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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 127 records · Page 7

WEC-Sim Wave Energy Converter Simulator

WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator) is an open-source wave energy converter (WEC) simulation tool. The code is developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK using the multi-body dynamics solver SimMechanics. WEC-Sim has the ability to model devices that are comprised of rigid bodies, power-take-off systems, and mooring systems. Simulations are performed in the time-domain by solving the governing WEC equations of motion in 6 degrees-of-freedom. The WEC-Sim project is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Wind and Water Power Technologies Office and the code development effort is a collaboration between the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL).

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Contribution to solving the energy crisis - Simulating the prospects for low cost energy through silicon solar cells

PECAN (Photovoltaic Energy Conversion Analysis) is a highly interactive decision analysis and support system. It simulates the prospects for widespread use of solar cells for the generation of electrical power. PECAN consists of a set of integrated APL functions for evaluating the potential of terrestrial photovoltaics. Specifically, the system is a deterministic simulator, which translates present and future manufacturing technology into economic and financial terms, using the production unit concept. It guides solar cell development in three areas: tactical decision making, strategic planning, and the formulation of alternative options.

Kran, A.↗

Wave Energy Converter SIMulator (WEC-SIM) Support for an Adaptive Wave Energy Converter by Ocean Motion Technologies

Scripts from project git repo + tutorial slide deck generated for the TEAMER RFTS 1 collaborative project between Ocean Motion Technologies, Inc. and Sandia National Laboratories + National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The project simulates an adaptive wave energy converter through CAD, FEA, and analysis code. All materials in this submission are considered proprietary subject to terms and conditions detailed in the CRADA Agreement.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter - SIMulator)

WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator) is a code developed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to model wave energy converters (WECs) when they are subject to operational waves. The code is a time-domain modeling tool developed in MATLAB/Simulink using the multi-body dynamics solver SimMechanics. In WEC-Sim, WECs are modeled by connecting rigid bodies to one another with joint or constraint blocks from the WEC-Sim library. WEC-Sim is a publicly available, open-source code to model WECs.

Source record↗

WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter - SIMulator)

WEC-Sim (Wave Energy Converter SIMulator) is a code developed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory to model wave energy converters (WECs) when they are subject to operational waves. The code is a time-domain modeling tool developed in MATLAB/Simulink using the multi-body dynamics solver SimMechanics. In WEC-Sim, WECs are modeled by connecting rigid bodies to one another with joint or constraint blocks from the WEC-Sim library. WEC-Sim is a publicly available, open-source code to model WECs.

Source record↗

The mold integration method for the calculation of the crystal-fluid interfacial free energy from simulations

The interfacial free energy between a crystal and a fluid, γ{sub cf}, is a highly relevant parameter in phenomena such as wetting or crystal nucleation and growth. Due to the difficulty of measuring γ{sub cf} experimentally, computer simulations are often used to study the crystal-fluid interface. Here, we present a novel simulation methodology for the calculation of γ{sub cf}. The methodology consists in using a mold composed of potential energy wells to induce the formation of a crystal slab in the fluid at coexistence conditions. This induction is done along a reversible pathway along which the free energy difference between the initial and the final states is obtained by means of thermodynamic integration. The structure of the mold is given by that of the crystal lattice planes, which allows to easily obtain the free energy for different crystal orientations. The method is validated by calculating γ{sub cf} for previously studied systems, namely, the hard spheres and the Lennard-Jones systems. Our results for the latter show that the method is accurate enough to deal with the anisotropy of γ{sub cf} with respect to the crystal orientation. We also calculate γ{sub cf} for a recently proposed continuous version of the hard sphere potential and obtain the same γ{sub cf} as for the pure hard sphere system. The method can be implemented both in Monte Carlo and Molecular Dynamics. In fact, we show that it can be easily used in combination with the popular Molecular Dynamics package GROMACS.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

MCNP6 simulation of light and medium nuclei fragmentation at intermediate energies

