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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 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2017

Value of Integrated Risk and Issue Management - 17589

Risk management is a tool that has been used by project managers for several decades to help manage scope, cost, and schedule baselines and to improve the likelihood of project success. More recently, the risk management process has been applied to the management of companies and corporations under the designation of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) where it is used to help ensure success in meeting strategic objectives. All of this focus on risk (related to events or conditions that may occur) is normally done without considering how issues (related to events or conditions that will or has occurred) may impact the allocation of resources required to address risks, and perhaps more importantly, how resources required to support normal work scope may be impacted. This paper suggests the use of an integrated risk and issue management process, where risks and issues are managed concurrently using similar but separate and distinct processes. The benefit of using an integrated process is the organization and centralization of data related to risks and issues that becomes available for decision makers to use in prioritizing and allocating limited resources between performing normal work, addressing risks, or resolving issues. Applying integrated risk and issue management to any activity will lead to better decisions, whether the activity is personal, project, program, or enterprise. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2024

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) Device Cybersecurity Characterization Process and Profile

Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction (CWMD) recognizes that threats in the cyberspace domain continue to grow, which requires CWMD devices and supporting systems to be both cybersecure (ability to protect or defend from cyber-attacks) and resilient (ability to maintain required capability in the face of adversity) to cyber threats. The CWMD cybersecurity characterization approach in this document supports existing cyber resilience activities within the Acquisition Lifecycle Framework. Similarly, this process supports existing Department of Homeland Security Cyber Resilience Test and Evaluation activities, which consist of iterative processes, starting at the initiation of system acquisition and continuing throughout the entire device and system life cycle. Cyber resilience is the ability of an information system to continue to operate while under attack, even if in a degraded or debilitated state,1 and to rapidly recover operational capabilities for essential functions after a successful attack.2 The goal of the security characterization task for CWMD is to support the development of a CBRN device-dependent profile that aligns with device network capabilities and maps to recommended security controls to create a characterization security profile impact levels. The impact levels for CWMD devices should be characterized as Low (L), Moderate (M), High (H) to align with the low, moderate, high control baselines. To estimate the impact levels, the device’s security-related attributes are translated into the security objectives: Confidentiality (C), Integrity (I), and Availability (A), known as the CIA triad. The potential impact for each device can be L, M, H, for devices that connect and transmit different types of data and may have different impact levels. National Institute of Standards and Technology Federal Information Processing Standards Publication 199 states, “the potential impact values assigned to the respective security objectives shall be the highest value from among those security categories that have been determined for each type of information resident on the information system.”3 As CWMD is determining the cybersecurity impact levels of CBRN devices based on network connections and data transfers, the impact levels are aligned with the associated attributes of network connections and communications. For example, if the device system is connected to a wireless network and transmits different data types based on the confidentiality of the data, the highest impact value for each security objective should represent the device’s CIA impact level. This document is intended to be used by test managers, test team, and program managers.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2021

Comparison Study of Upper Subcritical Limits Derived Using Sensitivity/Uncertainty Tools: Case Studies of U233-SOL-THERM-001-001, MIX-COMP-THERM-001-001, IEU-MET-FAST-002-001, LEU-COMP-THERM-001-001, LEU-SOL-THERM-004-001

