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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 1,423 records · Page 79
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

3D modeling of the Staged Z-pinch with the FLASH code

The Staged Z-pinch (SZP) fusion concept is a magneto-inertial compression scheme developed by Magneto-Inertial Fusion Technologies, Inc. (MIFTI), in which small amounts of fusion fuel are brought to fusion-relevant conditions by passing multi-million amperes strong current through a cylindrical shell of high atomic number material. One- and two-dimensional modeling performed by MIFTI with the MACH2 code, suggests that net fusion energy gain can be achieved when currents in the 10 million amperes range compress a 50%-50% mixture of deuterium and tritium gas. In this project we enhance and use the FLASH code to execute high-fidelity, simulations of various SZP configurations, a collaboration between the Flash Center for Computational Science at the University of Rochester and the Laboratory for Laser Energetics, and MIFTI. FLASH is a high-performance computing, multi-physics, radiation magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) code with extended physics capabilities, which is developed at the Flash Center. The goal of this project is to assess the shell/fuel stability of the pinch to two- and three-dimensional MHD instabilities and to utilize FLASH’s extended physics capabilities to understand how extended-MHD effects impact implosion dynamics and plasma conditions at stagnation. The project is a natural extension of an ongoing collaborative effort between MIFTI and the Flash Center through the U.S. DOE Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) BETHE program and can provide MIFTI with simulation capabilities that are currently beyond their reach with MACH2. Ultimately, MIFTI wants FLASH to become one of their simulation workhorses for reliable, high-fidelity SZP platform design. During the project, the Flash Center team developed a suite of in one- and two-dimensional FLASH simulations to model different variants of the SZP platform, performed code-to-code comparisons with MACH2, and used the FLASH code to design and model SZP experiments like the Double Eagle experiments that MIFTI recently performed. Also, the Flash Center team developed the capabilities of FLASH to be able to do three-dimensional simulations of pulsed-power experiments with the code for the first time. Two publications from this effort are currently under review and two more are in preparation. MIFTI has also committed to the use of FLASH for future SZP simulation efforts.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Koopman Model Predictive Control for Eco-Driving of Automated Vehicles

In this paper, we develop a data-driven process for building a model predictive control (MPC) for eco-driving of automated vehicles. The process involves performing system identification in which the non-linear vehicle dynamics model is approximated by the Koopman operator, a linear predictor of higher state-dimension, in a data-driven framework. This approach allows us to formulate the eco-driving problem in a constrained quadratic program that leads to a computationally fast MPC. The MPC is then implemented as a closed-loop control of an electric vehicle in numerical simulations for demonstration.

autonomous vehicle↗
DOE OSTI2016

Mesoscale to Molecules: Bioimaging Science (Technology) Program, Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting, August 2–3, 2016

The Mesoscale to Molecules Bioimaging Technology Program, within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), sponsors research that addresses grand challenges for biology. These grand challenges are centered around developing a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distributions of key metabolites and biomarkers associated with microorganisms and plants related to bioenergy and environmental systems. The Bioimaging Technology Program is advancing new and improved instruments that are being designed and constructed from the ground up, adapted from other scientific disciplines, or upgraded with new capabilities to create a comprehensive and versatile toolbox for imaging biological dynamics and chemistry. These instrument development approaches involve (1) hypothesis-based technologies focused on solving particular challenges for plant biology, biofuels, and biogeochemistry and (2) broad-based systems and design-based technologies that can lead to new discoveries. Both approaches are being pursued with versatility, transferability, and portability in mind to foster widespread adoption by the larger science community for future field and laboratory studies.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Mesoscale to Molecules: Bioimaging Science Program, Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting, February 28–March 1, 2018, Gaithersburg, Maryland

The Mesoscale to Molecules Bioimaging Science Program (Bioimaging Program), within the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), sponsors research at national laboratories and universities that addresses grand challenges for biology. These projects are centered on developing a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distributions of key metabolites and biomarkers associated with microbial and plant systems related to bioenergy and environmental systems. The Bioimaging Program is developing new and improved instruments, which are being designed and constructed from the ground up, adapted from other scientific disciplines, or upgraded with new capabilities to create a comprehensive and versatile toolbox for imaging biological dynamics and chemistry. These approaches involve (1) hypothesis-based approaches focused on solving particular problems for plant biology, biofuels, and biogeochemistry and (2) broad-based systems and design-based technologies that can lead to new discoveries. Scientists developing both approaches keep in mind that versatility, transferability, and portability will help foster widespread adoption by the larger science community for future field and laboratory studies.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nationwide Energy Saving Potential Evaluation for Office Buildings with Occupant-Based Building Controls

