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At least 1,657 records · Page 92
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Data Collection and Analysis Challenges and Mitigation Strategies for Quantitative Human Factors Research Studies in Nuclear Power Plant Modernization

The United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program Plant Modernization Pathway is conducting targeted research and development (R&D) to address aging and reliability concerns with the legacy instrumentation and control and related information systems of the U.S. LWR fleet. In this effort, the application of human factors engineering (HFE) provides an important role in ensuring new digital plant technologies enable broad innovation and business improvement with continued operational safety. Evaluation is a key activity in HFE, which often occurs iteratively through the system design lifecycle. While qualitative methods are important in collecting information of how users perform tasks through observations, quantitative methods are equally important in assessing system design based on performance. In collecting and analyzing this quantitative data, there are notable challenges in the nuclear HFE domain that may threaten the validity and reliability of the inferences made in these studies. Notable challenges include small sample size and limited resources, large error variance and small effect size, an “adding test features to losing degrees of freedom” dilemma, non-normal distribution, and heterogeneity of variance. The results in control room usability studies are often statistically non-significant, which makes it hard to interpret. This work discusses these challenges across different scientific viewpoints and provides real-world examples of these challenges in practice. Collectively, the objective of this work is to position these challenges to the larger data science community as a means of identifying future opportunities to address these issues.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2023

S4PST: Sustainability for Programming Systems and Tools: May Workshop Report

The US Department of Energy (DOE) Exascale Computing Project (ECP) has fostered and strengthened the use of modern software engineering practices for developing applications and libraries, and this effort has resulted in the coordinated and interoperable E4S1 and xSDK2 ecosystems. Although this approach is cost-effective, it relies on robust programming systems and tools (PST) as the underlying foundation for our HPC software. At present, our primary PST stack consists of traditional high-performance computing (HPC) languages, namely Fortran, C, C++, and the popular Python language for data analysis and AI workflows. These languages support various programming frameworks and run-time abstractions that enable parallelism and concurrency across multiple node architectures and thousands of nodes through a variety of interconnect systems. However, to accommodate users’ diverse needs, certain aspects of the HPC ecosystem are delegated to vendor-specific or third-party implementations that extend beyond a particular scientific domain. This broader scope results in a multitude of specifications and variations, which leads to a complex orchestration of many-ecosystems. Unfortunately, this complexity in the ecosystem imposes additional overhead costs on consumers during the latter stages of the development cycle. In addition to the software ecosystem challenge, the upcoming conclusion of the ECP by December 2023 has raised significant concerns within the HPC programming systems community, from both the economic and social perspectives. The ECP has implemented a management structure for software development and funding decisions across all ECP participants by following a conventional hierarchical and centralized approach. However, this structure has prompted certain considerations within the community, particularly in anticipation of the Software Sustainability initiative by the DOE’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research Program (ASCR). For the success of this new initiative, it is of utmost importance to secure consistent funding and foster close engagement with researchers and core developers of existing programming-system products. This collaboration is vital to maintaining the critical capabilities of the current software during the transition phase while proactively adapting to future technology and workforce trends. The community recognizes the significance of adapting to emerging trends and is aware of the inherent fragility of the HPC software ecosystem, particularly in relation to programming systems that cater to all users. The ability to adapt and evolve is essential to staying relevant and effectively addressing these technical, economic, and social challenges. The S4PST team, which represents one of the six ASCR Software Sustainability seedling projects, is dedicated to tackling these challenges through community-based approaches that go beyond the scope of the DOE. This involves collaboration between national laboratories with academia, non-DOE institutions, hardware and system vendors, and international partners. By fostering these partnerships, we aim to create a robust and sustainable HPC software ecosystem that can effectively meet the needs of the community. This new community effort, driven by the eight DOE labs, will take on the responsibility of guiding funding decisions for programming-systems development and maintenance with transparency and consistency across all decisions. Additionally, the team will offer common technical services to the programming systems community, irrespective of their funding situations, and facilitate community-wide incubation to proactively nurture the software ecosystem. By actively engaging with stakeholders and employing a collaborative approach, we can collectively shape the future of programming systems and ensure a robust and thriving HPC software landscape. On May 11–12, 2023, the S4PST team conducted its inaugural kick-off workshop at the Innovative Computing Laboratory (ICL) in the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, hosted by Hartwig Anzt. The workshop encompassed various sessions dedicated to presentations and discussions, with the aim of comprehending the team members’ perspectives on the vision of software sustainability. Additionally, the workshop aimed to identify the technical, economic, and social requirements for sustaining the programming-systems community in the field of HPC. This report provides a summary of the S4PST effort by highlighting five major thrust areas discussed during the workshop: (i) community, (ii) technical support, (iii) training and diversity, (iv) verification, validation and correctness, and (v) emerging technologies. It also encompasses an overview of the presentations and discussions held throughout the event, our views and potential synergies with other seedling efforts, along with the outcomes and key takeaways from our initial discussions.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Life cycle energy demand and carbon emissions of scalable single-junction and tandem perovskite PV