Neutron transport methods used to establish subcriticality require validation by comparison to critical experiments considered to be benchmarks. Whisper is a sensitivity/uncertainty analysis tool developed to assist with the task of validation in nuclear criticality safety. Details on the Whisper methodology can be found in References 1-3 on the MCNP® reference collection website at https://mcnp.lanl.gov. Whisper-1.0 was originally developed in 2014 and used to assist with nuclear criticality safety validation at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Whisper was upgraded in 2016 to Whisper-1.1 and prepared for release with MCNP6.2 [References 3-5]. Whisper contains a library of over 1100 critical experiment benchmarks and quantifies neutronic similarity of an application to benchmarks in the library. Using highest similarity benchmarks, Whisper computes a calculational margin (CM) encompassing of the worst-case bias and bias uncertainty at a 99% confidence level for each application. In addition, portions of the margin of subcriticality (MOS) for nuclear data uncertainty and potential code errors are computed. The baseline upper subcritical limit (USL) computed by Whisper is comprised of the CM, MOS nuclear data , and MOS code errors . The Whisper baseline USL is absent a portion of the MOS due to the area of application, which is applied based upon judgment by the criticality safety analyst. An objective of this paper is to present the baseline USL, CM and portions of the MOS as computed by Whisper for comparison with similar sensitivity/uncertainty tools, such as those used by IRSN and ORNL. An initial comparison involved four critical experiment benchmarks: HEU-MET-FAST-013-001, HEU-SOLTHERM-001-008, PU-MET-FAST-022-001, AND PU-SOL-THERM-001-001, which have been documented in References 10-13. This study extends the comparison to include cases U233-SOL-THERM-001-001, MIX-COMP-THERM-001-001, IEU-MET-FAST-002-001, LEU-COMP-THERM-001-001, LEU-SOL-THERM- 004-001.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Physics of Neutrino Oscillations and Neutrino Cross Sections using the NOvA Experiment

NOvA is a long-baseline accelerator-based neutrino experiment based in the US. NOvA uses an intense neutrino beam produced at Fermilab’s accelerator complex to make physics measurements of neutrino oscillations, neutrino cross sections, and much more. For its physics goals, NOvA uses two functionally-identical detectors. The Near Detector (ND) is situated at Fermilab, 1 km from the neutrino target and the Far Detector (FD) is located at Ash River, MN, a distance of 810 km from the neutrino source. The ND receives a high statistics neutrino flux which gives a unique opportunity for high-precision neutrino cross-section measurements and is used as a control for the oscillation analyses. The FD is used to analyze the appearance and disappearance of the neutrinos arriving from the Fermilab. The purpose of the oscillation analysis is to understand the dominance of matter over antimatter in the universe, to resolve the ordering of neutrino masses, and to resolve the octant of the neutrino mixing angle theta23. In this talk, I will give an overview of the NOvA experiment. I will also talk about the status of the NOvA’s cross-section physics program and the latest results from the oscillation analyses. I will also talk about the future prospects of the experiment.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Outbreak investigations of foot and mouth disease virus in Nepal between 2010 and 2015 in the context of historical serotype occurrence

Abstract Foot and Mouth Disease ( FMD ) is endemic in Nepal and causes substantial economic losses in the livestock industry. The goal of this study was to perform an epidemiological analysis of FMD outbreaks reported to the Veterinary Epidemiology Center, Tripureshwor, Nepal during 2010–2015, in order to strengthen the National FMD Control Program. These current data were considered in the context of historical data on FMD virus ( FMDV ) serotypes detected in the country between 1965 and 2015. During 2010–2015, a total of 1333 livestock holdings reported FMD outbreaks in Nepal. On average, 71.2 animals were affected in each outbreak, with a case fatality rate of 3.6%. FMD was reported throughout the country, and the proportion of affected holdings was not significantly among eco‐zones, regions, or species. The Hill eco‐zone had the highest number of holdings affected (782), followed by Mountain (304), and Terai (247). When analysed by the developmental region, the Western (381) and Central (368) Developmental Regions had the highest numbers of holdings affected. Cattle were the most frequently affected species (39%), followed by buffalo (33%), and goats (19%). FMD occurred throughout the year, with peaks in winter (December/January) and in the pre‐monsoon period (April/May). Between 1965 and 2015 FMDV serotype O had the highest prevalence (81%), followed by Asia‐1 (11%), A (6%), and C (2%). Serotype C was not detected after 1996, and only serotype O was reported after 2011. These descriptive analyses provide critical landmarks to establish baselines, and document early progress of the ongoing Progressive Control Pathway of FMD ( PCP ‐ FMD ) which could be useful in Nepal and other South Asian nations.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Real-World Evaluation of National Energy Efficiency Potential of Cold Storage Evaporator Technology in the Context of Engine Start-Stop Systems

