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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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NASA NTRS2020

Capabilities Development: From International Space Station and the Moon to Mars

The President of the United States, in signing Space Policy Directive-1, directed the NASA Administrator “to lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the solar system and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities. Beginning with missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO), the United States will lead the return of humans to the Moon for long-term exploration and utilization, followed by human missions to Mars and other destinations.” NASA is charged to land American astronauts on the lunar South Pole in 2024 and to continue a campaign of sustainable lunar surface exploration in order to develop necessary technologies and capabilities to enable initial human missions to Mars. NASA’s lunar surface exploration plans are part of a continuum of activities utilizing platforms in low Earth orbit (LEO), cislunar space, and the lunar surface to demonstrate advanced technologies, advance operations concepts, and develop countermeasures to lessen the impacts of the space environment and long duration exposure on the crew working in space. NASA is using a capability-driven approach to identify critical gaps to be addressed as part of a focused program to reduce risk for future deep space exploration missions building to eventual human missions to the surface of Mars. Teams of discipline experts from across NASA identify capability gaps between the current state of the art and the needs of proposed exploration missions and develop integrated strategies and roadmaps for filling those gaps. These inputs include assessment of platform needs for demonstration and testing of new capabilities. Generally, the International Space Station (ISS) and Gateway are needed for demonstration of capabilities for Mars transit, while Lunar surface activities focus on development of capabilities and operational protocols for Mars surface. This paper discusses the activities required to advance critical exploration capabilities, focusing on selection of demonstration and test location based upon the unique environments and characteristics of the ISS, Gateway, and potential lunar surface assets. The optimal strategy will be a combination of ISS/LEO, Gateway, and lunar surface testing; however, not all capabilities require a deep space exploration missions.

Boggs, Kathleen Gallagher↗
NASA NTRS1983

MAST space research flight experiment

The MAST flight experiments comprise a research program focusing on major LSS issues for which it is deemed necessary to test, measure, and validate techniques and concepts in the space environment. The MAST Shuttle attached test articles are transported to space by the STEP experiment carrier and are compatible with STEP interfaces in all configurations. As the experiments require no particular orbit and the operational timeliness needed for mission performance are not extensive, it is forseen that the STEP/MAST combination could provide an attractive repetitive element within the Shuttle mixed cargo manifesting process. Using the STEP experiment carrier and a retractable reusable test article allows repetitive flight research to the extent that the STEP is able to be manifested on a regular basis. Since this research program examines generic phenomena, maximum emphasis is placed upon information quality and the fidelity with which the phenomena model emulates the LSS issue.

Allen, J. L.↗
NASA NTRS2019

Inserting New Technologies into Human-Computer Interfaces for Future Lunar and Mars Missions

Plans call for human cislunar operations and lunar surface access, to prepare for eventual Mars missions. NASA will also develop new opportunities in lunar orbit that provide the foundation and act as a gateway for human exploration deeper into the solar system. Current human spaceflight is complex and requires as many as fifty people to support the International Space Station (ISS) Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston, Texas. These flight controllers in the front and back rooms of the MCC, serve as an extra pair of eyes overseeing the numerous station systems. Deep space missions - to the moon, Mars, and beyond - will be more complex and place challenging mission constraints on the crew. As the round-trip communication delays increase in deep space exploration, more on-board systems autonomy and functionality will be needed to maintain and control the vehicle. These mission constraints will change the Earth-based ground control approach and will demand efficient and effective human-computer interfaces (HCI) to control a highly complex vehicle or habitat system. All of this necessitates a different approach to designing and developing spacecraft and habitats. In the beginning of new human spaceflight programs, focus is typically on launch vehicle and uncrewed spacecraft design and development. The reasoning behind this focus to enable flight testing of an integrated launch vehicle and spacecraft system to ensure it will be safe enough to allow humans on board. This is an essential process for new spacecraft, however, the practical effect is a lack of funding for the spacecraft’s human interfaces development. It can be many years before the human interface development begins, putting it late in the spacecraft lifecycle, when almost all other spacecraft systems and subsystems are already in place. This forces the usage of existing and proven technologies for the HCI interfaces. We posit that putting the human first in a spacecraft design process will yield a more effective spacecraft for exploration and long duration missions. NASA Human Research Program (HRP) has identified inadequate HCI as a risk for future missions. New tools and procedures to aid the crew in operating a complex spacecraft will be required. This paper discusses ongoing activities in the development of the next generation HCI components and systems, and a new approach toward human interfaces for spacecraft.

