Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “research data management”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 991 records · Page 55

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F BR-Ma2 Manaus - ZF2 K34

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site BR-Ma2 Manaus - ZF2 K34. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site BR-Ma2 Manaus - ZF2 K34 produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - The K34 tower is deployed in a medium elevation plateau in the Cuieiras Biological Reserve, a primary forest area, property of INPA, 60Km north of Manaus, in the Km34 of the of the auxiliary road of the ZF2 Reserve.

Araujo, Alessandro [Embrapa Eastern Amazon]↗

Develop an efficient and cost-effective novel anaerobic digestion system producing high purity of methane from diverse waste biomass

This project focuses on developing an advanced, intensified anaerobic digestion system aimed at transforming the treatment and conversion of organic wastes into valuable products, specifically renewable natural gas. The motivation for this research stems from the limitations of conventional anaerobic digestion technologies, which often face challenges such as long retention times, high operational costs, and incomplete organic material degradation. The new technology called Intensified Versatile Anaerobic Digestion (IVAD), is developed to address these challenges by incorporating innovative reactors and processes that enhance the overall efficiency and output of anaerobic digestion. The significance of this project lies in its potential to revolutionize waste management practices and waste biomass utilization. The IVAD system integrates a hyperthermophilic anaerobic acidification reactor, a hydrothermal treatment (HTT) unit, and both thermophilic and mesophilic methanogenic reactors. This combination enables a higher rate of organic breakdown and energy recovery, resulting in faster processing times, reduced reactor sizes, and lower operational costs compared to traditional systems. Key data include an increase in methane productivity to 1.18 m 3 /m 3 /day, a significant improvement compared to the baseline technology’s 0.64 m 3 /m 3 /day. Additionally, the IVAD system achieves a 45% reduction in levelized cost of energy (LCOE), down to $\$$10.04/MMBTU, and an energy return on investment (EROI) of 3.19, representing an 87% increase over baseline levels. Technical and economic analyses highlight that the IVAD system significantly reduces hydraulic retention time (HRT) and solid retention time (SRT). The HRT for the HTT reactor can be reduced from 1 hour to 0.5 hours, while decoupling SRT from HRT in the anaerobic acidification reactor (AAR) allows for further reductions. These design optimizations lead to smaller reactor volumes, cutting down equipment and construction costs. Despite these advancements, energy consumption remains comparable to conventional methods due to a novel heat recovery strategy, enhancing overall process productivity. The system also achieves in-situ CO 2 removal and ammonia stripping features, resulting in biogas with a methane purity level of 75%, and produces high-quality nitrogen fertilizer as an additional by-product. Public benefits of the IVAD system are substantial, contributing to sustainable waste management and renewable energy production. By providing a scalable solution that can be adopted by dairy farms and similar agricultural operations, the IVAD system helps reduce waste, produce renewable natural gas (RNG) suitable for transportation fuel, and generate fertilizer, supporting a circular economy. This project plays a role in achieving broader environmental objectives by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and promoting energy independence. Additionally, it offers a pathway for farmers to lower operational costs while adopting practices that are both environmentally sustainable and economically advantageous.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

An experimental database of cell performance for vanadium redox flow battery

The continual growth in energy demand has resulted in the deployment of renewable energy generators to reduce the impact of fossil fuel dependence. However, these generators often suffer from intermittency and require energy storage when there is over-generation and the subsequent release of this stored energy at high demand. One promising energy storage technology which can provide a solution to improve energy management and grid stability, is the redox flow battery. Among the numerous flow battery systems, vanadium redox flow battery is the most iconic solution to large scale energy storage, giving a more efficient link between energy production, especially from renewables, and energy demand. The aim of the current database is to characterize the performance of the cell design and to provide training/validation data for physical model or data-driven model. The database includes hundreds of experimental cell performance data of vanadium redox flow battery with various current densities for multiple charge-discharge cycles. All the cell parameters, chemical parameters, material parameters, operation parameters and thermodynamic parameters of the cell system are listed. Coulomb, voltaic and energy efficiencies are also provided. The database will be helpful for researchers in the field of redox flow batteries.

