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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 1,585 records · Page 88
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

A Modular and Flexible High-Frequency-Link Transformer with a Reduced Device Count and Zero High-Side Devices

In general, large power transformers (LPTs) are not interchangeable with each other and their high costs prohibit extensive spare inventories more so considering that on an average only 1.3 LPTs are manufactured for individual design. The latter pose a further challenge since given that the several existing LPTs are reaching their end of service lives, loss of plurality of such LPTs, that form the backbone of U.S. power grid, will clearly run into the problem of energy security related to the non-availability of sufficient spares (and extended lead time) exacerbated further by the fact that these spares are not interchangeable for installations at different locations. Conventional LPT cost millions of dollars and weighs significantly between approximately 100 and 400 tons. Two raw materials—copper and electrical steel—account for over 50 percent of the total cost of an LPT. In recent years, the price volatility of these two commodities in the global market has affected the manufacturing conditions and procurement strategy for LPTs. Transportation is also an important element of the total LPT cost, because an LPT can weigh significantly and often requires long-distance transport. Transporting an LPT is challenging—its large dimensions and heavy weight pose unique requirements to ensure safe and efficient transportation. Current road, rail, and port conditions are such that transportation is taking more time and becoming more expensive. Conventional low-frequency LPTs typically follow a monolithic approach to design due to historical reasons that need to transition to more modular and flexible (e.g., in voltage, impedance, and power flow) designs with ability to seamlessly/near-seamlessly scale. They should also have the ability to incorporate new technologies without in all cases redoing a LPT design from scratch. Given that the cost of raw materials has continued to increase, next-generation LPTs need to pursue avenues for reducing these costs. An added necessity is to reduce the transportability cost, which is significant in conventional LPTs. Further, given that LPTs are for the long term, they need to be durable, efficient, and fault tolerant with overloading capability. Given this backdrop, the objective and accomplishment of this one-year DOE (SPONSOR) R&D project, led by small business NextWatt LLC (PRIME, Lead PI: Dr. Sudip K. Mazumder) and University of Arkansas at Fayetteville (SUBAWARDEE, PI: Dr. Juan Balda) were to explore the design of a (8 – 20 kHz) high-frequency-link (HFL) based 100-MVA LPT with nominal voltage of 115/69 kV, with $15 - $22 dollars US per kVA when manufactured in “moderate” volume, with 99% energy-conversion efficiency, with 300% reduction in both volume and weight compared to a conventional LPT with the same electrical ratings, with impedance variation greater than 5%, with direct AC/AC power conversion capability, with very-high energy-conversion efficiency (using wide-bandgap SiC based field effect MOSFET devices) over a wide operating temperature, with reduction in both volume and weight with regard to conventional low frequency LPT, and with significant reduction in number of devices compared to state of the art solid state transformer topology.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2015

Impact of Measurement Error on Synchrophasor Applications

Phasor measurement units (PMUs), a type of synchrophasor, are powerful diagnostic tools that can help avert catastrophic failures in the power grid. Because of this, PMU measurement errors are particularly worrisome. This report examines the internal and external factors contributing to PMU phase angle and frequency measurement errors and gives a reasonable explanation for them. It also analyzes the impact of those measurement errors on several synchrophasor applications: event location detection, oscillation detection, islanding detection, and dynamic line rating. The primary finding is that dynamic line rating is more likely to be influenced by measurement error. Other findings include the possibility of reporting nonoscillatory activity as an oscillation as the result of error, failing to detect oscillations submerged by error, and the unlikely impact of error on event location and islanding detection.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Early-Time (E1) High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse Effects on Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors

Determining the effectiveness of surge and pulse protection devices in the United States power grid against effects of a High-Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse (HEMP) is crucial in determining the present state of grid resilience. Transient Voltage Surge Suppressors (TVSS) are used to protect loads in substations from transient overvoltages. Designed to mitigate the effects of lightning, their response to a HEMP event is unknown and was determined. TVSSs were tested in two unique configurations using a pulser that generates pulses in the tens of nanoseconds scale to determine their protective capability as well as to determine their self-resilience against HEMP pulses. Testing concluded that TVSS devices adequately protect against microsecond scale pulses like lightning but do not protect against pulses resembling HEMP events. It suggests that TVSS devices should not be relied upon to mitigate the effects of HEMP pulses.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Machine Learning Using a Simple Feature for Detecting Multiple Types of Events From PMU Data

