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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 181 records · Page 10

Geospatial Data Workflow Orchestration and Architecture

In an era characterized by explosive growth in geospatial data, the selection of appropriate technologies for data storage, processing, and orchestration is critical for organizations aiming to maintain competitive advantages. This white paper provides a comprehensive analysis of how Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has effectively employed various cloud technologies, including containerized applications, container orchestrators, and workflow orchestrators, to develop robust geospatial data processing solutions. We explore the fundamental concepts behind these technologies and compare multiple deployment models tailored to diverse use cases. Our findings conclude that while Kubernetes has emerged as the preferred platform for truly scalable and fault-tolerant production workflows, the choice of workflow orchestration tool requires careful consideration of team needs, pipeline complexity, and deployment environments. This paper aims to serve as a strategic guide for organizations leveraging geospatial data, articulating the balance between technology choices and practical implementation to enhance workflow efficacy and scalability.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Direct Air Capture (DAC) Deployment Assessment in Deep Mitigation Pathways Toward 2075 in the U.S.: MARKAL-NETL Modeling Results

Presentation made at the 2024 Annual International Pittsburgh Energy and Carbon Management Conference (PECMC) OCTOBER 7 - 9, 2024 (virtual). The presentation summarized the methodology and results from energy market scenario analyses of the deployment of Direct Air Capture technologies under net-zero CO2 requirements by 2050. The results showed strong deployment of DAC under all scenarios, with increased value of the technology when other CO2 reduction pathways were unavailable or minimized.

Victor, Nadejda↗

Effect of Heat Treatment on Microstructure and Mechanical Property of 316L Stainless Steel Produced by Laser Powder Bed Fusion

The advanced non-light water reactor designs (Gen IV reactors), including molten salt/ very high temperature/ sodium-cooled and lead-cooled fast reactors, typically operate at higher temperatures and more extreme radiation conditions than light water reactors. An intrinsic part of the deployment and progress of Gen IV reactor designs is selecting the most suitable structural material for a specific application. Additive manufacturing (AM), a fairly new process of making physical, three-dimensional objects from a computer design file, is going to completely change the way of design, build and certify nuclear systems. It offers a range of opportunities to produce complex geometries from existing materials, offers new routes for processing of previously difficult to process materials, allows for design of new high-performance materials, and finally facilitates hybridization of dissimilar materials. This emerging technology has successfully produced cars, wind turbine blade molds and even live cells. It could also open up big opportunities for the nuclear industry to quickly deploy technologies at a fraction of the cost. So far, AM techniques have been preliminarily applied in the field of nuclear reactors, including the classical parts such as the pressure vessel of a small reactor with 508-III steel, the bottom nozzle of a fuel assembly with 304L steel, the fuel cladding with zirconium alloy and the integrated impeller of a pump and the multi-channel valve body with 316L steel [6,7]. The AM applications for operating nuclear reactors started in auxiliary plant components and have slowly migrated to metallic reactors and core components, but many of these are not safety critical components. Although many parts used for nuclear reactors have been fabricated by AM techniques, practical applications in engineering are still a long way off due to the uncertainty factors focused on the processing, material properties, analysis methods and application standards, which feeds the safety and life-cycle of the nuclear reactor. Due to rapid, repeated heating and cooling during production, a high dislocation density was present in the AM material. This microstructure feature is unstable at elevated temperature while high temperature is one of the typical operation environments for nuclear reactors. Thus, it is important to understand the thermal effect on the microstructure of AM material. The objectives of this study are to investigate the effect of heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanical properties of 316L stainless steel produced by laser powder bed fusion additive manufacturing, and to determine an appropriate heat treatment practice that will be applied to the lightweight AM lattice-structured material with the same chemistry. The heat treatment study consisted of annealing the samples at a temperature range of 800 to 1200 oC with a 50 oC increment for different times (1-24 hours), followed by vacuum or air cooling. Microstructural characterization was carried out by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). Grain size and crystallographic orientation were investigated by Electron Backscatter Diffraction (EBSD). Vickers hardness tests with a 0.5 kg load were employed to determine the hardness of samples after different heat treatments. After heat treatment, the random crystallographic orientation was preserved, and the volume fraction of high-angle grain boundaries (grain boundary misorientation =15 oC) remained the same. The dislocation density decreased with annealing temperature due to recovery. The fine subgrain structures in the as-printed specimen were quite stable up to 1200 oC. Minimal recrystallization was observed up to 1200 oC. Recrystallization initiated only after 8.5 hours at 1200 oC. The SEM images did not show obvious dependence of microstructure on cooling rate. The hardness of the specimens decreased with increasing annealing temperature as a result of the decrease in dislocation density. It is interesting to note that the AM material showed very similar hardness to the wrought material when annealing at similar temperature, although the microstructures are very different. Annealing at 1050 oC for 1 hour followed by air cooling was selected as the heat treatment procedure for the lattice designed lightweight AM 316L material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Linking international technical specifications for acoustic characterization of marine energy converter sounds with environmental compliance criteria

