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At least 127 records · Page 7

Developing Novel Performance Measures for Traffic Congestion Management and Operational Planning Based on Connected Vehicle Data

In this study, the authors present their efforts in exploring a new type of traffic data, referred to as internet-connected vehicle (ICV) data, for traffic congestion management and operational planning. Most currently manufactured vehicles contain onboard GPS and cellular modules, and they constantly connect to automobile manufacturers' clouds via cellular networks and upload their status. Some automobile manufacturers have recently redistributed the nonpersonal part of such data, such as geolocation, to third-party organizations for innovative applications. Compared with the traditional vehicle GPS data, the ICV data contain high-resolution GPS waypoints accompanied with the vehicles' abnormal moving events (e.g., hard braking). The ICV data also have huge potential in congestion management and operational planning. They explore to identify and analyze traffic congestion on both freeways and arterials using the ICV data. The ICV data adopted for this research are redistributed by Wejo Data Service, representing 10%-15% of all moving vehicles in the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) area in Texas. Through one case study for a freeway segment and one for an arterial segment, new traffic performance metrics based on the characteristics of ICV data have been presented. The highlights of these efforts are as follows: (I) queue length and propagation at freeway bottlenecks can be directly measured based on where and when most internet-connected vehicles slow down and join the queue; (II) an internet-connected vehicle's actual delay time on arterials can be directly measured according to its slow movement percentage, without assuming the nondelay travel speed; and (III) the ICV data set are also combined with the high-resolution traffic signal events to generate a ground-truth time-space diagram (TSD) on arterials - a common visualization of arterial signal performance for transportation planning and operations.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Safety evaluation of connected and automated vehicles in mixed traffic with conventional vehicles at intersections

Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) can potentially improve the performance of the transportation system by reducing human errors. This paper investigates the safety impact of CAVs in a mixed traffic with conventional vehicles at intersections. Analyzing real-world AV crashes in California revealed that rear-end crashes at intersections are the dominant crash type. Therefore, to enhance our understanding of the future interactions between human-driven vehicles with CAVs at intersections, a simulation framework was developed to model the mixed traffic environment of Automated Vehicles (AV), cooperative AVs, and conventional human-driven vehicles. In order to model AVs driving behavior, Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and cooperative ACC (CACC) models are utilized. Particularly, this study explores system improvements due to automation and connectivity across varying CAV market penetration scenarios. ACC and CACC car following models are used to mimic the behavior of AVs and cooperative AVs. Real-world connected vehicle data are utilized to modify and tune the acceleration/deceleration regimes of the Wiedemann model. Next, the driving volatility concept capturing variability in vehicle speeds was utilized to calibrate the simulation to represent the safety performance of a real-world environment. Two surrogate safety measures are used to evaluate the safety performance of a representative intersection under different market penetration rate of CAVs: the number of longitudinal conflicts and driving volatility. At low levels of ACC market penetration, the safety improvements were found to be marginal, but safety improved substantially with more than 40% ACC penetration. Additional safety improvements can be achieved more quickly through the addition of cooperation and connectivity through CACC. Furthermore, ACC/CACC vehicles were found to improve mobility performance in terms of average speed and travel time at intersections.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Leveraging Multiple Connected Traffic Light Signals in an Energy-Efficient Speed Planner

Connecting automated vehicles to traffic lights can lead to significant energy savings by enabling them to pass through intersections in an energy-efficient way without unnecessary stops. A cellular-based communication system connecting multiple traffic lights can help realize the full potential of energy-efficient driving at intersections. Thus, we propose a hierarchical speed planner that can leverage information from multiple connected traffic lights. The proposed speed planner consists of two modules: a green window selector and a reference trajectory generator. The green window selector, based on Dijkstra’s algorithm, finds a series of "green windows" for connected traffic lights that builds an energy-optimal path for vehicles to follow. The reference trajectory generator finds optimal entering times, based on the selected green window at each intersection, and then computes reference trajectories. Deriving and using analytical optimal entering speeds as a function of entering times allows us to guarantee the computational simplicity suitable for real-time implementation. We also demonstrate how to balance energy and traffic flow perspectives in the reference trajectory generator. Lastly, a high-fidelity simulation framework is used to evaluate the proposed speed planner and quantify the extent to which it can save energy in various real-world urban route scenarios.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Energy-Efficient Driving in Connected Corridors via Minimum Principle Control: Vehicle-in-the-Loop Experimental Verification in Mixed Fleets

Connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) can plan and actuate control that explicitly considers performance, system safety, and actuation constraints in a manner more efficient than their human-driven counterparts. In particular, eco-driving is enabled through connected exchange of information from signalized corridors that share their upcoming signal phase and timing (SPaT). This is accomplished in the proposed control approach, which follows first principles to plan a free-flow acceleration-optimal trajectory through green traffic light intervals by Pontryagin's Minimum Principle in a feedback manner. Urban conditions are then imposed from exogeneous traffic comprised of a mixture of human-driven vehicles (HVs) - as well as other CAVs. As such, safe disturbance compensation is achieved by implementing a model predictive controller (MPC) to anticipate and avoid collisions by issuing braking commands as necessary. The control strategy is experimentally vetted through vehicle-in-the-loop (VIL) of a prototype CAV that is embedded into a virtual traffic corridor realized through microsimulation. Up to 36% fuel savings are measured with the proposed control approach over a human-modelled driver, and it was found connectivity in the automation approach improved fuel economy by up to 26% over automation without. Additionally, the passive energy benefits realizable for human drivers when driving behind downstream CAVs are measured, showing up to 22% fuel savings in a HV when driving behind a small penetration of connectivity-enabled automated vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Characterization and Analysis of the Energy-Reporting Accuracy of Connected Devices

Emerging energy-efficient building systems increasingly exhibit greater functionality, often requiring multiple operating modes (e.g. white-tunability for lighting products and data traffic for devices with networked, integrated sensors). This increased functionality makes energy consumption estimates more complex. Given that these functions consume energy, the energy performance of such building systems is dependent on what operating modes they use and how much time they spend in each mode. Devices and systems that can report their own energy consumption mitigate this energy-performance uncertainty. This study explores the energy-reporting accuracy of market-available connected electrical outlets. The study considers two residential-market products (five units each, one outlet per unit) and three commercial-market products (two units each, 18 to 24 outlets per unit) with the ability to report power drawn and/or energy consumed by devices connected to their receptacles. The products were purchased through typical market channels. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted testing in December 2018 at its Connected Lighting Test Bed (CLTB), using a custom-developed test setup and method adapted from industry standards. The setup collected energy-consumption data reported by the outlet devices under test (DUTs) at one-minute intervals and compared that data with measurements taken by a reference meter over a range of test conditions. The residential products reported power draw but not interval or cumulative energy consumption. The commercial products reported both power draw and cumulative energy consumption. Relative reporting error (RRE) was calculated for all measurements, and analysis of the results revealed variations across devices and test conditions. The total number of measurements (50 for each residential product, 60 for each commercial product) offers an appreciable comparison of performance at the make/model level. The average RRE of the residential products derived from reported power draw was -0.02% and -1.20%. The average RRE for two of the three the commercial products derived from reported power draw was worse than those of the residential products (-2.40%, -2.72%, -0.36%). The internal integration of power over time, used to calculate cumulative energy consumption, typically occurs at current and voltage sampling rates much higher than once per minute. This suggests that the average commercial-product RRE derived from reported energy consumption should be very consistent and better than performance based on reported power draw. However, the RRE derived from reported energy consumption varied significantly across the three makes of commercial-market products and was uniformly less accurate than performance based on reported power draw. Subsequent analysis identified a number of root causes for this decrease in performance, most of which were related to reporting resolution. The goals of this study are to generate awareness of building systems capable of reporting their own energy consumption, further interest in the value of energy data for a variety of uses, draw attention to how the accuracy of reported metrics can be characterized, and quantify the performance variation found in marketavailable products. The results of this study and subsequent related work may be relevant to stakeholders in industry-specification and standards-development organizations. The methods this study employs could inform test and measurement procedures and performance classifications for connected outlets, lighting products, and other building systems capable of reporting their own energy consumption. The study concludes with stakeholder recommendations, including the following: • Energy-reporting device and system manufacturers developing products that report energy consumption should characterize the accuracy of reported metrics using a reference meter calibrated by an independent laboratory that was accredited by an ILAC MRA signatory (and whose scope of accreditation explicitly covers energy measurement), and should include this information on product data sheets. • Standards and specification development organizations should develop application-specific performance classifications that end users can understand and relate to their energy-data use needs (e.g., 2% accuracy class for utility streetlight energy billing needs, or 10% accuracy class for ESCO performance verification needs). • Current or potential owners, operators, and specifiers of energy-reporting building systems should rigorously analyze the dependency of current and planned energy-data use cases on accuracy, noting in particular the dependence (or lack thereof) on relative vs. absolute accuracy, and on trueness vs. precision (i.e., repeatability), and should communicate use-case needs to industry standards and specification organizations.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Bridging Cloud and Edge Computing at NREL Using CONNECT: Cloud Optimized Networking for Next-Gen Edge Computing Technologies [Slides]