The heating ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) system is a major contributor to building energy consumption. This paper aims to quantify the nationwide energy savings potential of implementing the occupancy-based control (OBC) for the HVAC system in typical medium-sized office buildings using a whole building simulation program (i.e., EnergyPlus). First, the medium-sized office from the DOE Commercial Prototype Building Models was modified to have detailed layout and space functions. Then, a statistic-algorithm-based tool was used to generate the dynamic occupancy schedules for various rooms. Next, both a baseline case and two OBC cases were created for the comparison based on the updated ASHRAE Standard 90.1 and ASHRAE Guideline 36. The HVAC operation in the baseline case follows a static occupancy schedule and fixed setpoint schedules for both room air temperatures and minimal system outside air flowrates, while the proposed OBC cases use the room temperature reset, system minimum outdoor airflow reset, and zone minimal supply airflow rate reset. These cases were extended to five climate zones in the United States to further quantify the energy savings potential associated with the OBC on a nationwide scale. The preliminary result of this case study shows that there could be significant energy savings potential from the proposed OBC strategies in medium-sized office buildings in the United States.

Pang, Zhihong↗
DOE OSTI2016

In-Staging Data Placement for Asynchronous Coupling of Task-Based Scientific Workflows, In: 2016 Second International Workshop on Extreme Scale Programming Models and Middlewar (ESPM2)

Coupled application workflows composed of applications implemented using task-based models present new coupling and data exchange challenges, due to the asynchronous interaction and coupling behaviors between tasks of the component applications. In this paper, we present an adaptive data placement approach that addresses these challenges by dynamically adjusting to the asynchronous coupling patterns. Specifically, it places data across a set of staging cores/nodes with an awareness of the application-specific data locality requirements and the runtime task executions at these staging cores/nodes, with the goal of reducing end-to-end execution time and data movement overhead of the workflow. We experimentally demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on the Titan Cray XK7 system using representative data coupling patterns derived from current scientific workflows. The evaluation demonstrates that our approach efficiently improves performance by reducing the time-to-solution and increasing the quality of insights for scientific discovery.

Computer Science↗
DOE OSTI2013

Reply to “Comments on ‘The North American Regional Climate Change Assessment Program: Overview of Phase I Results’”

The authors of Mearns et al. (2012) are well aware of the role of driving RCMs with reanalyses and have written extensively on the roles of different types of RCM simulations (e.g., Giorgi and Mearns, 1999; Leung et al., 2003). Thus, we agree that the skill of dynamical downscaling in which global reanalysis is used to provide boundary conditions in general indicates an upper bound of skill compared to dynamical downscaling in which the boundary conditions come from global climate model simulations. This finding has long been established as global climate model simulations cannot outperform global reanalysis in providing boundary conditions since the latter is constrained by observations through data assimilation (that is unless the reanalyses themselves have been shown to have serious deficiences, e.g. Cerezo-Mota et al, 2011). The classification of different types of dynamical downscaling introduced by Castro et al. (2005) further adds clarity to this point.

2012↗
DOE OSTI2019

Small-Angle Scattering as a Structural Probe for Nucleic Acid Nanoparticles (NANPs) in a Dynamic Solution Environment

Nucleic acid-based technologies are an emerging research focus area for pharmacological and biological studies because they are biocompatible and can be designed to produce a variety of scaffolds at the nanometer scale. The use of nucleic acids (ribonucleic acid (RNA) and/or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)) as building materials in programming the assemblies and their further functionalization has recently established a new exciting field of RNA and DNA nanotechnology, which have both already produced a variety of different functional nanostructures and nanodevices. It is evident that the resultant architectures require detailed structural and functional characterization and that a variety of technical approaches must be employed to promote the development of the emerging fields. Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering (SAS) are structural characterization techniques that are well placed to determine the conformation of nucleic acid nanoparticles (NANPs) under varying solution conditions, thus allowing for the optimization of their design. SAS experiments provide information on the overall shapes and particle dimensions of macromolecules and are ideal for following conformational changes of the molecular ensemble as it behaves in solution. In addition, the inherent differences in the neutron scattering of nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins, as well as the different neutron scattering properties of the isotopes of hydrogen, combined with the ability to uniformly label biological macromolecules with deuterium, allow one to characterize the conformations and relative dispositions of the individual components within an assembly of biomolecules. This article will review the application of SAS methods and provide a summary of their successful utilization in the emerging field of NANP technology to date, as well as share our vision on its use in complementing a broad suite of structural characterization tools with some simulated results that have never been shared before.

