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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 1,171 records · Page 65
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

What Can We Learn from US National Transmission Studies?

Multiple US regions have announced new electricity transmission plans, are actively revisiting the future role of transmission, and could benefit from findings from recent national-scale transmission studies. A review of seven national studies shows that significant transmission expansion is cost-optimal for serving new demand, integrating additional resources, and supporting grid reliability. A majority of the reviewed scenarios, which span a range of policy and technology assumptions, include at least a doubling of the transmission system by 2050. The national studies find substantial net system cost savings from transmission expansion and high benefit-cost ratios for transmission investments. The results are derived through multi-value, nationally coordinated, co-optimized, multi-scenario modeling, which is an approach that could yield lower-cost pathways compared to current industry planning practices.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Ride-hailing and taxi versus walking: Long term forecasts and implications from large-scale behavioral data

Introduction: Although ride-hailing and taxi trips can potentially reduce single-occupant vehicle trips and auto ownership, they can also replace pedestrian trips. Because physical activity is associated with improved health outcomes, the extent to which ride-hailing and taxi travel captures walking's mode share is of interest to policymakers. Methods: Based on large-scale behavioral data from the 2017 U.S. National Household Travel Survey, this paper reports on the development of a full Bayesian logistic regression model for determining the mode split between (1) ride-hailing and taxi and (2) walk while accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. The results from the stand-alone model inform two longer-term travel forecasting scenarios: a) higher risk of walk trips converting to ride-hailing and taxi, specifically in the future with high prevalence of automated vehicles, b) higher probability of such trips remaining as walking. Results: The results revealed that some of the important characteristics that increase the likelihood of a traveler using the ride-hailing and taxi mode versus walking include having a longer trip, using a smartphone to access the internet, having an interest in technologies, having a medical condition, and living in a metropolitan area with rail access. Further, the results from the first scenario suggest that an overall increase of up to 2.9% in the ride-hailing and taxi mode share may be expected. The second scenario shows that between 68% and 76% of ride-hailing and taxi trips could be diverted to walking if supportive pedestrian infrastructure were provided in the case study locations. The planning process can be adapted to consider not only congestion, crash, and emissions impacts of such shifts but also the effects of a loss of physical activity. Conclusions: The study findings show how the ride-hailing and taxi mode competes with walking. Further, the findings enable planners to update their regional travel forecasting models; policy makers can thus encourage active travel by prioritizing pedestrian infrastructure investments that may divert ride-hailing and taxi trips to walking. However, equity should be a key consideration to ensure that addressing the competition between these two modal choices does not hinder the provision of pedestrian facilities in communities that depend on walking.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic assessment of residential PV system tariff policies in Jordan

This study assesses the economic and technical performance of four energy policy scenarios for Jordan's residential photovoltaic (PV) systems: net metering, net billing, zero-export with battery storage, and sell-all-buy-all. With the recent introduction of time-of-use (TOU) tariffs and policies addressing the “duck curve” effect, the research focuses on optimizing PV system sizing across different regulatory frameworks. A detailed techno-economic analysis evaluates these scenarios based on energy production, cost savings, payback periods, and energy self-sufficiency. The findings indicate that net metering and net billing offer the highest cost savings and the shortest payback periods (∼3 years). While the zero-export strategy with battery storage enhances energy self-sufficiency by up to 70%, it requires a higher upfront investment. The sell-all-buy-all scenario supports larger system sizes, achieving a low levelized cost of electricity (0.0696 USD/kWh) and a net present value of 619 USD. Additionally, the study identifies a critical feed-in tariff threshold of 0.055 USD/kWh, at which net billing becomes as financially attractive as net metering. Here, these insights offer valuable recommendations for policymakers to optimize net billing rates and TOU tariffs, promoting the expansion of Jordan's renewable energy sector.

