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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1999

The Integrated Airport Competition Model, 1998

This paper addresses recent model development by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and Hague Consulting Group (HCG) concerning long-distance travel, Long-distance travel demand is growing very quickly and raising a great deal of economic and policy issues. There is increasing competition among the main Western European airports, and smaller, regional airports are fighting for market share. New modes of transport, such as high speed rail, arc also coming into the picture and affect the mode split for medium distance transport within Europe. Developments such as these are demanding the attention of policy makers and a tool is required for their analysis. For DGCA, Hague Consulting Group has developed a model system to provide answers to the policy questions posed by these expected trends, and to identify areas where policy makers can influence the traveller choices. The development of this model system, the Integrated Airport Competition Model/Integral Luchthaven Competitive Model (ILCM), began in 1992. Since that time the sub-models, input data and user interface have been expanded, updated and improved. HCG and DGCA have transformed the ILCM from a prototype into an operational forecasting tool.

Veldhuis, J.↗
NASA NTRS2002

Using the Web for Competitive Intelligence (CI) Gathering

Businesses use the Internet as a way to communicate company information as a way of engaging their customers. As the use of the Web for business transactions and advertising grows, so too, does the amount of useful information for practitioners of competitive intelligence (CI). CI is the legal and ethical practice of information gathering about competitors and the marketplace. Information sources like company webpages, online newspapers and news organizations, electronic journal articles and reports, and Internet search engines allow CI practitioners analyze company strengths and weaknesses for their customers. More company and marketplace information than ever is available on the Internet and a lot of it is free. Companies should view the Web not only as a business tool but also as a source of competitive intelligence. In a highly competitive marketplace can any organization afford to ignore information about the other players and customers in that same marketplace?

Rocker, JoAnne↗
NASA NTRS2003

JAL/JAS Integration: Toward a New Era of Competition

On October 2, 2002, JAL and JAS established a new holding company after obtaining the necessary approval from the government bodies. Full integration is planned to take place in April 2004. This paper will primarily explain how JAL/JAS integration will enable JAL to compete effectively with ANA, the giant in the domestic market, and how it will reinforce JAL's competitiveness through further cost reduction and revenue enhancement. In addition, the paper will explain how the keener domestic competition brought about by this integration could resolve the following two issues for the first time in the Japanese aviation history. Those two issues are: (1) providing better service to domestic customers, and (2) making Japanese airlines more competitive against foreign airlines in the international market. As a result, the paper will argue that such an integration, a logical outcome of the post-war civil aviation history of Japan, will significantly benefit customers, Japanese aviation industry and Japanese society as a whole.

Kanenari, Hideyuki↗
NASA NTRS2006

Tools for Tomorrow's Science and Technology Workforce: MATE's 2006 ROV Competition Sets Students' Sights on Ocean Observing Systems

Teams participating in the 2006 ROV competition organized by the Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center and the Marine Technology Society's (MTS) ROV Committee experienced first-hand the scientific and technical challenges that many ocean scientists, technicians, and engineers face every day. The competition tasked more than 1,000 middle and high school, college, and university students from Newfoundland to Hong Kong with designing and building ROVs to support the next generation of ocean observing systems. Teaming up with the National Office for Integrated and Sustained Ocean Observations, Ocean. US, and the Ocean Research Interactive Observatory Networks (ORION) Program, the competition highlighted ocean observing systems and the careers, organizations, and technologies associated with ocean observatories. The student teams were challenged to develop vehicles that can deploy, install, and maintain networks of instruments as well as to explore the practical applications and the research questions made possible by observing systems.

OCEANOGRAPHERS↗
NASA NTRS2009

First International Diagnosis Competition - DXC'09

A framework to compare and evaluate diagnosis algorithms (DAs) has been created jointly by NASA Ames Research Center and PARC. In this paper, we present the first concrete implementation of this framework as a competition called DXC 09. The goal of this competition was to evaluate and compare DAs in a common platform and to determine a winner based on diagnosis results. 12 DAs (model-based and otherwise) competed in this first year of the competition in 3 tracks that included industrial and synthetic systems. Specifically, the participants provided algorithms that communicated with the run-time architecture to receive scenario data and return diagnostic results. These algorithms were run on extended scenario data sets (different from sample set) to compute a set of pre-defined metrics. A ranking scheme based on weighted metrics was used to declare winners. This paper presents the systems used in DXC 09, description of faults and data sets, a listing of participating DAs, the metrics and results computed from running the DAs, and a superficial analysis of the results.