Materials Science↗
DOE OSTI2011

CBP PHASE I CODE INTEGRATION

The goal of the Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) is to develop a reasonable and credible set of software tools to predict the structural, hydraulic, and chemical performance of cement barriers used in nuclear applications over extended time frames (greater than 100 years for operating facilities and greater than 1000 years for waste management). The simulation tools will be used to evaluate and predict the behavior of cementitious barriers used in near surface engineered waste disposal systems including waste forms, containment structures, entombments, and environmental remediation. These cementitious materials are exposed to dynamic environmental conditions that cause changes in material properties via (i) aging, (ii) chloride attack, (iii) sulfate attack, (iv) carbonation, (v) oxidation, and (vi) primary constituent leaching. A set of state-of-the-art software tools has been selected as a starting point to capture these important aging and degradation phenomena. Integration of existing software developed by the CBP partner organizations was determined to be the quickest method of meeting the CBP goal of providing a computational tool that improves the prediction of the long-term behavior of cementitious materials. These partner codes were selected based on their maturity and ability to address the problems outlined above. The GoldSim Monte Carlo simulation program (GTG 2010a, GTG 2010b) was chosen as the code integration platform (Brown & Flach 2009b). GoldSim (current Version 10.5) is a Windows based graphical object-oriented computer program that provides a flexible environment for model development (Brown & Flach 2009b). The linking of GoldSim to external codes has previously been successfully demonstrated (Eary 2007, Mattie et al. 2007). GoldSim is capable of performing deterministic and probabilistic simulations and of modeling radioactive decay and constituent transport. As part of the CBP project, a general Dynamic Link Library (DLL) interface was developed to link GoldSim with external codes (Smith III et al. 2010). The DLL uses a list of code inputs provided by GoldSim to create an input file for the external application, runs the external code, and returns a list of outputs (read from files created by the external application) back to GoldSim. In this way GoldSim provides: (1) a unified user interface to the applications, (2) the capability of coupling selected codes in a synergistic manner, and (3) the capability of performing probabilistic uncertainty analysis with the codes. GoldSim is made available by the GoldSim Technology Group as a free 'Player' version that allows running but not editing GoldSim models. The player version makes the software readily available to a wider community of users that would wish to use the CBP application but do not have a license for GoldSim.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2023

Tuning anisotropic bonding via chemistry and pressure in layered pnictides and chalcogenides (Final Report)

The overarching goal of this research program, as originally delineated in the proposal “Tuning anisotropic bonding via chemistry and pressure in layered pnictides and chalcogenides” was to develop a predictive, chemistry-driven understanding of the impact of the phonon behavior on thermal properties of bulk layered materials. At finite temperatures, atomic vibrations (phonons) strongly impact the thermodynamics, thermal and electrical transport, and phase-switching properties of functional materials. In particular, soft phonon modes and strongly anharmonic potentials can have spectacular consequences, including structural phase transitions (for example in ferroelectrics and phase-change memory materials), metal-insulator transitions, and extreme thermal resistance preventing heat propagation. Bulk materials with highly-anisotropic bonding may provide unique strategies to induce soft-phonon modes and lattice instabilities. Recently, increasingly detailed investigations of the lattice dynamics in layered materials have been made possible by the advent of first-principles phonon calculations and advanced characterization techniques based on neutron and X-ray scattering. However, due to the lack of studies in which composition and bonding character are systematically varied, there are still fundamental questions regarding the impacts of anisotropic bonding and anharmonicity on lattice stability and thermal transport. One of the major goals of this research program is therefore to address this gap by coherently tuning bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity across families of related compounds. Such approaches have revealed new strategies for exploiting structural anisotropy in quasi-1D and 2D bulk materials to obtain tailored functional properties. This project systematically explored the lattice dynamics, phase stability, and transport properties in bulk layered materials by using both composition and applied pressure to tune the degree of bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity. To accomplish this work, we combined i) single-crystal growth of key material systems with tunable anisotropy, ii) in-situ high-temperature/high-pressure characterization of structure and phonons to probe bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity, including state-of-the-art inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) and inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and iii) first-principles simulations leveraging large-scale computing to identify the fundamental origins of the observed effects, by relating atomic structure and dynamics to electronic orbital interactions. Finally, we modeled and verified the impact of the phonon behavior on thermal transport to identify new strategies for a-priori design of thermal conductivity. Our integrated collaborative approach helped to systematically unravel the effects of anisotropy and bonding anharmonicity on phonon transport, thermodynamics, and thermal properties of complex anisotropic materials.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Tuning anisotropic bonding via chemistry and pressure in layered pnictides and chalcogenides. Final Report