Gao, Peiyuan↗

Current Developments of Carbon Capture Storage and/or Utilization–Looking for Net-Zero Emissions Defined in the Paris Agreement

An essential line of worldwide research towards a sustainable energy future is the materials and processes for carbon dioxide capture and storage. Energy from fossil fuels combustion always generates carbon dioxide, leading to a considerable environmental concern with the values of CO2 produced in the world. The increase in emissions leads to a significant challenge in reducing the quantity of this gas in the atmosphere. Many research areas are involved solving this problem, such as process engineering, materials science, chemistry, waste management, and politics and public engagement. To decrease this problem, green and efficient solutions have been extensively studied, such as Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) processes. In 2015, the Paris Agreement was established, wherein the global temperature increase limit of 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels was defined as maximum. To achieve this goal, a global balance between anthropogenic emissions and capture of greenhouse gases in the second half of the 21st century is imperative, i.e., net-zero emissions. Several projects and strategies have been implemented in the existing systems and facilities for greenhouse gas reduction, and new processes have been studied. This review starts with the current data of CO2 emissions to understand the need for drastic reduction. After that, the study reviews the recent progress of CCUS facilities and the implementation of climate-positive solutions, such as Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage and Direct Air Capture. Future changes in industrial processes are also discussed.

Regufe, Maria João (ORCID:0000000327748302)↗

High-Burnup Spent Fuel Data Project Sibling Pin Test Campaign Closeout Summary

The Used Fuel Disposition Campaign (UFDC) was established within the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) to conduct research and development (R&D) activities associated with storage, transportation, and disposal of used or spent nuclear fuel (UNF or SNF) and high-level radioactive waste.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

CATMoS: Collaborative Acute Toxicity Modeling Suite

Background: Humans are exposed to tens of thousands of chemical substances that need to be assessed for their potential toxicity. Acute systemic toxicity testing serves as the basis for regulatory hazard classification, labeling, and risk management. However, it is cost- and time-prohibitive to evaluate all new and existing chemicals using traditional rodent acute toxicity tests. In silico models built using existing data facilitate rapid acute toxicity predictions without using animals. Objectives: The U.S. Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods Acute Toxicity Workgroup organized an international collaboration to develop in silico models for predicting acute oral toxicity based on five different endpoints: LD50 value, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency hazard categories, Globally Harmonized System for Classification and Labelling hazard categories, very toxic chemicals (LD50 =50 mg/kg), and non-toxic chemicals (LD50 >2000 mg/kg). Methods: An acute oral toxicity data inventory for 11,992 chemicals was compiled, split into training and evaluation sets, and made available to 35 participating international research groups that submitted a total of 139 predictive models. Predictions that fell within the applicability domains of the submitted models were evaluated using external validation sets. These were then combined into consensus models to leverage strengths of individual approaches. Results: The resulting consensus predictions, which leverage the collective strengths of each individual model, form the Collaborative Acute Toxicity Modeling Suite (CATMoS). CATMoS demonstrated high performance in terms of accuracy and robustness when compared to in vivo results. Discussion: CATMoS is being evaluated by regulatory agencies for its utility and applicability as a potential replacement for in vivo rat acute oral toxicity studies. CATMoS predictions for over 800,000 chemicals have been made available via the NTP’s Integrated Chemical Environment. The models are also implemented in a free, standalone open-source tool, OPERA, which allows predictions of new and untested chemicals to be made.

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTAN↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-YK1 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Izaviknek-Kingaglia uplands, Burned 2015

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-YK1 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Izaviknek-Kingaglia uplands, Burned 2015. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-YK1 Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Izaviknek-Kingaglia uplands, Burned 2015 produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - Tower installed in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in July 2019, in an area that was burned in year 2015. Discontinuous permafrost zone in a wetland tundra ecosystem characterized by peat plateaus and wetlands

Natali, Susan [Woodwell Climate Research Center]↗

Empowering Geothermal Research: The Geothermal Data Repository's New AI Research Assistant

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Geothermal Data Repository (GDR) team has integrated a Large Language Model (LLM) with the metadata and supporting documents associated with GDR datasets to create an Artificially Intelligent (AI) research assistant. By leveraging work done to make GDR metadata machine-readable and an open-source LLM integration model called the Energy Language Model, developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, AskGDR serves as a virtual research assistant to GDR users. It provides answers to a variety of user-provided questions using natural language processing and generative machine learning. Users can get answers to questions about specific datasets, including inquiries about the equipment, assumptions and methodologies used in the origination of the data; or more abstract questions, such as the applicability of data to specific research fields. AskGDR improves the discoverability of geothermal data by helping guide users to datasets beyond simple keyword searches. It enables users to find data based on properties of the data, discover information contained within supporting documents, and explore data from projects related to their research objectives. This paper will outline the development, integration, output, and efficacy of the AskGDR LLM, including adherence to scientific rigor through improvements designed to increase the accuracy of generated answers, avoid speculation, and provide proper references for all resources used.