This paper describes simple and efficient machine learning (ML) methods for efficiently detecting multiple types of power system events captured by PMUs scarcely placed in a large power grid. It uses a single feature from each PMU based on a rectangle area enclosing the event in a given data window. This single feature is sufficient to enable commonly used ML models to detect different types of events quickly and accurately. The feature is used by five ML models on four different data-window sizes. The results indicated a tradeoff between the execution speed and detection accuracy in variety of data-window size choices. Here, the proposed method is insensitive to most data quality issues typical for data from field PMUs, and thus it does not require major data cleansing efforts prior to feature extraction.

Big data↗
DOE OSTI2016

Decommissioning of NPP in Europe? Strategies, Risks and Opportunities - 16124

This paper offers a strategic perspective on the rapidly developing European nuclear decommissioning scene, with a particular focus on the German market. We will identify a number of strategic themes that might be interesting to international companies practicing in decommissioning. The market size and valuation has received attention in several studies published in the last three years due to political concerns surrounding the funding of decommissioning. This paper will focus mainly on the decommissioning and decontamination (D and D) of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), commercially operated reactors generating electricity for power grids. There is also a substantial developing market also in D and D of fuel cycle facilities, research reactors and military production sites. However, they represent a rather different technical and financial challenge so will not be explored here. Further, we also restrict our geographic scope to European Union members and Germany in particular, to ensure our observations offer specific value. Our principal contention is that the German national industry holds too little capacity to fully undertake its own decommissioning program; leading to a conclusion that the European program as a whole will require significant support from international companies. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
NASA NTRS2000

It Takes More than Technology

The technology required to develop and manage a production metacenter or grid environment is an important ingredient in such a project. However, this technology may neither be the most difficult piece of the puzzle nor the one demanding the most patience and perseverance. This paper touches on the technical underpinnings of the collaborative effort that resulted in a production metacenter joining two cooperating IBM SPs, one at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) and the other at NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC). The discussion then focuses on the problems attributable to differing environments, both physical and cultural, even though both sites were part of the same agency. The approach for the Phase I NASA Metacenter was centralized with most decisions made by the NAS Division at Ames. Also discussed is the distributed approach to resolving the even greater difficulties encountered in the multi-agency effort to modify NASA's technology to build a similar metacenter in the Department of Defense. The DoD Metacenter joins two DoD Major Shared Resource Centers (MSRCs), the Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) MSRC at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) MSRC. The final discussion focuses on similar problems that have arisen at NASA with the NASA Information Power Grid.

Hultquist, Mary↗
DOE OSTI2020

Statistical Profiles of E1 EMP Coupling to Single Conductors

An electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) event can induce large currents and voltages on electrical conductors such as electrical power transmission lines which span many kilometers and the shorter lines typically tens of meters in length used to monitor equipment controlling the power grid. The exact current and voltage induced on a conductor depends on many factors, such as line height, diameter and length as well as ground conductivity and the location of the EMP event relative to the conductor. The current work focus on the line location and orientation relative to the EMP source. A statistical, Monte-Carlo approach is used in sampling the line configuration and then calculating the induced current and voltage. Thousands of EMP events are simulated on the region of the Earth where the EMP event can couple to a given above-ground conductor and the resulting current and voltage is then calculated on that conductor. Through the many simulations, one can assemble statistics on the insult including the peak value, rise time and pulse width.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Interpreting Primal-Dual Algorithms for Constrained Multiagent Reinforcement Learning: Preprint

We study multiagent reinforcement learning (MARL) with constraints. This setting is gaining importance as MARL algorithms find new applications in real-world systems ranging from power grids to drone swarms. Most constrained MARL (C-MARL) algorithms use a primal-dual approach to enforce constraints through a penalty function added to the reward. In this paper, we study the structural effects of the primal-dual approach on the constraints and value function. First, we show that using the constraint evaluation as the penalty leads to a weak notion of safety, but by making simple modifications to the penalty function, we can enforce meaningful probabilistic safety constraints. Second, we show that the penalty term changes the value function in a way that is easy to model, and demonstrate the consequences of not doing so. We conclude with simulations in a simple constrained multiagent environment to back up the theoretical results.