Battery storage↗
DOE OSTI2020

Energy and environmental aspects in recycling lithium-ion batteries: Concept of Battery Identity Global Passport

The emergence and dominance of lithium-ion batteries in expanding markets such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and renewable energy storage are driving enormous interests and investments in the battery sector. The explosively growing demand is generating a huge number of spent lithium-ion batteries, thereby urging the development of cost-effective and environmentally sustainable recycling technologies to manage end-of-life batteries. Currently, the recycling of end-of-life batteries is still in its infancy, with many fundamental and technological hurdles to overcome. Here in this paper, the authors provide an overview of the current state of battery recycling by outlining and evaluating the incentives, key issues, and recycling strategies. The authors highlight a direct recycling strategy through discussion of its benefits, processes, and challenges. Perspectives on the future energy and environmental science of this important field is also discussed with respect to a new concept introduced as the Battery Identity Global Passport (BIGP).

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A survey on processing-in-memory techniques: Advances and challenges

Processing-in-memory (PIM) techniques have gained much attention from computer architecture researchers, and significant research effort has been invested in exploring and developing such techniques. Increasing the research activity dedicated to improving PIM techniques will hopefully help deliver PIM’s promise to solve or significantly reduce memory access bottleneck problems for memory-intensive applications. We also believe it is imperative to track the advances made in PIM research to identify open challenges and enable the research community to make informed decisions and adjust future research directions. In this survey, we analyze recent studies that explored PIM techniques, summarize the advances made, compare recent PIM architectures, and identify target application domains and suitable memory technologies. We also discuss proposals that address unresolved issues of PIM designs (e.g., address translation/mapping of operands, workload analysis to identify application segments that can be accelerated with PIM, OS/runtime support, and coherency issues that must be resolved to incorporate PIM). We believe this work can serve as a useful reference for researchers exploring PIM techniques.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2026

Improved manufacturability of vacuum thermoforming molds by segmentation

Thin polymer shell components used in consumer goods, the automotive industry, and marine applications are often produced by thermoforming. Depending on the quantity of parts, molding processes can increase throughput significantly when compared to processes such as milling or additive manufacturing. One disadvantage to mold-based manufacturing methods, however, is that molds must be produced to form the required geometry. Mold production is often complex and requires a large capital investment. For large-scale molding processes, mold production is sometimes complicated by the requirement for large working volume machine tools which are capable of machining the cavities to the appropriate tolerances for the selected molding process. Here, this paper focuses on a segmented design for a large draw ratio (>3:1 molded surface area to sheet surface area) thermoforming mold and a cost-benefit analysis of segmentation versus monolithic design. Discussion of the thermoforming tests are included. The primary goals were to improve manufacturability and reduce the overall cost of the mold.

Manufacturability↗
DOE OSTI2026

Rare Earth Production in the United States: A Concise Review of Resource Development and Commercial Processes

This review article presents a concise review of estimated resources, processing methods and challenges involved in domestic rare earth mining projects in the United States (US). It also highlights the current status of major mining projects, anticipated rare earth production in the near future, and commercial projects utilizing non-traditional feedstocks for rare earth production and recycling. Based on the current industry outlook, opportunities for R&D have also been highlighted. Perspective on domestic rare earth production capability is essential because global rare earth production is currently dominated by China. Given potential export controls by China, this imbalance has created supply chain risk. The US and other countries have limited rare earth production capacity and relatively little expertise in rare earth processing. However, in the last decade, efforts have been made by several nations, including the US, to reduce their reliance on China for rare earth and other critical minerals. The US is currently investing in projects to develop domestic rare earth separation and refining capacity. These projects are discussed here. When backed by R&D and government support, these projects have potential to make significant progress towards establishment of domestic rare earth separation capabilities.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

