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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 199 records · Page 11
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

California Time-of-Use (TOU) Transition: Effects on Distributed Wind and Solar Economic Potential

Time-of-use (TOU) retail energy rates price electricity differently by the time of day, communicating to consumers the costs of supplying electricity diurnally. This study evaluates the impact of Decision D.15.07-001, which mandates a transition in 2020 to default TOU rates for residential ratepayers in California, on the economic viability of behind-the-meter distributed wind and solar systems. Previous studies have demonstrated that increasing wind and solar generation will materially affect the diurnal cost of wholesale electricity. As retail and wholesale prices become more aligned, this could affect the inter-technology economic viability of distributed generation. We assess economic viability through 'economic potential,' or the amount of generation capacity that exceeds a rate of return of 5.4%. In addition, we identify sensitivities of economic potential to capital costs and other techno-economic factors as well as the specific counties and sectors with substantial economic potential. We find that TOU implementation is projected to moderately increase economic potential of distributed wind and marginally decrease that of distributed solar. Over the long-term as variable renewable energy penetration increases in California, particularly utility-scale solar, net peak load and thus peak prices will shift later in the evening. To the extent that retail rates continue to evolve with wholesale prices, we find the changes could positively affect the value of wind generation more than that of solar generation. Over the scenarios considered, model results indicate realistic pathways to reaching a robust distributed wind market in California though solar economic potential was found to be substantially larger than that of wind.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

The use of idealised experiments in testing a new convective parametrization: Performance of CoMorph-A

CoMorph is a new mass-flux convection parametrization under development at the Met Office designed for use within the Unified Model and its successor model, LFRic. Use of a three-dimensional idealised model enables controlled tests of the performance of the scheme across different regimes. This includes the interaction between the physical parametrizations and the resolved dynamics, allowing study of the emergent organisation of convection on the resolved scale. A selection of well-known cases is revisited here, with the purpose of documenting the extent to which CoMorph captures a range of important, but challenging, behaviour such as the diurnal cycle and sensitivity to tropospheric moisture. Simulations using CoMorph-A, a new physics package, that has been demonstrated to perform well at numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate scales, are compared against the current global atmosphere configuration and high-resolution results. In addition to an entirely new convection scheme, the package of changes includes significant changes to the cloud, microphysics, and boundary-layer parametrizations. Recognising that CoMorph-A is the first version of a scheme that will continue to be substantially developed and to obtain good performance, compromises in tuning have had to be made. These idealised tests therefore show what works well in this configuration, and what areas will require further work. As such, it is quite a demanding testbed and could be viewed as some of the equipment required for a “convective playground”.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Development of a Time-Height Profile Assimilation Technique for Large-Eddy Simulation

Mesoscale-to-microscale coupling (MMC) aims to address the limited scope of traditional large-eddy simulations by driving the microscale flow with information concerning large-scale weather patterns provided by mesoscale models. We present a new offline MMC technique for horizontally homogeneous microscale flow conditions, in which internal forcing terms are computed based on mesoscale time–height profiles of mean-flow quantities. The advantage of such an approach is that it can be used to drive a microscale simulation with either mesoscale or observational data, and that it does not rely on specific terms in the mesoscale budget equations, which are typically not part of the default output of a mesoscale solver. The performance of the proposed profile assimilation technique is assessed based on the simulation of a typical diurnal cycle over the Scaled Wind Farm Technology site in west Texas. Results indicate that simple data assimilation techniques lead to unphysically high levels of shear and turbulence caused by the algorithm’s inability to cope with inaccuracies in the mesoscale time–height profiles. Modifying the algorithm to account for vertical coherence in the mesoscale source terms gives the microscale solver a greater ability to correct the provided mesoscale time–height profiles, leading to improved predictions of shear and turbulence statistics. The resulting turbulence statistics are in good agreement with meteorological tower observations and simulation results obtained with state-of-the-art coupling techniques using mesoscale budget components.

data assimilation↗
DOE OSTI2022

Asymmetric daytime and nighttime surface temperature feedback induced by crop greening across Northeast China

Mid-high latitude Northeast China witnessed significant crop greening from 2001 to 2020, as evidenced by satellite records and field observations. The land surface temperature of croplands during the growing season showed a decreasing trend, suggesting negative surface temperature feedback to crop greening of agricultural ecosystems in mid-high latitude Northeast China. Here, using time-series remote sensing products and long-term scenario simulations, the present study highlights that crop greening can slow climate warming. Our study noted a stronger surface cooling effect induced by crop greening during the growing season in the day than at the night, which contributed to asymmetric diurnal temperature cycle changes in Northeast China. In addition, our biophysical mechanism analysis revealed aerodynamic and surface resistances as the major driving factors for the daytime land surface temperature (LST) cooling effect induced by crop greening, while the ground heat flux and ambient temperature feedback as the major attributes of the nighttime LST cooling impact due to crop greening.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Life cycle greenhouse gas emissions of different CO 2 supply options for an algal biorefinery