As new ocean energy technologies emerge and are deployed for testing and operations, sound emissions are a potential concern for environmental effects to marine life. Consistent acoustic measurement and data analysis methods can help promote comparisons of technologies and transferability between project sites. In 2022, acoustic emissions from a prototype scale wave energy converter (WEC) were characterized for a range of environmental conditions and power generation states in the coastal waters off southern California using a set of international technical specifications. Results from the international technical specification analyses were applied to United States regulatory threshold criteria for acoustic impacts to marine mammals and examined in the context of European underwater noise monitoring guidelines. Weighted 24 hour cumulative sound exposure levels SEL24h calculated from the highest power generation state WEC sound pressure levels were often more than 20 dB below threshold criteria for temporary threshold shifts in five relevant marine mammal hearing groups. Following European Union recommendations for analyses and reporting, WEC sound characterization in third octave bands centered at 63 Hz and 125 Hz show clear spatial decay of WEC-generated noise, with more pronounced attenuation at 63 Hz, and a less marked but still detectable gradient at 125 Hz, collectively suggesting a relatively confined acoustic footprint under the observed conditions. The value of the international technical specification approach is highlighted by the isolation of WEC sounds from the surrounding soundscape. This allows for a robust characterization of acoustic emissions through a range of device power generation and sea states. Furthermore, in threshold-based regulatory contexts like the U.S., this facilitates direct evaluation of source contributions, while in broader monitoring frameworks used in the E.U. it provides a reproducible foundation for assessing the contribution of emerging ocean energy technologies to the underwater acoustic environment.

Haxel, Joseph H. (ORCID:0000000273864761)↗

NRIC FY 2025 Collaboration Initiatives Annual Report

The National Reactor Innovation Center (NRIC) is a national program established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in 2019 and led by Idaho National Laboratory (INL). Its mission is to work with industry and national laboratories to bridge the gap between concept, demonstration, and commercialization of advanced nuclear technology. NRIC works to inspire stakeholders and the public, empower innovators, and deliver successful outcomes through efficient collaboration and coordination with partners. NRIC is partnered with industry to accelerate the demonstration and deployment of advanced nuclear technology using DOE’s national laboratory infrastructure and expertise. NRIC’s vision is to establish four new experimental facilitates and two large reactor test beds for integrated technology demonstrators and experimentation by 2028 and complete two advanced nuclear technology tests by 2030.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Abstract for CRADA between NETL and the AZ Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University

Arizona State University (ASU) and the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) will collaborate on the development and scale up of sorbent composites that efficiently capture carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) directly from air under an awarded project from the Department of Energy’s Direct Air Capture (DAC) Pre-Commercialization Technology Prize. For DAC to be considered a viable technology for decarbonization, the cost of carbon removal needs to decrease below the proposed carbon tax incentive outlined in the recent Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) (Section 45 Q), which is set at $\$$180 per ton of CO 2 . Achieving this goal requires the development of a cost-effective, environmentally friendly sorbent with high CO 2 sorption capacity and efficient kinetics under DAC conditions as the overall cost of CO 2 captured is highly sensitive to factors such as sorbent cost and sorbent lifetime. ASU has developed a sorbent technology that can potentially reduce CO 2 removal costs by DAC. NETL has expertise in DAC TEA and LCA development and DAC sorbent testing. The collaboration between ASU and NETL aims to accelerate development and deployment of ASU’s technology by quantifying the performance, cost and lifecycle impacts of ASU’s technology and validating sorbent performance.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Journey Mapping Distributed Wind Deployment: Installer Perspectives

This work uses journey maps to assess the deployment of distributed wind technologies through the perspective of installers. Journey mapping is a human-centered design method that chronologically traces processes from the perspective of those who participate in them. The journey map will be leveraged to identify deployment pain points (i.e., manifestations of generic deployment barriers) that the Strategize, Engage, Network and Deploy (SEND) Distributed Wind project team will seek to address in future work.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Distributed Wind Guidebook [Slides]

