary teams who must overcome changing priorities and technology, time and distance in order to maximize interactivity and innovation as never before. Attention to the process of innovation is a practical means to increase the efficiency of our intelligence. We have an obligation to reexamine and improve the process by which we approach and exercise innovation as we accept the charge to move off the planet.

Elfrey, Priscilla R.↗
NASA NTRS2002

National Survey Results: Retention of Women in Collegiate Aviation

Since the numbers of women pursuing technical careers in aviation continues to remain very low, a study on retention of women was undertaken by a team of university faculty from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Arizona State University, and Kent State University. The study was initiated to discover the factors that influence women once they have already selected an aviation career and to ascertain what could be done to support those women who have demonstrated a serious interest in an aviation career by enrolling in a collegiate aviation program. This paper reports preliminary results of data collected in the first and second years of the study. The data was collected from surveys of 390 college students (195 women and 195 men) majoring in aviation programs in nine colleges and universities, representing widely varied geographic areas and including both two- and four-year institutions. Results revealed significant areas of concern among women in pilot training. When queried about these concerns, differences were evident in the responses of the male and female groups. These differences were expected. However, a surprising finding was that women in early stages of pilot training responded differently from women in more experienced stages, These response differences did not occur among the men surveyed. The results, therefore, suggest that women in experienced stages of training may have gone through an adaptation process and reflect more male-like attitudes about a number of objects, including social issues, confidence, family, and career.

Turney, Mary Ann↗
DOE OSTI2025

DOE Repository Metadata Profile (DRMP): A Metadata Framework for Advancing Interoperability and AI Readiness Across Scientific Repositories

The Department of Energy (DOE) funds a diverse and distributed ecosystem of repositories that steward scientific data, publications, and software across its research programs, user facilities, and national laboratories. While significant progress has been made in standardizing dataset-level metadata, the metadata describing repositories themselves (their identity, governance, access interfaces, policies, and technical capabilities) remains inconsistent and fragmented across DOE-funded systems. This variability limits discoverability, interoperability, automated validation, and AI-driven analysis, all of which are increasingly essential for modern scientific workflows. To address this gap, the DOE Data Curation Working Group (DCWG) developed the DOE Repository Metadata Profile (DRMP). The DRMP is a practical, community-driven framework that defines how repositories can describe themselves in a consistent, machine-actionable, and scalable manner. The DRMP is not a new metadata schema. Instead, it is a mapping profile and structured element set capturing the essential characteristics of DOE repositories. It harmonizes repository-level metadata across six widely adopted community schemas: RE3Data; DCAT-US v3; Schema.org; Dublin Core; DataCite 4.6; and PREMIS 3.0. This harmonization eliminates reinvention and enables interoperability within DOE and across the broader scientific ecosystem. A core objective of the DRMP is to reduce burden on repositories by allowing them to reuse their existing metadata through a Rosetta-style crosswalk rather than redesigning local implementations. The profile introduces a three-level conformance model that supports incremental adoption: • Level 1 – Minimum Viable Record (MVR): foundational identification elements required for workflows, project registration, and basic repository presence. • Level 2 – Interoperable: structured metadata enabling alignment with national and international discovery systems. • Level 3 – AI-Ready: enhanced provenance, policy transparency, fixity, semantic context, and capabilities that support automated reasoning, model training governance, and machine-assisted curation. To support implementation, the DRMP includes JSON Schema definitions, OpenAPI patterns, and MCP templates that allow repositories to publish machine-readable metadata directly within existing platforms. These resources are modular and lightweight, enabling adoption without major architectural change. Adopting the DRMP enables repositories to: • Enhance discoverability and interoperability by aligning identifiers, classifications, and descriptive elements across widely used schema standards. • Support federated discovery and cross-registration across DOE systems, Data.gov, and international catalogs. • Enable AI agents and workflow orchestration systems to interpret repository-level metadata within the American Science Cloud (AmSC) through Model Context Protocol (MCP)-based context publication. • Demonstrate alignment with DOE’s open science, stewardship, and FAIR data priorities. This guidance represents a community-driven step forward. Through voluntary adoption and continued feedback, the DRMP advances a cohesive, machine-actionable description of DOE repositories that supports FAIR data practices, preparing the infrastructure for AI-enabled research, and strengthening the discoverability and reuse of DOE’s scientific outputs.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Long Island Smart Energy Corridor

The Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) has teamed with Stony Brook University (Stony Brook or SBU) and Farmingdale State College (Farmingdale or FSC), two branches of the State University of New York (SUNY), to create a “Smart Energy Corridor.” The project, located along the Route 110 business corridor on Long Island, New York, demonstrated the integration of a suite of Smart Grid technologies from substations to end-use loads. The Smart Energy Corridor Project included the following key features: -TECHNOLOGY: Demonstrated a full range of smart energy technologies, including substations and distribution feeder automation, fiber and radio communications backbone, advanced metering infrastructure (AM”), meter data management (MDM) system (which LIPA implemented outside of this project), field tools automation, customer-level energy management including automated energy management systems, and integration with distributed generation and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. -MARKETING: A rigorous market test that identified customer response to an alternative time-of-use pricing plan and varying levels of information and analytical support. -CYBER SECURITY: Tested cyber security vulnerabilities in Smart Grid hardware, network, and application layers. Developed recommendations for policies, procedures, and technical controls to prevent or foil cyber-attacks and to harden the Smart Grid infrastructure. -RELIABILITY: Leveraged new Smart Grid-enabled data to increase system efficiency and reliability. Developed enhanced load forecasting, phase balancing, and voltage control techniques designed to work hand-in-hand with the Smart Grid technologies. -OUTREACH: Implemented public outreach and educational initiatives that were linked directly to the demonstration of Smart Grid technologies, tools, techniques, and system configurations. This included creation of full-scale operating models demonstrating application of Smart Grid technologies in business and residential settings. Farmingdale State College held three international conferences on energy and sustainability and Smart Grid related technologies and policies. These conferences, in addition to public seminars increased understanding and acceptance of Smart Grid transformation by the general public, business, industry, and municipalities in the Long Island and greater New York region. - JOB CREATION: Provided training for the Smart Grid and clean energy jobs of the future at both Farmingdale and Stony Brook. Stony Brook focused its “Cradle to Fortune 500” suite of economic development resources on the opportunities emerging from the project, helping to create new technologies, new businesses, and new jobs. To achieve these features, LIPA and its sub-recipients, FSC and SBU, each have separate but complementary objectives. At LIPA, the Smart Energy Corridor (1) meant validating Smart Grid technologies; (2) quantifying Smart Grid costs and benefits; and (3) providing insights into how Smart Grid applications can be better implemented, readily adapted, and replicated in individual homes and businesses. LIPA installed 2,550 AMI meters (exceeding the 500 AMI meters in the original plan), created three “smart” substations serving the Corridor, and installed additional distribution automation elements including two-way communications and digital controls over various feeders and capacitor banks. It gathered and analyzed customer behavior information on how they responded to a new “smart” TOU rate and to various levels of information and analytical tools.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2014

