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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 1,279 records · Page 71
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

Evaluating the Effects of Anode Porous Transport Layer on the Performance and Durability of Anion Exchange Membrane Electrolyzers

As anion exchange membrane systems have emerged as a competitive low temperature electrolysis technology, research has expanded to other components and device integration. In this study, nickel (Ni) and stainless steel (SS)-based porous transport layers (PTLs) are investigated in membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs). Compared to MEAs using Ni, the SS PTL shows higher performance due to less kinetics and residual loss and possibly due to a combination of iron mobility improving oxygen evolution reactivity and electron conduction pathways, as well as higher porosity increasing site access. Voltage decay rates of approximately 144 and 115 μV/h, respectively, for the Ni and SS PTLs are found, although the long-term durability and lifetime implications are convoluted. Voltage breakdown analysis confirms that both PTLs saw significant increases in residual loss possibly due to catalyst/PTL property changes that affected electronic, ionic, and mass transport pathways. For the Ni PTL, a higher proportion of the losses were due to cell kinetics; comparatively, more of the SS PTL losses were due to increases in the high frequency resistance. The experimental findings presented here provide insights on the impact of the PTL materials and their properties.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Situated Visualization of Photovoltaic Module Performance for Workforce Development

The rapid growth of the solar energy industry requires advanced educational tools to train the next generation of engineers and technicians. We present a novel system for situated visualization of photovoltaic (PV) module performance, leveraging a combination of PV simulation, sun-sky position, and head-mounted augmented reality (AR). Our system is guided by four principles of development: simplicity, adaptability, collaboration, and maintainability, realized in six components. Users interactively manipulate a physical module's orientation and shading referents with immediate feedback on the module's performance.

augmented reality↗
DOE OSTI2024

Situated Visualization of Photovoltaic Module Performance for Workforce Development: Preprint

The rapid growth of the solar energy industry requires advanced educational tools to train the next generation of engineers and technicians. We present a novel system for situated visualization of photovoltaic (PV) module performance, leveraging a combination of PV simulation, sun-sky position, and head-mounted augmented reality (AR). Our system is guided by four principles of development: simplicity, adaptability, collaboration, and maintainability, realized in six components. Users interactively manipulate a physical module's orientation and shading referents with immediate feedback on the module's performance.

augmented reality↗
DOE OSTI2024

Situated Visualization of Photovoltaic Module Performance for Workforce Development

The rapid growth of the solar energy industry requires advanced educational tools to train the next generation of engineers and technicians. We present a novel system for situated visualization of photovoltaic (PV) module performance, leveraging a combination of PV simulation, sun-sky position, and head-mounted augmented reality (AR). Our system is guided by four principles of development: simplicity, adaptability, collaboration, and maintainability, realized in six components. Users interactively manipulate a physical module's orientation and shading referents with immediate feedback on the module's performance.

augmented reality↗
DOE OSTI2022

HOMP (Hybrid Operation and Maintenance Platform) [SWR-22-81]

The HOMP software module is contained within NREL's Hybrid Optimization and Performance Platform (HOPP) at this URL: https://github.com/NREL/HOPP/tree/feature/HOMP. HOMP is a python-based software module which can be used concurrently with the Hybrid Optimization and Performance Platform (HOPP) to model, simulate, and optimize degradation, reliability, and operations and maintenance of hybrid power plant components. The program currently models lithium ion battery, PEM electrolyzer, wind turbine, and solar PV array components, which enables users to understand the design and operation tradeoffs of hybrid power plants. For instance, HOMP enables users to answer questions like: how large does a battery bank need to be to achieve optimal charge/discharge rates for performance and reliability? How does plant design change for different objectives (e.g., profit versus resilience)? Under what conditions is it better to produce electricity versus hydrogen? How do we optimally control hybrid power plants to reduce downtime and increase performance?

Clark, Caitlyn↗
DOE OSTI2022

Performance and characterization of the SPT-3G digital frequency-domain multiplexed readout system using an improved noise and crosstalk model

The third-generation South Pole Telescope camera (SPT-3G) improves upon its predecessor (SPTpol) by an order of magnitude increase in detectors on the focal plane. The technology used to read out and control these detectors, digital frequency-domain multiplexing (DfMUX), is conceptually the same as used for SPTpol, but extended to accommodate more detectors. A nearly 5× expansion in the readout operating bandwidth has enabled the use of this large focal plane, and SPT-3G performance meets the forecasting targets relevant to its science objectives. However, the electrical dynamics of the higher-bandwidth readout differ from predictions based on models of the SPTpol system due to the higher frequencies used and parasitic impedances associated with new cryogenic electronic architecture. To address this, we present an updated derivation for electrical crosstalk in higher-bandwidth DfMUX systems and identify two previously uncharacterized contributions to readout noise, which become dominant at high bias frequency. The updated crosstalk and noise models successfully describe the measured crosstalk and readout noise performance of SPT-3G. These results also suggest specific changes to warm electronics component values, wire-harness properties, and SQUID parameters, to improve the readout system for future experiments using DfMUX, such as the LiteBIRD space telescope.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2020