Salazar, George A.↗
DOE OSTI2019

Mesoscale convective systems over the Amazon basin: The GoAmazon2014/5 program

The Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) scientific program focused on the influence of aerosols and surface fluxes on tropical cloud formation. This major research effort gathered high-quality environmental data over the central Amazon basin during 2014 and 2015. The present work is a contribution to the GoAmazon2014/5 investigations with an emphasis on the behaviour of the most important mechanism of precipitation over the tropics: mesoscale convective systems (MCSs). To provide a background, MCSs' tracks obtained from infrared satellite images over the entire Amazon basin in 2014–2015 are compared with climatological values. We report the number of MCSs and precipitation in the basin is about 50% lower than compared to the climatology for 2000–2013. We argue that the below average occurrence of MCSs during the GoAmazon2014/5 program can be explained, at least in part, by the effects of positive anomalies in sea surface temperature over the equatorial Pacific Ocean, negative moisture transport toward the Amazon basin, and by the anticyclonic phase of the mode of interannual and intraseasonal variability over South America. Special attention is given to the 99 MCSs that occurred over the GoAmazon2014/5 site. The impact of MCSs on the meteorological variables over the GoAmazon2014/5 sites is examined, and the contribution of MCSs to rainfall over that region is estimated to be about 70% of the total. Finally, the synoptic and thermodynamic conditions related to the MCSs' genesis and dissipation are discussed. It is suggested that in days with reduced MCS genesis over the GoAmazon2014/5 region, the ventilation over the continent by easterly winds from the relative cold South Atlantic Ocean favours convection at locations near the ocean as compared to those inland.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRS2008

GSFC Technical Outreach: The Capitol College Model

In February 2005, as part of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA) Technical Outreach Program, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) awarded Capitol College of Laurel, Maryland an Educational Grant to establish a Space Operation academic curriculum to meet the future needs of mission operations engineers. This was in part due to the aerospace industry and GSFC concerns that a large number of professional engineers are projected to retire in the near term with evidence showing that current enrollment in engineering schools will not produce sufficient number of space operation trained engineers that will meet industry and government demands. Capitol College, under the agreement of the Educational Grant, established the Space Operations Institute (SOI) with a new curriculum in Space Operations that was approved and certified by the State of Maryland. The SO1 programs focuses on attracting, recruiting, and training a pipeline of highly qualified engineers with experience in mission operations, system engineering and development. The selected students are integrated as members of the engineering support team in any of the missions supported by the institute. The students are mentored by professional engineers from several aerospace companies that support GSFC. Initially, the institute was involved in providing console engineers and mission planning trainees for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS), the Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer mission (TOMS). Subsequently, the students were also involved in the technology refresh of the TOMS ground system and other mission operations development. Further mission assignment by GSFC management included participation in the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) mission operations and ground system technology refresh. The SOI program has been very successful. Since October 2005, sixty-four students have been enrolled in the SOI program and twenty-five have already graduated from the program, nineteen of whom are employed by company's supporting GSFC. Due to the success of the program, the initial grant period was extended for another period of two years. This paper presents the process that established the SOI as a viable pipeline of mission operations engineers, the lessons learned in the process of dealing with grants, and experience gained in mentoring engineering students that are responsible for particular areas of expertise and functionality. This paper can also be considered a case study and model for integrating a student team with government and industry professionals in the real world of mission operations.