Perovskite photovoltaics reached record efficiencies in the laboratory and, if sustainably commercialized, they would accelerate a green energy transition. Here, this article presents the development of life-cycle inventory material and energy databases of most promising four single-junction and three tandem scalable perovskite systems with assumptions regarding scalable production validated by industry experts. We conducted comprehensive “ex ante” Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Net Energy Analysis, analyzing their cumulative energy demand, global warming potential profiles, energy payback times and energy return on investment (EROI). LCA contribution analysis elucidates the most impactful material and process choices. It shows that solution-based perovskite manufacturing would have lower environmental impact than vapor-based methods, and that roll-to-roll (RtR) printing offers the lowest impact. Among material choices, MoOx/Al has lower impact than Ag, and fluorine-tin-oxide lower than indium-tin-oxide. Furthermore, we compare perovskites with commercial crystalline-silicon and thin-film PV, accounting for the most recent developments in crystalline-Si wafer production and differences in life expectancies and efficiencies. It is shown that perovskite systems produced with RtR manufacturing could reach in only 12 years of life the same EROI as that of single-crystalline-Si PV lasting 30-years. This work lays a foundation for sustainability investigations of perovskite large-scale deployment.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1992

NASA in the 21st century: A vision of greatness

Notions of greatness are discussed that have guided NASA in the past, values are presented that might be delivered by NASA in the future, and the the skills required for NASA to execute a vision of greatness are examined. Three possible patterns of space development by NASA are reviewed: (1) a mission to protect the ecology of the Earth; (2) the engineering of the technologies critical to space transportation and a healthy, productive life in space; and (3) the management of a major nonterrestrial resource project. Potential sources of funds are discussed along with opportunities for sustainable collaboration, and the life cycle of NASA's funding responsibility for its space development program.

Murphy, Kathleen J.↗
DOE OSTI2023

Clean Energy Roadmap: From Reconstruction to Decarbonization in Ukraine

The Net Zero World Initiative, committed to accelerating decarbonization and fostering more inclusive, equitable, and resilient energy systems, is pleased to support the Government of Ukraine in developing decarbonization pathways for its energy sector. In a collaborative effort to promote the resilience and sustainability of the energy system as part of the country’s reconstruction, the leading US Department of Energy’s national laboratories and distinguished Ukrainian research institutes and think tanks worked on this study. Together, we have developed scenarios for achieving net zero emissions in the energy sector, which are in line with the goals set out in the Energy Strategy of Ukraine through 2050. The Ministry of Energy of Ukraine report will present this report at the Conference of the Parties (COP28).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
NASA NTRS2015

EBF3 Design and Sustainability Considerations

Electron beam freeform fabrication (EBF3) is a cross-cutting technology for producing structural metal parts using an electron beam and wire feed in a layer-additive fashion. This process was developed by researchers at NASA Langley to specifically address needs for aerospace applications. Additive manufacturing technologies like EBF3 enable efficient design of materials and structures by tailoring microstructures and chemistries at the local level to improve performance at the global level. Additive manufacturing also facilitates design freedom by integrating assemblies into complex single-piece components, eliminating flanges, fasteners and joints, resulting in reduced size and mass. These same efficiencies that permit new design paradigms also lend themselves to supportability and sustainability. Long duration space missions will require a high degree of self-sustainability. EBF3 is a candidate technology being developed to allow astronauts to conduct repairs and fabricate new components and tools on demand, with efficient use of feedstock materials and energy.