North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners Final Report

The U.S. DOE’s Office of EERE National Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) calls for a “National Accreditation and Certification Program for Installation and Acceptance of Photovoltaic Systems.” A near-term goal listed in the U.S. Photovoltaic Industry’s Roadmap, 2000 - 2020 is to work to establish standards, codes, and certifications which are essential for consumer protection and acceptance as part of the goal of building toward a viable future PV industry. This program paves the way for a voluntary national certification program for PV system practitioners and installers, initiation of the first steps toward certification of hardware, and reinforcement of all five of the technical objectives in the Systems category of SETPs Multi-Year technical Plan. Through this project, NABCEP will direct the continued initiation of and sustained implementation and administration of the NABCEP Solar PV Installer Certification Program (hereafter the “Program”). The NABCEP Program is a national, voluntary program designed to provide certification for those PV installers who demonstrate the requisite skills, abilities and knowledge typically required to install and maintain PV systems. The core document upon which the Program was developed and upon which the national exam is based, is referred to as the (Program) Task Analysis. It is a thorough descriptive document containing specific psychomotor and cognitive tasks for the purposes of identifying the types of training/assessment methods that apply. Psychomotor skills require measuring, assembling, fastening and related activities. Cognitive skills require knowledge processing, decision-making and computations. NABCEP effectively evaluates an applicant’s psychomotor skills through review of a candidate’s PV installations and hands-on training received. NABCEP evaluates the candidate’s cognitive skills through administration of its national Program exam. By first qualifying for and then obtaining the required passing score, NABCEP certificants receive an accreditation that upholds NABCEP’s standards of quality, compliance to applicable codes and safety in PV installation. The objectives of DOE’s National Solar Energy Technology Program (SETP) are intrinsic to NABCEP. As detailed in the PV Roadmap, the lifespan of a PV system is a function of reliability and value. PV system reliability is directly dependent upon the quality of components and, design, installation and maintenance of a system. The latter three are all core components of the NABCEP Task Analysis - accordingly NABCEP certified installers will be instrumental in improving reliability of systems through safe, code and manufacturer-compliant installation and necessary post-installation maintenance of PV systems. This will have the effect of ensuring and increasing the performance of installed systems and, as consumers realize the benefits of well-installed and maintained systems, increased demand will follow and manufacturers will respond - supporting further growth in the PV industry. Furthermore, as more NABCEP certified installers perform these installations and maintenance competently, additional installations (whole system re-installations) and unnecessary repairs can be avoided. This will drive down system costs. This combined with creation/enhancement of the DE-FG36-04GO14348/005 NABCEP Central Data Base of Installers – providing consumers with installation/maintenance service options will further reduce system costs and help meet the overall goal of reducing life cycle costs. As consumers receive more value from PV systems which are providing longer, trouble free, renewable energy, they will join the ranks of professionals and enthusiasts calling for reduced technological barriers to installation (particularly for grid-tied systems). States and utilities will react to pressure and begin easing onerous net-metering and other technological restrictions. The benefits of NABCEP’s Program will be evident to consumers, manufacturers, distributors, state energy officials and solar academic institutions. Consumers benefit through increased system performance and reduced costs. Manufacturers of PV and balance of system components as well as distributors support and benefit from NABCEP because of assurances that systems are installed in accordance to code (i.e., NEC) and their specifications, resulting in longer life. Collaborators including state energy officials (i.e., New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) benefit by knowing that rebate funds are spent on systems whose benefits will far exceed system costs. Program Objectives The improvements and advantages offered by a national voluntary certification program can only expand the horizons for photovoltaic applications.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Storing Co 2 in Built Infrastructure: Co 2 Carbonation of Precast Concrete Products

The overall objective of the proposed study was to advance the technical understanding of CO 2 incorporation into novel cementitious materials for the development of high value products that provide a net reduction in carbon emissions. This project combined two primary phases of research that addressed technical barriers related to (i) optimizing CO 2 storage capability of cementitious materials, (ii) evaluating and enhancing physical properties of novel carbonated materials, and (iii) assessing the reductions in life cycle CO 2 emissions attributed to CO 2 carbonation of precast cementitious materials. Engineered cementitious composites (ECC) are a class of highly ductile concrete composites that have been shown to be very durable when used in the built environment. CO 2 carbonation of ECC was examined in this study and it was found that precast ECC specimens could sequester up to 35% CO 2 by cement mass after 24 hours of curing at a CO 2 pressure of 0.5 MPa and 23°C and had a strain capacity of 3%. Carbonation conditions were optimized at the bench-scale and then utilized to create full-scale CO 2 -cured ECC railroad ties that were field tested on a train track. Rail ties were selected for this initial assessment of CO 2 storage in precast concrete materials due to the large market for concrete ties in the railroad industry. Although the full-scale rail ties passed all of the required American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association qualifying mechanical tests, on-track testing of the CO 2 -cured ECC rail ties was unsuccessful due to fiber alignment in the ECC the during the rail tie casting process which prevented the material from achieving the expected level of strain capacity. This result highlights the challenge in scaling up bench-scale processes to full-scale product manufacturing and requires additional investigation into the casting process of large-scale infrastructure elements using ECC combined with carbonation curing. Life cycle assessment of a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie versus a traditional concrete rail tie indicates that the ECC tie can have lifecycle carbon savings of between 11% and 51% depending on how much longer its useful lifetime is compared to traditional concrete rail ties. Both carbon and cost savings are driven by a reduction in the need to replace broken rail ties, so the key factor is the extent to which a CO 2 -cured ECC rail tie will have increased lifetime durability compared to alternative rail ties.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