Marius, Julio L.↗
NASA NTRS2000

BOREAS Level-4c AVHRR-LAC Ten-Day Composite Images: Surface Parameters

The BOReal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) Staff Science Satellite Data Acquisition Program focused on providing the research teams with the remotely sensed satellite data products they needed to compare and spatially extend point results. Manitoba Remote Sensing Center (MRSC) and BOREAS Information System (BORIS) personnel acquired, processed, and archived data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) instruments on the NOAA-11 and -14 satellites. The AVHRR data were acquired by CCRS and were provided to BORIS for use by BOREAS researchers. These AVHRR level-4c data are gridded, 10-day composites of surface parameters produced from sets of single-day images. Temporally, the 10-day compositing periods begin 11-Apr-1994 and end 10-Sep-1994. Spatially, the data cover the entire BOREAS region. The data are stored in binary image format files. Note: Some of the data files on the BOREAS CD-ROMs have been compressed using the Gzip program.

Cihlar, Josef↗
NASA NTRS2024

AC and DC Fault Management for Megawatt Electrified Aircraft Electrical Powertrains - Task 2: Power Quality Filtering Using Nanocrystalline Soft Magnetic Inductor

The NASA RTAPS program on AC and DC Fault Management for Megawatt Electrified Power Train is a multi-year joint project with Pratt & Whitney (P&W), Collins Aerospace (CA), and RTX Technology Research Center (RTRC). This research program focuses on the high-voltage distribution issues that present a significant technological obstacle in the adoption of Electrified Aviation Propulsion (EAP) systems. One challenge to the adoption of high-voltage distribution systems with power electronic converters is the need for filter elements to limit the generation and propagation of noise, protect the cable systems from premature aging and prevent against excessive heating within subcomponents due to high-frequency induced currents. While increased distribution voltages aide in reducing the cable mass for a fixed power system, the associated mass with the filtering elements for power electronic converter can grow with increasing distribution voltages – thereby mitigating any benefit associated with increasing the distribution system voltage. To enable high-voltage distribution systems with high system specific power densities, new magnetic materials must be developed. Therefore, the second task of the NASA RTAPS program is associated with the design and application of advanced soft magnetic components for Megawatt class electric propulsion systems, specifically the motor drive system. This report covers the collaborative work between NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC), RTRC, P&W and CA in the development of three types of magnetic components over the span of the three-year program. These critical magnetic components are the DC side EMI filter, which limits the propagation of harmful electromagnetic noise to the rise of the distribution system, and the AC side damping with the dv/dt filter, which limits the fast rise time of the power electronic converter output voltage to limit the degradation on the cable/motor insulation systems. Each of these components are investigated from component level design and are optimized at the system level with a combined modelling and testing effort. In the final experimental evaluation of the NASA developed soft magnetic material with a dv/dt filter, a commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) magnetic core and the GRC magnetic core are optimized and loaded at 320Arms to evaluate their difference in performance. After a run time of 30 minutes in a MW-class motor driver at RTRC, the NASA GRC cores were found to not only offer a lower temperature rise of nearly 25°𝐶, but also a reduction in measured core loss of 25% (12.75W to 9.5W).

Elecrified Aircraft Propulsion↗
NASA NTRS2001

System Miniaturization Via Heterogeneous Integration of Electronic Devices for Deep Space Missions

The scientific devices designed for each of the Outer Planets Program Focuses will likely be groundbreaking not only with respect to their scientific role but also regarding the electronics required to perform such investigations. In the past, the performance of packaged electronics was limited by the components themselves, with minimal influence of the packaging technology. The rapid development of integrated circuit technology, however, has drastically increased the importance of packaging technology in the ultimate performance of devices. If not carefully considered in the overall design, the packaging may become the limiting factor in the operation of the system. Although industry is responsible for several significant accomplishments in the field of electronics packaging, deep space/outer planet missions must take into account additional requirements such as extremely low temperatures, high radiation levels, hermetic sealing, and severe size and weight limitations. Therefore, the present investigation has been designed to meet the needs of NASA's sensor intensive outer planets program by combining (using flip chip technology) an array of devices (including analog, digital, power volt-age, passives, and MEMS) into a miniaturized heterogeneous system and utilizing optical buses to enable autonomy. Additional information is contained in the original extended abstract.

