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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Controlling Air Conditioners for Frequency Regulation: A Real-World Example

Even though thermostatically controlled loads like air conditioners present a great potential for providing ancillary services to the electric power grid, the practical challenges associated with their real-time coordination have not received the necessary attention. In this work, we present a nondisruptive load control application, specifically, we demonstrate how real residential air conditioners can provide frequency regulation. Aggregate power adjustment is achieved by modifying the ON/OFF modes of the air conditioners. To account for both single and multi-zone houses, we extend the currently available techniques and develop an approach that can be used for controlling aggregations that include both types of houses. A discussion of the practical challenges encountered in our field experiments is provided, along with the hardware and software approaches we developed to circumvent them. Here, we argue that limitations of current thermostat APIs introduce significant challenges and are an impediment to widespread adoption of fast load control applications.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Crystal Ball: A Naturalist Perspective of Microbiology: Examples from Methanogenic Archaea

Storytelling has been the primary means of knowledge transfer over human history. The effectiveness and reach of stories are improved when the message is appropriate for the target audience. Oftentimes, the stories that are most well received and recounted are those that have a clear purpose and that are told from a variety of perspectives that touch on the varied interests of the target audience. Whether scientists realize or not, they are accustomed to telling stories of their own scientific discoveries through the preparation of manuscripts, presentations, and lectures. Perhaps less frequently, scientists prepare review articles or book chapters that summarize a body of knowledge on a given subject matter, meant to be more holistic recounts of a body of literature. Yet, by necessity, such summaries are often still narrow in their scope and are told from the perspective of a particular discipline. In other words, interdisciplinary reviews or book chapters tend to be the rarity rather than the norm. Naturalists are scientists that tell stories of organisms and their natural environment within a historical context and from an interdisciplinary perspective. Such stories interweave observations of biological subjects from disparate disciplines into a cohesive story. To this end, the success of naturalists in recounting compelling natural history stories is enhanced when they allow themselves to become vulnerable by knowingly entering a literature base full of unfamiliar ways of observing and describing such subjects. When successful, this approach can broaden the scope of the story, making it of interest to a larger audience and attracting further recounting of that story (e.g., citations). To this end, when we look into our crystal ball, we see a need to tell more holistic stories of microorganisms and their functions from an interdisciplinary, naturalist perspective that combines what is known of their contemporary ecology, physiology, and biochemistry with their evolutionary history thereby placing them within a historical Earth context. With this conviction in mind, we take the opportunity to look back on the natural history of methanogens to identify some of their most profound biochemical innovations and their impact on the trajectory of life and the planet. Our approach was to integrate knowledge from the fields of biochemistry, physiology, ecology, evolution, geochemistry, and atmospheric sciences. We start with the origin of the first autotrophic cells and how this set Earth on a path towards biomass expansion and functional diversification. Next, we discuss the importance of iron and sulfur in methanogen metabolism, and how their innovative ways of accessing these elements allowed for expanded use of iron-sulfur clusters ([Fe-S]) as nanoscale catalysts that power(ed) Earth’s biochemical cycles. We next discuss the origin and evolution of [NiFe]-hydrogenase and how this versatile enzyme chassis was co-opted by a variety of anaerobes and aerobes as the foundation for respiratory complexes capable of sustaining higher forms of life, including humans. Lastly, we discuss the evolution of the enzyme molybdenum nitrogenase, and how this allowed the biosphere to overcome fixed nitrogen limitation by tapping the seemingly endless reserve of atmospheric dinitrogen (N 2 ). In telling these stories, we aimed to generate template(s) to motivate future interdisciplinary natural history studies focused on other organisms and processes. Further, we hope to stimulate scientific discourse and provide impetus to become vulnerable and peruse literature of relevance to understanding the causes and consequences of the evolution of your favorite microorganism or biochemical process.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Benefits and Cautions in Data Assimilation Strategies: An Example of Modeling Groundwater Recharge

Assimilating recent observations improves model outcomes for real-time assessments of groundwater processes. This is demonstrated in estimating time-varying recharge to a shallow fractured-rock aquifer in response to precipitation. Results from estimating the time-varying water-table altitude (h) and recharge, and their error covariances, are compared for forecasting, filtering, and fixed-lag smoothing (FLS), which are implemented using the Kalman Filter as applied to a data-driven, mechanistic model of recharge. Forecasting uses past observations to predict future states and is the current paradigm in most groundwater modeling investigations; filtering assimilates observations up to the current time to estimate current states; and FLS estimates states following a time lag over which additional observations are collected. Results for forecasting yield a large error covariance relative to the magnitude of the expected recharge. With assimilating recent observations of h, filtering and FLS produce estimates of recharge that better represent time-varying observations of h and reduce uncertainty in comparison to forecasting. Although model outcomes from applying data assimilation through filtering or FLS reduce model uncertainty, they are not necessarily mass conservative, whereas forecasting outcomes are mass conservative. Mass conservative outcomes from forecasting are not necessarily more accurate, because process errors are inherent in any model. Improvements in estimating real-time groundwater conditions that better represent observations need to be weighed for the model application against outcomes with inherent process deficiencies. In conclusion, results from data assimilation strategies discussed in this investigation are anticipated to be relevant to other groundwater processes models where system states are sensitive to system inputs.

