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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2021

Analytic Framework for Optimal Sizing of Hydrogen Fueling Stations for Heavy Duty Vehicles at Ports (CRADA 512)

This CRADA presents the strategy that PNNL and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) will take to support Seattle City Light (SCL) in properly sizing a hydrogen station for class 8 drayage trucks at the Port of Seattle (Port), as part of a coordinated plan of mixed uses for hydrogen. The proper sizing for the fueling station is unique from past experiences because it will be part of a coordinated plan for a multi-use scheme for the hydrogen, and not a stand-alone fueling station. The multiple use-streams, and their relative values, will impact all facets of station sizing and design, including fueling rates, storage technology and size, equipment selection, and safety considerations. The future deployment of this fueling station, and its proper sizing, is seen as a critical first step in the larger vision of utilizing hydrogen to address a range of issues for SCL and the Port. These include, but are not limited to, large scale fueling of medium duty (MD) and heavy duty (HD) vehicles to reduce emissions, support of adjacent light duty (LD) vehicles, support of critical port operation during extreme events (e.g. resiliency), mitigation of capital intensive electrical distribution system upgrades to support evolving port operations, a market resource that can be used by SCL to generate revenue, and support of planned future maritime operations that currently require heavy use of shipboard hydrogen. While the broader use of hydrogen by SCL and the Port is not the focus of this CRADA, how its use impacts the design of the initial vehicle fueling station, and the modular approach, are the central work. As such, this project will develop the framework and process for developing a modular station design that considers the broader range of coordinate uses of hydrogen as an energy resource.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2021

Aspiring is Not Enough

this article is an invitation to imagine that a different Puerto Rico is possible. However, I don’t believe that we have to wait until 2052 to discuss Puerto Rico’s future. We Puerto Ricans can start talking, planning, and building it now! My experience, being raised in the mountains of the big island of Puerto Rico, is that many versions of Puerto Rico exist at the same time—that there are many hearts, many visions, many struggles, and many longings. So, what should the Puerto Rico that we want to live in look like? What do we want to share with future generations?

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Probing Coherent States of Light and Matter in Two-Dimensional Semiconductors. Final Report

The ability to enhance light-matter interactions in engineered optical environments is well-established in micro- and nano-photonics. New classes of materials bring new rich correlations between spin, momentum, and light polarization that can be exploited in these photonic systems for information processing and low-power electronics. Interfacing these novel material features with strong optical interactions suggests the compelling capability to create hybrid light-matter systems harnessing low-energy and protected material properties such as spin. The long-term objective of this program was to investigate the interplay between pseudospin in 2D materials and light, revealing new coherent phenomena. The materials studied are the monolayer transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs), which support polarization-sensitive optical transitions when isolated to a single sub-nanometer crystal layer in thickness. In particular, monolayer TMD semiconductors such as MoS 2 exhibit degenerate valleys in momentum space with distinct spin character. These valleys can be separately addressed by circularly polarized light, providing a tool for manipulation. Integrating this valley pseudospin of excitons in monolayer TMDs with engineered strong optical excitations to create novel coherent phenomena was a key long-term goal of this research. The scope of this research primarily focused on studying light-matter interactions of valley-sensitive excitations in monolayer TMDs. The scope also included the integration of monolayer materials that support valley-polarized emission into photonic devices. This approach extends prior work on exciton-polaritons in 2D materials toward a platform with far more control and improved light input and output characteristics to aid scalability of these polarization-sensitive phenomena to many-body, long-range optical networks. During the course of the five-year Early Career program, the approaches led to successful progress on each proposed aim. Initial successful work seeded additional research that developed from the main themes, while this program focus evolved toward coherent manipulation of valley polaritons and integration with photonics. Both of these advanced topics set the stage for new capabilities in future innovative research. The results of this project provide advances in materials and methods relevant for new visions of opto-electronics and photonics that can improve information processing in an era of increased focus on quantum and coherent phenomena. The research has also contributed to the training of two postdoctoral scholars and five graduate students.

2D Materials↗
DOE OSTI2025

High temperature nuclear data measurements of SiC, ZrC, and MgO [Slides]

Performed temperature dependent measurements of SiC and ZrC at ARCS instrument at SNS. Performed temperature dependent measurements of SiC, ZrC, and MgO at VISION instrument at SNS. Performed initial atomistic modeling of these materials using various techniques, including machine learned potentials. Future work includes temperature dependent transmission measurements of these materials, as well as improving the machine learned potentials with more training data and different machine learned frameworks.