National concerns over energy consumption and emissions from the transportation sector have prompted regulatory agencies to implement aggressive fuel economy targets for light-duty vehicles through the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration/Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program. Automotive manufacturers have responded by bringing competitive technologies to market that maximize efficiency while meeting or exceeding consumer performance and comfort expectations. In a collaborative effort among Toyota Motor Corporation, Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the real-world savings of one such technology is evaluated. A commercially available Toyota Highlander equipped with two-phase cold storage technology was tested at ANL’s chassis dynamometer testing facility. The cold storage technology maintains the thermal state of air-conditioning evaporators to enable longer and more frequent engine-off operation in vehicles equipped with start-stop functionality. Test results were analyzed and provided to NREL where a novel simulation framework was developed and calibrated to the test data. The vehicle model was then exercised over a large set of real-world drive cycle and ambient condition data to estimate national-level fuel economy benefits. Results indicate that the cold storage evaporator provided national fuel consumption reductions of 0.113% relative to a conventional evaporator in the same vehicle. In addition, when the cold storage evaporator engine stop/start was enabled for any temperature and the baseline was limited to the EPA menu, Start and Stop credit assumption of 27°C, a national fuel savings of 0.497% was found. Fuel savings resulted from a combination of extended engine-off duration during idle events and increased frequency of deceleration fuel cutoff, both enabled by the ability of the cold storage evaporator to maintain thermal state in situations where air conditioning is active.

DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Visualization of the High-Burnup Spent Fuel Rod Phase 1 Test Plan: Technical Memo - Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition (Technical Memo)

Twenty-five high-burnup fuel rods were extracted from seven different fuel assemblies used for power production at the North Anna nuclear power plant and shipped to Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in 2016 for detailed non-destructive examination (NDE) and destructive examination (DE). The spent fuel rods were from 17×17 lattices and consist of four cladding types—Zirlo ® , M5 ® , Zircaloy-4, and low tin Zircaloy-4 (Zirc-4). These spent fuel rods are being tested to provide: (a) baseline characterization and mechanical property data that can be used as a comparison to fuel that was loaded into a modified TN-32B cask in November 2017, as part of the high-burnup confirmatory data project and (b) data applicable to high-burnup fuel rods (>45 GWd/MTU) currently stored and to be stored in the dry-cask fleet. The TN-32B cask is referred to as the “Demo” cask and is currently expected to be transported to a separate location and the internal contents inspected in approximately ten years. ORNL has completed the NDE of the twenty-five fuel rods. The purpose of this technical memorandum is to present a simplified summary of the first phase of destructive examinations and test conditions that will be used for communicating with various stakeholders. The destructive examinations will leverage the expertise and capabilities from multiple national laboratories for performing independent measurements of relevant data. Close coordination is required to ensure that all examinations follow well documented procedures and are performed so that measured data and characteristics can be readily compared. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has published a detailed overview of the test program. ORNL and PNNL developed detailed draft test plans for testing to be performed at their facilities. ORNL and PNNL are in the process of refining these test plans to apply specifically to the testing described in this memorandum. Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) contributed to the ORNL test plan by describing tests to be conducted at ANL. Testing will be based on continuous learning. If a test produces results that are inconsistent with expectations or current trends, further testing will be paused until a path forward is established to understand the results and to identify follow-on testing.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

System Health and Status Reporting is Used to Improve Infrastructure Systems at the Hanford Site - 20449