aquifer recharge↗
DOE OSTI2020

Accuracy limitations for composition analysis by XPS using relative peak intensities: LiF as an example

Although precision in XPS can be excellent, allowing small changes to be easily observed, obtaining accurate absolute elemental composition of a solid material from relative peak intensities is generally much more problematical, involving many factors: background removal; differing analysis depths at different photoelectron kinetic energies; possible angular distribution effects; calibration of the instrument transmission function, and variations of the distribution of the photoelectron intensity between “main” peaks (those usually used for analysis) and associated substructure following the main peak, as a function of the chemical bonding of the elements concerned. The last item, coupled with the use of photoionization cross-sections and/or relative sensitivity factors, is the major subject of this paper, though it is necessary to consider the other items also, using LiF as a test case. The results show that the above issues, which are relevant to differing degrees in most XPS analyses, present significant challenges to highly accurate XPS quantification.

Brundle, Christopher R.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Practical guide to understanding goodness-of-fit metrics used in chemical state modeling of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data by synthetic line shapes using nylon as an example

Chemical state analysis of a sample surface through fitting bell-shaped curves to x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic polymer data is reviewed using nylon to introduce and discuss aspects of data analysis. Different strategies for modeling chemistry in nylon spectra are presented and in so doing, a case is made to include in published science the design logic and implementation in terms of line shapes and optimization parameter constraints between components in a peak model. Imperfections in line shape relative to the true shape for photoemission lines, when compensated for using constraints to optimization parameters, are shown to provide chemical state information about a sample that justify, for peak models constructed with these limitations, metrics for goodness-of-fit different from those expected for pulse-counted data.

Materials Science↗
DOE OSTI2023

Temperature uncertainty modelling with proxy structural data as geostatistical constraints for well siting: an example applied to Granite Springs Valley, NV, USA

Utilizing existing temperature and structural geology information around Granite Springs Valley, Nevada, we build 3D stochastic temperature models with the aims of evaluating the 3D uncertainty of temperature and choosing between candidate exploration well locations. The data used to support the modelling are measured temperatures and structural proxies from 3D geologic modelling (distance to fault, distance to fault intersections and terminations, Coulomb stress change and dilation tendency), the latter considered ‘secondary’ data. Two stochastic geostatistical techniques are explored for incorporating the structural proxies: cosimulation and local varying mean. With both the cosimulation and local varying mean methods, many equally-likely temperature models (i.e. realizations) are produced, from which temperature probability profiles are calculated at candidate well locations. To aid in choosing between the candidate locations, two quantities summarize the temperature probabilities: V prior and entropy. V prior quantifies the likelihood for economic temperatures at each candidate location, whereas entropy identifies where new information has the most potential to reduce uncertainty. In general, the cosimulation realizations have smoother spatial structure, and extrapolate high temperatures at candidate locations that are located along the direction of the longest spatial correlation, which are down dip from existing temperature logs. The smooth realizations result in tight temperature probability profiles that are easier to interpret, but they have unrealistic temperature reversals in some locations because of the dipping ellipsoid shape created and that the cosimulation technique does not enforce a conductive geothermal gradient as a baseline (i.e. linearly increasing temperature with depth). The local varying mean results produce realizations with more realistic geothermal gradients, with temperatures increasing downward since a depth-temperature relationship is included. However, because they have much noisier spatial nature compared to cosimulation, it is harder to interpret the temperature probability profiles. The different local varying mean results allow the geologist to determine which proxy (e.g. dilation v. distance to fault termination) should be used given the specific geothermal system. In general, V prior from local varying mean results identify locations that are close to high values for the structural proxies: areas with higher probabilities for higher temperatures. The entropy results identify where uncertainty is greatest and therefore new drilling information could be most useful. Though these techniques provide useful information, even when applied to areas of sparse data, our comparison of these two techniques demonstrates the need for new geothermal geostatistics techniques that combine the advantages of these two methods and that are tailored to the spatial uncertainty issues inherent in geothermal exploration.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Cathodic Decomposition Electrodes as Standard Reference Electrodes for Molten Salts: Example of the Lithium Eutectic Electrode for the LiCl-KCl Eutectic