Taminger, Karen M. B.↗
DOE OSTI2025

SiC Receiver/Reactor by Additive Manufacturing for Concentrated Solar Thermocatalysis with Thermal Energy Storage (Final Technical Report - Public)

The direct use of solar thermal energy provides opportunities for low-cost heating sources for a variety of applications. Ultra-high temperatures around 1000°C are high value and highly useful for energy-demanding industries. Many materials cannot withstand these conditions. In the area of Sustainable Chemicals, further limitations on material stability exist. Combining state-of-the-art materials with new designs provides a promising pathway for harvesting solar thermal energy and performing high temperature chemical processes. However, conventional manufacturing limits the potential for design flexibility. In this project, Additive Manufacturing was combined with advanced materials and new chemical reactor designs. In addition, 24/7 energy is necessary for chemical processing, and designs for ultra-high temperature thermal storage were devised. Specifically, preliminary design of a novel solar thermal receiver was developed in this project and designed to work with thermocatalytic reactors for producing sustainable chemicals and fuels. An ultra-high temperature particle storage system and heat exchangers were proposed to transport ultra-hot air as thermal fluid for the system. On a broader scale, this system could be used to tap solar thermal energy for a centralized facility with capability of transferring that heat to various segments at a full range of temperatures to 1000°C. The project pushed the temperature boundaries past those in current use, and Additive Manufacturing was envisaged for fabricating the receiver to meet requirements of extreme environments. An extensive analysis of silicon carbide additive manufacturing was performed to compare the thermal and mechanical properties of complex geometries compared to conventional material and those manufactured via other methods. The Additive Manufacturing via Binder-Jet printing was optimized and characterized to provide high quality and reproducible components capable of withstanding the proposed extreme environments. The designs for the concentrating solar thermal cavity with ultra-hot air thermal fluid showed high performance in simulations, attributable to the complex optimized geometries of the 3D printed systems. The bright future of Additive Manufacturing with advanced materials developments should provide more options and even higher quality as the technology further develops. Current costs for Additive Manufacturing of advanced ceramics is relatively low, however post-processing of the materials for extreme environments is currently high. There is little industrial-scale infrastructure for these, but it is growing as niche applications become more mainstream. The results of the project can be translated into similar extreme environments for concentrating solar thermal energy as well as its integration with ultra-hot air thermal fluids. A number of industries that require ultra-high temperatures need to electrify or otherwise decarbonize for climate goals, and this project showed that theoretically there is a pathway to do so with direct concentrated solar thermal power.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Bio-project “derisking” through development of systematic methodologies and frameworks for risk assessment