Reliable physical infrastructure systems are vital to completing the clean-up mission and the start-up and commissioning of new nuclear waste processing facilities at the Hanford Site. Key infrastructure systems at Hanford include water, sewer, and electrical utilities, roads, telecommunications/network systems, and fire systems. All of the infrastructure systems are non-nuclear, General Service systems that are being maintained under formal engineering configuration control and none are specifically credited in any documented safety analysis (DSA). Starting in calendar year 2017, the Hanford Site's infrastructure and services contractor started producing system health and status reports for a total of 15 critical infrastructure systems as means to get a better understanding of each system's health and how it could be improved to ensure better and more reliable service delivery. As the reporting, tracking, and use of the metrics has matured, the number of systems for which reports are being developed has been expanded to a total of 23. Each of the critical infrastructure systems are assigned primary and alternate design authorities that complete qualifications on each assigned system. The design authorities actively manage and maintain configuration control on each of their systems and track metrics associated with availability, maintenance (corrective and preventive), and configuration of the technical baseline. The metrics are based on the principles established in Chapter V of DOE O 420.1C, Facility Safety, [1] and have been tailored as appropriate to each of the key infrastructure systems. An overall assessment of system health is performed and documented on a routine basis (e.g., quarterly). Included in this documentation is a quantitative score for each of the metrics (i.e., availability, maintenance, configuration management) along with results of system walk-downs, description of any permanent design modifications, identification of new or emerging issues and vulnerabilities affecting the system, and an assessment by the design authority of actions necessary to improve the system health score. The overall status scores are calculated using a formula and based on a pre-determined grading scale, a color is assigned for simple presentation. The information gained from developing the reports is being used to (1) assist with making timely and better informed decisions through the use of solid technical bases that are increasing the overall reliability and capabilities of the Site's infrastructure systems as new expense and capital projects in the Reliability Projects Investment Portfolio (RPIP) are prioritized and executed; (2) feed the risk management program, and (3) integrate the technical content of Master Plans that describe the Site's needs for the system and the system's capabilities to meet those future needs. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2014

WE-PIS-Exhibit Hall-01: Tools for TG-142 Linac Imaging QA II

Partners in Solutions is an exciting new program in which AAPM partners with our vendors to present practical “hands-on” information about the equipment and software systems that we use in our clinics. The therapy topic this year is solutions for TG-142 recommendations for linear accelerator imaging QA. Note that the sessions are being held in a special purpose room built on the Exhibit Hall Floor, to encourage further interaction with the vendors. Using DoseLab to Perform TG-142 Imaging QA The goals of this session will be to present a clinical overview of acquiring images for TG-142 Imaging QA, as well as analyzing and evaluating results using DoseLab software. DoseLab supports planar imaging QA analysis using almost any QA phantom provided by numerous vendors. General advantages and disadvantages of selecting each of these phantoms will be briefly summarized. Best practices for selecting image acquisition parameters will be presented. A demonstration of using DoseLab software to perform a series of TG-142 tests will be performed. We will disuss why DoseLab uses its own set of imaging QA formulas, and why imaging QA measurement values of the same nominal properties will vary between TG- 142 software packages. Because TG-142 does not specify baseline and tolerance values for imaging QA, the presentation will recommend performing the manufacturer's acceptance test procedure to validate the equipment is functioning correctly. Afterwards, results can be obtained using the clinic's selected set of phantoms, image acquisition parameters, and TG-142 software to set proper baseline values. This presentation will highlight the reasons why comparing imaging QA results can be trickier than comparing linear accelerator treatment results and what physicists should keep in mind when comparing imaging QA results for different machines. Physicists are often unsure of the next step when there is an issue discovered during Imaging QA. Therefore, a few common examples of imaging issues and recommended solutions will be discussed. TG-142 Imaging QA Simplified: Lessons From Diagnostic Physics Collaboration There are many commercial options for the performance of imaging quality assurance tests for the linear accelerator imaging systems as required by the AAPM TG-142 report. Imaging quality assurance testing is largely performed by the diagnostic physicist so routine performance of these tests by the practicing oncology physicist can be complicated and confusing given all of the commercially available options. This presentation focuses on the performance of imaging quality assurance testing for linear accelerators using methods similar to that of diagnostic physicists. This presentation will address the ability to perform the required testing without complicated software and explores solutions for the performance of these tests in an efficient manner while still maintaining the ability to ascertain image quality changes that may ultimately affect clinical decisions.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development and Experimental Optimization of High-Temperature Modeling Tools and Methods for Concentrated Solar Power Particle - Systems