data-driven control↗
DOE OSTI2020

Modeling Failure of Electrical Transformers due to Effects of a HEMP Event

Understanding the effect of a high-altitude electromagnetic pulse (HEMP) on the equipment in the United States electrical power grid is important to national security. A present challenge to this understanding is evaluating the vulnerability of transformers to a HEMP. Evaluating vulnerability by direct testing is cost-prohibitive, due to the wide variation in transformers, their high cost, and the large number of tests required to establish vulnerability with confidence. Alternatively, material and component testing can be performed to quantify a model for transformer failure, and the model can be used to assess vulnerability of a wide variety of transformers. This project develops a model of the probability of equipment failure due to effects of a HEMP. Potential failure modes are cataloged, and a model structure is presented which can be quantified by the results of small-scale coupon tests.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancing Solar Power Forecasting with Regularized Constrained Quantile Regression Averaging and Bootstrapping Techniques

Probabilistic solar power forecasting (SPF) plays an essential role in optimizing power-grid operations by quantifying the forecast uncertainty. To improve the accuracy and robustness of probabilistic SPF, this paper introduces the regularized constrained quantile regression averaging (rCQRA) method to combine outputs from multiple PSPF models. In addition, a bootstrapping method was used to quantify model uncertainty, providing insights into the reliability and significance of each ensemble component. To evaluate its efficacy, the proposed rCQRA method is used to integrate four PSPF methods. The resulting SPF models are trained and validated using a real-world six-year dataset from a rooftop solar plant in the USA. The performance of the proposed rCQRA method is evaluated and compared with two benchmark methods under three categories of weather conditions. It is shown that the rCQRA method has superior performance in its forecast reliability, sharpness, and accuracy.

Ensemble learning, probabilistic solar power forec↗
DOE OSTI2020

An empirical study of moving horizon closed-loop demand response scheduling

The potential of electricity-intensive chemical plants to engage in demand response (DR) initiatives in support of power grid operations has been the subject of many conceptual studies. In this work, using an industrially-relevant model of an air separation unit, we undertake an extensive simulation study of moving horizon (MH) rescheduling approaches, where we "close the scheduling loop" based on updated information regarding disturbances such as changes in electricity prices, ambient conditions and chemical product demand. Our study produces several unexpected findings regarding the non-periodic nature of rescheduling solutions, the impact of the accuracy of disturbance forecasts on the economics of DR scheduling, and on the interplay of simultaneously dealing with fluctuations on both the supply side (i.e., electricity prices) and the product demand side of the plant. Furthermore, we posit that the latter fluctuations pose significant limitations to the potential of a chemical plant to engage in DR.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

DQ Admittance Extraction for Inverter-Based Resources

The power grid industry is pushing for electromagnetic transient (EMT)-based studies for generation interconnection and planning process due to high penetrations of inverter-based resource (IBRs). Vendor-specific and site-specific black-box IBR models are preferred in those simulation studies. For small-signal analysis, measurement-based admittance models are necessary. In this paper, we demonstrate the extraction of frequency-domain dq frame IBR models. These linear models are specific to operating conditions. We demonstrate two extraction methods: frequency scan and a step response-based method. The latter relies on converting time-domain responses to Laplace-domain expressions via eigensystem realization analysis (ERA). Both can lead to dq admittance representation and the latter is time saving.

admittance model↗
DOE OSTI2024

Statistical Behavior of Low-Amplitude Power System Point-on-Wave Measurements

The power grid is undergoing massive changes to ensure resiliency and reliability in a more decentralized world. Distributed energy resources are becoming a prominent source of generation, potentially leading to a lack of centralized generation sources. Due to these new behaviors and system topologies, it is important to install measurement devices that are 1) accurate and 2) self-aware of their measurement quality. In this paper, a residential-scale microgrid is used to generate voltage and current waveforms, captured by Verivolt and National Instruments measurement equipment. A least-squares approach is used to separate the “clean” signals from the noise. Finally, Gaussian mixture modeling is used to approximate noise distributions, and it is shown these higher-order distribution estimates are a better fit to voltage and current noise profiles than single-mode Gaussian estimates.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