access↗

Accelerating Low-Income Financing and Transactions (LIFT) for Solar Access Everywhere (Final Technical Report)

The Accelerating Low-Income Financing and Transactions (LIFT) for Solar Access Everywhere project’s goal was to expand Low-to-Moderate Income (LMI) solar access for homeowners and renters. The LIFT project researched and gathered data on 453 LMI community solar project across the country. Following three years of research, the project delivered three groundbreaking research papers in June 2022, focused on 1) customer experience, 2) the growth of community solar programs, and 3) project-level financial best practices for serving LMI communities. These were followed by a user-friendly web-based Toolkit allowing users to interact with project data and key findings in November 2022. The customer experience research examined community solar subscribers’ primary motivations to join and remain satisfied with projects. Our research identified 453 projects across the country that dedicated some portion of the system capacity to LMI households. Seventeen of these projects participated in the LIFT customer experience research, allowing the project team to survey their customers and gain insight into how LMI subscribers feel about community solar and the programs that serve them. Subscribers in our sample indicated that the most critical issue that motivated them to participate in their program, however, was not savings but helping the environment. This was true for both LMI and non-LMI subscribers. Helping the environment was also the most important issue for LMI subscribers to measure how well their program was working for them. LIFT also explored how rapidly community solar has grown since its inception in 2006, publishing results in the Growth of U.S. Community Solar Serving LMI Households report. The results showed that community solar projects serving LMI households are one of the fastest growing segments of the solar industry. The report identifies and recommends ways developers should overcome real or perceived risks to LMI customer acquisition and subscriber management. Through the analysis of community solar project finance research, LIFT showed that most community solar projects serving LMI households are financed in the same ways mainstream community solar projects are financed. The value stacks and financial returns are no different, although LMI inclusion and participation rate varied across programs in our sample, ranging from between 10% and 100%. Based on the findings from the LIFT research, the team built a web-based user-friendly Toolkit, consisting of case studies, project finance best practices, and several tools built around the national dataset of 453 community solar projects that serve LMI households. These allow users to engage with the dataset in multiple ways; to explore the landscape of LMI community solar in the U.S., and to design community solar projects to optimize LMI inclusion, equity, and savings levels. The Toolkit also includes a library of LIFT-generated and LIFT-curated resources for users to learn more about how to best serve LMI communities through community solar. LIFT officially published the Toolkit on October 31, 2022, followed by a launch event (public webinar) on November 17, 2022. The core LIFT partners continue to engage in outreach and dissemination efforts to promote the LIFT Toolkit and research publications. Our driving motivation is to continue enabling solar developers to leverage the findings of this three-year research effort. By implication, the LIFT Toolkit is designed for use by utilities, energy service providers, and financiers or investors as a learning and decision-making tool to rapidly scale project models that optimize LMI inclusion and maximize real household savings.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Quantifying Uncertainty in HPC Job Queue Time Predictions

High Performance Computing (HPC) has developed at an unprecedented pace in recent decades. This growth has demanded corresponding development in the area of HPC Operational Data Analytics (ODA), which encompasses a wide range of data analysis techniques, ML/AI efforts, tools, and visualizations. Published studies in ODA offer a variety of practical ways to inform HPC users, administrators, procurement managers, and other stakeholders. Uncertainty analysis, however, is rare in the related published literature. For instance, we identify only 1 out of 14 existing studies focused on job queue time prediction that investigates the uncertainty aspect of their proposed predictions. We recognize the utmost importance uncertainty quantification can have in such predictive analytics solutions, with consequences in how users interpret information they receive, and attempt to bridge this gap. With the goal of improving access to such insights, we develop a process for determining upper and lower bounds of the predicted queue times of a regression model at a specified confidence level. Our current research is focused on the uncertainty in predicting job queue times, yet our approach may be employed in predicting other metrics.