A novel, open-source radiative modeling toolset was developed to extend the functionality of particle-based modeling software (e.g. discrete element method (DEM)) to environmental conditions relevant to concentrated solar power applications. This toolset was optimized for deployment on desktop workstations instead of high-performance computing systems, to render such tools more accessible to the research community. Both particle-based modeling and radiative exchange modeling are computationally expensive and often require specialized programming expertise, making these methods cumbersome to use. Recent developments in DEM software by DCS Computing have greatly reduced these challenges, providing a graphical-user-interface based platform and modeling optimization for desktop workstations, HPCs, and cloud computing. The University of Dayton leveraged the experience of DCS Computing in developing a user-friendly, open-source radiative heat transfer expansion for DEM modeling. The University of Dayton DEM+ radiative modeling toolset was developed using a combination of fundamental experimental measurements, modeling, and simplified flow experiments over a range of temperatures and flow conditions. The toolset provides researchers with access to multiple radiative models including an accelerated Monte-Carlo Ray Tracing (application agnostic, highly computationally expensive), an expanded database of distance-based approximations (application limited, computationally light), and a weighted blending of the two methods capable of achieving over 90% reduction in computation time with equivalent accuracy compared to Monte-Carlo Ray Tracing. Through a graphical user interface, users can customize the radiative models to match their desired accuracy and available computational resources, improving access to particle based modeling for the research community. Ceramic sintered bauxite proppants were used in modeling and experimentally as a baseline. Both the radiative heat transfer and flow properties for particulate systems were investigated at elevated temperatures up to 800 °C. The major accomplishments for this work include a verified, open-source radiative modeling toolset to be distributed amongst the research community and the fabrication of three small-scale test facilities to investigate particle behavior and tune DEM flow properties for operation up to 800 °C. The findings have been shared with the research community via conference modeling workshops, deployment of the tools in DCS Computing Aspherix®, and open-source access to the developed radiative modeling tool. The development of next-generation CSP facilities and thermal energy storage systems based on ceramic particles requires providing access to computationally efficient and accurate modeling tools. Particles will experience a wide range of environments (20-800 °C) and handling conditions (dilute curtains or dense packing), requiring specially designed and optimized equipment. Optimizing solid particle physics models and establishing best-practices for particle modeling in CSP environments will assist researchers with designing optimized equipment, accelerating the deployment of more economically-competitive CSP facilities.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Assessment of Low-Cost Minisplit Heat Pump Connection System

This project was funded by SCE's Emerging Technologies Program, and evaluates the feasibility of a connection system that can pave the path to accelerated, cost-effective adoption of high-efficiency Minisplit Heat Pump (MSHP) systems. This report details the characterization of this connection system and a heat pump enabled with this technology in a laboratory setting, and assesses the energy and cost impact applicable to residential buildings in SCE service territory. The energy and economic analysis leverages NREL's ResStock TM modeling approach based on the EnergyPlus ® hourly simulation platform. The connection system can be incorporated into existing MSHP architectures. This reduces installation time from 10 to 20 man hours to approximately one hour or less, dramatically lowering total installation costs without adversely impacting heat pump performance. This report characterizes the connection system's leakage performance while connected and disconnected, as well as leakage over several connection/disconnection cycles, commensurate with manufacturer specifications for the individual components. The connector was incorporated into an off-the-shelf MSHP. Performance was compared to an identical unmodified heat pump. The connector had no impact on performance. Large-scale hourly energy simulations were performed for 22,574 homes across 15 counties in SCE service territory. The analysis was performed using baseline assumptions about the penetrations of window air conditioners (~18%) and six upgrade scenarios for these air conditioners. All scenarios assumed 100% adoption of the Connector-Supported Heat Pump (CSHP) in place of window air conditioners: MSHPs at Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) 17, 25, and 33, and CSHPs at SEER 17, 25, and 33. Results show the increased adoption of high-efficiency heat pumps can result in up to 29% air conditioning energy savings for homes with window air conditioners.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2017

