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At least 127 records · Page 7

Graduating Sustainable Industrial Decarbonization Solutions from the Laboratory to Real-World Deployments

Accelerating innovation and integration of industrial decarbonization technology solutions is crucial for achieving industry-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets. This can be accomplished in various ways through increased utilization of low-embodied carbon materials and the adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques in construction practices. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), we facilitate dialogue and action across all sectors to uncover industry needs to inform innovation, and explore ways we can help with implementation of emerging solutions in the real world. As an applied laboratory, NREL sits between academia and industry to fully bridge the gap from foundational science research to examining the feasibility of market applications. Integration of innovative technologies and solutions that are efficient, resilient, and grid-interactive will play a pivotal role in supporting a clean energy future. However, it is imperative that these solutions prioritize equitable outcomes, addressing the challenges faced by all communities. By embracing decarbonization, the construction industry can revolutionize itself, promoting sustainability, reducing carbon emissions, conserving resources, while enhancing performance and durability - all major steps toward a greener and more sustainable future.

cement

Developing Smart Building Technology Modules to Enhance Workforce Preparedness: A Case for AI-Driven Academic and Professional Education

Smart building technologies are resources that improve building energy efficiency and resilience, reduce carbon emissions, and provide load flexibility to the grid. However, in both academic curricula and building professionals’ continuing education, there is a lack of systematic instruction on methods to integrate multiple energy systems including distributed energy resources (DER), smart building technologies, AI (Artificial Intelligence) tools and key concepts, components, and controls, including “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices. In today’s dynamic workforce, this major gap in smart building technology education prevents stakeholders from being able to attract talent with an understanding and preparation to adopt smart building technologies in building design and operations. A federally funded project included a partnership between Slipstream and Texas A&M University (TAMU) to develop a semester-long smart building curriculum for engineering college students with the ability to adapt the contents for workforce development of professionals in building services. The final product consists of 16 training videos adapted for building professionals and the public. The educational content and training materials cover the benefits of building energy systems, the latest sensor technologies and IoT devices, all with a focus on smart building technologies. The key drivers are on topics related to smart building controls (i.e., energy management information systems), smart building control platforms, cybersecurity, grid-interactive-efficient buildings (GEBs), smart building control methods, and occupant-centric control. Although not explicitly included the technologies nod to the need for AI driven technologies to prepare engineers and industry professionals to be future ready. This paper describes the project approach, provides outlines of the training materials, and identifies lessons learned in creating the content for this course. The authors suggest ways to scale the instruction of smart building concepts to empower the workforce to accelerate the adoption of smart building technologies and AI-based teaching and learning in higher education and building sector.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

IGGy: An interactive environment for surface grid generation

A graphically interactive derivative of the EAGLE boundary code is presented. This code allows the user to interactively build and execute commands and immediately see the results. Strong ties with a batch oriented script language are maintained. A generalized treatment of grid definition parameters allows a more generic definition of the grid generation process and allows the generation of command scripts which can be applied to topologically similar configurations. The use of the graphical user interface is outlined and example applications are presented.

Prewitt, Nathan C.

Interactive algebraic grid-generation technique

An algebraic grid generation technique and use of an associated interactive computer program are described. The technique, called the two boundary technique, is based on Hermite cubic interpolation between two fixed, nonintersecting boundaries. The boundaries are referred to as the bottom and top, and they are defined by two ordered sets of points. Left and right side boundaries which intersect the bottom and top boundaries may also be specified by two ordered sets of points. when side boundaries are specified, linear blending functions are used to conform interior interpolation to the side boundaries. Spacing between physical grid coordinates is determined as a function of boundary data and uniformly space computational coordinates. Control functions relating computational coordinates to parametric intermediate variables that affect the distance between grid points are embedded in the interpolation formulas. A versatile control function technique with smooth-cubic-spline functions is presented. The technique works best in an interactive graphics environment where computational displays and user responses are quickly exchanged. An interactive computer program based on the technique and called TBGG (two boundary grid generation) is also described.

Smith, R. E.

Interactive generation of unstructured grids for three dimensional problems

The present interactive grid-generation capability for unstructured grids substantially bases itself on the performance available in the most advanced workstations, in order to obviate much of the input, error-checking, and output process burden associated with the generation of grids in three dimensions. The illustrative examples presented encompass the B-747 wing-fuselage configuration, a generic wing-fuselage-tail pathfinder configuration in a wind tunnel, and a generic train configuration in which surface data are not required to have very high accuracy, but many configurations must be analyzed rapidly.

Lohner, Rainald

Computer Aided Grid Interface: An Interactive CFD Pre-Processor

NASA maintains an applications oriented computational fluid dynamics (CFD) efforts complementary to and in support of the aerodynamic-propulsion design and test activities. This is especially true at NASA/MSFC where the goal is to advance and optimize present and future liquid-fueled rocket engines. Numerical grid generation plays a significant role in the fluid flow simulations utilizing CFD. An overall goal of the current project was to develop a geometry-grid generation tool that will help engineers, scientists and CFD practitioners to analyze design problems involving complex geometries in a timely fashion. This goal is accomplished by developing the Computer Aided Grid Interface system (CAGI). The CAGI system is developed by integrating CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) geometric system output and / or Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files (including all the NASA-IGES entities), geometry manipulations and generations associated with grid constructions, and robust grid generation methodologies. This report describes the development process of the CAGI system.