CONNECT is an innovative on-premise hardware and software solution that integrates edge and cloud computing infrastructure at NREL. Built on the AWS Greengrass middleware and leveraging the MQTT protocol, CONNECT enables real-time data streaming from IoT devices and gateways to both cloud and local services, empowering researchers to rapidly capture, analyze, and act upon edge-generated data while leveraging cloud capabilities. The platform addresses research infrastructure challenges by providing a pre-approved platform which is already configured with the correct networking and cybersecurity baselines thus eliminating procurement delays and enabling on-demand availability. CONNECT's hybrid architecture efficiently manages burstable workloads, allowing research teams to dynamically scale computational capacity, handle peak data loads, and reduce operational bottlenecks. Advanced capabilities include built-in GPU support for executing machine learning models which enables low-latency inference at the edge from models trained in the cloud. This architecture supports real-time analytics and filtering, providing a mechanism to allow only transmitting and processing high-value data. Cloud-based configuration management permits engineers to manage on-premise systems remotely, optimizing operational efficiency. By bridging edge and cloud computing, CONNECT provides NREL researchers with a flexible, scalable platform that accelerates scientific discovery while maintaining robust security and performance standards.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Connective tissue integrity is lost in vitamin B-6-deficient chicks

The objective of the present investigation was to characterize further the connective tissue disorder produced by pyridoxine (vitamin B-6) deficiency, as previously evidenced by electron microscopy. Following the second post-natal week, fast growing male chicks were deprived of pyridoxine for a 1-mo period. Six weeks post-natally, blood concentrations in the experimental deficiency group had declined to deficiency levels as registered by low concentrations of pyridoxal phosphate (coenzyme form) in erythrocytes, but did not reach levels associated with neurological symptoms. Light microscopic study showed abnormalities in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues. Collagen cross-links and the aldehyde contents were not significantly lower in cartilage and tendon collagens of vitamin B-6-deficient animals than in age-matched controls; also, their proteoglycan degrading protease and collagenase activities measured in articular cartilages were not greater. Thus, proteolysis was an unlikely alternative mechanism to account for the loss of connective tissue integrity. These results point to the need for further investigation into adhesive properties of collagen associated proteoglycans or other proteins in vitamin B-6-deficient connective tissue.