The overarching goal of this research program, as originally delineated in the proposal “Tuning anisotropic bonding via chemistry and pressure in layered pnictides and chalcogenides” was to develop a predictive, chemistry-driven understanding of the impact of the phonon behavior on thermal properties of bulk layered materials. At finite temperatures, atomic vibrations (phonons) strongly impact the thermodynamics, thermal and electrical transport, and phase-switching properties of functional materials. In particular, soft phonon modes and strongly anharmonic potentials can have spectacular consequences, including structural phase transitions (for example in ferroelectrics and phase-change memory materials), metal-insulator transitions, and extreme thermal resistance preventing heat propagation. Bulk materials with highly-anisotropic bonding may provide unique strategies to induce soft-phonon modes and lattice instabilities. Recently, increasingly detailed investigations of the lattice dynamics in layered materials have been made possible by the advent of first-principles phonon calculations and advanced characterization techniques based on neutron and X-ray scattering. However, due to the lack of studies in which composition and bonding character are systematically varied, there are still fundamental questions regarding the impacts of anisotropic bonding and anharmonicity on lattice stability and thermal transport. One of the major goals of this research program is therefore to address this gap by coherently tuning bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity across families of related compounds. Such approaches have revealed new strategies for exploiting structural anisotropy in quasi-1D and 2D bulk materials to obtain tailored functional properties. This project systematically explored the lattice dynamics, phase stability, and transport properties in bulk layered materials by using both composition and applied pressure to tune the degree of bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity. To accomplish this work, we combined i) single-crystal growth of key material systems with tunable anisotropy, ii) in-situ high-temperature/high-pressure characterization of structure and phonons to probe bonding anisotropy and anharmonicity, including state-of-the-art inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) and inelastic neutron scattering (INS), and iii) first-principles simulations leveraging large-scale computing to identify the fundamental origins of the observed effects, by relating atomic structure and dynamics to electronic orbital interactions. Finally, we modeled and verified the impact of the phonon behavior on thermal transport to identify new strategies for a-priori design of thermal conductivity. Our integrated collaborative approach helped to systematically unravel the effects of anisotropy and bonding anharmonicity on phonon transport, thermodynamics, and thermal properties of complex anisotropic materials.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Upgrade of Gamma Spectrometry Systems for ORNL TRISO Fuel PIE

Gamma spectrometry is a key element in much of the post-irradiation examination (PIE) work performed under the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) Program (Demkowicz et al. 2015; Stempien et al. 2021). Gamma spectrometers are integrated into three major capabilities used at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) Irradiated Fuels Examination Laboratory (IFEL) for PIE of tristructural-isotropic (TRISO) coated particles and fuel compacts: the Core Conduction Cooldown Test Facility (CCCTF), the Vertical Counting System (VCS), and the Irradiated Microsphere Gamma Analyzer (IMGA). The CCCTF includes liquid-nitrogen-cooled traps to extract 85 Kr out of the He sweep gas that passes through the furnace in which the fuel compacts are heated during safety testing. Analysis of the 85 Kr activity in the traps is the primary indicator for TRISO failure during safety testing. The VCS is a system used to accurately measure gamma emission from components placed in a lead-shielded chamber. It is used to count the CCCTF deposition cups after removal from furnace. Each cup resides in the CCCTF furnace for typically 12–24 h and is periodically replaced with a fresh cup throughout the safety test. Metallic fission products collect on the water-cooled cups and several gamma-emitting isotopes ( 110 mAg, 134 Cs, 137 Cs, 154 Eu, and 155 Eu) are often measured and provide indication of the retention performance of the TRISO coatings. The VCS is also used to measure the presence of these isotopes on the CCCTF tantalum liner and sweep gas inlet tube for the determination of cup collection efficiency, as well as support other gamma spectrometry needs related to calibration of the 85 Kr fission gas traps and various other special PIE tasks. The IMGA uses gamma spectrometry to measure the inventory of gamma-emitting isotopes in individual TRISO particles. An automated particle handling system within the IMGA hot cell removes each particle from a source vial and positions it in front of a gamma detector, and output from the gamma spectrometer is used by the IMGA software to determine a destination vial such that particles are sorted according to their inventory and retention characteristics. At the conclusion of the AGR-1 and AGR-2 PIE campaigns, the gamma spectrometer systems used at ORNL to support that PIE had reached the end of its life cycle due to gradual obsolescence of the hardware and software. Upgrade of the Canberra Genie 2000 software used by these systems to a Windows 10 version was not a viable option, because the newest Windows 10 version offered by Mirion (the new owner of the Canberra technology) did not include the dynamic-link libraries (DLLs) needed for integration with the custom PIE software used with the CCCTF and IMGA, and Mirion had no current plans for development and release of Windows 10 versions of these DLLs with the Model S560 Genie 2000 Programming Library. Ultimately a switch was made to ORTEC gamma spectrometry systems, which appeared to be a more sustainable solution due to more proactive vendor support. The ORTEC conversion involved replacing the aging detector preamplifier and multichannel analyzer (MCA) hardware, upgrading the obsolete Windows 7 computers to Windows 10 compatible models, adopting ORTEC GammaVision software, and extensive modification of the ORNL-developed Visual Basic .NET (VB.NET) programs that provide the CCCTF and IMGA user interfaces.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗
DOE OSTI2012