New Generation Flask Sampling Technology Final Report

Scientists are turning their focus to the Arctic, site of one of the strongest climate change signals. A new generation of technologies is required to function within that harsh environment, chart evolution of its trace gases and provide new kinds of information for models of the atmosphere. Our response to the solicitation tracks how global atmospheric monitoring was launched more than a half century ago; namely, acquisition of discrete samples of air by flask and subsequent analysis in the laboratory. AOS is proposing to develop a new generation of flask sampling technology. It will enable the new Arctic programs to begin with objective high density sampling of the atmosphere by UAS. The Phase I program will build the prototype flask technology and show that it can acquire and store mol fractions of CH4 and CO2 and value of δ13C with good fidelity. A CAD model will be produced for the entire platform including a package with 100 flasks and the airframe with auto-pilot, electronic propulsion and ground-to-air communications. A mobile flask analysis station will be prototyped in Phase I and designed to final form in Phase II. It expends very small sample per analysis and will interface directly to the flask package integrated permanently into the UAS fuselage. Commercial Applications and Other Benefits: • The New Generation Flask Sampling Technology able to provide a hundred or more samples of air per UAS mission. • A mobile analysis station expending far less sample than the existing ones and small enough to be stationed at the remote sites of Arctic operations. • A new form of validation for continuous trace gas observations from all platforms including the small UAS. • Further demonstration to potential customers of the AOS capabilities to invent, build, deploy and exploit entire platforms for observations of Earth’s atmosphere and ocean. Key Words: Flask Sampler, Mobile Analysis Station, Trace Gas, CO2, CH4, δC13, UAS, Baseline Airborne Observatory, Arctic, Climate Change. Summary for Members of Congress: The air, land and sea of the Arctic combine to produce a large climate change signal. AOS is proposing to develop unmanned airborne technologies able to begin prompt, objective observations of the signal’s atmospheric component.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2019

Advancing the State of Technology thru DOE funded algae cultivation R&D at the Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation

The Department of Energy's Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) has a long and successful history of funding an algae R&D portfolio driving progress towards affordable and renewable energy and co-products from algae biomass. A core capability established by BETO was the support of testbed facilities including those established under the Algae Testbed Public Private Partnership (ATP3) led by Arizona State University (ASU) and its Arizona Center for Algae Technology and Innovation (AzCATI). ATP3 established the experimental and operational framework to carry out long term cultivation trials to assess the State of Technology (SOT) for algal biomass productivity and conducted such trails thru the ending of the six year program in Spring 2018, and demonstrated steady progress increasing annual average biomass yields from 8.5 to 11.7 g/m2-day - a 38% increase from 2015 to 2018. Since the summer of 2018, the SOT framework established under ATP3 continues under another BETO funded lab-led consortium called DISCOVR "Development of Integrated Screening, Cultivar Optimization, and Verification Research." The DISCOVR team constitutes a powerful partnership among four of the DOE’s seventeen national laboratories: Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (DISCOVR lead institution), and Sandia National Laboratories. With ASU’s AzCATI, they have joined forces to investigate algae strains that could lead to sustainable and clean algal biofuel and continue to generate open and transparent cultivation data sets for use by the algae biotechnology R&D community. In this talk, we will revisit the SOT results from ATP3, the SOT framework transition to DISCOVR with recent results from first full year of SOT cultivation under DISCOVR. With our recent advancements utilizing better cultivars verified thru DISCOVR’s pipeline, better crop protection and improved operational conditions, the combined effect was a further improvement in annual average productivity and reliability, leading to a year over year improvement in annual productivity from the 2018 baseline of 11.7 g/m2-day (generated across a total of 219 cultivation days) to 15.9 g/m2-day (326 cultivation days) – a 36% improvement for 2019! We will discuss these results in detail and highlight where AzCATI and the DISCOVR SOT is headed in 2020 and beyond.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-Voltage DC MULTI-terminal SIMulation (HVDC MULTISIM): Technical Program Summary