Non-NASA Center↗

Advancing wildlife connectivity in land use planning: a case study with four-toed salamanders

Stable habitat connections that wildlife can safely traverse are essential to biodiversity conservation and healthy ecosystems. We developed high-resolution landscape connectivity models to predict resistance to movement by a threatened wetland-obligate amphibian, the four-toed salamander ( Hemidactylium scutatum ), and identified priority management areas on the 13,000-ha Department of Energy Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) from 2019 to 2022. We developed a resistance surface based on aerial light detection and ranging data (LiDAR), >30 years of field-based mapping of forest, hydrologic, and geologic features, and contemporary population surveys, alongside derived predictors at <1-m resolution. We then modeled predicted movement corridors using a circuit theory-based modeling approach. We worked closely with land management and natural resources personnel to integrate ecological modeling with broader land use priorities, monetary costs, and feasibility. We identified important terrestrial and aquatic areas on ORR and simulated management scenarios to promote stable connections for four-toed salamanders. This approach allowed us to narrow down a list of 438 potential habitat manipulation sites to 10 sites where open-bottomed culverts and buffers could be implemented. This smaller-scale restoration approach produced a similar increase in landscape connectivity while costing <20% of a larger-scale approach based on barrier removal. We successfully identified feasible, cost-effective management strategies that integrated knowledge from a variety of sources. In conclusion, we offer a strategy that permitted integration of wildlife management goals into infrastructure upgrades wherein wildlife was not an initial consideration.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Biogeochemical control points of connectivity between a tidal creek and its floodplain

As global climates shift, coastal systems experience changes that alter function within the tidal zone. However, it remains uncertain how changes in tidal extent and magnitude will alter coastal biogeochemical cycling. We present high-frequency data collected in-situ along two transects across a tidal creek and floodplain to capture how changes in vertical and lateral connectivity act as biogeochemical control points. Using wavelet analysis, we identified short periods of strong vertical connectivity during spring tides followed by extended periods of floodplain isolation from tides. During a drier period, neap tides were linked to lateral creek-floodplain connectivity, detected by discharge of saline, oxygen-depleted groundwater to the creek on ebb tides. We estimate up to half of creek water throughout the tidal cycle was associated with floodplain drainage. From point measurements of carbon, nitrogen, and greenhouse gases along the creek-floodplain transect, we infer that lateral connectivity functions as a biogeochemically significant control point.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Ecological connectivity and in-kind mitigation in a regulatory decision framework: A case study with an amphibian habitat specialist

Ecological connectivity is critical to the survival and long-term viability of populations but is often overlooked in regulatory frameworks. We integrated landscape-level processes into a mitigation strategy for impacts to aquatic resources on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Oak Ridge Reservation (ORR) in eastern Tennessee. Wetlands on the ORR, which contain significant breeding populations of the imperiled four-toed salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) and tubercled rein orchid (Platanthera flava var. herbiola), will be impacted by construction of an environmental waste disposal facility under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). Here, we used a modified Kepner-Tregoe decision analysis to select general mitigation options that balanced regulatory requirements and interest group perspectives. We emphasized habitat connectivity through models that prioritized an area's importance to natural area connectivity (centrality) and maintenance of population structure for an affected habitat specialist (four-toed salamanders). We also emphasized in-kind mitigation through the preservation and enhancement of ecologically similar resources and the translocation and establishment of a new subpopulation of four-toed salamanders elsewhere on the ORR. We ultimately released over 500 juvenile salamanders that originated from the impacted site into the chosen mitigation wetlands. By doing so under the constraints of a time-sensitive CERCLA remediation effort and exceeding its substantive requirements, this work underscores feasibility. Ecological connectivity and the conservation of species that are not afforded explicit regulatory processes can be effectively and efficiently integrated into environmental decision-making and land use planning.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Investigating Mountain Watershed Headwater‐To‐Groundwater Connections, Water Sources, and Storage Selection Behavior With Dynamic‐Flux Particle Tracking