Molecular dynamics of excited state intramolecular proton transfer: 3-hydroxyflavone in solution

The ultrafast enol-keto photoisomerization in the lowest singlet excited state of 3-hydroxyflavone is investigated using classical molecular dynamics in conjunction with empirical valence bond (EVB) potentials for the description of intramolecular interactions, and a molecular mechanics and variable partial charge model, dependent on transferring proton position, for the description of solute-solvent interactions. A parallel multi-level genetic program was used to accurately fit the EVB potential energy surfaces to high level ab initio data. We have studied the excited state intramolecular proton transfer (ESIPT) reaction in three different solvent environments: methylcyclohexane, acetonitrile, and methanol. The effects of the environment on the proton transfer time and the underlying mechanisms responsible for the varied time scales of the ESIPT reaction rates are analyzed. We find that simulations with our EVB potential energy surfaces accurately reproduce experimentally determined reaction rates, fluorescence spectra, and vibrational frequency spectra in all three solvents. Furthermore, we find that the ultrafast ESIPT process results from a combination of ballistic transfer, and intramolecular vibrational redistribution, which leads to the excitation of a set of low frequency promoting vibrational modes. From this set of promoting modes, we find that an O-O in plane bend and a C-H out of plane bend are present in all three solvents, indicating that they are fundamental to the ultrafast proton transfer. Analysis of the slow proton transfer trajectories reveals a solvent mediated proton transfer mechanism, which is diffusion limited.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2011

Computer simulation on spatial resolution of X-ray bright-field imaging by dynamical diffraction theory for a Laue-case crystal analyzer

Recently, dark-field imaging (DFI) and bright-field imaging (BFI) have been proposed and applied to visualize X-ray refraction effects yielded in biomedical objects. In order to clarify the spatial resolution due to a crystal analyzer in Laue geometry, a program based on the Takagi-Taupin equation was modified to be used for carrying out simulations to evaluate the spatial resolution of images coming into a Laue angular analyzer (LAA). The calculation was done with a perfect plane wave for diffraction wave-fields, which corresponded to BFI, under the conditions of 35 keV and a diffraction index 440 for a 2100 {mu}m thick LAA. As a result, the spatial resolution along the g-vector direction showed approximately 37.5 {mu}m. 126 {mu}m-thick LAA showed a spatial resolution better than 3.1 {mu}m under the conditions of 13.7 keV and a diffraction index 220.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2017

Constant-pH Molecular Dynamics Simulations for Large Biomolecular Systems

We report that an increasingly important endeavor is to develop computational strategies that enable molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of biomolecular systems with spontaneous changes in protonation states under conditions of constant pH. The present work describes our efforts to implement the powerful constant-pH MD simulation method, based on a hybrid nonequilibrium MD/Monte Carlo (neMD/MC) technique within the highly scalable program NAMD. The constant-pH hybrid neMD/MC method has several appealing features; it samples the correct semigrand canonical ensemble rigorously, the computational cost increases linearly with the number of titratable sites, and it is applicable to explicit solvent simulations. The present implementation of the constant-pH hybrid neMD/MC in NAMD is designed to handle a wide range of biomolecular systems with no constraints on the choice of force field. Furthermore, the sampling efficiency can be adaptively improved on-the-fly by adjusting algorithmic parameters during the simulation. Finally, illustrative examples emphasizing medium- and large-scale applications on next-generation supercomputing architectures are provided.