More buck-per-shot: Why learning trumps mitigation in noisy quantum sensing

Quantum sensing is one of the most promising applications for quantum technologies. However, reaching the ultimate sensitivities enabled by the laws of quantum mechanics can be a challenging task in realistic scenarios where noise is present. While several strategies have been proposed to deal with the detrimental effects of noise, these come at the cost of an extra shot budget. Given that shots are a precious resource for sensing – as infinite measurements could lead to infinite precision – care must be taken to truly guarantee that any shot not being used for sensing is actually leading to some metrological improvement. In this work, we study whether investing shots in error-mitigation, inference techniques, or combinations thereof, can improve the sensitivity of a noisy quantum sensor on a (shot) budget. We present a detailed bias–variance error analysis for various sensing protocols. Our results show that the costs of zero-noise extrapolation techniques outweigh their benefits. We also find that pre-characterizing a quantum sensor via inference techniques leads to the best performance, under the assumption that the sensor is sufficiently stable.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2021

Assessment of coated cladding impact on large-break LOCA with TRACE-DAKOTA

Since 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy has launched new research and development (R&D) programs for developing new accident tolerant fuels (ATFs). These new fuel concepts are expected to bring several advancements in terms of plant safety. However, development, licensing, as well as deployment of ATF require a substantial investment among fuel vendors, operating utilities, and regulatory authorities. For ATF to be economically feasible, credited safety benefits may be necessary to provide an economic incentive for transition of nuclear power plants from Zr/UO2-based fuel technologies to ATFs. As a result, it is essential to evaluate the economic viability of ATF by conducting a comprehensive safety benefits study informed by R&D and demonstration studies. In the present work, based on the best estimate plus uncertainty methodology, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification for key safety quantities under LB-LOCA are performed for the Peach Bottom boiling water reactor (BWR) with GE14 nuclear fuel design adopting the ATF concepts. A coupled TRACE-DAKOTA analysis framework is adopted to perform the uncertainty quantification. Based on the computational results and obtained statistics, the coping time increase, fuel performance improvement as well as the most dominating phenomena during the accident for Cr-coated cladding are investigated in detail. Overall, the results obtained are useful for subsequent plant PRA study and support a move to more modernized performance-based regulatory requirements to realize plant economic benefits.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Demonstration of RANS models with wall functions in the spectral element code Nek5000

The spectral element based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code Nek5000 has been traditionally used for high-fidelity applications, such as direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large eddy simulation (LES). These techniques require very fine numerical resolution to accurately capture turbulent fluctuations which can be prohibitively expensive for users without access to leadership class computing facilities. For broader application and adoption, significant effort has been invested to develop Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) capabilities in Nek5000. Here, this work presents details of the implementation and demonstration of the standard wall functions for the κ–τ model in Nek5000. Results using the wall-modeled approach are compared to a wall-resolved approach for cases with negligible pressure gradient, viz., channel flow, pipe flow and flow in a reactor subchannel. Results show reasonably good agreement between the two approaches for friction factor and Nusselt number. Some expected differences are identified near the wall. These cases demonstrate the potential for significant computational savings by using much coarser meshes for the wall-modeled approach, with only minor differences between the predicted result. Additionally, several Reynolds numbers up to 1,000,000 are demonstrated for pipe flow and predicted friction factors and Nusselt numbers compared well to available correlations, with the worst below 10%. As the Reynolds number is increased, better agreement is observed between the correlations and the wall-modeled approach. In addition, flow in a molten salt fast reactor (MSFR) core is considered which features an adverse pressure gradient and flow separation. It showcases the inability of standard wall functions to accurately predict flows with adverse pressure gradients. The results, however, match reasonably well in trend in regions of the flow where the boundary layer is attached. Ongoing research is dedicated to include a pressure gradient correction to wall functions to improve the accuracy of flows with separation or reattachment and adverse or favorable pressure gradients.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Open-source microreactor design models for technoeconomic assessments