Abstract Climate change will impact mountain watershed streamflow both directly—with changing precipitation amounts and variability—and indirectly—through temperature shifts altering snowpack, melt, and evapotranspiration. To understand how these complex processes will affect ecosystem functioning and water resources, we need tools to distinguish connections between water sources (rain/snowmelt), groundwater storage, and exit fluxes (streamflow/evapotranspiration), and to determine how these connections change seasonally and as climate shifts. Here, we develop novel watershed‐scale approaches to understand water source, storage, and exit flux connections using a dynamic‐flux particle tracking model (EcoSLIM) applied in California's Cosumnes Watershed, which connects the Sierra Nevada and Central Valley. This work develops new visualizations and applications to provide mechanistic understanding that underpins the interpretation of isotopic field data at watershed scales to distinguish sources, flow paths, residence times, and storage selection. In our simulations, streamflow comes primarily from snow‐derived water while evapotranspiration generally comes from rain. Most streamflow starts above 1,000 m while evapotranspiration is sourced relatively evenly across the watershed and is generally younger than streamflow. Modeled streamflow consists primarily of water sourced from precipitation in the previous 5 years but before the current water year, while ET consists primarily of water from precipitation in the current water year. ET, and to a lesser extent streamflow, are both younger than water in groundwater storage. However, snowmelt‐derived streamflow preferentially discharges older water from snow‐derived storage. Dynamic‐flux particle tracking and new approaches presented here enable novel model‐tracer comparisons in large‐scale watersheds to better understand watershed behavior in a changing climate.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Global and Local Connectivities Describe Hydrogen Intercalation in Metal Oxides

We introduce global connectivity, Ω, which quantifies the detailed connectivity of a material and accurately captures reactivity behavior. Here, we demonstrate that combining global and local connectivity describes how metal oxides interact with hydrogen. Blending density functional theory, graph theory, and machine learning we built a reactivity model which accurately predicts hydrogen intercalation potentials of different metal oxides experimentally measured in the lab. The use of global connectivity can accelerate materials design through the development of novel structure-property relationships.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Throughput Measurements and Capacity Estimates for Quantum Connections

The throughput of conventional and quantum network connections is an important performance metric, which is typically specified by bits per second (bps) and entangled quntum bits per second (ebps), respectively. It is measured over practical quantum network connections using specialized methods, and estimated using analytical bounds for which extensive theory has been developed. For practical connections, however, these two quantities have often been hard to correlate due to the lack of measurements and estimates derived under well-characterized common conditions. They both differ significantly from the conventional network throughput of TCP which employs buffers and loss recovery mechanisms. We describe a conventional-quantum testbed that enables the comparison of these two quantities both qualitatively and quantitatively. The bps and ebps throughput is measured over fiber connections of lengths over 75 kilometers, which show that the former decreases significantly slower with distance than the latter and in a qualitatively different way. The analytic capacity estimates of ebps are derived using approximations based on light intensity measurements, and they decrease more rapidly with distance than the measured ebps throughput. These results provide qualitative insights into the conventional transport mechanisms based on buffers, and the conditions used in deriving the analytical ebps capacity estimates.

Rao, Nageswara↗

Fuel Cell Stack Model for Real-Time Simulation of Grid-Connected Applications

Fuel cell stacks coupled with electrolyzers and hydrogen storage sites can be a promising category of distributed energy resources for both grid-connected and stand-alone power systems. However, because of high costs, at-scale hardware testing of fuel cell stacks for grid-connected applications is not economically viable at present. A model-based system that can accurately captures the steady-state and dynamic response of fuel cell stacks over long time periods (hours), is needed. This paper demonstrate a real-time electromagnetic transient model of a megawatt-scale, grid-connected proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack, coupled with a mass-based hydrogen storage system. This model can emulate the electrical steady-state and dynamic response of grid-connected fuel cell stacks. We validate the model using the response of commercial hardware fuel cell stacks and analytical models in the literature - using a digital real-time simulator (RSCAD). The proposed real-time model is then used to simulate cases spanning different time horizons and to design controller-hardware-in-the-loop experiments to evaluate controllers for hydrogen stations.