Kurtoglu, tolga↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

2024 Nasa Lunabotics University Competition: Site Preparation With Bulk Regolith

Introduction: Lunabotics provides accredited institutions of higher learning students (vocational-technical, college, university) an opportunity to apply the NASA systems engineering process to design and build a prototype robot. This robot would be capable of performing the proposed operations on the Lunar surface in support of future Artemis mission goals. Lunabotics features a systems engineering design challenge to engage students in the next phase of hu-man space exploration supporting the Artemis missions. This two-semester event encourages students to design and build an autonomous or telerobotic robot designed to traverse the simulated Lunar surface and complete the assigned construction tasks. The number of teams accepted into this challenge is not predetermined but is based on the scores and overall quality of the Project Management Plans received and other factors. The culmination of the Lunabotics virtual challenge will be the design, build and operation of a functional prototype Lunar robot. Teams are required to submit the following: (1) Project Management Plan, (2) Systems Engineering Paper, a (3) STEM Engage-ment Report, and a (4) Proof of Life Video. This is an optional item, but to qualify for the grand prize a team must also submit a: (5) Presentation and Demonstration. Background: The NASA Lunabotics University Competition was first held in 2010 as a follow on to the NASA Regolith Excavation Challenge [1]. The high level of interest and participation from over 50 universities each year has led to a sustained annual competi-ion cadence: it has been held every May for the past 14 years [2,3]. Over 6,000 students have participated and been inspired to pursue Science, Technology, En-gineering and Mathematics careers (STEM). 2024 Competition: The necessary lunar surface tasks are evolving to meet the NASA Artemis Mission requirements. In the past Lunabotics challenges we gathered data to support Lunar mining for consuma-bles in the Lunar regolith. Now, in 2024, the task is to gather data on Lunar site preparation and construction by designing and building a robot that will traverse the chaotic Lunar terrain and construct a regolith-based berm. The goal is to build a berm structure which would be useful to the Artemis Mission for blast and ejecta protection during lunar landings and launches, shading cryogenic propellant tank farms, providing radiation protection around a nuclear power plant and other mission critical uses. Lunabotics will consist of three separate events this year. The first event is NASA’s Lunabotics Project Development Challenge, where teams submit various deliverables to be scored by judges. The second event will be the University of Central Florida (UCF) Lunabotics Qualification challenge, in the Exolith laboratory, where teams will put their de-signs to the test. The top ten scoring teams from the Qualification challenge are then invited to the third and final event, NASA’s Lunabotics On-Site Challenge at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This presentation will summarize the results and lessons learned from the NASA Lunabotics University Competition held in May 2024.

Lunabotics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons in strategic deterrence and competition: A SOCOM perspective. Part of Section: United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in Emerging Strategic & Geopolitical Challenges: Operational Implications for US Combatant Commands

Russia’s “special military operation” in Ukraine demonstrates the challenge for strategic deterrence and competition of countering contentious narratives and disinformation about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) during conventional regional wars against a nucleararmed adversary. Moscow uses both tailored, contentious narratives and targeted disinformation about WMD in Ukraine to influence and disrupt local and global perceptions in support of its deterrence and competition objectives vis-à-vis the United States and NATO. Since December 2021, Moscow has made a focal point of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons in its efforts to establish a permissive environment for its military buildup on the border with Ukraine and then its military intervention. These information tactics also demonstrate an opportunity for US Special Operations Forces (SOF). They are a case study for considering how SOF can contribute to strategic deterrence and competition objectives, specifically countering adversary gray-zone information efforts to alter regional security orders.1 Such a role is in line with the 2022 Special Operations Forces Vision and Strategy, which provides a framework for the evolution of SOF into “a force capable of creating strategic, asymmetric advantages for the nation as a key contributor of integrated deterrence” (United States Special Operations Command, 2022). This paper briefly examines this strategic challenge and SOF opportunity, focusing narrowly on the distinction between contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons and the role of SOF in countering these gray-zone information tactics. The nuclear dimension of Moscow’s contentious narratives and disinformation in the “special military operation” is of particular interest because it demonstrates the distinction between strategic efforts to influence and disrupt local and global perceptions in Moscow’s favor. This distinction between influence and disruption is less clear with Russia’s contentious narratives and disinformation about chemical and biological weapons in Ukraine, as disinformation about these two types of WMD appears to overwhelm contentious narratives. We believe this distinction is useful for policymakers and warfighters responsible for countering gray-zone information tactics because it provides a framework for crafting tailored responses to contentious narratives and disinformation about nuclear weapons and other WMD. The chapter concludes with a discussion of efforts that could be undertaken by SOF in cooperation with other relevant stakeholders to address this aspect of adversary gray-zone information tactics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP)