Alternatives to the widely-used standard anodic decomposition reference electrodes in molten salts are necessary to enable more easily reproduced thermochemical and electrochemical data in molten salt electrolytes. The class of standard reference electrodes called cathodic decomposition electrodes (CDEs) are easily constructed and can be used to make thermochemical measurements in molten salts more directly compared to anodic decomposition electrodes. The lithium eutectic electrode (LEE) was chosen as a sample test case for validation and was applied to thermochemical measurements of electroactive species in molten LiCl-KCl eutectic. Transient measurements were made to measure the Li + /Li reduction potential at zero current in pure LiCl-KCl eutectic relative to a Li-alloy reference electrode to validate the reference potential of the LEE. Literature-reported electromotive force measurements against Li-alloy reference electrodes were used to generate a relationship between the LEE and the standard chlorine electrode and this relationship was used to evaluate measured and reported formal potential measurements for the LiCl-KCl-GdCl 3 system. This work demonstrates the general framework for defining CDEs for any molten salt system and a method for calibrating external reference electrodes against a CDE standard reference electrode, improving the ease of obtaining thermochemical and electrochemical measurements in any molten salt system.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2020

Imaging of a fluid injection process using geophysical data — A didactic example

In many subsurface industrial applications, fluids are injected into or withdrawn from a geologic formation. It is of practical interest to quantify precisely where, when, and by how much the injected fluid alters the state of the subsurface. Routine geophysical monitoring of such processes attempts to image the way that geophysical properties, such as seismic velocities or electrical conductivity, change through time and space and to then make qualitative inferences as to where the injected fluid has migrated. The more rigorous formulation of the time-lapse geophysical inverse problem forecasts how the subsurface evolves during the course of a fluid-injection application. Using time-lapse geophysical signals as the data to be matched, the model unknowns to be estimated are the multiphysics forward-modeling parameters controlling the fluid-injection process. Properly reproducing the geophysical signature of the flow process, subsequent simulations can predict the fluid migration and alteration in the subsurface. The dynamic nature of fluid-injection processes renders imaging problems more complex than conventional geophysical imaging for static targets. This work intents to clarify the related hydrogeophysical parameter estimation concepts.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

CSEM Fluid Monitoring Methodology Using Real Data Examples

Conference presentation at International Meeting for Applied Geoscience & Energy (IMAGE), Houston, Texas, August 28 – September 1, 2023. Using field data from hydrocarbon and CO 2 applications, we illustrate the importance of a workflow and adaption to the target on hand. Verifying the geophysical acquisition and processing steps with 3D modeling and checking them against a 3D anisotropic log-derived model maintains confidence in the workflow and minimizes the influence on the data. This allows us to predict data validity and to certify the data with respect to the borehole logs.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Integrating biomechanics in evolutionary studies, with examples from the amphidromous goby model system

The functional capacities of animals are a primary factor determining survival in nature. In this context, understanding the biomechanical performance of animals can provide insight into diverse aspects of their biology, ranging from ecological distributions across habitat gradients to the evolutionary diversification of lineages. To survive and reproduce in the face of environmental pressures, animals must perform a wide range of tasks, some of which entail tradeoffs between competing demands. Moreover, the demands encountered by animals can change through ontogeny as they grow, sexually mature or migrate across environmental gradients. To understand how mechanisms that underlie functional performance contribute to survival and diversification across challenging and variable habitats, we have pursued diverse studies of the comparative biomechanics of amphidromous goby fishes across functional requirements ranging from prey capture and fast-start swimming to adhesion and waterfall climbing. The pan-tropical distribution of these fishes has provided opportunities for repeated testing of evolutionary hypotheses. By synthesizing data from the lab and field, across approaches spanning high-speed kinematics, selection trials, suction pressure recordings, mechanical property testing, muscle fiber-type measurements and physical modeling of bioinspired designs, we have clarified how multiple axes of variation in biomechanical performance associate with the ecological and evolutionary diversity of these fishes. Here our studies of how these fishes meet both common and extreme functional demands add new, complementary perspectives to frameworks developed from other systems, and illustrate how integrating knowledge of the mechanical underpinnings of diverse aspects of performance can give critical insights into ecological and evolutionary questions.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Opening-mode fracturing and cementation during hydrocarbon generation in shale: An example from the Barnett Shale, Delaware Basin, West Texas