Technoeconomic analyses for advanced nuclear technologies are essential for identifying cost drivers which allow for optimizing the technology to achieve better economic performance. Microreactors are emerging as a promising and reliable-energy solution, offering inherent safety, low capital investment, and rapid deployment capabilities. Past studies have conducted technoeconomic analyses for microreactors, but there remains a need for open-source technoeconomic models that can enhance collaboration, transparency, and consistency when performing this type of analysis. The present article introduces an open-source technoeconomic model for microreactors based on bottom-up cost estimation. Since no real cost data for microreactors exists, this model leverages cost data and insights gleaned from the Microreactor Applications, Research, Validation and Evaluation (MARVEL) project. It estimates the first-of-a-kind cost of two microreactor technologies and can also calculate the N th of a kind (NOAK) cost via accounting for learning and mass factory production. The two technologies considered in this paper are the liquid–metal thermal reactor (LTMR) and the gas-cooled microreactor (GCMR). In conclusion, the goal of this study is to demonstrate bottom-up cost estimation of these microreactor technologies and provide the cost estimation models that other users can leverage for various applications such as design optimization and financial planning.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Hydraulic performance and wave transmission through nature-inspired perforated hollow-base piles breakwater

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) are critical to achieving long-term sustainable coastlines in deltaic coastlines, particularly susceptible to severe impacts under climate change. In recent years, coastal erosion has accelerated in the Vietnam Mekong Delta (VMD), particularly in the West Sea (from Ca Mau to Kien Giang). Due to the characteristics of muddy coastlines and eroded mangrove forests in this region, only a few engineering solutions have effectively reduced waves and promoted sediment accumulation to facilitate beach accretion. However, these solutions require significant investment and cannot be relocated or reused. Therefore, this study introduces a coastal mangrove-inspired perforated hollow-base piles breakwater (PHBPB), which uses the principle of biomimicry by studying the ability of mangrove groups to protect the coastline, stimulate sediment deposition, and over time, restore mangrove forests in the VMD. The hydraulic parameters of PHBPB were tested in 260 scenarios using a physical model, which included varying parameters such as crest width (B), pile row numbers (n c ), crest freeboard (R c ), and wave parameters (H s , T p ) in determining the capabilities of wave transmission, reflection, and wave dissipation. The results showed that the process of wave energy dissipation through perforated hollow-base breakwaters without piles (PHBBWP) is governed by three main parameters, including the relative water depth of the crest (R c /H m0,i ), the relative width of the crest (B/H m0,i ), and the wave slope at the structure location (s m = H m0,i /L m ). In contrast, for PHBPB, the primary influencing factors are the relative submergence depth or the length of the submerged pile portion (R c /H m0,i ) and the relative width of the pile system (X b /L m ). Finally, the hollow structure is suitable for the soft, weak mud geology in this region with poor load-bearing capacity, allows for rapid installation, is reasonably cost-effective, and can be relocated and reused once regeneration has been completed in each stretch of coastline.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2024

Barriers to adopting artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies in nuclear power

Artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) technologies offer unique opportunities to transform nuclear plant operations and power generation. Benefits will be felt not only within existing analog and digital instrumentation and control, but also within work processes, the integration of people with technology and most importantly, the business case. The application of this new technology can help simplify complex problems and produce more effective decision-making, making nuclear power safer, more efficient, and more economically viable in the current energy market. Nonetheless, there are potential barriers to its adoption that must be overcome. The purpose of this paper is to categorize, review, and discuss barriers to AI/ML adoption within the nuclear power industry, with a focus on existing commercial reactors. Unique considerations for advanced reactors are also offered. Here we provide a comprehensive overview of the historical, technical, and business barriers that the industry faces, as well as stakeholder readiness, and end-user acceptance. We underscore the importance of user experience and offer potential solutions in overcoming each barrier. These include provisions for easier plant data access, a friendly regulatory environment, and investment in user trust and explainable AI.