activation potential↗

Dispatching Grid-Forming Inverters in Grid-Connected and Islanded Mode

This paper explores the dispatchability of grid-forming (GFM) inverters in grid-connected and islanded mode. GFM inverters usually use droop control to automatically share power with other GFM sources (inverters and synchronous generators) and follow the change in the load demand; however, they can be dispatched like their grid-following (GFL) counterparts to output the target active and reactive power. This will help grid operators better manage their inverter-based resources (IBRs) to improve operation efficiency and reliability; therefore, this paper proposes an innovative concept of dispatching GFM sources (inverters and synchronous generators) to output the target power in both grid-connected and islanded mode by adjusting their droop intercepts. The fundamental principle is that the GFM inverter's active and reactive power is dictated by its frequency and voltage, and thus dispatching the active and reactve power of a GFM inverter can be achieved through dispatching its frequency and voltage. Moreover, the concept distinguishes the dispatch rules for grid-connected and islanded mode. Finally, the concept is validated with an example microgrid system with two GFM inverters, one diesel generator, one GFL inverter, and the load in both grid-connected and islanded mode. This pioneering work results in practical guidance for the development of energy management systems for future electric grids with GFM and GFL inverters.

dispatching↗

Finding new friends and revisiting old ones – how plant lipid droplets connect with other subcellular structures

Summary The number of described contact sites between different subcellular compartments and structures in eukaryotic cells has increased dramatically in recent years and, as such, has substantially reinforced the well‐known premise that these kinds of connections are essential for overall cellular organization and the proper functioning of cellular metabolic and signaling pathways. Here, we discuss contact sites involving plant lipid droplets (LDs), including LD‐endoplasmic reticulum (ER) connections that mediate the biogenesis of new LDs at the ER, LD‐peroxisome connections, that facilitate the degradation of LD‐stored triacylglycerols (TAGs), and the more recently discovered LD‐plasma membrane connections, which involve at least three novel proteins, but have a yet unknown physiological function(s).

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

Energy Impact of Connected and Automated Vehicle Technologies. Final report

The overarching goal of this project is to understand the potential impact of connected and automated vehicles. The goal was achieved through data collection, model development, algorithm designs, simulations, and limited field tests. The main outcomes from this project include: (1) we collected energy consumption and GPS data from 500 vehicles over one year, with a total mileage of 8 million miles; (2) Based on the collected data and other datasets collected at the University of Michigan, we developed a calibrated Ann Arbor model in Polaris (model developed by ANL), and the fuel economy accuracy was found to be around 3.9% by comparison with field collected data; (3) An open-source SUMO model of Ann Arbor was developed; (4) Eco-Routing algorithms in Ann Arbor using the SUMO model shows 6% fuel saving potential; (5) Experiments conducted at the Mcity test facility shows that human drivers roughly follow the Eco-driving suggestions roughly 70% of the time; (6) Based in the Ann Arbor travel patterns, we found that each shared automated vehicle can replace around 4 individually owned vehicles; and (7) Adaptive Traffic Signal Control Algorithm developed through this project has been validated both in simulations and preliminary test results. For connected and automated vehicles, on average the performance is 13% delay reduction, and 10% fuel reduction. While connected and automated vehicles are in their early stage of deployment, the results from this project confirm that there is significant potential for energy saving if the technologies are developed and used properly. The three main technologies studied in this project include eco-routing, shared autonomous rides, and adaptive traffic signal controls. The data collected and model developed through the project can be used to study many other connected and automated vehicle technologies.

02 PETROLEUM↗

Speed to Power: Solutions for Accelerating Large Load Connections

Rapid growth in demand from data centers and other large loads is creating a range of new challenges for electricity planners, investors, system operators, and regulators, leading to bottlenecks that have slowed connection of large loads to the electric grid. In response, innovative solutions for accelerating large load connections are beginning to emerge across the U.S. Drawing on an extensive document and literature review, this report identifies more than 40 potential solutions for accelerating large load connections, organized into five functional areas: load forecasting, interconnection, resource planning and procurement, markets and operations, and cost allocation and ratemaking. The five functional areas provide a framework for organizing challenges and solutions to large load connection bottlenecks.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