DelCastillo, L.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Laboratory Studies of Thermal Energy Charge Transfer of Multiply Charged Ions in Astrophysical Plasmas

The laser ablation/ion storage facility at the UNLV Physics Department has been dedicated to the study of atomic and molecular processes in low temperature plasmas. Our program focuses on the charge transfer (electron capture) of multiply charged ions and neutrals important in astrophysics. The electron transfer reactions with atoms and molecules is crucial to the ionization condition of neutral rich photoionized plasmas. With the successful deployment of the Far Ultraviolet Spectroscopic Explorer (FUSE) and the Chandra X-ray Observatory by NASA high resolution VUV and X-ray emission spectra fiom various astrophysical objects have been collected. These spectra will be analyzed to determine the source of the emission and the chemical and physical environment of the source. The proper interpretation of these spectra will require complete knowledge of all the atomic processes in these plasmas. In a neutral rich environment, charge transfer can be the dominant process. The rate coefficients need to be known accurately. We have also extended our charge transfer measurements to KeV region with a pulsed ion beam. The inclusion of this facility into our current program provides flexibility in extending the measurement to higher energies (KeV) if needed. This flexibility enables us to address issues of immediate interest to the astrophysical community as new observations are made by high resolution space based observatories.

Kwong, Victor H. S.↗
NASA NTRS2015

The NASA Electronic Parts and Packaging (NEPP) Program: Overview and the New Tenets for Cost Conscious Mission Assurance on Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) Parts

The NEPP Program focuses on the reliability aspects of electronic devices (integrated circuits such as a processor in a computer). There are three principal aspects of this reliability: 1) Lifetime, inherent failure and design issues related to the EEE parts technology and packaging; 2) Effects of space radiation and the space environment on these technologies, and; 3) Creation and maintenance of the assurance support infrastructure required for mission success. The NEPP mission is to provide guidance to NASA for the selection and application of microelectronics technologies, to improve understanding of the risks related to the use of these technologies in the space environment, and to ensure that appropriate EEE parts research is performed to meet NASA mission assurance needs. NEPPs FY15 goals are to represent the NASA voice to the greater aerospace EEE parts community including supporting anti-counterfeit and trust, provide relevant guidance to cost-effective missions, aid insertion of advanced (and commercial) technologies, resolve unexpected parts issues, ensure access to appropriate radiation test facilities, and collaborate as widely as possible with external entities. In accordance with the changing mission profiles throughout NASA, the NEPP Program has developed a balanced portfolio of efforts to provide agency-wide assurance for not only traditional spacecraft developments, but also those in-line with the new philosophies emerging worldwide. In this presentation, we shall present an overview of this program and considerations for EEE parts assurance as applied to cost conscious missions.

space radiation↗
DOE OSTI2020

The Effect of Size on Postrelease Survival of Head-Started Mojave Desert Tortoises

Abstract Captive-rearing conservation programs focus primarily on maximizing postrelease survival. Survival increases with size in a variety of taxa, often leading to the use of enhanced size as a means to minimize postrelease losses. Head-starting is a specific captive-rearing approach used to accelerate growth in captivity prior to release in the wild. We explored the effect of size at release, among other potential factors, on postrelease survival in head-started Mojave desert tortoises Gopherus agassizii. Juvenile tortoises were reared for different durations of captivity (2–7 y) and under varying husbandry protocols, resulting in a wide range of juvenile sizes (68–145 mm midline carapace length) at release. We released all animals (n = 78) in the Mojave National Preserve, California, United States, on 25 September 2018. Release size and surface activity were the only significant predictors of fate during the first year postrelease. Larger sized head-starts had higher predicted survival rates when compared with smaller individuals. This trend was also observed in animals of the same age but reared under different protocols, suggesting that accelerating the growth of head-started tortoises may increase efficiency of head-starting programs without decreasing postrelease success. Excluding five missing animals, released head-starts had 82.2% survival in their first year postrelease (September 2018–September 2019), with all mortalities resulting from predation. No animals with >90-mm midline carapace length were predated by ravens. Our findings suggest the utility of head-starting may be substantially improved by incorporating indoor rearing to accelerate growth. Target release size for head-started chelonians will vary among head-start programs based on release site conditions and project-specific constraints.