Fragmentation reactions induced on light and medium nuclei by protons and light nuclei of energies around 1 GeV/nucleon and below are studied with the Los Alamos transport code MCNP6 and with its CEM03.03 and LAQGSM03.03 event generators. CEM and LAQGSM assume that intermediate-energy fragmentation reactions on light nuclei occur generally in two stages. The first stage is the intranuclear cascade (INC), followed by the second, Fermi breakup disintegration of light excited residual nuclei produced after the INC. CEM and LAQGSM account also for coalescence of light fragments (complex particles) up to sup>4 He from energetic nucleons emitted during INC. We investigate the validity and performance of MCNP6, CEM, and LAQGSM in simulating fragmentation reactions at intermediate energies and discuss possible ways of further improving these codes.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Simulation study of energy resolution, position resolution and $\pi^0$-$\gamma$ separation of a sampling electromagnetic calorimeter at high energies

A simulation study of energy resolution, position resolution, and π(0)-γ separation using multivariate methods of a sampling calorimeter is presented. As a realistic example, the geometry of the calorimeter is taken from the design geometry of the Shashlik calorimeter which was considered as a candidate for CMS endcap for the phase II of LHC running. The methods proposed in this paper can be easily adapted to various geometrical layouts of a sampling calorimeter. Energy resolution is studied for different layouts and different absorber-scintillator combinations of the Shashlik detector. It is shown that a boosted decision tree using fine grained information of the calorimeter can perform three times better than a cut-based method for separation of π(0) from γ over a large energy range of 20 GeV–200 GeV.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

Development of Building Design Optimization Methodology: Residential Building Applications

Building design optimization is a highly complex problem, requiring long computational running processes because of the many options that exist when a building is being designed. This paper introduces an integrated approach through which to perform this optimization within an acceptable time frame. The approach includes the methods of variable selection, model simplification, and a sequential optimization process. Using singular value decomposition, a large number of design variables is reduced to a smaller subset that can be solved more quickly through the optimization algorithm. To expedite the variable selection process, a modeling approach that quickly simulates annual energy consumption was developed to replace full annual energy simulations. The developed methodology was applied to two residential buildings in the US, and the results are discussed herein. To assess the accuracy of the integrated optimization methodology, the optimized life cycle costs are compaa variables demonstrating the strongest contributions in the optimization study were identified. The proposed methodology significantly shortened the time requirements for the optimization processes of the two case studies by 74% and 84%; the optimized life cycle costs were within 0.05% and 0.06%, respectively, of the optimum point.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Visualizing urban microclimate and quantifying its impact on building energy use in San Francisco

© 2019 Association for Computing Machinery. Weather data at nearby airports are usually used in building energy simulation to estimate energy use in buildings or evaluate building design or retrofit options. However, due to urbanization and geography characteristics, local weather conditions can differ significantly from those at airports. This study presents the visualization of 10-year hourly weather data measured at 27 sites in San Francisco, aiming to provide insights into the urban microclimate and urban heat island effect in San Francisco and how they evolve during the recent decade. The 10-year weather data are used in building energy simulations to investigate its influence on energy use and electrical peak demand, which informs the city's policy making on building energy efficiency and resilience. The visualization feature is implemented in CityBES, an open web-based data and computing platform for urban building energy research.

Hong, T↗

Comparison of different simulation programs in modeling the energy savings of cool roofs

The Roof Savings Calculator is a web-based application first developed in 2010 that uses detailed building energy simulations to calculate the energy savings of cool roofs for different building types in over 200 U.S. locations. Although modeling the heat flows of a roof may be straightforward at first glance, modeling the energy savings due to changes in the roof albedo is complicated because it involves modeling the interzone heat transfer between the attic and the conditioned space below. Since direct measurement of energy savings is also problematic, the authors have decided to compare what several independent detailed simulation programs show for the energy savings from cool roof strategies.

Huang, Yu (Joe)↗

An Overview of the Waste-to-Energy System Simulation (WESyS) Model

The leveraging of waste streams for energy and chemical production could add revenue to waste disposal operations, and it presents opportunities for addressing a variety of economic and environmental objectives at the local, state, and national levels. The Waste-to-Energy System Simulation (WESyS) model is a system dynamics model that was created to simulate the development of the U.S. waste-to-energy industry over time. For each of the three primary waste resources modeled (landfills, concentrated animal feeding operations, and publicly owned treatment works), WESyS simulates technically feasible scenarios for use of the waste, including direct conversion to fuels, and anaerobic digestion followed by flaring, electricity generation, combined heat and power, cleanup and compression to compressed natural gas, and cleanup and injection into an existing pipeline. The model allows users to explore numerous plausible future scenarios for the development of the U.S. waste-to-energy industry. This report provides an overview of the WESyS model and documents the key assumptions, equations, and data sources used to create the model.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Assessing overall building energy performance of a large population of residential single-family homes using limited field data