Soni, Bharat K.

Computer Aided Grid Interface: An Interactive CFD Pre-Processor

NASA maintains an applications oriented computational fluid dynamics (CFD) efforts complementary to and in support of the aerodynamic-propulsion design and test activities. This is especially true at NASA/MSFC where the goal is to advance and optimize present and future liquid-fueled rocket engines. Numerical grid generation plays a significant role in the fluid flow simulations utilizing CFD. An overall goal of the current project was to develop a geometry-grid generation tool that will help engineers, scientists and CFD practitioners to analyze design problems involving complex geometries in a timely fashion. This goal is accomplished by developing the CAGI: Computer Aided Grid Interface system. The CAGI system is developed by integrating CAD/CAM (Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided Manufacturing) geometric system output and/or Initial Graphics Exchange Specification (IGES) files (including all the NASA-IGES entities), geometry manipulations and generations associated with grid constructions, and robust grid generation methodologies. This report describes the development process of the CAGI system.

Soni, Bharat K.

Interactive solution-adaptive grid generation procedure

TURBO-AD is a two dimensional interactive solution adaptive grid generation program. The code uniquely combines a grid adaptation technique that uses parametric mapping with control sources and an algebraic grid generation that uses control points into a single software package. The grid adaptation is achieved by first adapting the control points to a numerical solution in the parametric domain using the control sources obtained from flow properties. Then a new grid is generated from the adapted control net using the control point formulation. The new adapted grid in the parametric domain is then mapped back to the physical domain. This solution adaptive grid generation process is efficient because the number of control points is much less than the number of grid points and the grid generation from the adapted control net is an efficient algebraic process.

Choo, Yung K.

Viscous-inviscid interaction and local grid refinement via truncation error injection

A methodology is presented which makes it possible to decouple a complex problem having multiple disparate length scales into problems of single length scale so that they can be solved more efficiently on a computer. The method is applied to a viscous transonic flow over an airfoil. It is found that accurate prediction of the flow over an airfoil can be obtained by solving the Euler equations on a relatively coarse global grid with viscous effects computed separately on a boundary-layer type grid and injected into the global grid solution as a combination of vorticity and trucation error.

Goble, Brian D.

Numerical Simulations of Shock/Plume Interaction Using Structured Overset Grids

Computational simulations using structured overset grids with the Launch Ascent and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) solver framework are presented for predicting oblique shock/plume interaction effects to near-field sonic boom signatures. Standard second-order accurate as well as higher-resolution numerical discretizations are utilized and compared in the study. The numerical approach is compared with supersonic wind-tunnel data for three cases. The cases include an empty wind-tunnel at the operating conditions, an isolated shockgenerating diamond wedge within the tunnel, and a nozzle with diamond wedge configuration at five different nozzle pressure ratios. Solution sensitivity to numerical discretization is analyzed. Favorable comparisons between the computational results and experimental data of near-field pressure signatures are obtained. A simple prediction method for plume induced shock deflection is developed and results are compared with the CFD data.

Housman, Jeffrey A.

A Graphically Interactive Approach to Structured and Unstructured Surface Grid Quality Analysis

A graphically interactive approach to structured and unstructured surface grid quality analysis is described. A Surface Analysis Code SurfACe) is developed to help a user analyze surface grid quality based on surface normal vectors, first and second derivatives of these vectors, normal, Gaussian, and mean curvatures, orthogonality, aspect ratio, and cell area. The results demonstrate how this approach can be used to reduce surface grid generation errors and increase the cost effectiveness of Computational Fluid Dynamics as an aircraft design tool.

Stewart, John E.

Three-dimensional algebraic grid generation

One of the major approaches to numerical grid generation is the explicit algebraic expression of a physical grid as a function of a uniform grid in a rectangular computational coordinate system. The algebraic methods are based on mathematical interpolation, and the primary advantages are speed and directness. The relation between interpolation and grid generation is described. For three-dimensional grid generation, transfinite interpolation using the coordinate control processes developed in the multisurface method and two-boundary technique are advocated. Grid singularities encountered in three dimensions are discussed, and the exploration of multiple overlapping grids is proposed. Some aspects of interactive algebraic grid computation in three dimensions are discussed.

Smith, R. E.