Biodiversity & Conservation↗
DOE OSTI2017

Review of Tools for Identifying, Planning, and Implementing Habitat Restoration for Pacific Salmon and Steelhead

Abstract A key challenge in watershed restoration is identifying the appropriate assessments, data, and analyses needed to identify disrupted natural processes, lost and degraded habitats, and limiting factors to ultimately identify and design successful restoration projects. This has proven particularly challenging for large restoration programs focused on recovery of threatened and endangered salmon and trout where numerous tools, models, and other assessments have been developed to assist with habitat restoration at the watershed, reach, and project scale. Unfortunately, it is often unclear which step in the restoration process these various assessment tools will actually address. To assist with identifying the appropriate assessment tool (e.g., model, data collection, analysis, and survey), we reviewed major categories of watershed restoration assessment tools to determine their goals, inputs, outputs, and their utility in helping plan, prioritize, and implement restoration actions. The major categories of assessment tools reviewed were: (1) life cycle and fish–habitat models, (2) watershed assessment methods and techniques, (3) reach assessments, (4) prioritization tools, and (5) common monitoring methods to identify, prioritize, and plan river and watershed restoration projects. We specifically indicated whether these assessment tools directly or indirectly assisted with the key steps in the restoration process that are required to develop successful restoration plans and projects. These steps involve assessing watershed conditions, identifying limiting habitats and life stages, identifying problems and restoration actions, selecting restoration techniques, prioritizing restoration actions, or designing actual restoration projects. It is important to recognize that no single assessment tool will address all the steps in the restoration process. Selecting appropriate assessment tools requires a clear understanding of the goals of the restoration program and which step in the restoration process will be addressed by a particular tool. We provide recommendations for how restoration practitioners and managers can use our review to help select the appropriate assessment tools needed for their watershed.

Roni, Philip↗
DOE OSTI2018

The Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) Translational Program in Nuclear Medicine (Final Report)

The Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) Translational Program in Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging This project established the Michigan New Technology Training and Research (MNTR) translational program, focused on the acceleration of new clinical molecular imaging methods. Molecular imaging approaches to imaging are a very flexible and powerful development, with many recent examples advancing the diagnosis and guiding the management of human disease. These methods depend on the design, synthesis and testing of new radiotracers (molecules designed to target specific cells or tissues in the body), labeled with short-lived radioactive atoms (positron emitters). The new radiotracers are imaged in the human body using positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The University of Michigan PET Center has considerable experience in the discovery, development, refinement and initial human applications of new PET radiotracers. An emerging impediment to efficient availability of new PET radiotracers, however, involves the regulatory environment at multiple levels. Many potentially successful ideas are delayed or even prevented from entering human use by these barriers. In the current grant, we provided hands-on experience for the next generation of young scientists working in molecular imaging so that they are equipped to effectively move new ideas and radiotracers from the research laboratory to the nuclear medicine clinic (bench-to-bedside). For new radiotracer development, oversight by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), and local institutional committees and reviews are required. These aspects of translation from laboratory to clinic are often omitted from the formal training of new scientists, but were provided to three trainees via direct mentorship in the MNTR program. The MNTR training program built on the translational successes of the University of Michigan Division of Nuclear Medicine and capitalized on our strengths (facilities, faculty, a wide-ranging selection of projects, and the experience and commitment to bring new radiotracers into human studies) to systematically train three fellows in radiochemistry and nuclear medicine. Integrated training in development, validation and clinical translation of new PET radiotracers occurred through practical involvement in multiple research projects, each at a different stage along the pathway from bench-to-bedside. Each trainee obtained experience of the entire process over about 2 years. Projects involved development of new radiotracers for neurodegenerative disorders (e.g. Alzheimer disease), movement disorders (e.g. Parkinson disease, progressive supranuclear palsy) and neurodevelopmental syndromes (e.g. Tourette syndrome) as well as new radiochemistry methods for synthesizing radiotracers. Each project was pursued in a close collaboration between the fellow trainee and both the clinical and basic science faculty at the University of Michigan PET Center, and provided an unprecedented opportunity for the highest-level training in academic radiochemistry and nuclear medicine research. The project has resulted in 17 peer-reviewed publications to date, and at least 4 more are in preparation. Additionally, 1 book chapter and 26 conference presentations have resulted from this grant. Upon completion of the MNTR Program, the trainees have emerged as translational scientists wielding the necessary skill-set (practical research experience, multidisciplinary training, regulatory know-how) to embark on successful careers in translational molecular imaging, bringing continued advances in the field to bear on important human disorders. As a metric of the Program’s success, one fellow has already secured employment in the field, while the other two are finishing writing papers; they wish to also stay in the radiochemistry and nuclear medicine community, and are currently applying for jobs.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2025

Age at release affects developmental physiology and sex-specific phenotypic diversity of hatchery steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Most steelhead trout hatcheries increase growth rate during rearing to produce and release yearling smolts for harvest augmentation, but natural steelhead exhibit variable age of smoltification, so this common rearing practice may not be ideal for programs focused on recovering imperiled wild stocks; therefore, it is important to investigate and compare alternative hatchery rearing methods that promote life history diversity. Over six consecutive years, the Winthrop National Fish Hatchery on the Methow River, WA reared and released paired groups of age-1 (S1) and age-2 (S2) steelhead smolts. To understand how the two rearing methods affected developmental ontogeny and life-history, fish were sampled prior to hatchery release for factors associated with smoltification (size, gill Na+/K+ ATPase activity, and a qualitative smolt phenotype) and sexual maturation (sex, pituitary and testis mRNA transcripts, gonadosomatic index, and plasma 11-ketotestosterone). Our objectives were to quantify levels of smoltification and male maturation during hatchery rearing, combine metrics to estimate residualism (failure to migrate upon release), and compare the treatments by sex. Overall, S2 rearing produced 7.8% more smolts and 44-fold (4.4 vs. 0.1%) more precociously mature males than S1 rearing. Conversely, S1 rearing produced 31.6% more residuals than S2 rearing. While the proportion of total male residuals was comparable between treatments, the S1 treatment produced approximately five-fold more female residuals (20.6 vs. 4.2%). Because residuals contribute minimally to adult returns and the number of returning adult females is critical to the success of salmonid supplementation efforts, developing rearing techniques that maximize migration in females is a management priority. Physiological assessments are useful for characterizing and quantifying the effects and risks of different hatchery rearing regimes on steelhead life-history, in addition to providing sex-specific guidance to inform and optimize conservation management goals in supplementation programs.

Middleton, Mollie A. (ORCID:0009000905577865)↗
DOE OSTI2018

Radiology and Enterprise Medical Imaging Extensions (REMIX)

Radiology and Enterprise Medical Imaging Extensions (REMIX) is a platform originally designed to both support the medical imaging-driven clinical and clinical research operational needs of Department of Radiology of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. REMIX accommodates the storage and handling of “big imaging data,” as needed for large multi-disciplinary cancer-focused programs. The evolving REMIX platform contains an array of integrated tools/software packages for the following: (1) server and storage management; (2) image reconstruction; (3) digital pathology; (4) de-identification; (5) business intelligence; (6) texture analysis; and (7) artificial intelligence. These capabilities, along with documentation and guidance, explaining how to interact with a commercial system (e.g., PACS, EHR, commercial database) that currently exists in clinical environments, are to be made freely available.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Computational Simulation of an Additively Manufactured Marine Component