Distributed wind energy technologies generate clean, carbon-free power close to the point of electrical consumption (i.e., close to people and their energy needs). Distributed wind energy can help individuals and communities meet their unique goals, such as reducing impacts on climate change, decreasing electricity bills, boosting energy independence or autonomy from the electric grid, and enhancing grid reliability and resiliency. This guidebook is designed to support individuals and communities in deploying distributed wind energy technologies by providing fundamental information needed for success. Each section is framed around a key question in the journey to deployment and offers resources to help you answer it.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Development of a Geothermal Module in reV: Quantifying the Geothermal Potential While Accounting for the Geospatial Intersection of the Grid Infrastructure and Land Use Characteristics: Preprint

The Renewable Energy Potential (reV) model is a geospatial platform for estimating technical potential and developing renewable energy supply curves, initially developed for wind and solar technologies. The model evaluates deployment constraints, considering land use, environmental, and cultural factors, and estimates the distance to existing grid features to connect future plants (Maclaurin et al., 2021). A pressing deficiency in the reV model, however, is representation of geothermal electricity generation technologies. To address this gap, we developed a novel geothermal generation module for reV that allows for representation and analysis at the same level of detail as other renewable technologies. This paper describes our process for evaluating data sources for the modeling, and presents five preliminary reV geothermal results. More specifically, we present two sets of resource data that represent upper and lower bounds for geothermal potential. We then present several sensitivity runs using the upper bound resource data; the results are encouraging that levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) can be reduced by optimizing the location and estimated capacity of the spatially diverse geothermal resource while considering the distance to existing grid infrastructure. Our preliminary supply curves and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) results should be considered with care due to the highly uncertainty in geothermal resource potential data. We present median LCOE values for the conterminous U.S. for five scenarios: four hydrothermal (3.5km depth) and one EGS (4.5km depth). The capital and operating costs for each respective technology are modeled. We also compare results using two different resource data sources.

exclusions↗

Predicting Trends in VOC Through Rapid, Multimodal Characterization of State-of-the-Art p-i-n Perovskite Devices

Perovskite photovoltaic technologies are approaching commercial deployment, yet single junction and tandem architectures both still have significant room to improve power conversion efficiency and stability. The ability to perform rapid screening of material quality after altering processing conditions is critical to accelerating the optimization and commercialization of perovskite-based technologies. Currently, researchers utilize a wide range of stand-alone metrology tools to isolate sources of power loss throughout a device stack, which can be slow and labor intensive. Here, we demonstrate the use of a multimodal metrology approach to rapidly determine the maximum achievable and predicted open circuit voltages of >100 perovskite devices during fabrication. Acquisition of these different data is facilitated by combining them into a single integrated measurement platform. We show that these data and automated analysis can be used to rapidly understand and ultimately predict quantitative trends in open circuit voltages of state-of-the-art device architectures. The data and automated analysis workflow presented provides a reliable approach to quickly identify absorber and charge transport layer combinations that can lead to improved open circuit voltages.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Carbon management technology pathways for reaching a U.S. Economy-Wide net-Zero emissions goal

The Carbon Management Study Group of the 37 th Energy Modeling Forum (EMF 37) designed seven scenarios to explore the role of three potentially key technology suites – point source carbon dioxide capture and storage (PSCCS), direct air capture of carbon dioxide (DACCS), and hydrogen systems (H 2 ) – in shaping the broader technology pathways to reaching net-zero carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions in United States by 2050. Each scenario was run by up to 13 models participating in the EMF 37 study. Results show that carbon dioxide removal technologies were consistently a major part of successful pathways to net-zero U.S. CO 2 emissions in 2050. Achieving this net-zero CO 2 goal without any form of carbon dioxide capture and storage was found to be impossible for most models; some models also found it impossible to reach net-zero without DACCS. The marginal cost of achieving net-zero CO 2 emissions in 2050 was between two and 10 times higher without PSCCS and/or DACCS available. The carbon price at which DACCS was deployed as a backstop technology depended upon the assumed cost at which DACCS was available at scale. Carbon prices were between $\$$250 and $\$$500 per ton CO 2 when DACCS deployed as a backstop. The average CO 2 capture rate across all models in 2050 in the central net-zero scenario was 1.3 GtCO 2 /year, which implies a substantial upscaling of capacity to move and store CO 2 . Finally, hydrogen sensitivity scenarios showed that H 2 typically constituted a relatively small share of the overall U.S. energy system; however, H 2 deployed in applications that are considered hard to decarbonize, facilitating transition towards net-zero emissions.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Novel High Resolution High Temperature In-Line Sensors for Steel Manufacturing