Relative timing of fracturing is a key input for predictive fracture models, but timing information for fractures is commonly difficult to obtain. In this study, we used crosscutting relations and fluid inclusion assemblage temperatures from fracture cements from a few well-documented sampled fractures, combined with a one-dimensional burial history model, to establish timing for three generations of opening-mode fractures in a Barnett Shale core from the southern part of the Delaware Basin, Pecos County, West Texas. A burial history model is presented for the cored well and matched to measured vitrinite reflectance in samples from the core, and bottomhole temperature in the well. Here, the earliest fractures (group 1) likely formed due to early fluid-expulsion events (ca. 300 Ma) and were folded during host-rock compaction. Later group 2 fractures are sealed with fibrous barite containing primary, liquid hydrocarbon inclusions (mean homogenization temperature [T h ] = –9°C) and aqueous fluid inclusions (mean T h = 108.1°C). Group 2 fractures likely formed in response to fluid overpressure associated with cracking of type II kerogen to oil. Group 3 vertical fractures are up to 2 m in height with kinematic apertures ranging from less than 0.05 to 1.4 mm, partly open, and strike dominantly 010°–020°. Sequentially trapped aqueous fluid inclusions in fracture-spanning quartz cement bridges (mean T h = 110°C in crack-seal texture and 128°C in post-crack-seal fracture cement) record fracture opening under increasing temperature, inferred to reflect increasing burial, with continued overpressuring during the Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Some group 3 fractures may have continued to fill during Cenozoic uplift.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2021

An HPC-Based Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator for Modeling Underground Geothermal Behavior with Example Simulations on The Treasure Island and UC Berkeley Campus

This submission contains the source code of the Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator used for the Treasure Island and UC Berkeley campus geothermal simulation. It contains a report that summarizes the development and validation of this Hydrothermal Finite Element Simulator, with a case study on Treasure Island site. It also contains a report that investigates the feasibility of upgrading the existing campus energy delivery system at UC Berkeley to a fifth-generation district heating and cooling system that includes geothermal heat/cold storage.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Low-Temperature Geothermal Geospatial Datasets: An Example from Alaska

This project is a component of a broader effort focused on geothermal heating and cooling (GHC) with the aim of illustrating the numerous benefits of incorporating GHC and geothermal heat exchange (GHX) into community energy planning and national decarbonization strategies. To better assist private sector investment, it is currently necessary to define and assess the potential of low-temperature geothermal resources. For shallow GHC/GHX fields, there is no formal compilation of subsurface characteristics shared among industry practitioners that can improve system design and operations. Alaska is specifically noted in this work, because heretofore, it has not received a similar focus in geothermal potential evaluations as the contiguous United States. The methodology consists of leveraging relevant data to generate a baseline geospatial dataset of low-temperature resources (less than 150 degrees C) to compare and analyze information accessible to anyone trying to understand the potential of GHC/GHX and small-scale low-temperature geothermal power in Alaska (e.g., energy modelers, communities, planners, and policymakers). Importantly, this project identifies data related to (1) the evaluation of GHC/GHX in the shallow subsurface, and (2) the evaluation of low-temperature geothermal resource availability. Additionally, data is being compiled to assess repurposing of oil and gas wells to contribute co-produced fluids toward the geothermal direct use and heating and cooling resource potential. In this work we identified new data from three different datasets of isolated geothermal systems in Alaska and bottom-hole temperature data from oil and gas wells that can be leveraged for evaluation of low-temperature geothermal resource potential. The goal of this project is to facilitate future deployment of GHC/GHX analysis and community-led programs and update the low-temperature geothermal resources assessment of Alaska. A better understanding of shallow potential for GHX will improve design and operations of highly efficient GHC systems. The deployment and impact that can be achieved for low-temperature geothermal resources will contribute to decarbonization goals and facilitate widespread electrification by shaving and shifting grid loads.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

The importance of long-timescale simulations for driven systems: An example of He bubble growth at a W GB

Accelerated Molecular Dynamics (AMD) is used to study complex systems under realistic conditions by extending the timescales accessible by Molecular Dynamics. However, some studies rely instead on driving atomic systems harder with higher temperature, faster growth, etc. Here, we study He bubble growth at a W grain boundary as an illustration of harnessing AMD methods to avoid consequences of over-driving the system. The growth mechanisms observed for a He bubble grown under realistic conditions are compared to bubbles-grown orders of magnitude faster, at rates typical of conventional molecular dynamics simulations. We find that progressive growth mechanisms and bubble structures depend on the rate at which the bubble is grown providing further evidence that care must be taken when simulating the dynamics of driven systems such as this one.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Finding, Organizing, and Preserving Legacy Nuclear Test Monitoring Data—Examples from the Livermore Nevada Network

A challenge for geophysical research is the relatively short time for which continuous digital data have been available. There are many events of research interest where much of the data were collected by analog or temporary digital means. These legacy data require special efforts to find, organize, and preserve for future research. Here, we focus on one type of legacy data, nuclear explosions, and associated events (e.g., collapses, aftershocks) of high interest for nuclear monitoring research and development. For nuclear tests conducted in Nevada, the Lawrence Livermore Nevada Network recorded valuable data on a variety of formats. In this article, we briefly review this network, and describe one set of data that previously was available via CD-ROM by request, and since 2018 has become available through Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology as assembled dataset 18-001.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Badge Photos - Examples

Photos showing the condition of some of the historic Manhattan Project badge photos.

96 KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT AND PRESERVATION↗