Expansion of the power grid in the USA is essential to fulfilling the rising energy demand of the country. In particular, the transmission grid, a network of electrical energy corridors that enable the flow of large amounts of energy from the point of generation to the point of consumption, needs significant expansion to cater to this growth of electrification. The current infrastructure is also dated, and any new transmission corridor should be based on a vision of building a modern infrastructure that is futureproof. High voltage DC (HVDC) transmission technology falls in this category: it is the most economical way to build large transmission lines and relies on sophisticated electronics and flexible controls, rather than just passive components like switchgear and transformers. This project is aimed at establishing the technical and economic feasibility of a network of HVDC lines that are interconnected to form a multi-terminal DC network. HVDC transmission is not a new technology and United States has a number of such lines; however, these are point to point transmissions and do not form a DC grid. Modeling and analyzing DC grids is challenging since there are no established modeling tools and the traditional ways of modeling AC grids fall short of providing the fidelity required the fast dynamics of the DC grid. This project aims to build a software-in-the-loop simulator for a multi-terminal HVDC grid, called MULTISIM and, establish new control and protection algorithms to operate such a connected DC system. NLR, a key partner, established the core framework of the MULTISIM simulator and validated its functionality. The GE Vernova team, created a full-scale model of a four-terminal HVDC network using PSCAD (Power Systems Computer Aided Design) software and established the baseline performance of the system during normal and fault operation. The project was started on 10/12024 with a kick-off meeting held on 12/11/2024 and ran through two quarters till termination. All the tasks, milestones and deliverables during this period were met. Several interim reports detailing the various tasks were submitted. The following sections provide details on the completed tasks till the project pause and termination after Q2.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Hydrologic Model Files (PRMS) for Historical Conditions in the East River Watershed, Colorado between 1987-2019

The data package contains model input and output file for the East River watershed (85 km2) located in the headwaters of the Colorado River. The model is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Precipitation-Modeling Runoff System (PRMS) for the historical, or baseline, condition (1987-2019) to assess the efficiency of summer monsoon rains to generate streamflow. The finite difference grid resolution is 100 m with elevations resampled from the USGS National Elevation Dataset. LANDFIRE raster data is used to derive parameters of dominant cover type, summer and winter cover density, canopy interception characteristics for snow and rain and transmission coefficient for shortwave radiation. Climate forcing uses minimum and maximum daily temperature lapse rates defined by the two Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) stations located in the vicinity of the East River adjusted for aspect. Schofield SNOTEL snowfall is spatially distributed using LiDAR derived snow depth observations from the Airborne Snow Observatory (ASO) flown 4 April 2016. Snow depths are converted to snow water equivalent based on ground surveys and density modeling. Rainfall is spatially distributed using the monthly Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model 30-year monthly averages. Simulated solar radiation is calibrated to match weather station observations. Model verification of snow water equivalent (SWE) accumulation and ablation relies on the 2018 and 2019 ASO maps and weather station snow depth. The data package contains model input files in text format, model documentation in pfd and a readme.txt file to help users understand the file structure to run the program.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Carbon Intensities of Refining Products in Petroleum Refineries with Co-Processed Biofeedstocks