Early work in finite-element analysis of additive manufacturing (AM) components was not able to include distortion and residual stress of the entire build, yielding uncertainty in the computational model predictions. To address this, current versions of recently developed computational tools are being used to understand their role in validation at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, for laser powder-bed fusion (L-PBF) AM. A 316L stainless steel L-PBF build containing multiple parts, which exhibited the same local part failure over multiple AM fabrication runs, was selected for computational analysis. Single-part simulations analyzed optimization of computational speed and prediction accuracy. Full-build simulations exposed the smallest re-coater tolerances early in part fabrication as a result of part shrinkage and subsequent cupping. This cupping was predicted to change the powder spreading and result in the non-consolidation of the support structures, which paralleled the failures seen in the physical builds. Part redesign of the conventionally produced part to align with AM fabrication requirements was recommended to alleviate the build failures. This project is part of a larger program focused on validation of the computational tools to determine best practices for insertion of AM simulation into the greater Naval enterprise.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Building analytics and monitoring-based commissioning: industry practice, costs, and savings

As building energy and system-level monitoring becomes more common, facility teams are faced with an overwhelming amount of data. This data does not typically lead to insights, corrective actions, and energy savings unless it is stored, organized, analyzed, and prioritized in automated ways. The Smart Energy Analytics Campaign is a public-private sector partnership program focused on supporting commercially available energy management and information systems (EMIS) technology use and monitoring-based commissioning (MBCx) practices. MBCx is an ongoing commissioning process with focus on analyzing large amounts of data on a continuous basis. EMIS tools are used in the MBCx process to organize, present, visualize, and analyze the data. With campaign data from over 400 million square feet (sq. ft.) of installed space, this paper presents the results achieved by owners that are implementing EMIS, along with associated technology costs. The study’s EMIS users that reported savings achieved the median cost savings of $0.19/sq. ft. and 7% annually, with savings shown to increase over time. For 35 portfolio owners, the median base cost to install an EMIS was $0.03/sq. ft., with an annual recurring software cost of $0.02/sq. ft. and an estimated annual labor cost of $0.03/sq. ft. Two types of EMIS systems -- energy information systems and fault detection and diagnostic systems -- are defined in the body of the paper. Of the two, we find that fault detection and diagnostic systems have both higher savings and higher costs. The paper offers a characterization of EMIS products, MBCx services, and trends in the industry.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

PS3: The Pheno-Synthesis software suite for integration and analysis of multi-scale, multi-platform phenological data

Phenology is the study of recurring plant and animal life-cycle stages which can be observed across spatial and temporal scales that span orders of magnitude (e.g., organisms to landscapes). The variety of scales at which phenological processes operate is reflected in the range of methods for collecting phenologically relevant data, and the programs focused on these collections. Consideration of the scale at which phenological observations are made, and the platform used for observation, is critical for the interpretation of phenological data and the application of these data to both research questions and land management objectives. However, there is currently little capacity to facilitate access, integration and analysis of cross-scale, multi-platform phenological data. This paper reports on a new suite of software and analysis tools – the “Pheno-Synthesis Software Suite,” or PS3 – to facilitate integration and analysis of phenological and ancillary data, enabling investigation and interpretation of phenological processes at scales ranging from organisms to landscapes and from days to decades. We use PS3 to investigate phenological processes in a semi-aride, mixed shrub-grass ecosystem, and find that the apparent importance of seasonal precipitation to vegetation activity (i.e., “greenness”) is affected by the scale and platform of observation. We end by describing potential applications of PS3 to phenological modeling and forecasting, understanding patterns and drivers of phenological activity in real-world ecosystems, and supporting agricultural and natural resource management and decision-making.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