HPC↗

FY22 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report

The Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program yields foundational scientific research and development (R&D) essential to growing SRNL’s core competencies, in alignment with SRNL’s Strategic Plan to provide long-term benefits to the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and other customers and stakeholders. Five strategic goals are outlined in SRNL’s strategic plan: 1) Provide applied science and engineering for EM’s active clean-up sites and LM’s post closure management sites; 2) Provide science-based solutions for gaps identified in nonproliferation strategic vision and support the government in actives impacting national security; 3) Lead ST&E as the central technical authority for processing tritium loaded reservoirs and support production of plutonium pits; 4) Align science and energy security programs by focusing modern modeling, simulation, and data analytics tools on materials engineering and performance applications; 5) Build a workforce for the future.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Winter Storm Elliott: Energy Emergency Alert Lessons Learned

Power blackouts in the United States in 2022 highlighted the need for better communication and planning among power grid stakeholders. This need was further demonstrated at a 2021 workshop held by the Grid Reliability Initiative Utilizing Data Standardization (GRIDS) Project. The GRIDS Project was established to understand and address the gaps in communication between the transmission and distribution operators. With the ongoing energy transition including electrification, distributed energy resource penetration, and so on, this project aims for improved energy emergency communications at the transmission-distribution interface. In 2022, Winter Storm Elliott affected 60% of the United States population (Weather Underground 2022), resulting in rolling blackouts in many areas of the eastern United States (Knoxville Utilities Board [KUB] 2023). Information presented here is based on the GRIDS workshop findings and subsequent research and interviews with stakeholders. After a brief summary of the effects of Winter Storm Elliott, this report covers the standard energy emergency communications processes currently in use, how the storm affected power management operations for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and its local utility companies, and related experiences in other states. The report concludes with lessons learned and recommendations for improvements and a path forward.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Tripal, a community update after 10 years of supporting open source, standards-based genetic, genomic and breeding databases

Abstract Online, open access databases for biological knowledge serve as central repositories for research communities to store, find and analyze integrated, multi-disciplinary datasets. With increasing volumes, complexity and the need to integrate genomic, transcriptomic, metabolomic, proteomic, phenomic and environmental data, community databases face tremendous challenges in ongoing maintenance, expansion and upgrades. A common infrastructure framework using community standards shared by many databases can reduce development burden, provide interoperability, ensure use of common standards and support long-term sustainability. Tripal is a mature, open source platform built to meet this need. With ongoing improvement since its first release in 2009, Tripal provides full functionality for searching, browsing, loading and curating numerous types of data and is a primary technology powering at least 31 publicly available databases spanning plants, animals and human data, primarily storing genomics, genetics and breeding data. Tripal software development is managed by a shared, inclusive governance structure including both project management and advisory teams. Here, we report on the most important and innovative aspects of Tripal after 11 years development, including integration of diverse types of biological data, successful collaborative projects across member databases, and support for implementing FAIR principles.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Policy Innovation and Governance for Irrigation Sustainability in the Arid, Saline San Joaquin River Basin

This paper provides a chronology and overview of events and policy initiatives aimed at addressing irrigation sustainability issues in the San Joaquin River Basin (SJRB) of California. Although the SJRB was selected in this case study, many of the same resource management issues are being played out in arid, agricultural regions around the world. The first part of this paper provides an introduction to some of the early issues impacting the expansion of irrigated agriculture primarily on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and the policy and capital investments that were used to address salinity impairments to the use of the San Joaquin River (SJR) as an irrigation water supply. Irrigated agriculture requires large quantities of water if it is to be sustained, as well as supply water of adequate quality for the crop being grown. The second part of the paper addresses these supply issues and a period of excessive groundwater pumping that resulted in widespread land subsidence. A joint federal and state policy response that resulted in the facilities to import Delta water provided a remedy that lasted almost 50 years until the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014 was passed in the legislature to address a recurrence of the same issue. The paper describes the current state of basin-scale simulation modeling that many areas, including California, are using to craft a future sustainable groundwater resource management policy. The third section of the paper deals with unique water quality issues that arose in connection with the selenium crisis at Kesterson Reservoir and the significant threats to irrigation sustainability on the west side of the San Joaquin Valley that followed. The eventual policy response to this crisis was incremental, spanning two decades of University of California-led research programs focused on finding permanent solutions to the salt and selenium contamination problems constraining irrigated agriculture, primarily on the west side. Arid-zone agricultural drainage-induced water quality problems are becoming more ubiquitous worldwide. One policy approach that found traction in California is an innovative variant on the traditional Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) approach to salinity regulation, which has features in common with a scheme in Australia’s Hunter River Basin. The paper describes the real-time salinity management (RTSM) concept, which is geared to improving coordination of west side agricultural and wetland exports of salt load with east side tributary reservoir release flows to improve compliance with river salinity objectives. RTSM is a concept that requires access to continuous flow and electrical conductivity data from sensor networks located along the San Joaquin River and its major tributaries and a simulation model-based decision support designed to make salt load assimilative capacity forecasts. Web-based information dissemination and data sharing innovations are described with an emphasis on experience with stakeholder engagement and participation. The last decade has seen wide-scale, global deployment of similar technologies for enhancing irrigation agriculture productivity and protecting environmental resources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Design, Construction, and Field Validation of a Blown-In Fiberglass Wall System in a Cold, Wet, and Windy Climate