Multi-Axis Resonant Plate Shock Testing Evaluation and Test Specification Development

Resonant plate testing is a shock test method that is frequently used to simulate pyroshock events in the laboratory. Recently, it was discovered that if the unit under test is installed at an off-center location, a tri-axial accelerometer would record a shock response in three directions and the resulting shock response spectra implied that the test may have qualified the component in three directions simultaneously. The purpose of this research project was to evaluate this idea of multi-axis shock testing to determine if it was truly a multi-axis shock environment and if such a test could be used as an equivalent component qualification test. A study was conducted using generic, additively manufactured components tested on a resonant plate, along with an investigation of plate motion to evaluate the component response to off- center plate excitation. The data obtained here along with the analytical simulations performed indicate that off-center resonant plate tests are actually not three-axis shock tests, but rather single axis shocks at an arbitrary angle dictated by the location of the unit under test on the plate. This conclusion is supported by the fact that only one vectored shock input is provided to the component in a resonant plate test. Thus, the output response is a coupled response of the transverse plate vibration and the rotational motion of the component on the plate. Additionally, a multi-axis shock test defined by three single axis test environments always results in a significant component over-test in one direction.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Evaluating Unified Memory Performance in HIP

Heterogeneous unified memory management between a CPU and a GPU is a major challenge in GPU computing. Recently, unified memory (UM) has been supported by software and hardware components on AMD computing platforms. The support could simplify the complexities of memory management. In this paper, we attempt to have a better understanding of UM by evaluating the performance of UM programs on an AMD MI100 GPU. More specifically, we evaluate data migration using UM against other data transfer techniques for the overall performance of an application, assess the impacts of three commonly used optimization techniques on the kernel execution time of a vector add sample, and compare the performance and productivity of selected benchmarks with and without UM. The performance overhead associated with UM is not trivial, but it can improve programming productivity by reducing lines of code for scientific applications. We aim to present early results and feedback on the UM performance to the vendor.

Jin, Zheming↗
DOE OSTI2024

Environmentally Assisted Fatigue in Light Water Reactor Environment

This report summarizes the Environmentally Assisted Fatigue (EAF) research conducted at ANL under the US DOE Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program. Starting from a rich background in theoretical and experimental EAF, ANL previously developed an approach to evaluate fatigue performance of reactor materials in light water reactor environments with the correction factor F en . The approach was based on a large body of experimental work performed at ANL and elsewhere, and was consistent with American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)’s methodology governing the design and construction of reactor components. In recent years, the program was focused on component fatigue prediction and made several major and fundamental contributions in this area. These accomplishments help meet the needs identified by the industry concerning component level fatigue predictions in complex, transient conditions. The main contribution of the ANL program involved the development of a system-level model for estimating residual strain and life of nuclear reactor coolant system components under connected-system-thermal-mechanical boundary conditions. The goal was to predict the stress hotspots, strain residuals, strain amplitudes and the resulting fatigue lives. Thermal-mechanical stress analysis was performed considering thermal stratification and a design-basis reactor loading cycle. Based on the finite element (FE) model results, the strain residuals, strain amplitudes and resulting fatigue lives of reactor coolant system (RCS) components were predicted. The results show that some of the RCS components can have significantly different strain amplitudes, residual strain, and fatigue lives, despite having similar geometry and material. In addition, the simulated component-level strain profile can guide the selection of appropriate test inputs for conducting laboratory-scale EAF tests. Building upon the system-level model, ANL developed a digital twin (DT) framework to predict the structural states and associated fatigue life of components in real-time. This framework is a comprehensive system designed to predict the structural states and fatigue lives of reactor components. It includes multiple models and integrates artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and FE based modeling tools to evaluate the structural states and fatigue lives.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Wire arc additive manufactured A36 steel performance for marine renewable energy systems