This paper characterizes the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the provision of CO 2 for twelve hours of the day from a range of sources operating on a twenty-four-hour basis. Twelve CO 2 supply cases spanning from fossil fuel power plant stack gases to direct air capture (DAC) systems are modeled. The results are compared in a life cycle assessment (LCA) framework. The CO 2 supply from the combustion or gasification of biomass has GHG emissions of –1.62 gCO 2 eq./g CO 2 delivered and is the case with the lowest carbon footprint for supplied CO2. The emissions for all the CO 2 supply cases were found to be negative, either because of capturing more CO 2 from the atmosphere than is released from the CO 2 production process, or because of production of excess electricity that is exported to the grid (replacing emissions from grid electricity). A purpose-built Natural Gas Combined Cycle (NGCC) power plant CO 2 source has the highest GHG emissions of -0.40 gCO 2 eq./gCO 2 delivered of the cases considered because of nighttime emissions and natural gas supply chain losses. The impact of a diurnal cycle can be mitigated by using capture and refrigeration systems as part of the CO 2 management system. The results are sensitive to the GHG emissions of the grid electricity, which is imported or exported in different cases. The results provide a benchmark for the comparison of different CO 2 supply options for the establishment of a sustainable algal biorefinery.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Interaction between the Nocturnal Amazonian Low-Level Jet and Convection in CESM

A nocturnal Amazonian low-level jet (ALLJ) was recently diagnosed using reanalysis data. This work assesses the ability of CESM1.2.2 to reproduce the jet and explores the mechanisms by which the ALLJ influences convection in the Amazon. The coupled CESM simulates the nocturnal ALLJ realistically, while CAM5 does not. A low-level cold air temperature bias in the eastern Amazon exists in CAM5, and thus the ALLJ is weaker than observed. However, a cold SST bias over the equatorial North Atlantic in the coupled model offsets the cold air temperature bias, producing a realistic ALLJ. Climate models significantly underestimate March–May (MAM) precipitation over the eastern Amazon. Here, we ran two sensitivity experiments using the coupled CESM by adding bottom-heavy diabatic heating at noon and midnight for 2.5 h along the coastal Amazon during MAM to mimic the occurrence of shallow precipitating convection. When heating is added during the early afternoon, coastal convection deepens and the ALLJ transports moisture inland from the ocean, preconditioning the environment for deep convective development during the ensuing hours. The increased convection over the eastern Amazon also moderately alleviates the equatorial Atlantic westerly wind bias, leading to deepening of the east Atlantic thermocline in the following months and partially improving the simulated June–August (JJA) Atlantic cold tongue in the coupled model. When heating is added at night, coastal convection does not strengthen as much and the ALLJ transports less moisture. Improvements in the simulated Atlantic winds and SST are negligible. Therefore, diurnal circulations matter to the organization of convection and rain across the Amazon, with impacts over the equatorial Atlantic.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Precipitation Characteristics of Warm Season Weather Types in the Southeastern United States of America

Daily weather types (WTs) over the Southeast United States have been analyzed using 850 hPa winds from reanalysis data from March to October of 1979–2019. Six WTs were obtained. WTs 1–3 represent mid-latitude synoptic systems propagating eastward. WT4 is a summer-type pattern predominantly occurring in June–August, with the center of the North Atlantic Subtropical High (NASH) along the Gulf coast in the southern United States. WT5 is most frequent from August to middle October, with the NASH pushed further north and southerly winds over the northern Great Plains. An anticyclone centered at the Carolina coast characterizes WT6, which occurs in all months but is slightly more frequent in the spring and fall, especially in October, corresponding to fair weather in the region. WTs 1, 2 and 3 can persist for only a few days. WTs 4, 5 and 6 can have long spells of persistence. Besides self-persistence, the most observed progression loop is WT1 to WT2, to WT3, and then back to WT1, corresponding to eastward-propagating waves. WTs 4 and 5 are likely to show persistence, with long periods of consecutive days. WT6 usually persists but can also transfer to WT3, i.e., a change from fair weather in the Southeast U.S. to rainy weather in the Mississippi River Valley. A diurnal cycle of precipitation is apparent for each WT, especially over coastal plains. The nocturnal precipitation in central U.S. is associated with WT3. WTs 1–3 are more frequent in El Niño years, corresponding to stronger westerly wave activities and above normal rainfall in the Southeast U.S. in the spring. The positive rainfall anomaly in the Mississippi and Ohio River valley in El Niño years is also associated with more frequent WT3.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Storage Futures Study: Four Phases Framework and Modeling

This webinar, presented by Paul Denholm and Will Frazier, incorporates material from two publications of the NREL Storage Futures Study: "The Four Phases of Storage Deployment: A Framework for the Expanding Role of Storage in the U.S. Power System" (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77480.pdf) and "Storage Futures Study: Economic Potential of Diurnal Storage in the U.S. Power Sector" (https://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy21osti/77449.pdf).