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), through the Building Energy Codes Program (BECP), supports building energy code development and implementation processes to achieve the maximum practicable, cost-effective improvements in energy efficiency while providing safe, healthy buildings for occupants. Currently, there is a lack of statistically representative data that shows how energy codes are implemented in the field and the energy savings opportunities that exist. To address this gap, DOE initiated a research study targeted at new residential single-family homes in 8 states starting in the fall of 2014. The study comprises of a baseline phase to determine current levels of compliance with the key energy provisions of the residential building energy code, identify issues, and calculate potential energy savings from improved compliance; a second phase implementing education, training and outreach activities designed to increase targeted code compliance; and a post-study phase to measure the impact of the training and outreach activities compared to the baseline phase. Initial analyses determined the code requirements with the largest energy impact and the minimum number of observations required to detect statistically significant differences in energy use. Data was collected in the field during a single site visit to avoid bias from repeat visits. However, the single site visit principle prevented energy simulation of individual homes due to the lack of all required model inputs. To address this, energy simulation was conducted using Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s prototype building models and employing bootstrap random sampling on the data collected from all homes visited. The modeled energy consumption using the observed field data was evaluated relative to that associated with the minimum code requirements and potential savings associated with improved compliance of select items were assessed. This paper discusses the methodology developed for this field study, and presents the results and findings from the baseline phase.

Xie, YuLong↗

Computer simulated building energy consumption for verification of energy conservation measures in network facilities

A computer program called ECPVER (Energy Consumption Program - Verification) was developed to simulate all energy loads for any number of buildings. The program computes simulated daily, monthly, and yearly energy consumption which can be compared with actual meter readings for the same time period. Such comparison can lead to validation of the model under a variety of conditions, which allows it to be used to predict future energy saving due to energy conservation measures. Predicted energy saving can then be compared with actual saving to verify the effectiveness of those energy conservation changes. This verification procedure is planned to be an important advancement in the Deep Space Network Energy Project, which seeks to reduce energy cost and consumption at all DSN Deep Space Stations.

Plankey, B.↗

Dark Energy Survey Year 3 results: Cosmology from combined galaxy clustering and lensing validation on cosmological simulations

In this work, we present a validation of the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 (DES Y3) 3×2-point analysis choices by testing them on Buzzard2.0, a new suite of cosmological simulations that is tailored for the testing and validation of combined galaxy clustering and weak-lensing analyses. We show that the buzzard2.0 simulations accurately reproduce many important aspects of the DES Y3 data, including photometric redshift and magnitude distributions, and the relevant set of two-point clustering and weak-lensing statistics. We then show that our model for the 3×2-point data vector is accurate enough to recover the true cosmology in simulated surveys assuming the true redshift distributions for our source and lens samples, demonstrating robustness to uncertainties in the modeling of the nonlinear matter power spectrum, nonlinear galaxy bias, and higher-order lensing corrections. Additionally, we demonstrate for the first time that our photometric redshift calibration methodology, including information from photometry, spectroscopy, clustering cross-correlations, and galaxy–galaxy lensing ratios, is accurate enough to recover the true cosmology in simulated surveys in the presence of realistic photometric redshift uncertainties.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

DES Y1 Results: validating cosmological parameter estimation using simulated Dark Energy Surveys

We use mock galaxy survey simulations designed to resemble the Dark Energy Survey Year 1 (DES Y1) data to validate and inform cosmological parameter estimation. When similar analysis tools are applied to both simulations and real survey data, they provide powerful validation tests of the DES Y1 cosmological analyses presented in companion papers. We use two suites of galaxy simulations produced using different methods, which therefore provide independent tests of our cosmological parameter inference. The cosmological analysis we aim to validate is presented in DES Collaboration et al. (2017) and uses angular two-point correlation functions of galaxy number counts and weak lensing shear, as well as their cross-correlation, in multiple redshift bins. While our constraints depend on the specific set of simulated realisations available, for both suites of simulations we find that the input cosmology is consistent with the combined constraints from multiple simulated DES Y1 realizations in the $\Omega_m-\sigma_8$ plane. For one of the suites, we are able to show with high confidence that any biases in the inferred $S_8=\sigma_8(\Omega_m/0.3)^{0.5}$ and $\Omega_m$ are smaller than the DES Y1 $1-\sigma$ uncertainties. For the other suite, for which we have fewer realizations, we are unable to be this conclusive; we infer a roughly 70% probability that systematic biases in the recovered $\Omega_m$ and $S_8$ are sub-dominant to the DES Y1 uncertainty. Furthermore, as cosmological analyses of this kind become increasingly more precise, validation of parameter inference using survey simulations will be essential to demonstrate robustness.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Coupling Subsurface and Above-Surface Models for Optimizing the Design of Borefields and District Heating and Cooling Systems