Additive manufacturing has established itself to be advantageous beyond small-scale prototyping, now supporting full-scale production of components for a variety of applications. Despite its integration across industries, marine renewable energy technology is one largely untapped application with potential to bolster clean energy production on the global scale. Wave energy converters (WEC) are one specific facet within this realm that could benefit from AM. As such, wire arc additive manufacturing (WAAM) has been identified as a practical method to produce larger scale marine energy components by leveraging cost-effective and readily available A36 steel feedstock material. The flexibility associated with WAAM can benefit production of WEC by producing more complex structural geometries that are challenging to produce traditionally. Additionally, for large components where fine details are less critical, the high deposition rate of WAAM in comparison to traditional wrought techniques could reduce build times by an order of magnitude. In this context of building and supporting WEC, which experience harsh marine environments, an understanding of performance under large loads and corrosive environments must be understood. Hence, WAAM and wrought A36 steel tensile samples were manufactured, and mechanical properties compared under both dry and corroded conditions. Here, the unique microstructure created via the WAAM process was found to directly correlate to the increased ultimate tensile and yield strength compared to the wrought condition. Static corrosion testing in a simulated saltwater environment in parallel with electrochemical testing highlighted an outperformance of corroded WAAM A36 steel than wrought, despite having a slighter higher corrosion rate. Ultimately, this study shows how marine energy systems may benefit from additive manufacturing components and provides a foundation for future applications of WAAM A36 steel.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Extending Petsc's Composable Hierarchically Nested Linear Solvers

The Contributions from the RELACS group at both Rice University and the University at Buffalo in this phase of the PETSc Composable Solvers effort have centered around four main areas: scalable mesh processing, mesh adaptivity, solvers for subsurface flow, and performance modeling. The prominence of mesh processing demonstrates the tight relationship between meshing and discretization on the one hand, and optimal solvers on the other. All optimal solvers that we consider depend on some notion of hierarchy, and we express this using the DMPlex abstraction in PETSc. This relationship demands tight integration between the DM and SNES/TS components in PETSc that is the foundation of much of this work. In addition, interpretation of performance results for scalable solvers necessitates that information from the discretization and solver enter the performance model. Without this, comparing different solvers can be a fruitless exercise. Some major accomplishment of the past three years in these areas include: scalable mesh loading in PETSc on more than 10K cores, integrated mesh adaptivity using both p4est and Pragmatic, scalable multigrid for DG discretizations of subsurface flow, and predictive performance modeling incorporating error estimates.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Effects of pillar design on the thermal performance of vacuum-insulated glazing

Vacuum-insulated glazing (VIG) with a low-emittance coating has a great market potential as an effective transparent insulator. The thermal insulating performance of VIG is determined by its design, including material selection and configuration of different components. Thermal conductance of the vacuum gap as a transport bottleneck is one of the primary factors controlling the thermal transport across VIG. In particular, because support pillars provide the main thermal transport channels across the vacuum gap, increasing the pillar thermal resistance is a key strategy for creating effective thermal insulation while maintaining the vacuum space. Here, the effects of various pillar design parameters, such as thermal conductivity, geometry, and arrangement, on the VIG thermal performance were comprehensively investigated via the finite element method. In addition, analytical models for thermal transport were examined and thermal conductance across the VIG unit was experimentally measured for validation. The pillar design parameters, especially the height, shape, spacing, and arrangement of the pillars, showed significant effects on the thermal performance of VIG. This research also shows that the smaller contact area for horizontal pillars can effectively decrease the heat loss by more than 30%. Because current VIG analytical equations of thermal performance are only applicable to cylindrical pillars, an analytical equation that can better describe the thermal performance of rectangular parallelepiped pillars is presented, along with a discussion about the mechanism of thermal transfer for different pillar shapes. Thermo-mechanical analyses based on 3D FEM simulations can provide valuable insights into the effect of various design parameters on the overall performance the VIG, allowing for the development of an optimal VIG design.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Active Learning-driven Quantitative Synthesis-Structure-Property Relations for Improving Performance and Revealing Active Sites of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction

While quantitative structure-properties relations (QSPRs) have been developed successfully in multiple fields, catalyst synthesis affects structure and in turn performance, making simple QSPRs inadequate. Furthermore, catalysts often have multiple active sites preventing one from obtaining insights into structure-property relations. Here, we develop a data-driven quantitative synthesis-structure-property relation (QS2PRs) methodology to elucidate correlations between catalyst synthesis conditions, structural properties as well as observed performance and to provide fundamental insights into active sites and a systematic way to optimize practical catalysts. Here, we demonstrate the approach to the synthesis of nitrogen-doped catalysts (NDC) made via pyrolysis for the performance of the electrochemical hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), quantified by the onset potential and the current density. We determine crystallinity, nitrogen species type and fraction, surface area, and pore structure of the NDC’s using XRD, XPS, and BET characterization. We demonstrated that an active learning-based optimization combined with various elementary machine learning tools (regression, principal component analysis, partial least squares) can efficiently identify optimum pyrolysis conditions to tune structural characteristics and performance with concomitant savings in materials and experimental time. Unlike previous reports on the importance of pyridinic or graphitic nitrogen, we discover that the electrochemical performance is not driven by a single catalyst property; rather, it arises from a multivariate influence of nitrogen dopants, pore structure and disorder in the NDC materials. Identification of active sites can help mechanistic understanding and further catalyst improvement.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2025

High-Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES) Projects in Germany and the Netherlands—Review and Lessons Learned

Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is a concept that can help to address heating and cooling needs through the use of the subsurface as a seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) system. Over 2800 ATES systems have been deployed with storage temperatures typically below 25 °C and only a few with higher temperatures (>40 °C), which would increase the energy density and utility of the stored thermal fluids. Until now, only a few high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) projects have been initiated and are still in operation. These HT-ATES projects have encountered a range of technical and non-technical challenges. This study reviews ten such projects: four in Germany and six in the Netherlands. The non-technical issues include public acceptance, a lack of regulatory framework for these systems, managing overlapping uses of the subsurface, managing changes with the providers and off-takers of thermal energy, and obtaining financing to implement these projects. Common technical issues include geological factors such as incomplete characterization of the subsurface and reservoir heterogeneity; geochemical issues such as mineral scaling, corrosion, and biofouling; lower than expected thermal recovery; and issues with system design and reliability. This review highlights benefits and challenges faced by HT-ATES projects with the goal to use the lessons learned to improve the siting, design, development, and operation of such systems. Recommendations include improved initial subsurface site characterization, use of coupled process models to optimize system design and predict system performance, cascaded uses of stored thermal energy to better utilize the stored heat, monitoring networks to provide feedback on system performance, and expanded system scale to allow for continued operation even when maintenance of some system components is required. Techno-economic modeling and risk analysis could be used to optimize such HT-ATES project design and identify key factors that will affect sustained economic viability. In addition, design flexibility is important for these systems to allow for changing conditions regarding the supply and demand of thermal energy. Adopting these findings should improve the performance and reduce the risks for future HT-ATES projects worldwide.

15 - GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

High performance Calcium Copper Titanate/Polyimide dielectrics composites enabled through colloidal stabilization

Transition to electrified transportation demands advanced power electronic components with the capability to improve range, reliability, and cost of ownership to accelerate mass market adoption. Thus, improvement in the current designs, manufacturing processes, materials, and components capable of providing reliable and efficient operation at higher temperatures play important roles in meeting future needs. To address these challenges, this article focuses on novel dielectric materials designed to reduce the volume of the most important and bulky component of a power electronic system, a capacitor. A new composite dielectric material was developed by integrating the positive attributes of both polymer and ceramic capacitors to overcome the challenges of state-of-the-art dielectric materials. Further, the developed composite properties have been evaluated and showed promising results, achieving a dielectric constant of 250 at 100 Hz, 25°C, unseen in current literature. Additionally, these materials can function at high temperatures (>150°C) with good breakdown strength, providing promising working conditions for capacitors, especially in electric vehicle applications.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field Programmable Gate Array-Based Reactor Protection Systems and Potential for Inclusion of Secure Elements to Improve Cybersecurity

For acceptable implementations of technologies like wireless communications, remote monitoring, etc., strong mitigations must be developed and evaluated to ensure that new attack pathways do not increase risk for Advanced Reactors. Secure Elements can be adopted and adapted for this purpose based on tamper resistance and cryptographic abilities, but research must be done to properly integrate into critical components such as FPGA-based Important to Safety systems in conjunction with current and future regulations on cyber security features in Advanced Reactors. Typically, the integration of a Secure Element happens during the POST and UEFI boot of a computing platform, performed by the Operating System, which is not possible with FPGAs because they do not include these firmware components. Work must be done to identify a reliable and secure method for integration in FPGA-based systems which lack Operating Systems and therefore complex boot procedures, system calls, etc.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Field Programmable Gate Array-Based Reactor Protection Systems and Potential for Inclusion of Secure Elements to Improve Cybersecurity

For acceptable implementations of technologies like wireless communications, remote monitoring, etc., strong mitigations must be developed and evaluated to ensure that new attack pathways do not increase risk for Advanced Reactors. Secure Elements can be adopted and adapted for this purpose based on tamper resistance and cryptographic abilities, but research must be done to properly integrate into critical components such as FPGA-based Important to Safety systems in conjunction with current and future regulations on cyber security features in Advanced Reactors. Typically, the integration of a Secure Element happens during the POST and UEFI boot of a computing platform, performed by the Operating System, which is not possible with FPGAs because they do not include these firmware components. Work must be done to identify a reliable and secure method for integration in FPGA-based systems which lack Operating Systems and therefore complex boot procedures, system calls, etc.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Performance Testing of Additively Manufactured 316L Stainless Steel in Light Water Reactor Environment

This report summarizes research activities conducted at Argonne National Laboratory in support of the development, qualification and certification of additively manufactured (AM) metallic components for the long-term sustainability of light water reactors. In this program, AM 316L stainless steel (SS) has been evaluated in light water reactor (LWR) environments for their fatigue, environmentally assisted fatigue, and stress corrosion cracking performances on specimens in as-printed condition, aiming for facilitating the regulatory acceptance and ultimately adoption of AM components in aging LWRs.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