ARCS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Representing the Future Role of Hydropower and Pumped Storage Hydropower (PSH) in Electricity Planning Tools

Existing tools for long-term electric sector planning struggle to represent hydropower's nuanced site-specific technical and operating characteristics, which depend on technical specifications as well as water management practices and regulations. As a result, long-term planning models and tools insufficiently characterize hydropower value and incentives, and they cannot fully represent the role hydropower can play in a future electricity system that could include a high penetration of variable wind and solar generation, battery storage, and other low-carbon technologies. This presentation demonstrates the culmination of a multi-year effort to enhance hydropower representations in electricity planning models at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), as part of the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE) HydroWIRES Initiative. New modeling techniques are demonstrated using the NREL Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS), an open-access electric sector capacity expansion model used extensively in a wide range of technology deployment and integration analysis, including the 2016 USDOE Hydropower Vision. ReEDS uses a least-cost optimization approach to understand investment and operation of electricity generation, storage, and transmission technologies under future scenarios of electricity technology innovation, demand, policy, and other sectoral drivers. ReEDS was modified to better represent value and opportunities for both pumped storage hydropower (PSH) and hydropower systems without pumping. We incorporated a new national closed-loop PSH resource and cost assessment to explore new PSH deployment opportunities and added plant-level data to better represent the existing PSH fleet. New upgrade pathways enable opportunities for enhanced hydropower flexibility by adding pumps, upgrading dispatchability, increasing capacity, or increasing energy availability. The model was also modified to better represent the value of long-duration energy storage beyond diurnal time scales, allowing both hydropower and PSH to better balance energy supply and demand variations in high-renewable systems. These new features are demonstrated under reference and high-renewable futures and a range of sensitivity scenarios to understand which hydropower and PSH deployment and upgrade opportunities are the most attractive. These scenarios indicate potential for new closed-loop PSH deployment and for hydropower flexibility improvements to have important impacts on long-term electricity system emissions and economic outcomes. Increasing flexibility of the existing hydropower fleet can reduce the need to invest in new flexible grid technologies and help achieve decarbonization goals. Systems with sufficient energy storage could also be valuable for balancing seasonal differences in renewable energy availability, particularly from solar energy. The methods developed for ReEDS and subsequent scenario results reveal important considerations for future hydropower and grid system planning, and all data and code is freely available in a public code repository for use throughout the hydropower industry.

capacity expansion↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Review of Sandia Energy Storage Research Capabilities and Opportunities (2020 to 2030)

Large-scale integration of energy storage on the electric grid will be essential to enabling greater penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources, modernizing the grid for increased flexibility security, reliability, and resilience, and enabling cleaner forms of transportation. The purpose of this report is to summarize Sandia's research and capabilities in energy storage and to provide a preliminary roadmap for future efforts in this area that can address the ongoing program needs of DOE and the nation. Mission and vision statements are first presented followed by an overview of the organizational structure at Sandia that provides support and activities in energy storage. Then, a summary of Sandia's energy storage capabilities is presented by technology, including battery storage and materials, power conversion and electronics, subsurface-based energy storage, thermal/thermochemical energy storage, hydrogen storage, data analytics/systems optimization/controls, safety of energy storage systems, and testing/demonstrations/model validation. A summary of identified gaps and needs is also presented for each technology and capability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Building a More Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Energy Efficiency Workforce

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) envisions a future where the U.S. building industry leads globally in delivering quality efficiency products and services to American consumers and businesses. One barrier to achieving this vision is the difficulty reported by energy efficiency employers in finding qualified candidates (NASEO and EFI 2020). However, this barrier also presents an opportunity for the industry to expand in a way that invites and supports a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workforce. The scope of energy, climate, and technology challenges the country faces will require the talents of all Americans. The purpose of this study therefore is to identify key factors to creating successful workforce development and inclusion programs that will support the future of the building industry. These factors can be applied to individual companies, training programs, or broader industry efforts.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Nuclear and Chemical Sciences Division: Investment Strategy 2023