Through the Competitiveness Improvement Project (CIP), the U.S. DOE supports small businesses who design and manufacture small or medium wind turbine technology through cost-shared subcontracts awarded via a competitive process. The goals of the CIP are to: improve cost competitiveness with other distributed generation technology through optimized designs and advanced manufacturing processes; increase the number of certified small and medium wind turbine designs across a wide range of sizes; and accelerate deployment of improved, certified distributed wind energy technology. NREL manages the projects through a defined period of performance subcontract, providing technical monitoring and coordinating technical assistance from DOE labs.

advanced manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2024

Solving the Grid Optimization Competition Challenge 3 Problem

The Grid Optimization Competition Challenge 3 Problem posed a multiperiod security-constrained unit commitment problem with base-case AC power flow. The problem formulation includes binary unit commitment decisions, nonlinear AC power flow and balance, dispatchable loads, and linearized contingency real power flow, among other features. This talk will present a modified consensus ADMM algorithm, which splits the problem into mixed-integer linear and nonlinear components, as a heuristic solution method for this large-scale mixed integer nonlinear program. We will present some computational results from the competition for our implementation and reflect on the challenges of participating the grid optimization competition.

AC power flow↗
DOE OSTI2023

Co-occurrence of native white-tailed deer and invasive wild pigs: Evidence for competition?

Understanding whether invasive and native species compete for shared resources where they co-occur is essential for mitigating the negative impacts of invasive species on native ecosystems. Here, we examined how the presence and density of an invasive species, wild pigs (Sus scrofa), affect native white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus; hereafter, deer) on the Savannah River Site, SC, USA. We examined potential changes in deer areas of use, temporal overlap, and occupancy to evaluate the effects of wild pig occurrence and density on deer space use, diel activity, and co-occurrence with wild pigs across 9 months during 2018 and 2019. Wild pig density had the strongest effect on deer space use in high- and moderate-use areas. Declines in deer space use in response to wild pig density were most pronounced in March and October 2018 and April 2019 for females, while male space use declined in response to wild pig density in October and December 2018. Both species were largely nocturnal with high overlap in diel activity across months. Deer occupancy responses to wild pig density varied across months, with negative responses in May and October 2018 and positive responses in July 2018 and April 2019. Deer and wild pigs co-occurred at 30%–59% of camera stations across months, with broadscale co-occurrence patterns being unaffected by changes in shared cover or wild pig occurrence. Overall, our results suggest that deer make fine-scale behavioral adjustments to avoid wild pigs, providing evidence that competition is likely occurring even where wild pig density is relatively low. Such fine-scale behavioral plasticity in deer appears to mitigate the costs of competition with wild pigs and may be a mechanism enabling long-term co-existence of deer and wild pigs. Our study provides novel insight on the complexities of spatiotemporal relationships between invasive wild pigs and native deer and suggests that the negative effects of interactions between deer and wild pigs may be more pronounced when deer life history needs are particularly demanding. In areas where eradication of invasive wild pigs may be impossible, maintaining low wild pig densities may help mitigate, but may not eliminate, the negative effects of wild pigs on deer.

resource partitioning↗
DOE OSTI2021

An evaluation of electricity system technology competitiveness metrics: The case for profitability

In this work we develop standardized functional forms for electricity technology competitiveness metrics and show how the mathematical relationship between value and cost can affect the robustness of the metric. Here, we make the case to replace established metrics with economic profitability metrics – including a new profitability-based adjustment to LCOE. These profitability metrics are shown to be more robust for evaluating technology competitiveness by keeping comparisons on an equivalent monetary basis.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Impedance-Based Detection of NO 2 Using Ni-MOF-74: Influence of Competitive Gas Adsorption

