Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “policy driven computation”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

130 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2014

RBAC Driven Least Privilege Architecture For Control Systems

The concept of role based access control (RBAC) within the IT environment has been studied by researchers and was supported by NIST (circa 1992). This earlier work highlighted the benefits of RBAC which include reduced administrative workload and policies which are easier to analyze and apply. The goals of this research were to expand the application of RBAC in the following ways. Apply RBAC to the control systems environment: The typical RBAC model within the IT environment is used to control a user’s access to files. Within the control system environment files are replaced with measurement (e.g., temperature) and control (e.g. valve) points organized as a hierarchy of control assets (e.g. a boiler, compressor, refinery unit). Control points have parameters (e.g., high alarm limit, set point, etc.) associated with them. The RBAC model is extended to support access to points and their parameters based upon roles while at the same time allowing permissions for the points to be defined at the asset level or point level directly. In addition, centralized policy administration with distributed access enforcement mechanisms was developed to support the distributed architecture of distributed control systems and SCADA; Extend the RBAC model to include access control for software and devices: The established RBAC approach is to assign users to roles. This work extends that notion by first breaking the control system down into three layers 1) users, 2) software and 3) devices. An RBAC model is then created for each of these three layers. The result is that RBAC can be used to define machine-to-machine policy enforced via the IP security (IPsec) protocol. This highlights the potential to use RBAC for machine-to-machine connectivity within the internet of things; and Enable dynamic policy based upon the operating mode of the system: The IT environment is generally static with respect to policy. However, large cyber physical systems such as industrial controls have various operating modes (start-up, normal operation, emergency, shut-down and maintenance are typical). The policy enforcement architecture must be able to support changes in access permissions as the mode of the control system changes. For example an operator’s role may not allow the operator to shut down a pump during “normal operation” but that same operator role may be given permission to shut down the pump if the refinery transitions to “emergency” mode. The effectiveness of the approach was validated by applying it to the Experion Process Knowledge System. This is a large commercial industrial control system often used to control oil refineries and other assets within the oil and gas sector. As a by-product, other industries using Experion (Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Chemicals, etc.) also benefit from increased security. Policies representative of those that would be used within an oil refinery were created and validated against the RBAC model as implemented in the underlying SQL database. The administration of policy is simplified which in turn makes it practical for security administrators to specify policies which enforce least privilege. The result is a qualitative reduction in risk. The benefits of the enhanced RBAC model are clear and as a result. Honeywell is incorporating portions of the RBAC research into the 2014 release of Experion.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Distributed Smart Grid Asset Control Strategies for Providing Ancillary Services

With large-scale plans to integrate renewable generation driven mainly by state-level renewable portfolio requirements, more resources will be needed to compensate for the uncertainty and variability associated with intermittent generation resources. Distributed assets can be used to mitigate the concerns associated with renewable energy resources and to keep costs down. Under such conditions, performing primary frequency control using only supply-side resources becomes not only prohibitively expensive but also technically difficult. It is therefore important to explore how a sufficient proportion of the loads could assume a routine role in primary frequency control to maintain the stability of the system at an acceptable cost. The main objective of this project is to develop a novel hierarchical distributed framework for frequency based load control. The framework involves two decision layers. The top decision layer determines the optimal gain for aggregated loads for each load bus. The gains are computed using decentralized robust control methods, and will be broadcast to the corresponding participating loads every control period. The second layer consists of a large number of heterogeneous devices, which switch probabilistically during contingencies so that aggregated power change matches the desired amount according to the most recently received gains. The simulation results show great potential to enable systematic design of demand-side primary frequency control with stability guarantees on the overall power system. The proposed design systematically accounts for the interactions between the total load response and bulk power system frequency dynamics. It also guarantees frequency stability under a wide range of time varying operating conditions. The local device-level load response rules fully respect the device constraints (such as temperature setpoint, compressor time delays of HVACs, or arrival and departure of the deferrable loads), which are crucial for implementing real load control programs. The promise of autonomous, Grid Friendly™ response by smart appliances in the form of under-frequency load shedding was demonstrated in the GridWise Olympic Peninsula Demonstration in 2006. Each controller monitored the power grid voltage signal and requested that electrical load be shed by its appliance whenever electric power-grid frequency fell below 59.95 Hz. The controllers and their appliances responded reliably to each shallow under-frequency event, which was an average of one event per day and shed their loads for the durations of these events. Another objective of this project was to perform extensive simulation studies to investigate the impact of a population of Grid Friendly™ Appliances (GFAs) on the bulk power system frequency stability. The GFAs considered in this report are represented as demonstration units with water heaters individually modeled.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

NEPATEC v2.0: Standardized Metadata and Text Corpus of National Environmental Policy Act Documents

The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as amended (NEPA), is a major environmental law in the United States, requiring Federal agencies to consider and document potential environmental impacts before deciding on a proposed action. Modernization of NEPA and permitting processes faces significant challenges due to the lack of standardized formats and interoperable systems for organizing and sharing NEPA-related information across agencies. Much of the information gathered during NEPA reviews is written into documents such as categorical exclusions, environmental assessments, and environmental impact statements, then filed in predominately independent agency file stores that may or may not be publicly accessible. The application of metadata and data standards, such as those recommended by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to NEPA documents offers a shared vocabulary and structure for key entities like projects, processes, and documents that can streamline information exchange and enhance collaboration across systems. In this work, we publicly release NEPATEC2.0, an expanded corpus of NEPA documents with associated metadata. NEPATEC2.0 encompasses approximately 120,000 documents from 60,000 projects prepared by more than 60 different agencies. Modeled to align with CEQ metadata standards, NEPATEC2.0 promotes consistency in environmental reviews and supports the ongoing effort to modernize permitting technologies by facilitating more transparent, efficient, and data-driven decision-making. Importantly, NEPATEC2.0 demonstrates the possibilities and limitations of large language model-based prompting to extract information from NEPA documents at scale.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

An AI-driven framework for evaluating local and state authorities’ permitting processes

The demand for new energy infrastructure is increasing across the United States, but heterogenous permitting processes and embedded requirements across different local jurisdictions can cause project delays, increase “soft costs,” and hinder developer expansion. This study analyzes the variability in local permitting requirements across the U.S. and develops a quantitative approach to describe their clarity and effectiveness in enabling infrastructure project development. By using an Energy Language Model (ELM), a large language model (LLM) for energy technologies, we systematically gathered permitting information from nearly 300 state-, county-, and city-level documents, creating a structured dataset of requirements and procedures on an unprecedented scale and speed. Our analysis revealed that local (city and county) permitting requirement documents are underrepresented compared to state-level guidance documents, which can impede timely and cost-effective installation of new electric infrastructure. Our validation process showed that the final database has an accuracy of approximately 95%. We, further, created a new quantitative method to score permitting requirements for clarity and efficiency, with electric vehicle supply equipment as an initial use case. The average local permitting document scored a 1.8 out of 5, which we interpret as meaning that half of the requirements developers face when installing electric infrastructure are ambiguous, increasing both cost and time. We also created a “Generalized Permit Process”, highlighting common procedural steps and identifying specific opportunities for municipalities to improve their documentation. This research establishes a systematic and scalable framework for evaluating the complexities of local infrastructure permitting processes by combining LLM-powered data collection and quantitative scoring. The framework enables policymakers and developers to identify and mitigate procedural bottlenecks, with the expectation that these improvements can accelerate application review and approval, reduce project costs, and expedite connection to utility distribution grids. As a foundational approach for streamlining local project development processes, this study’s methods are intended to be extended to a wide range of energy applications.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