The mission of the Nuclear and Chemical Sciences (NACS) Division within the Physical and Life Sciences (PLS) Directorate is to advance scientific understanding, capabilities, and technologies in nuclear and particle physics, radiochemistry, forensic science, and isotope systems to support LLNL’s national security mission. NACS Division personnel conduct a diverse range of research activities in particle physics, nuclear physics, radiation detection, nuclear measurements, chemical and nuclear forensic science, nuclear and radiochemistry, isotope geochemistry, and environmental science. These areas are leveraged to address evolving national security challenges. Scientific research provides the foundation for addressing these challenges, and it is also the principal means of attracting, training, and retaining staff scientists who can deliver solutions across the Laboratory’s mission space. The overarching strategy is to position the NACS Division at the nexus between fundamental nuclear and chemical science research and nuclear security applications. This approach will support efforts to recruit, train, and retain top-flight scientists and engineers who will play a key role in executing the Laboratory’s core nuclear security missions, while also enhancing LLNL’s reputation as a center for innovative scientific research. This document describes the strategic vision that will be used to guide key investments aimed at enabling NACS scientists to lead new efforts and meet future challenges.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Book Chapter: Small Modular Reactors

Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) have been a very promising development in nuclear power over the last two decades. SMRs are defined as nuclear reactors with a power output of less than 300 MWe. This is in comparison to gigawatt-size reactors, which can have electrical output of 1000–1500 MWe or more. This chapter will consist of two major sections. The first will be a detailed summary of the small modular reactor designs being proposed around the world. This section will focus on those that are the furthest along in their development, but will also include some information about the wide variety of proposed designs that require significant research and development. The second part will be a discussion of the remaining challenges to the adoption of SMRs as a major energy source. SMRs are not a new concept, but they do represent a new vision for an older concept. These reactors have the potential to become a major source of energy in the near future. The development of small, modular designs can help promote the adoption of nuclear energy by reducing upfront costs, reducing the financial risk associated with nuclear power, and the barriers to entry. However, the adoption of SMRs is not without challenges. Regulatory and licensing changes to address the unique benefits and concerns associated with SMRs will continue to be a challenge as regulators adapt to the unique features emerging from the design process. The development of new instrumentation and control systems is an ongoing issue. And economics is possibly the most significant challenge, with high construction costs, cheap natural gas, and government subsidies, combining to result in significant financial risk associated with adopting nuclear generation.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

NSE workplace of the future: Enabling a LPS ready workforce

The future mission success of the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE) relies on our workforce and our workplace. The 2022 Nuclear Posture Review notes that “the health of the enterprise depends critically on recruiting and retaining a skilled and diverse workforce” and the 2022 National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Strategic Vision articulates a commitment to “recruit, invest in, and nourish a high-performing, diverse, and flexible workforce that can meet the unique policy, technical, and leadership needs of our mission today and well into the future.”

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Why the US Needs an Enduring Plutonium Critical Assembly

Jezebel (operated from 1954-1977) has been the primary experiment for fast 239 Pu nuclear data validation for the last 70 years. Validation has included not only k eff , but also spectral indicies, Rossi-α, reactivity coefficients, and neutron leakage spectra. While this has been incredibly valuable to the community, there are three major issues. The first issue is that documentation on many of these experiments were lacking, leading to large uncertainties or (even worse) incorrect assumptions. The second issue is that while there have been many advances in research, there is no way to test those new advances today. The last issue is that since the assembly only operated for 23 years (and at time when 30 other critical assemblies were operating at the same facility and nuclear weapons testing was occurring), there were limited opportunities to observe how any system parameters changed as a function of time. Note that this work is not suggesting that a "Jezebel re placement" used for a limited experiment campaign would have great value. A new enduring (100 year target) plutonium (Pu) assembly with simple geometry and low uncertainties, however, would be extremely valuable. Such a capability would have a transformative impact on many research areas including nuclear data validation, analytical methods validation, dosimetry, reactor kinetics, and materials. The need for a new plutonium assembly is not new: it has been in the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program (NCSP) Mission and Vision for over 10 years and was also the top priority established at the 2022 National Criticality Experiments Research Center (NCERC) Futures meeting. This work will discuss how such a new capability would help ensure that the US retains international leadership in plutonium research. Last, a brief overview of Lilith, a project aimed to design a new enduring plutonium assembly for operation at the NCERC will be given.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Alvin Tollestrup (1924-2020): A Life in Science