To support efficiency, productivity, yield improvements, and future industry 4.0 and SMART manufacturing objectives for a competitive and prosperous steel industry, this program has embarked on an effort to develop, demonstrate and deploy several novel sensing technologies based on fiber optics for use in production steel facilities. Over the duration of this program, our team has successfully demonstrated three of these technologies: (1) near continuous Rayliegh Scattering optical frequency domain reflectometry (OFDR) sensing with single mode silica fibers for temperature sensing to 700 C, (2) semi-distributed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensing with multimode sapphire fibers for temperature sensing to >1600 C, and (3) remote in-situ Raman analysis for slag and flux chemistry analysis at steelmaking temperatures >1550 C. Each of these sensor and interrogation systems was developed, refined, and tested in our labs at Missouri S&T and then successfully deployed at SSAB’s production facilities at two sites, one in Montpelier, IA and one in Mobile, AL.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Preliminary Results on Process Modeling Tools for Determining Variability in Additively Manufactured Stainless Steel 316 Parts

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program aims to accelerate the development, qualification, demonstration, and deployment of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to enable reliable and economical nuclear energy. However, the distinct characteristics of additive manufacturing (AM) materials, stemming from their unique processing history, microstructure, and properties, pose significant challenges for the qualification and certification of nuclear components. These challenges primarily arise from component-scale variations in microstructure and properties influenced by local process conditions and geometry, which affect thermal history, melt pool dynamics, and microstructure evolution. Computational modeling tools can play a crucial role in predicting and controlling this variability. This report presents preliminary results on process modeling tools designed to predict microstructure variability in additively manufactured stainless steel 316 parts. It details the software packages and physical modeling approaches employed to simulate an AM component within an automated process modeling workflow. Initial results are demonstrated through comparisons between predicted microstructures and experimental measurements across various representative processing conditions. The report concludes by discussing the challenges inherent in process modeling of AM components and outlines a plan for future development needs.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Assessment of Microstructure Prediction Capabilities for Powder Bed Fusion Stainless Steel 316

The Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies program aims to accelerate the development, qualification, demonstration, and deployment of advanced materials and manufacturing technologies to enable reliable and economical nuclear energy. However, the characteristic process-structure-property relationships of additive manufacturing (AM) materials pose challenges for the qualification and certification of AM nuclear components. In particular, component-scale variations in microstructure and properties can be driven by localized changes in melt pool dynamics due to how process parameters interact with different part geometries. Computational modeling tools can play a crucial role in predicting and controlling this variability. This report presents final results on process modeling tools designed to predict microstructure variability in additively manufactured stainless steel 316 parts. It details the software packages and physical modeling approaches employed to simulate an AM component within an automated process modeling workflow. Results are demonstrated through comparisons between predicted microstructures and experimental measurements across various representative processing conditions. The report concludes by discussing identified challenges and future opportunities for connecting the developed simulation workflow with mechanics simulations for prediction of part performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Rolling Root Mean Square Based Multimodal Anomaly Detection for Real Time Monitoring of Smart Grid

Reliable real-time monitoring is valuable for maintaining the operational integrity of modern electrical smart grids. Deployment of heterogeneous sensing technologies in substations has enabled high-resolution, multichannel waveform monitoring, but also introduces challenges for anomaly detection due to noise, baseline drift, and modality-dependent signal characteristics. In this work, we present a computationally efficient unsupervised method for multimodal event detection based on Rolling Root Mean Square based Event Detection (RRMSED). The method is developed using in-house, field deployed sensors collecting data at a utility substation. The sensing system comprises voltage and current sensors, triaxial accelerometers, and magnetometers, collectively capturing electrical, vibrational, and magnetic waveform measurements at high temporal resolution. RRMSED operates by extracting rolling RMS energy features and their first-order temporal differences from consecutive waveform segments for each channel and then applying channel-specific statistical thresholds learned from historical data. A persistence-based exceedance logic is employed to robustly identify transient events while suppressing impulsive noise, and to provide precise temporal localization with high resolution. The framework is designed for continuous server-side operation and can be deployed in real time without requiring complex models. Experiments on simulated waveform data with known ground truth demonstrate low false positive (FP) and false negative (FN) rates. Application to real substation data shows RRMSED to identify events that are not captured by conventional monitoring indicators including fast transient detection algorithm currently deployed in the system. These results indicate that rolling RMS based features provide an effective and practical basis for real-time multimodal event detection in smart-grid substations.