Accurate dynamic energy simulation is important for the design and sizing of district heating and cooling systems with geothermal heat exchange for seasonal energy storage. Current modeling approaches in building and district energy simulation tools typically consider heat conduction through the ground between boreholes without flowing groundwater. While detailed simulation tools for subsurface heat and mass transfer exist, these fall short in simulating above-surface energy systems. To support the design and operation of such systems, the study developed a coupled model including a software package for building and district energy simulation, and software for detailed heat and mass transfer in the subsurface. For the first, it uses the open-source Modelica Buildings Library, which includes dynamic simulation models for building and district energy and control systems. For the heat and mass transfer in the soil, it uses the TOUGH simulator. The TOUGH family of codes can model heat and multi-phase, multi-component mass transport for a variety of fluid systems, as well as chemical reactions, in fractured porous media. The study validated the coupled modeling approach by comparing the simulation results with one from the g-function based ground response model. It then looked into effects when the water table and the regional groundwater flow are considered in the ground, from the perspective of heat exchange between borehole and ground, and the electrical consumption of the district heating and cooling systems. To access the simulation models, please find the links in the submission: -- For coupled approach validation: see model Buildings.Fluid.Geothermal.Borefields.Examples.BorefieldsWithTough and Buildings.Examples.DistrictReservoirNetworks.Examples.Reservoir3Variable_TOUGH from the "Modelica Building Library" resource, branch issue1495_tough_interface, commit a2667c0. -- For the study of the effect of water table: see model Buildings.Examples.DistrictReservoirNetworks.Examples.Reservoir3Variable_TOUGH from he "Modelica Building Library" resource, branch issue1495_tough_interface_moreIO, commit 760de49. -- For the study of the effect of regional groundwater flow: see Buildings.Examples.DistrictReservoirNetworks.Examples.Reservoir3Variable_TOUGH from he "Modelica Building Library" resource, branch issue1495_tough_interface_moreIO_3D, commit c2a2d2a. The coupling interface script "GrounResponse.py" can be found from the above links in the folder Buildings/Resources/Python-Sources. Also, the needed files for TOUGH simulation are in the folder Buildings/Resources/Python-Sources/ToughFiles that can be accessed through the above links. A brief description of these files is given below; detailed specifications for the first three files may be found in the TOUGH3 Users Guide (Jung et al., 2018) https://tough.lbl.gov/documentation/tough-manuals/. (1) INCON - initial conditions for each grid block (2) INFILE - main input file with material properties and control parameters (3) MESH - description of the computational grid (4) readsave - Modelica/TOUGH interface program: read the final output of TOUGH simulation after TOUGH time step and prepare for transfer to Modelica for next Modelica time step (5) readsave.inp - input parameters for program readsave (6) writeincon - Modelica/TOUGH interface program: write the output of Modelica after Modelica time step and prepare for transfer to TOUGH as initial conditions for the next TOUGH step (7) writeincon.inp - input parameters for program writeincon

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

Synthetic residential load models for smart city energy management simulations

The ability to control tens of thousands of residential electricity customers in a coordinated manner has the potential to enact system-wide electric load changes, such as reduce congestion and peak demand, among other benefits. To quantify the potential benefits of demand-side management and other power system simulation studies (e.g. home energy management, large-scale residential demand response), synthetic load datasets that accurately characterize the system load are required. This study designs a combined top-down and bottom-up approach for modelling individual residential customers and their individual electric assets, each possessing their own characteristics, using time-varying queueing models. The aggregation of all customer loads created by the queueing models represents a known city-sized load curve to be used in simulation studies. The three presented residential queueing load models use only publicly available data. An open-source Python tool to allow researchers to generate residential load data for their studies is also provided. The simulation results presented consider the ComEd region (utility company from Chicago, IL) and demonstrate the characteristics of the three proposed residential queueing load models, the impact of the choice of model parameters, and scalability performance of the Python tool.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