In the Native Village of Tununak, located on Nelson Island in Southwest Alaska,buildings are exposed to wind-driven rain and snow throughout the year. The Cold Climate Housing Research Center (CCHRC) and Knauf Insulation partnered with the community in 2018 to design a residence for a public safety officer. Construction began in fall 2021 and is scheduled to conclude in summer 2022. The house will use integrated trusses with floor, attic, and wall cavities filled with blown-in fiberglass insulation. Hygrothermal models of the building envelope system demonstrate that the high ambient moisture load will wet the outer edges of the insulation annually regardless of the extent and integrity of exterior weather sealing measures; blown-in fiberglass is expected to be more resilient to this wetting than blown-in cellulose. To verify this, researchers will embed temperature, relative humidity, and moisture sensors in the two windward walls of the house to monitor the ability of the blown-in fiberglass insulation to dry out after wetting events that may have occurred during the transport of the insulation to the building site, storage of the insulation on site, construction process, or after installation in the wall. Sensors will remain in place for two years,documenting the wall's performance over time and verifying the design's potential for use in buildings located in climates where the chance for moisture damage is high. Here, we describe the wall system , design criteria, and the results from the hygrothermal modeling. We share details on the monitoring system's components and the planned management and analysis of data. Finally, we explain how the experiences and data from this project will inform future builds in similar locations.

building design↗

FY24 Laboratory Directed Research and Development Annual Report

The Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program yields foundational scientific research and development (R&D) essential to growing SRNL’s core competencies, in alignment with SRNL’s Strategic Plan to provide long-term benefits to the Department of Energy (DOE), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and other customers and stakeholders. Five strategic goals are outlined in SRNL’s strategic plan: 1) Provide applied science and engineering for EM’s active clean-up sites and LM’s post closure management sites 2) Provide science-based solutions for gaps identified in nonproliferation strategic vision and support the government in activities impacting national security 3) Lead Science, Technology & Engineering as the central technical authority for processing tritium loaded reservoirs and support production of plutonium pits 4) Align science and energy security programs by focusing modern modeling, simulation, and data analytics tools on materials engineering and performance applications 5) Build a workforce for the future

Clark, Sue [Savannah River National Laboratory (SR↗

Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Management Plan

Mission and Vision Statements for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility Mission The ARM Climate Research Facility, a DOE scientific user facility, provides the climate research community with strategically located in situ and remote-sensing observatories designed to improve the understanding and representation, in climate and earth system models, of clouds and aerosols as well as their interactions and coupling with the Earth’s surface. Vision To provide a detailed and accurate description of the Earth atmosphere in diverse climate regimes to resolve the uncertainties in climate and Earth system models toward the development of sustainable solutions for the nation's energy and environmental challenges.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

AmeriFlux FLUXNET-1F US-PFr SE4 Tussock-2 CHEESEHEAD 2019

This is the AmeriFlux Management Project (AMP) created FLUXNET-1F version of the carbon flux data for the site US-PFr SE4 Tussock-2 CHEESEHEAD 2019. This is the FLUXNET version of the carbon flux data for the site US-PFr SE4 Tussock-2 CHEESEHEAD 2019 produced by applying the standard ONEFlux (1F) software. Site Description - This tower (3m tripod) is located in the southeastern quadrant of the 10 x 10km study domain. It is located in a tussock (0.3 - 1m grasses). Located next to stream.

Desai, Ankur [University of Wisconsin-Madison]↗