Chemically robust, low-power sensors are needed for the direct electrical detection of toxic gases. Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) offer exceptional chemical and structural tunability to meet this challenge, though further understanding is needed regarding how coadsorbed gases influence or interfere with the electrical response. To probe the influence of competitive gases on trace NO 2 detection in a simulated flue gas stream, a combined structure–property study integrating synchrotron powder diffraction and pair distribution function analyses was undertaken, to elucidate how structural changes associated with gas binding inside Ni-MOF-74 pores correlate with the electrical response from Ni-MOF-74-based sensors. Data were evaluated for 16 gas combinations of N 2 , NO 2 , SO 2 , CO 2 , and H 2 O at 50 °C. Fourier difference maps from a rigid-body Rietveld analysis showed that additional electron density localized around the Ni-MOF-74 lattice correlated with large decreases in Ni-MOF-74 film resistance of up to a factor of 6 × 10 3 , observed only when NO 2 was present. These changes in resistance were significantly amplified by the presence of competing gases, except for CO 2 . Without NO 2 , H 2 O rapidly (<120 s) produced small (1–3×) decreases in resistance, though this effect could be differentiated from the slower adsorption of NO 2 by the evaluation of the MOF’s capacitance. Furthermore, samples exposed to H 2 O displayed a significant shift in lattice parameters toward a larger lattice and more diffuse charge density in the MOF pore. Evaluating the Ni-MOF-74 impedance in real time, NO 2 adsorption was associated with two electrically distinct processes, the faster of which was inhibited by competitive adsorption of CO 2 . Together, this work points to the unique interaction of NO 2 and other specific gases (e.g., H 2 O, SO 2 ) with the MOF’s surface, leading to orders of magnitude decrease in MOF resistance and enhanced NO2 detection. Finally, understanding and leveraging these coadsorbed gases will further improve the gas detection properties of MOF materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2023

Writing Competitive Proposals [Slides]

A proposal is a written response to an opportunity offered by a funding organization. Proposals must meet a SOLICITOR’S needs, not YOUR needs. A solicited proposal is a written response to a specific solicitation issued by a sponsor. These solicitations are typically called RFPs, or Requests for Proposals. RFPs are specific in their requirements regarding format and technical content. Scientists at Los Alamos often deal with this type of proposal — Laboratory-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) proposals are one example. An unsolicited proposal is one submitted to a sponsor who has not issued a specific solicitation. It usually comes about during interactions at meetings or conferences. In some instances, a sponsor may be visiting for another reason when the possibility for an unsolicited proposal becomes available. A pre-proposal is one in which a sponsor wishes to gage competition before having participants prepare a formal, full-length proposal. These types of scenarios imply that the actual proposal could be highly competitive and will usually be by invitation only.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗
DOE OSTI2026

U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup Collegiate Design Competition

The Solar District Cup is a multidisciplinary collegiate competition that challenges student teams to design and model standalone solar and solar-plus-storage systems for multiple buildings on a local electrical distribution network, such as a college campus, across a development, or in a district. Students learn cross-cutting skills that prepare them to become part of the next generation of the distributed energy workforce. Student teams act as renewable energy developers proposing to solar and solar-plus-storage system requests. Students, faculty, and prospective employers can benefit from knowing about this program and what students learn--either immediately as participants, mentors, or judges, or as potential employers of Solar District Cup alumni. RE+ is also one of our competition partners.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Peeling back the many layers of competitive exclusion

Baby chicks administered a fecal transplant from adult chickens are resistant to Salmonella colonization by competitive exclusion. A two-pronged approach was used to investigate the mechanism of this process. First, Salmonella response to an exclusive (Salmonella competitive exclusion product, Aviguard ® ) or permissive microbial community (chicken cecal contents from colonized birds containing 7.85 Log 10 Salmonella genomes/gram) was assessed ex vivo using a S. typhimurium reporter strain with fluorescent YFP and CFP gene fusions to rrn and hilA operon, respectively. Second, cecal transcriptome analysis was used to assess the cecal communities’ response to Salmonella in chickens with low (≤5.85 Log 10 genomes/g) or high (≥6.00 Log 10 genomes/g) Salmonella colonization. The ex vivo experiment revealed a reduction in Salmonella growth and hilA expression following co-culture with the exclusive community. The exclusive community also repressed Salmonella’s SPI-1 virulence genes and LPS modification, while the anti-virulence/inflammatory gene avrA was upregulated. Salmonella transcriptome analysis revealed significant metabolic disparities in Salmonella grown with the two different communities. Propanediol utilization and vitamin B12 synthesis were central to Salmonella metabolism co-cultured with either community, and mutations in propanediol and vitamin B12 metabolism altered Salmonella growth in the exclusive community. There were significant differences in the cecal community’s stress response to Salmonella colonization. Cecal community transcripts indicated that antimicrobials were central to the type of stress response detected in the low Salmonella abundance community, suggesting antagonism involved in Salmonella exclusion. This study indicates complex community interactions that modulate Salmonella metabolism and pathogenic behavior and reduce growth through antagonism may be key to exclusion.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Assessment of habitat‐specific competition for oral rabies vaccine baits between raccoons and opossums