Alvin Tollestrup was a physicist and engineer of uncommon insight, intuition, and ingenuity who was revered in life for his essential leadership in the development of superconducting magnets for high-energy accelerators. He exhibited a matchless mastery of what he called freshman physics — though his mastery hardly ended there — and an uncanny gift for joining careful measurements with transparent calculations to reveal the essence of a subject. To watch Alvin at work was to learn how a true scientist formulates and solves a problem. He had other gifts: a nose for significant problems in both science and technology, the ability to draw talented people to an important cause, and a mentor's instinct for spotting gifted junior colleagues and helping them to mature as engineers and scientists. He was also good company! Alvin brought his keen vision about what constitutes important science, along with powerful ambition for the institution and for fundamental science, to considerat ions about Fermilab's future. His questions were uniformly probing, his opinions unfailingly interesting, and his appetite for work consistently inspiring. Among Alvin's many contributions to experimental particle physics — in a career that spanned seven decades — the rich achievements of the Collider Detector at Fermilab Collaboration, of which he was a founder and an enduring leader, stand out. The discovery of the top quark in 1995 earned worldwide acclaim. He reaped individual accolades as well, including election to the National Academy of Sciences. The National Medal of Technology, conferred in 1989, recognized Alvin’s leading role in developing superconducting magnets for Fermilab's Tevatron. Universities Research Association created the Tollestrup Award for Postdoctoral Research, commemorating Alvin's avuncular support for young scientists. This volume celebrates Alvin Tollestrup’s career and the rich, fulfilling life he led beyond the laboratory. Contributions from colleagues and family illuminate many facets of this remarka! ble figure. May old friends savor the memory of the Alvin they knew, while discovering less-familiar parts of his history; and may readers who did not have the opportunity to know Alvin firsthand find inspiration in his exemplary life in science.

Palmer, Mark↗
DOE OSTI2023

A Vision for Coupling Operation of US Fusion Facilities with HPC Systems and the Implications for Workflows and Data Management

The operation of large US Department of Energy (DOE) research facilities, like the DIII-D National Fusion Facility, results in the collection of complex multi-dimensional scientific datasets, both experimental and model-generated. In the future, it is envisioned that integrated data analysis coupled with large-scale high performance computing (HPC) simulations will be used to improve experimental planning and operation. Practically, massive data sets from these simulations provide the physics basis for generation of both reduced semi-analytic and machine-learning-based models. Storage of both HPC simulation datasets (generated from US DOE leadership computing facilities) and experimental datasets presents significant challenges. In this paper, we present a vision for a DOE-wide data management workflow that integrates US DOE fusion facilities with leadership computing facilities. Data persistence and long-term availability beyond the length of allocated projects is essential, particularly for verification and recalibration of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) models. Because these data sets are often generated and shared among hundreds of users across multiple leadership computing facility centers, they would benefit from cross-platform accessibility, persistent identifiers (e.g. DOI, or digital object identifier), and provenance tracking. Here, the ability to handle different data access patterns suggests that a combination of low cost, high latency (e.g. for storing ML training sets) and high cost, low latency systems (e.g. for real-time, integrated machine control feedback) may be needed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The role of driver head pose dynamics and instantaneous driving in safety critical events: Application of computer vision in naturalistic driving

This paper investigates the role of driver behavior especially head pose dynamics in safety–critical events (SCEs). Using a large dataset collected in a naturalistic driving study, this paper analyzes the head pose dynamics and driving behavior in moments leading up to crashes or near-crashes. The study uses advanced computer vision and mixed logit modeling techniques to identify patterns and relationships between drivers’ head pose dynamics and crash involvement. The results suggest that driver-head pose dynamics, especially poses that indicate distraction and movement volatility, are important factors that can contribute to undesirable safety outcomes. Marginal effects show that angular deviation for head pose dynamics indicated by yaw, pitch and roll increase the likelihood of crash intensity by 4.56%, 4.92% and 8.26% respectively. Furthermore, traffic flow and lane changing also contribute to increase in likelihood of crash intensity. These findings provide new insights into pre-crash factors, especially human factors and safety–critical events. The study highlights the importance of considering human factors in designing driver assistance systems and developing safer vehicles. This research contributes by examining naturalistic driving data at the microscopic level with early detection of behaviors that lead to SCEs and provides a basis for future research on automation.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modeling Small Modular Reactors in GCAM

This study uses the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to examine the critical role and future of nuclear energy in the global energy system, with a focus on the United States. We also analyzed the U.S. government’s new strategic vision for the nuclear energy sector.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Popnet : computer vision based deep learning model for forecasting gridded population

Here, this study introduces Popnet, a deep learning model for forecasting 1 km-gridded populations, integrating U-Net, ConvLSTM, a Spatial Autocorrelation module and deep ensemble methods. Using spatial variables and population data from 2000 to 2020, Popnet predicts South Korea’s population trends by age groups (under 14, 15-64 and over 65) up to 2040. In validation, it outperforms traditional machine learning and state-of-the-art computer vision models. The output of this model discovered significant polarisation: population growth in urban areas, especially the capital region, and severe depopulation in rural areas. Popnet is a robust tool for offering significant insights to policymakers and related stakeholders about the detailed future population, which allows them to establish detailed, localised planning and resource allocations.