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2023

Thermal insulation versus capacitance: A simulation experiment comparing effects of shade and hyporheic exchange on daily and seasonal stream temperature cycles

In streams where water temperatures stress native biota, management of riparian shade or hyporheic exchange are both considered viable management strategies for reducing the peaks of daily and seasonal stream channel temperature cycles. Although shade and hyporheic exchange may have similar effects on stream temperatures, their mechanisms differ. Improved understanding of the heat-exchange mechanisms influenced by shade and hyporheic exchange will aid in the appropriate application of either stream temperature management strategy. To illustrate a conceptual model highlighting shade as ‘thermal insulation’ and hyporheic exchange imparting ‘thermal capacitance’ to a stream reach, we conducted an in-silico simulation modelling experiment increasing shade or hyporheic exchange parameters on an idealized, hypothetical stream. We assessed the potential effects of increasing shade or hyporheic exchange on a stream reach using an established process-based heat-energy budget model of stream-atmosphere heat exchange and incorporated an advection-driven hyporheic heat exchange routine. The model tracked heat transport through the hyporheic zone and exchange with the stream channel, while including the effects of hyporheic water age distribution on upwelling hyporheic temperatures. Results showed that shade and hyporheic exchange similarly damped diurnal temperature cycles and differentially altered seasonal cycles of our theoretical stream. In winter, hyporheic exchange warmed simulated channel temperatures whereas shade had little effect. In summer, both shade and hyporheic exchange cooled channel temperatures, though the effects of shade were more pronounced. Our simple-to-grasp analogies of ‘thermal insulation’ for shade effects and ‘thermal capacitance’ for hyporheic exchange effects on stream temperature encourage more accurate conceptualization of complex, dynamic heat exchange processes among the atmosphere, stream channel, and alluvial aquifer.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Temporal Patterns in Soil Redox Potential Vary Across a Freshwater Coastal Delta

Widespread and persistent flooding is submerging coastal ecosystems, particularly along the Louisiana Gulf coast, where flooding results from the compounding effects of ground subsidence and rising sea level. Restoration projects aim to mitigate land loss by diverting sediment loads from rivers into degraded areas to increase ground elevation. To predict how coastal ecosystems will change over time in response to projected changes in relative sea level and restoration, it is necessary to understand how subsurface biogeochemical processes respond to dynamic hydrologic forcings. Here, this study evaluates how environmental parameters that integrate biogeochemical processes vary with water table fluctuations in the freshwater Wax Lake Delta (WLD) in Louisiana, USA, where water diversions have formed one of the only active deltas along the coast. High‐frequency observations of water level, soil redox potential, specific conductance and pH were made for 1 year along elevation transects located on the older, proximal and younger, distal ends of a deltaic island. Redox responded rapidly to changing water tables, with fluctuations occurring primarily in shallow soils (< 20 cm) and at higher elevations. Deeper soils and those at lower elevation remained inundated and reduced. Semi‐diurnal tidal fluctuations were pronounced in younger, distal soils, presumably due to rapid groundwater exchange with the river channel. Tidal signals were muted in older soils that instead exhibited seasonal variability associated with river discharge and evapotranspiration. Although much of the delta sediments are persistently reducing and anoxic, redox fluctuations in the natural levees that border the deltaic islands likely drive high rates of biogeochemical activity. Evaluating how hydrology drives the frequency and duration of redox fluctuations provides a basis for understanding how biogeochemical processes might vary with complex hydrological interactions in coastal systems.