Mukherjee, Subrata [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000309930338)↗

In-situ kinetic study of irradiation induced crystallization in amorphous Al 2 O 3

In the last ten years amorphous alumina coatings, deposited by Pulsed Laser Deposition, emerged as potential key enabling technology in the fields of heavy liquid metal fast reactors (lead and lead-bismuth) and fusion. In the former, as coating of the steel fuel cladding and in the latter as multifunctional coating providing a barrier against tritium permeation, steel corrosion and electrical insulation. Nevertheless, a detailed knowledge of the behavior of this thermodynamically metastable material at high temperatures and under neutron irradiation is still unknown. A knowledge gap that is mandatory to fill up for the deployment of this barrier technology. In the present work, we present a first step towards this goal, by the in-situ dynamic observation of the radiation induced crystallization processes of thin films of amorphous Al 2 O 3 , induced by ion-irradiation over an extensive range of temperatures (400-800 °C). The study was performed at the Intermediate Voltage Electron Microscope (IVEM)-Tandem Facility at Argonne National Laboratory. The experimental findings allow to elucidate the dependence of the grain growth on ion dose and temperature. A kinetic approach has been used to derive the process activation energies and other important parameters.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Geothermal Power Systems Analysis: Outcome of Industry Stakeholders Workshop

Geothermal cost and performance evaluation implemented via techno-economic assessment (TEA) modeling is critical for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other geothermal industry stakeholders in assessing the current state of geothermal technologies and to identify existing hurdles to commercially viable geothermal development. The Geothermal Electricity Technology Evaluation Model (GETEM) is a major TEA tool used in estimating the economic feasibility and levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of conventional hydrothermal systems and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS). Since 2021, GETEM has been transitioning from an intricate spreadsheet model to a user-friendly tool within the System Advisor Model (SAM) developed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). Apart from enabling an expanded visibility of the geothermal model among other renewable resources, having GETEM in SAM has the advantage of simulation automation, better usability, updates tracking, active user inputs/feedback, and extended financial modeling. GETEM is used in developing supply curves for NREL's Annual Technology Baseline (ATB), which provides inputs to the Renewable Energy Potential (reV) and the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) models. The geothermal module in NREL's reV model assesses the geothermal energy potential in the conterminous United States by defining the geospatial intersection of geothermal resources with existing grid infrastructure within the constraint of land use characteristics. The ReEDS model is a capacity expansion model used for simulating the long-term build-out and operation of the U.S. generation and transmission system based on current energy costs and policies. To ensure enhanced representation of current industry trends in our model transitions and development, we organized a two-day virtual workshop to elicit geothermal industry stakeholder input and recommendations on our current approaches and assumptions on techno-economic, resource assessment, and deployment scenarios modeling of geothermal technologies. Participants included developers, operators, investors, regulatory agencies, system modelers, national laboratory researchers, consultants, and other stakeholders. In this workshop, we gained stakeholder insights on current geothermal plant performance (i.e., capacity factors), updated drilling costs and learning curves, and next-generation technologies such as closed-loop and superhot rock geothermal. Other outcomes from this workshop and its impact on future geothermal development feasibility, resource availability, and capacity expansion studies are compiled and discussed.

annual technology baseline↗

Distributed Wind Guidebook: Agricultural Producers and Rural Small Business Owners

Distributed wind energy technologies generate clean, carbon-free power close to the point of consumption (i.e., close to people and their energy needs). Distributed wind energy can help individuals, farms, businesses, and communities meet their unique goals, such as reducing impacts on climate change, decreasing electricity bills, boosting energy independence or autonomy from the electric grid, and enhancing grid reliability and resilience. This guidebook is designed to support you in (1) deciding if distributed wind energy is right for you, (2) installing a proven wind turbine technology by working with a reputable installer, and (3) setting up your project for success through its lifetime. The information in this guidebook is tailored to rural small businesses and agricultural producers who are interested in exploring distributed wind energy to meet their electricity, resilience, financial, and environmental goals. You will find gray boxes with key topics, definitions, and considerations throughout the guidebook. The report has been adapted from the Distributed Wind Guidebook, which offers a comprehensive view on core aspects of deploying distributed wind energy technologies. In comparison, this edition of the guidebook is designed to offer a more succinct and tailored guidebook for rural small businesses and agricultural producers. For additional detail on any topic presented within this edition, readers are advised to reference the original version of the Distributed Wind Guidebook.

17 WIND ENERGY↗