DQ Admittance Extraction for Inverter-Based Resources: Preprint

The power grid industry is pushing for electro-magnetic transient (EMT)-based studies for generation interconnection and planning process due to high penetrations of inverter-based resource (IBRs). Vendor-specific and site-specific black-box IBR models are preferred in those simulation studies. For small-signal analysis, measurement-based admittance models are necessary. In this paper, we demonstrate the extraction of frequency-domain dq frame IBR models. These linear models are specific to operating conditions. We demonstrate two extraction methods: frequency scan and a step response-based method. The latter relies on converting time-domain responses to Laplace-domain expressions via eigensystem realization analysis (ERA). Both can lead to dq admittance representation and the latter is time saving.

admittance model↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of Quaternary Pumped Storage Hydropower on Frequency Response of U.S. Western Interconnection with High Renewable Penetrations

As renewable penetration increases in the United States, maintaining stability and reliability of low-inertia power grid by providing sufficient frequency control capability becomes a challenge. Advanced pumped storage hydro technologies (APSH) will be expected to play an important role for future grid as not only an energy supplier, but also as an ancillary services provider. This paper studies the impact of using quaternary pumped storage hydropower (Q-PSH), as one of the newly proposed APSH technology, to provide primary frequency response. To quantify the impact of Q-PSH on frequency response of the U.S. Western Interconnection, a user-defined dynamic model of Q-PSH is developed on the GE Positive Sequence Load Flow (PSLF) platform and is implemented in a set of detailed U.S. Western Electricity Coordination Council (WECC) planning cases in which renewable penetration levels are 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. Simulation results show that Q-PSH can help improve frequency nadir and settling frequency comparing to the conventional PSH.

frequency response↗
DOE OSTI2022

Impact of Quaternary-Pumped Storage Hydropower on Frequency Response of U.S. Western Interconnection with High Renewable Penetrations: Preprint

As renewable penetration increases in the United States, maintaining stability and reliability of low-inertia power grid by providing sufficient frequency control capability becomes a challenge. Advanced pumped storage hydro technologies (APSH) will be expected to play an important role for future grid as not only an energy supplier, but also as an ancillary services provider. This paper studies the impact of using quaternary pumped storage hydropower (Q-PSH), as one of the newly proposed APSH technology, to provide primary frequency response. To quantify the impact of Q-PSH on frequency response of the U.S. Western Interconnection, a user-defined dynamic model of Q-PSH is developed on the GE Positive Sequence Load Flow (PSLF) platform and is implemented in a set of detailed U.S. Western Electricity Coordination Council (WECC) planning cases in which renewable penetration levels are 20%, 40%, 60% and 80%. Simulation results show that Q-PSH can help improve frequency nadir and settling frequency comparing to the conventional PSH.

frequency response↗
DOE OSTI2018

Maximum Endurance Lightning Current of Different High-Temperature Superconducting Wires

The over-current performance of high-temperature superconductors (HTSs) has been well studied. However, the superconducting devices used in power grid might also suffer lightning current. In previous researches, we have investigated the influences of the substrate layer, encapsulation layer, and tape dimension on the thermal stability of yttrium barium copper oxide (YBCO) tapes after suffering a lightning current. However, in this paper, we will focus on the maximum endurance lightning currents (MELCs) of different HTS tapes including YBCO and BSCCO tapes. We prepared and tested seven HTS samples. The critical current and n value of each sample were measured and calculated before and after the 8/20-μs lightning current tests. A maximum endurable value of lightning current which might not cause the critical current degradation was obtained from the testing results. Finally, the mechanisms causing the degradation were analyzed.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Data-Driven Approach for High-Impedance Fault Localization in Distribution Systems

Accurate and quick identification of high-impedance faults (HIFs) is critical for the reliable operation of distribution systems. Unlike other faults in power grids, HIFs are very difficult to detect by conventional overcurrent relays due to the low fault current. Although HIFs can be affected by various factors, the voltage-current characteristics can substantially imply how the system responds to the disturbance and thus provides opportunities to effectively localize HIFs. In this work, we propose a data-driven approach for the identification of HIF events. To tackle the nonlinearity of the voltage-current trajectory, first, we formulate optimization problems to approximate the trajectory with piecewise functions. Then we collect the function features of all segments as inputs and use the support vector machine approach to efficiently identify HIFs at different locations. Numerical studies on the IEEE 123-node test feeder demonstrate the validity and accuracy of the proposed approach for real-time HIF identification.

explainable artificial intelligence↗