computer vision↗
DOE OSTI2020

Challenges for and Pathways Toward Solid-State Batteries

Solid-state batteries utilizing lithium metal anodes have the potential to enable batteries with a specific energy of >500 Wh/kg and an energy density of >1,500 Wh/L for thousands of cycles. When optimized they will improve the energy efficiency, operating temperature range, sustainability, and safety at a lower cost compared to projections for advanced Li-ion batteries. This improved performance is critical for the widespread adoption of electric vehicles and may enable future applications such as electric aviation. Expectations for solid-state batteries are high, there are significant materials and processing challenges that need to be overcome. Some of these challenges are well known; others are more subtle and are just becoming known. The challenges and their solutions must be clearly identified to realize high-energy solid-state Li metal batteries. In the United States, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funds the majority of energy storage research and development, including solid state battery research. Web of Science publication analysis shows that worldwide DOE is second largest funder. Work on solid state batteries is distributed across different arms of DOE and is coordinated at headquarters to ensure a broad national portfolio for advanced batteries, including lithium batteries and solid-state battery devices. We note that university and national laboratory researchers in the US with a long-standing interest in solid state batteries is a small, integrated community with recognized impact for publications, patents and startup companies. The opportunity for this group to engage for research with international colleagues is growing, fostered by periodic bilateral meetings supported by DOE and by the recent joint US German research program for lithium battery interface studies. These are valuable opportunities to speed solid-state battery development. The ORNL led virtual workshop, overviewed here, confirms the community’s shared vision of the exciting advances, opportunities, and challenges. Further, we are seeing that this workshop has spawned several new informal collaborations and draft proposals. This encourages us to propose future discussion. On May 11, 2020, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) hosted a 6-hour, on-line national workshop to discuss recent advances and most the prominent obstacles to realizing solid-state Li metal batteries. The workshop included more than 30+ experts from national laboratories, universities, and companies, all of whom have worked on solid-state batteries for multiple years. The participants shared recent advances, many not yet in print, illustrating that the community has gained significant new insights for solid-state Li battery materials over the last 5 years. In this report, the major outcomes of the workshop are organized to identify the gaps in our scientific knowledge for four core materials science areas: (1) Li metal anodes, (2) the solid electrolyte in contact with Li metal, (3) active cathode materials and solid-state composite cathodes, and (4) solid electrolytes. Illustrative examples and discussions are reported with the more comprehensive issues in the report. Discussion of additional challenges related to processing of solid-state battery materials and to the designs and architectures for mechanically robust, long-lived batteries received less attention due to time constraints. These are good themes for deeper discussion at a follow-on workshop, where a complete list of critical research topics can be identified.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2023

Convergence and divergence in science and practice of urban and rural forest restoration

Forest restoration has never been higher on policymakers' agendas. Complex and multi-dimensional arrangements across the urban–rural continuum challenge restorationists and require integrative approaches to strengthen environmental protection and increase restoration outcomes. It remains unclear if urban and rural forest restoration are moving towards or away from each other in practice and research, and whether comparing research outcomes can help stakeholders to gain a clearer understanding of the interconnectedness between the two fields. This study aims to identify the challenges and opportunities for enhancing forest restoration in both urban and rural systems by reviewing the scientific evidence, engaging with key stakeholders and using an urban–rural forest restoration framework. Using the Society for Ecological Restoration's International Principles as discussion topics, we highlight aspects of convergence and divergence between the two fields to broaden our understanding of forest restoration and promote integrative management approaches to address future forest conditions. Our findings reveal that urban and rural forest restoration have convergent and divergent aspects. We emphasise the importance of tailoring goals and objectives to specific contexts and the need to design different institutions and incentives based on the social and ecological needs and goals of stakeholders in different regions. Here we discuss the challenges of achieving high levels of ecological restoration and the need to go beyond traditional ecology to plan, implement, monitor, and adaptively manage restored forests. We suggest that rivers and watersheds could serve as a common ground linking rural and urban landscapes and that forest restoration could interact with other environmental protection measures. We note the potential for expanding the creative vision associated with increasing tree-containing environments in cities to generate more diverse and resilient forest restoration outcomes in rural settings. This study underscores the value of integrative management approaches in addressing future forest conditions across the urban–rural continuum. Our framework provides valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and decision-makers to advance the field of forest restoration and address the challenges of restoration across the urban–rural continuum. The rural–urban interface serves as a convergence point for forest restoration, and both urban and rural fields can benefit from each other's expertise.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