Petroleum refineries increasingly seek to generate fuels with lower carbon intensities (CIs; a measure of life cycle greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions per unit of energy of fuel; well-to-wheel [WTW]) to meet growing demand. Co-processing refers to a process that adds biomass-derived feedstocks to the fossil-based feedstocks of existing petroleum refinery process units. With the use of biofeedstocks, it is expected that co-processed fuels would have lower CIs than their petroleum counterparts without requiring changes in the existing infrastructure for producing, transporting, and using fuels. To quantify the GHG emissions reduction benefits of co-processing, this study uses a linear programming model to simulate petroleum refinery conditions with and without co-processing. The co-processing cases include three biofeedstocks (soy oil, tallow, and used cooking oil or UCO) used as 10 vol.% of the feedstock to a hydrotreater or hydrocracker since these lipid-based feedstocks have favorable properties to be treated in a hydrotreater or hydrocracker. In addition, we considered pyrolysis oil used as 10 vol.% of the feedstock to a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit in the modeled refinery due to its higher oxygen content compared to other lipid-based feedstocks. Life cycle analysis (LCA) using two distinct approaches—process-level energy allocation and a refinery-level marginal approach—has been conducted for each case. The LCA results using process-level allocation show that there are no noticeable changes in emissions or energy use impacts at the facility level. The life cycle GHG emission reductions of co-processing cases are mainly related to the fraction of biogenic carbon embedded in each fuel product. For example, co-processed jet fuels (a mixture of fossil and biogenic fuels) made via hydrotreating or hydrocracking have higher biogenic carbon, which results in jet fuel CI reductions of 3.9%–8.6% compared to the CI of baseline petroleum jet fuels on a WTW basis. However, analysis of co-processed pyrolysis oil in an FCC shows that a higher fraction of biofeedstocks (29%) becomes process emissions (i.e., CO and CO 2 ), mainly due to the oxygenates in pyrolysis oil, and so it generates less renewable fuel than biofeedstocks co-processed via hydrotreating or hydrocracking. Using the refinery-level marginal approach, the changes in energy use and emissions of co-processing cases compared to the petroleum-only baseline case are allocated to the changes in fuel production (assuming renewable fuels). This approach generates the life cycle GHG emission values of co-processed renewable fuels, which are comparable to the CIs of standalone biofuel production pathways. However, as this approach relies on a rough assumption that product yields and emissions from co-processing units on fossil feedstocks remain the same with and without biofeedstock inputs, co-processing cases like FCC pyrolysis oil may generate quite skewed results.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2025

2024 Incubator Final Report: Active Hybrid Mooring

This Incubator project has defined and developed a representation of an active hybrid mooring (AHM) system in Simulink to assess whether the speed and accuracy of AHM is sufficient to warrant further investigation in a larger project. We first built a representative mooring system for the VolturnUS-S 15MW floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) in 1,000-meter water depth to provide baseline loads and displacements needed in the AHM system, with the results showing off-the-shelf actuators would be practical. We then defined model configurations for the numerical and physical substructures, using standalone MoorDyn v2 with a novel input strategy and chained hydraulic actuators represented in Simulink Simscape, respectively. The remainder of the project has focused on verifying the existing models for speed and accuracy against OpenFAST simulations, increasing their complexity to enable six degree of freedom (6DOF) operation, and connecting the numerical and physical substructures into a single holistic model. The verification phase of the project has shown promising results, though further refinement is needed to resolve accuracy discrepancies and for robust performance across a wider range of metocean conditions. The numerical model we developed is computationally stable and operates faster than real time using a time step of 0.01 seconds or shorter, indicating the model is likely fast enough for our AHM design to operate successfully. Additionally, the Simscape model of a hydraulic actuator operates with less than 0.3% relative error when actuating mooring loads from an OpenFAST simulation of the VolturnUS-S 1,000-meter mooring system. The aforementined refinements will be performed in the next year as a Continuing Incubator, with key remaining tasks include programming the predictor-corrector loop to minimize movement error, testing against more complex nonlinear wave cases, and expanding to enable loads from connected shared mooring lines.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

TEX-Chlorine: Highly Enriched Uranium with Chloride Absorbers to Provide Validation Benchmarks for Y-12 Electrorefining Facility

This report documents the final benchmark of the TEX-Chlorine (IER-499) Thermal Epithermal eXperiments (TEX) with highly enriched uranium with chlorine absorbers and high-density polyethylene reflectors and moderators. TEX-Chlorine is a variation of the TEX-HEU baseline assembly with the addition of sodium chloride absorber plates. This evaluation contains three experimental configurations that were performed on Comet at NCERC between July and August 2024. The three configurations, which were acceptable as benchmark cases, spanned from thermal (first two configurations) to fast (third configuration). All three cases were reviewed and accepted by the ICSBEP TRG in April 2025 and was submitted to the ICSBEP in August 2025 after receiving subgroup approval.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