One of the primary hindrances to producing a viable, sustainable domestic biomass industry for renewable biofuels, bio-products and bio-power is the lack of understanding and quantification of the risks associated with both the biomass supply chain and preprocessing and conversion technologies. Currently a consistent method for assessing, comparing, and quantifying risks in biomass supply chains does not exist, creating a major investment barrier to bioenergy projects in the U.S. The lack of a standardized approach has resulted in bioenergy stakeholders independently using inconsistent approaches and evaluation criteria, leading to unreliable and incomparable assessments of risks and financing barriers to bio-project development. Along with the challenges of inconsistent risk assessment for supply chain risk, technology specific risks based on variability in biomass properties are not fully understood and can pose significant unforeseen challenges for bioenergy projects. In many cases these properties have not yet been identified and the impacts on the proposed technology and products unquantified. This is particularly challenging for emerging preprocessing and conversion technologies. Without a firm understanding of the preprocessing/conversion technology-specific critical properties, the risk of a proposed bio-project cannot be fully evaluated. To address inconsistent risk evaluation in the biomass supply chain supporting project financing, a Biomass Supply Chain Risk Standards (BSCRS) framework was developed. The BSCRS framework includes a comprehensive list of known and perceived risks (Risk Indicators) to the supply chain developed through 100’s of interviews with bioenergy industry experts spanning from feedstock growers and suppliers to representatives from the financial sector. These risks have been organized into a manageable hierarchy of Risk Categories and Risk Factors that can be practically assessed. This BSCRS framework also provides mitigation strategies for multiple Risk Indicators from best available industry practices and research findings. Additionally, a risk quantification methodology for each Risk Factor, Risk Category, and the bio-project as a whole was developed to enable capital markets to assess feedstock risk more efficiently and more accurately. Multiple case studies representing existing bio-projects have been used to evaluate and verify the BSCRS framework and scoring methodology. To address technological risk along with the supply chain risk captured in the developed BSCRS framework, this work also focuses on development of a systematic criticality assessment tool using well-accepted, quantitative risk analysis methods to evaluate bioenergy feedstock critical properties impacting system unit operations. The proposed Failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) approach uses a team of subject area experts (SAEs) for each targeted unit operation within a system. Collectively, the team will develop and use a quantitative scoring system to assess the material attributes, process parameters, and quality attributes for key unit operations that have already been identified. The FMEA process generates Risk Priority Numbers (RPNs) for the various failures and predominant causes for each material/process unit/product combination resulting in a semi-quantitative, standardized methodology for assessing technological risk and biomass properties contributing to that risk.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2021

Tuning of lattice oxygen reactivity and scaling relation to construct better oxygen evolution electrocatalyst

Developing efficient and low-cost electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reaction is crucial in realizing practical energy systems for sustainable fuel production and energy storage from renewable energy sources. However, the inherent linear scaling relation for most catalytic materials imposes a theoretical overpotential ceiling, limiting the development of efficient electrocatalysts. Herein, using modeled Na x Mn 3 O 7 materials, we report an effective strategy to construct better oxygen evolution electrocatalyst through tuning both lattice oxygen reactivity and scaling relation via alkali metal ion mediation. Specifically, the number of Na + is linked with lattice oxygen reactivity, which is determined by the number of oxygen hole in oxygen lone-pair states formed by native Mn vacancies, governing the barrier symmetry between O–H bond cleavage and O–O bond formation. On the other hand, the presence of Na + could have specific noncovalent interaction with pendant oxygen in *OOH to overcome the limitation from linear scaling relation, reducing the overpotential ceiling. Combining in situ spectroscopy-based characterization with first-principles calculations, we demonstrate that an intermediate level of Na + mediation (NaMn 3 O 7 ) exhibits the optimum oxygen evolution activity. This work provides a new rational recipe to develop highly efficient catalyst towards water oxidation or other oxidative reactions through tuning lattice oxygen reactivity and scaling relation.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

High Bio-Content Thermoplastic Polyurethanes from Azelaic Acid

To realize the commercialization of sustainable materials, new polymers must be generated and systematically evaluated for material characteristics and end-of-life treatment. Polyester polyols made from renewable monomers have found limited adoption in thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) applications, and their broad adoption in manufacturing may be possible with a more detailed understanding of their structure and properties. To this end, we prepared a series of bio-based crystalline and amorphous polyester polyols utilizing azelaic acid and varying branched or non-branched diols. The prepared polyols showed viscosities in the range of 504–781 cP at 70 °C, with resulting TPUs that displayed excellent thermal and mechanical properties. TPUs prepared from crystalline azelate polyester polyol exhibited excellent mechanical properties compared to TPUs prepared from amorphous polyols. These were used to demonstrate prototype products, such as watch bands and cup-shaped forms. Importantly, the prepared TPUs had up to 85% bio-carbon content. Studies such as these will be important for the development of renewable materials that display mechanical properties suitable for commercially viable, sustainable products.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Sustainable Resource Recovery from Trash, Waste, and Overboard Venting