Abstract Throughout the eastern United States, the National Rabies Management Program (NRMP) distributes oral rabies vaccine (ORV) baits to manage rabies virus circulation in raccoon ( Procyon lotor ) populations. The consumption of vaccine baits by non‐target species including Virginia opossums ( Didelphis virginiana ) may reduce the effectiveness of ORV programs, but competition for baits remains poorly quantified in many areas of the southeastern United States. We distributed placebo ORV baits injected with a biomarker across 4 land cover types (bottomland hardwood, upland pine, riparian, isolated wetland) on the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, USA, 2017–2019. We then trapped and collected whiskers from 247 raccoons and 78 opossums to assess biomarker presence using fluorescent microscopy. Our data revealed greater bait uptake probability by raccoons (estimated x̅ = 0.30, 95% CI = 0.19–0.44) compared to opossums (estimated x̅ = 0.11, 95% CI = 0.05–0.23) across all cover types surveyed. Probability of bait consumption was not affected by cover type or the abundance of raccoons or opossums. Among raccoons, males were more likely to consume baits than females (estimated x̅ = 0.28, 95% CI = 0.17–0.44 for males and 0.14, 95% CI = 0.05–0.31 for females) and probability of consumption increased by 0.08 with each additional day trapped during the 10‐day trapping session. Uptake rates for raccoons were relatively low compared to other studies and not influenced by competition with opossums. These low consumption rates indicate that additional research addressing the roles of baiting season, bait density, and resource selection will be important to maximize ORV bait uptake by target species in these southeastern landscapes.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

The wave energy converter control competition (WECCCOMP): Wave energy control algorithms compared in both simulation and tank testing

The wave energy control competition established a benchmark problem which was offered as an open challenge to the wave energy system control community. The competition had two stages: In the first stage, competitors used a standard wave energy simulation platform (WEC-Sim) to evaluate their controllers while, in the second stage, competitors were invited to test their controllers in a real-time implementation on a prototype system in a wave tank. The performance function used was based on converted energy across a range of standard sea states, but also included aspects related to economic performance, such as peak/average power, peak force, etc. This paper compares simulated and experimental results and, in particular, examines if the results obtained in a linear system simulation are borne out in reality. Overall, within the scope of the device tested, the range of sea states employed, and the performance metric used, the conclusion is that high-performance WEC controllers work well in practice, with good carry-over from simulation to experimentation. However, the availability of a good WEC mathematical model is deemed to be crucial.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Nickel hydroxide–nickel carbonate competitive growth on carbonate surfaces

The thermodynamic and kinetic factors controlling the competitive heterogeneous nucleation and growth of ubiquitous metal carbonate and hydroxide phases are poorly understood. In this work, calcite (CaCO 3 ) and magnesite (MgCO 3 ) powders were reacted with NiCl 2 (0–600 μM) for 7 days at 22 °C and 5 °C. The reacted powders were analyzed with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to characterize the Ni surface precipitates formed. Evidence from these techniques pointed to the formation of mixed Ni carbonate-Ni hydroxide amorphous surface precipitates. On calcite, XPS detected primarily Ni(OH) 2 despite the initial solutions being more supersaturated with respect to gaspéite (NiCO 3 ) than to theophrastite (Ni(OH) 2 ) by a factor of 17–18. In contrast, NiCO 3 was the dominant component detected by XPS on magnesite in the same conditions. Decreasing the temperature had the effect of increasing the proportion of NiCO 3 to the detriment of Ni(OH) 2 . The experimental observations were consistent with low lattice/cation size mismatch favoring NiCO 3 nucleation and temperature most influencing Ni(OH) 2 nucleation. Comparison to previous work on Co-reacted powders indicated the differences in lattice/cation size mismatch and/or water exchange rate impacted the composition of the surface precipitates more than the relative thermodynamic stabilities of the competing minerals. This work explored the heterogeneous growth regime of Ni carbonate and hydroxide phases on carbonate surfaces and shed light on the factors that control the competition between surface precipitates when mineral surfaces are in contact with aqueous solutions supersaturated with respect to multiple mineral phases. In conclusion, these results contribute to geochemists’ efforts toward interpreting data from geochemical systems with elevated Ni concentrations, improving Ni environmental remediation and recovery strategies, and predicting the fate and transport of Ni in geochemical systems.

Heterogeneous nucleation↗