Parallel Grid Manipulations in Earth Science Calculations

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Data Assimilation Office (DAO) at the Goddard Space Flight Center is moving its data assimilation system to massively parallel computing platforms. This parallel implementation of GEOS DAS will be used in the DAO's normal activities, which include reanalysis of data, and operational support for flight missions. Key components of GEOS DAS, including the gridpoint-based general circulation model and a data analysis system, are currently being parallelized. The parallelization of GEOS DAS is also one of the HPCC Grand Challenge Projects. The GEOS-DAS software employs several distinct grids. Some examples are: an observation grid- an unstructured grid of points at which observed or measured physical quantities from instruments or satellites are associated- a highly-structured latitude-longitude grid of points spanning the earth at given latitude-longitude coordinates at which prognostic quantities are determined, and a computational lat-lon grid in which the pole has been moved to a different location to avoid computational instabilities. Each of these grids has a different structure and number of constituent points. In spite of that, there are numerous interactions between the grids, e.g., values on one grid must be interpolated to another, or, in other cases, grids need to be redistributed on the underlying parallel platform. The DAO has designed a parallel integrated library for grid manipulations (PILGRIM) to support the needed grid interactions with maximum efficiency. It offers a flexible interface to generate new grids, define transformations between grids and apply them. Basic communication is currently MPI, however the interfaces defined here could conceivably be implemented with other message-passing libraries, e.g., Cray SHMEM, or with shared-memory constructs. The library is written in Fortran 90. First performance results indicate that even difficult problems, such as above-mentioned pole rotation- a sparse interpolation with little data locality between the physical lat-lon grid and a pole rotated computational grid- can be solved efficiently and at the GFlop/s rates needed to solve tomorrow's high resolution earth science models. In the subsequent presentation we will discuss the design and implementation of PILGRIM as well as a number of the problems it is required to solve. Some conclusions will be drawn about the potential performance of the overall earth science models on the supercomputer platforms foreseen for these problems.

Sawyer, W.

Unsteady viscous-inviscid interaction procedures for transonic airfoils using Cartesian grids

A viscous-inviscid interaction procedure for transonic airfoils using an Euler/integral boundary layer formulation and Cartesian grids is presented. The approach is based on a time dependent formulation for both the integral boundary layer equations and the Euler equations. Effects of upstream history on the shear stress are modeled by a time dependent rate equation derived from the turbulent kinetic energy equation. Results are presented for two of the test cases reported by Cook et al. (1979) for the RAE 2822 supercritical airfoil and one of the cases reported by Harris (1981) for the NACA 0012 symmetric airfoil. In general, the results are in good agreement with experiment.

Fenno, Charles C., Jr.

User Manual for Beta Version of TURBO-GRD: A Software System for Interactive Two-Dimensional Boundary/ Field Grid Generation, Modification, and Refinement

TURBO-GRD is a software system for interactive two-dimensional boundary/field grid generation. modification, and refinement. Its features allow users to explicitly control grid quality locally and globally. The grid control can be achieved interactively by using control points that the user picks and moves on the workstation monitor or by direct stretching and refining. The techniques used in the code are the control point form of algebraic grid generation, a damped cubic spline for edge meshing and parametric mapping between physical and computational domains. It also performs elliptic grid smoothing and free-form boundary control for boundary geometry manipulation. Internal block boundaries are constructed and shaped by using Bezier curve. Because TURBO-GRD is a highly interactive code, users can read in an initial solution, display its solution contour in the background of the grid and control net, and exercise grid modification using the solution contour as a guide. This process can be called an interactive solution-adaptive grid generation.

Choo, Yung K.

CRADA Number NFE-24-10110 with Qubit Engineering Inc. (CRADA Final Report)

Over the past year, the Qubit Engineering team has pushed the frontiers of power‑grid optimization, working in close collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Their progress is reflected in three newly submitted conference papers, “Unified Relational GNN Architecture for AC Optimal Power Flow Calculations in Electric Grids,” “Graph‑Based Attention Mechanisms for Solving the AC Optimal Power Flow Problem in Electrical‑Power Networks,” and “Enhanced Power‑Grid Maintenance Planning and Quantum‑Inspired Combinatorial Prospects.” These publications showcase state‑of‑the‑art graph‑neural‑network methods for AC‑OPF and novel quantum‑inspired heuristics for maintenance scheduling. Beyond the academic results, the Qubit team has converted the research into two production‑grade tools built on TVA data: Neuro‑Grid, an AI‑driven power‑flow simulator that provides instant, interactive full‑grid load‑flow visualizations, and Quanta‑Grid, a quantum‑inspired maintenance‑scheduling engine to support logistics optimization for power utilities. Together, these advances demonstrate how Qubit’s partnership with ORNL and TVA is delivering practical, physics‑grounded analytics for next‑generation grid management.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION

Grid spacing control with variation diminishing splines

Methods used to specify and control two and three dimensional grids on which numerical solutions of partial differential equations may be obtained were studied. While initially focusing on grid generation, the research will evolve into a consideration of the interaction of grid generation with the solution of a partial differential equation. The multisurface method of grid generation was used to continuously patch a grid onto an existing grid. In the resulting grid the elements of the Jacobian matrix must be continuous across the boundary between the original grid and the patched grid. Programs were written which accept as input the coordinates of the original grid and the desired new boundary, and then use the three-surface or four-surface version of the multisurface method to extend the original grid out to a new boundary.

Smith, P. W.