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

Reactor antineutrino flux and anomaly

Reactor antineutrinos have played a significant role in establishing the standard model of particle physics and the theory of neutrino oscillations. In this article, we review the reactor antineutrino flux and in particular the reactor antineutrino anomaly (RAA) coined over a decade ago. RAA refers to a deficit of the measured antineutrino inverse beta decay rates at very short-baseline reactor experiments compared to the theoretically improved predictions (i.e. the Huber–Mueller model). Since the resolution of several previous experimental anomalies have led to the discovery of non-zero neutrino mass and mixing, many efforts have been invested to study the origin of RAA both experimentally and theoretically. The progress includes the observation of discrepancies in antineutrino energy spectrum between data and the Huber–Mueller model, the re-evaluation of the Huber–Mueller model uncertainties, the potential isotope-dependent rate deficits, and the better agreement between data and new model predictions using the improved summation method. Importantly, these developments disfavor the hypothesis of a light sterile neutrino as the explanation of RAA and supports the deficiencies of Huber–Mueller model as the origin. Looking forward, more effort from both the theoretical and experimental sides is needed to fully understand the root of RAA and to make accurate predictions of reactor antineutrino flux and energy spectrum for future discoveries.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Delivery drone route planning over a battery swapping network

Many enterprises invest on drone delivery research and development to drop off packages at consumers’ doorsteps in a matter of minutes. We study delivery drone route planning over a battery swapping network allowing farther reach by penetrating current battery capacity constraints. A mixed-integer nonlinear programming model is created to plan efficient drone routing over the swapping machines by minimizing the delivery lead time. We develop an exact solution method, evaluate its performance, and compare it with a straightforward nonlinear solver application. A case study highlights the applicability of the model. Data and source code to the solver are publicly shared.

drone battery swapping↗
DOE OSTI2025

Roadmap to an electron beam or X-ray center for industrial applications

Here, this paper introduces the topics that need consideration to allow an effective feasibility analysis of electron beams and/or X-rays technologies prior to potential investment and implementation of these technologies for industrial applications. It also highlights considerations for planning, developing and construction of an electron beam or X-ray facility The focus of this paper is on business topics and it provides details of where additional technical information can be found. The paper also describes current applications for electron beam and X-ray technologies to demonstrate their potential.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2022

Looking Beyond Bill Savings to Equity in Renewable Energy Microgrid Deployment

Microgrids powered by renewable energy can provide backup power to critical infrastructure during grid outages. These systems can also play an important role in advancing energy justice by providing economic, environmental, health, and resilience benefits for underserved communities. The value of microgrids is often measured by the economic savings and resilience provided, but there are other energy justice factors that should be considered. This paper describes a methodology for quantifying broader costs and benefits including utility bill savings, value of resilience, social cost of carbon, public health costs, and jobs associated with the construction and operation of microgrids. We evaluate these factors at three case study sites and find that including energy justice values in the cost-benefit analysis of microgrids can change investment decisions. When climate, health, resilience, and job creation are considered, cost-optimal microgrids include more renewable generation, leading to a 52-82% reduction in emissions and diesel fuel use. The net present values of the microgrids grow from negative $626,000-843,000 in the diesel only case to $10-16 million in the hybrid microgrid case and $12-19 million in the renewable microgrid case, indicating potential for greater microgrid deployment if energy justice values are incorporated in decision making. However, we also see large increases in capital expenses, which could limit deployment unless accompanied by innovative financing measures. These findings may be useful to communities as they seek to strengthen resilience to natural disasters while also improving public health, meeting climate goals, and providing economic opportunity for residents.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Structural validation of a thermoplastic composite wind turbine blade with comparison to a thermoset composite blade

Reactive infusible thermoplastics have the potential to be advantageous for wind turbine blade composites because they are recyclable at end of life, can have reduced manufacturing costs, enable thermal joining and have similar, and in some cases better, structural properties than traditional thermoset epoxy composites. However, these materials are new to the wind industry and there is risk to investing in a material that has not been validated at a blade scale. Industry cannot adopt a new material such as this without large-scale validation and demonstration of system-level advantages in cost and/or performance. This paper presents structural characterization of a 13-m thermoplastic composite wind turbine blade compared to an identical geometry thermoset epoxy blade. In this work, the results of this comparison showed that the flatwise structural static performance and the fatigue performance of the two blades were similar, but the thermoplastic composite blade had increased damping compared to the epoxy blade, which may result in reduced operational loads.

17 WIND ENERGY↗