Space travel and planetary missions for long-endurance human presence require Environmental Control and Life Support (ECLS) loop-closure. The air and water resource loops are generally closed with their processes having been established through extensive development, testing, and long-term use on International Space Station. Closure of the air and water loops have enabled oxygen and hydrogen sustainability. Carbon sustainability has yet to be addressed. Waste and trash, which also contains hydrogen and oxygen and abundant carbon have not been developed to the extent air and water have. Waste and trash have generally been dealt with in terms of simple safening, storage, and disposal. In externally disposing of waste, which includes C1 and C2 hydrocarbon gases, lost resources not only increase mission cost they can result in space and planetary pollution that can lead to unfavorable public opinion. With all this in mind, we explore the idea of carbon sustainability within closed-cycle waste, trash, and C1/C2 reprocessing. Starting from the current ECLS System roadmap, we identify resources that are not yet captured in closed-cycle processes but are lost when crossing the thermodynamic boundaries of an open system. Such pseudo-resources are trash, waste, and the gaseous carbon products of carbon dioxide reduction. We then consider different means and processes for minimizing pseudo-resource loss so as to “close the carbon loop.” There are cases in which pseudo-resources need to be externally discarded, such as reducing spacecraft acceleration mass. In this case we examine various processes that can be beneficial to missions even when these pseudo-resources are lost. An example would be the conversion of waste into propellant, which can produce thrust while at the same time reducing mass for transit acceleration (and ultimately propellant mass at launch), in which case we propose a means for evaluating the value of converting waste into propellant for different propulsion systems.

waste↗
DOE OSTI2020

Gas hydrates in sustainable chemistry

This review includes the current state of the art understanding and advances in technical developments about various fields of gas hydrates, which are combined with expert perspectives and analyses.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2019

The Institute for Sustained Performance, Energy, and Resilience

The Green Queue framework is a framework designed to automate the development and deployment of customized architecture- and application-aware power savings recipes for large-scale HPC applications achieving up to 21% and 32% energy savings on HPC production applications run at scale. Additional work focused on the memory sub-system involved our methodology that uses application and machine characterization information to build predictive machine learning models that can accurately quantify phase-level sensitivity to the reduced per core memory bandwidth resulting from changes in the memory bus frequency to reduce the power. We evaluated the predictive capability of the model on real applications and validated them at a fine grain level by looking at 43 individual computational phases or application hotspots as well as the whole application. For more than 91% of the application hotspots, the prediction error is less than 10% (15) . Building from these validated performance and power models collaborations among SUPER team members developed an automated end-to-end system to reduce the complexity of developing and deploying machine learning models for performance, power, and energy. The new framework Automatic Multi-objective Modeling with Machine Learning (AutoMOMML) enabled multi-objective optimizations (power and performance) for HPC workloads.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
NASA NTRS1989

Earth system science: A program for global change

The Earth System Sciences Committee (ESSC) was appointed to consider directions for the NASA Earth-sciences program, with the following charge: review the science of the Earth as a system of interacting components; recommend an implementation strategy for Earth studies; and define the role of NASA in such a program. The challenge to the Earth system science is to develop the capability to predict those changes that will occur in the next decade to century, both naturally and in response to human activity. Sustained, long-term measurements of global variables; fundamental descriptions of the Earth and its history; research foci and process studies; development of Earth system models; an information system for Earth system science; coordination of Federal agencies; and international cooperation are examined.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2024

Nontraditional Sensors for Aqueous Separation Research & Workforce Development

Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL) nuclear fuel cycle capabilities enable the deployment of technologies that sustain the current reactor fleet, support demonstration and deployment of new advanced reactors, and facilitate management and disposition of existing and future radiological waste materials. INL focuses on deploying nuclear energy systems with confidence by decreasing proliferation risk through research that demonstrates process transparency and supports safeguards and security by design. An example of these capabilities is the Beartooth test bed, set to begin operations toward the end of fiscal year 2026. Beartooth will include a cascade of centrifugal contactors, glove box lines, and solidification and dissolution equipment to aid in the progression of novel separation techniques and to provide hands-on experience to cultivate and maintain a robust workforce of experts. To support Beartooth’s enhanced instrumentation and monitoring equipment needs, several nontraditional sensors are being considered for future deployment. The non-traditional sensors include accelerometers, acoustic microphones, and infrared cameras. These nontraditional sensors have the potential to not only help monitor the process but also enhance nuclear safeguards.