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

Viscosities of the Baryon-Rich Quark-Gluon Plasma from Beam Energy Scan Data

Here, this work presents the first Bayesian inference study of the (3 + 1)D dynamics of relativistic heavy-ion collisions and quark-gluon plasma viscosities using an event-by-event (3 + 1)D hydrodynamics + hadronic transport theoretical framework and data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider Beam energy scan program. Robust constraints on initial state nuclear stopping and the baryon chemical potential-dependent shear viscosity of the produced quantum chromodynamic (QCD) matter are obtained. The specific bulk viscosity of the QCD matter is found to exhibit a preferred maximum around $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 19.6 GeV . This result allows for the alternative interpretation of a reduction (and/or increase) of the speed of sound relative to that of the employed lattice-QCD based equation of state for net baryon chemical potential μ B ~0.2(0.4) GeV .

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2011

A Laser Interferometric Miniature Sensor

This is the second year of a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract geared towards the development of a new seismic sensor. Ground-based seismic monitoring systems have proven to be very capable in identifying nuclear tests, and can provide somewhat precise information on the location and yield of the explosive device. Making these measurements, however, currently requires very expensive and bulky seismometers that are difficult to deploy in places where they are most needed. A high performance, compact device can enable rapid deployment of large scale arrays, which can in turn be used to provide higher quality data during times of critical need. The use of a laser interferometer-based device has shown considerable promise, while also presenting significant challenges. The greatest strength of this optical readout technique is the ability to decouple the mechanical design from the transducer, thus enabling a miniaturized design that is not accessible with conventional sensing techniques. However, the nonlinearity in the optical response must be accounted for in the sensor output. Previously, we had proposed using a force-feedback approach to position the sensor at a point of maximum linearity. However, it can be shown that the combined nonlinearities of the optical response and the force-feedback curve necessarily results in a significant amount of unwanted noise at low frequencies. Having realized this, we have developed a new approach that eliminates force feedback, allowing the proof mass to move freely at all times. This takes advantage of some advanced optical spatial filtering that was developed at Symphony Acoustics for other types of sensors, and was recently adapted to this work. After processing the signals in real time, the digital output of the device is intrinsically linear, and the sensor can operate at any orientation with the same level of resolution, while instantly adapting to significant changes in orientation. Ultimately, we expect the dynamic range to be up to 180 dB. Currently, we have observed the noise floor in a 0.1 Hz to 10 Hz bandwidth to be near -160 dB/Hz relative to 1 m2/s4. To meet the objectives of this program, we are finalizing the design of a 3 axis sensor for shallow borehole deployments, with a diameter of 40 mm and a length a 150 mm.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2012

Sun City Progress Report: Policy Effects on Photovoltaic Adoption for City Planning

This progress report documents the Sun City modeling approach, intended to be an analytic tool for city planners. It is midway in development and this report provides the design basis to provide the mathematics for policy considerations applied to PV market acceleration. It assesses the effects on market diffusion for nine commonly used policies: cash incentives, third party financing, group purchase programs, community solar projects, feed-in-tariffs, property assessed clean energy financing, low interest loans, property and sales tax incentives, and streamlined PV permitting processes. Generic forms of all of these policies are modeled in a system dynamics PowerSim Studio TM model using a concept called the photovoltaic favorability (PVF). PVF is equal to the difference between the ratio of conventional electricity costs to levelized electricity costs of a PV system and four barrier ratios. The barriers are present to model inhibiting influences on human decisions and financial limitations. They include down payment costs, month to month payment costs of financing, time to net profit, and time to lower payments. Each barrier term is divided by a tolerance term which represents the potential that consumers of the region can typically invest. PVF is quantified across a range of limited budget financing and cash incentives options which are then consumed from greatest PVF to least PVF. Finding the overall PVF requires iteration on a variation of the Bass diffusion model. This iterative scheme is tied in a feed-back loop to local and national PV learning curves which in turn quantify reductions in the cost of PV for future time steps based on user input learning rates. The modeling has been wrapped into a graphical user interface which will allow city planners to easily compare and demonstrate multiple scenarios. Data for the DOE sponsored Solar America Cities and for Albuquerque, New Mexico has been entered into the model in order to minimize data collection efforts by city planners.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