98 - NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Deeper Dive Into the Meaning and Implications of Interoperability for LunaNet Communications and Navigation Services

As part of planning efforts for cislunar exploration and science missions, space agencies have been collaborating with each other to enable communications, networking, Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems to exchange information and provide services to spacecraft and space systems in transit, in orbit, and on the surface, thus helping each other to achieve their common goals. To achieve commonality and lower cost for mutual benefit, the strategy of interoperability is being adopted to help all the pieces fit together and function smoothly. Interoperability gives cislunar users the ability to operate in a collaborative environment similar to the terrestrial Internet, allowing them to share information, navigate safely despite increasing radio frequency congestion, and follow common processes and procedures for effective joint operations. Unlike prior government-dominated efforts, this ecosystem is expected to include commercial for-profit businesses, non-profit organizations, and academic institutions. Ultimately, the goal is to enable a cislunar ecosystem of service providers and users to contribute and/or utilize infrastructure and capabilities to accomplish mission objectives spanning the full range of human endeavours while supporting a variety of business models. This paper reports on the results of an effort to assist in efforts to frame the development of the international LunaNet architecture by providing a canonical definition of interoperability broad enough to meet these needs, examine architectural and operational implications of the definition, and explore interoperability strategies and tactics for deploying and evolving these services. It describes key systems-of-systems (SoS) (Network-of-Networks) interoperability concepts in the context of sustainment of the ecosystem over time as systems evolve in technologies, standards and Standards Development Organizations, component and subsystem upgrades, and user applications

LunaNet↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Pushing the Limits of Aquatic Remote Sensing: Synthetic Data and Deep Learning for Fast Inverse Emulation of A Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Radiative Transfer Model

The inversion of electromagnetic information to physical and biological properties of the water column is a notoriously difficult problem, yet fundamental to our ability of understanding aquatic processes on large time and space scales. There is now a growing necessity to develop pragmatic approaches that allow timely and effective extrapolation of local processes, to spatially resolved global products, and to promote operational and sustainable resource policy management. This presentation will discuss research integrating advanced biological and radiative modeling, high-end computation, and machine learning to develop a portable global processor for simultaneous retrieval of atmosphere and water optics for diverse aquatic systems from the open and coastal ocean to optically extreme inland waters and harmful algal blooms. We will discuss some of the basic concepts behind the forward modeling approach including DEAP, the novel Distributed Equivalent Algal Populations model, for developing large spectral libraries of aquatic particle optics to aid in our ability to distinguish phytoplankton functional types (PFTs) and inorganic material, as well as other factors which enable comprehensive modeling from the benthos to top-of-atmosphere (TOA). This information is being used to understand how we can leverage next-generation deep learning methods for maximum information retrieval and rapid image processing, while also providing capabilities to identify minimum sensor spectral requirements necessary for certain aquatic applications. Further, I will touch on how we envision this research to enable the aquatic community for science discovery and how we are moving closer towards the capability for high-fidelity global analysis of aquatic ecosystems.

Jeremy Alan Kravitz↗
NASA NTRS2012

LaRC 20-Year Center Revitalization Plan

LaRC has developed a 20-Year Center Revitalization Plan. The objective of this plan is to assure that the center infrastructure is sustainable for the long-term and that the center will have the essential facilities and laboratories to execute the future NASA mission. The plan was developed by a centerwide team, VITAL, and was approved by the Center Leadership Council (CLC) in March 2012. The revitalization plan will be implemented through the Center Master Planning process.

Mangum, Cathy H.↗