Herndon, Elizabeth [Oak Ridge National Laboratory ↗
DOE OSTI2023

Identification and preliminary characterization of conserved uncharacterized proteins from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii , Arabidopsis thaliana , and Setaria viridis

Abstract The rapid accumulation of sequenced plant genomes in the past decade has outpaced the still difficult problem of genome‐wide protein‐coding gene annotation. A substantial fraction of protein‐coding genes in all plant genomes are poorly annotated or unannotated and remain functionally uncharacterized. We identified unannotated proteins in three model organisms representing distinct branches of the green lineage (Viridiplantae): Arabidopsis thaliana (eudicot), Setaria viridis (monocot), and Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (Chlorophyte alga). Using similarity searching, we identified a subset of unannotated proteins that were conserved between these species and defined them as Deep Green proteins. Bioinformatic, genomic, and structural predictions were performed to begin classifying Deep Green genes and proteins. Compared to whole proteomes for each species, the Deep Green set was enriched for proteins with predicted chloroplast targeting signals predictive of photosynthetic or plastid functions, a result that was consistent with enrichment for daylight phase diurnal expression patterning. Structural predictions using AlphaFold and comparisons to known structures showed that a significant proportion of Deep Green proteins may possess novel folds. Though only available for three organisms, the Deep Green genes and proteins provide a starting resource of high‐value targets for further investigation of potentially new protein structures and functions conserved across the green lineage.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

A two-fluid single-column model of turbulent shallow convection, Part III: Results and parameter sensitivity

Two-fluid modelling has recently emerged as a promising approach to representing cumulus convection in weather and climate models. This study applies the two-fluid model described in Part II Thuburn et al., 2021b to a shallow cumulus convection case study over land (ARM). Large eddy simulation data is used to tune the majority of the closures that determine the properties of entrained and detrained air. The two-fluid model is generally able to reproduce the profiles of the mean and turbulent quantities over all stages of the diurnal cycle. As such, the initiation of shallow convection and the evolution of the cloud layer are well captured. The robustness of the two-fluid model is further verified using a steady-state test case (BOMEX), in which the cloud properties are also well modelled.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2021

Quantification of energy and cost reduction from decreasing dissolved oxygen levels in full‐scale water resource recovery facilities

Abstract Aeration systems often lack the efficiency to maintain a desired residual dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration in the tank in part because little consideration is given to the dynamic daily and seasonal loading conditions. Although advanced aeration controllers exist, the majority of plants have DO set points typically based on common practice and literature values rather than site‐specific conditions, which can result in DO set points higher than those necessary to meet treatment objectives. DO set point reduction strategies have primarily been proposed through either static or dynamic simulations. In this study, the substantial improvements associated with DO set point reduction are demonstrated at full scale. A yearlong characterization of full‐scale aeration dynamics captured the effect of diurnal and seasonal fluctuations on oxygen transfer and energy demand and so facilitated the estimation of the potential savings of DO reduction strategies. Full‐scale validation provided direct evidence of DO reduction strategies inducing an overall enhancement of oxygen transfer efficiency along the different bioreactors, while confirming that energy savings as high as 20% were feasible. This study quantifies the influence of oxygen transfer efficiency on operating choices and site‐specific conditions (control strategy, loading conditions, and influent flow variability). Practitioner points We quantified the energy reduction and cost savings associated with a DO reduction in an aeration tank. For each 0.2 mg/L of DO decreased, the average power demand reduction per unit water treated exceeded 17%. Field measurements of dynamic alpha values eliminate the uncertainty in estimating aeration energy and cost savings from DO variations.

Pasini, Federico↗
DOE OSTI2022

Cosmology and signals of light pseudo-Dirac dark matter

In this paper, we analyze the cosmological evolution, allowed parameter space, and observational prospects for a dark sector consisting of thermally produced pseudo-Dirac fermions with a small mass splitting, coupled to the Standard Model through a dark photon. This scenario is particularly notable in the context of sub-GeV dark matter, where the mass-off-diagonal leading interaction limits applicability of both CMB energy injection constraints and standard direct detection searches. We present the first general study of the thermal history of pseudo-Dirac DM with splittings from 100 eV to MeV, focusing on the depletion of the heavier “excited” state abundance via scatterings and decays, and on the distinctive signals arising from its small surviving abundance. We analyze CMB energy injection bounds on both DM annihilation and decay, accelerator-based probes, and new line-like direct-detection signals from the excited DM down-scattering on either nuclei or electrons, as well as future search prospects in each channel. We also comment on the relevance of this signal to the few-keV Xenon1T electron excess and on possible diurnal modulation of this signal, and introduce a signal-strength parametrization to facilitate the comparison of future experimental results to theoretical expectations.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2025

A minor respiratory process with major global implications: is atmospheric methane oxidation in tree stems driven by stem respiration rather than microbial methanotrophy?

Tree stem surfaces are widely recognized as sites of carbon dioxide (CO₂) efflux and oxygen (O₂) influx, reflecting the dynamics of aerobic respiration of photosynthate substrates, such as sugars, delivered via the phloem. Stems are also largely considered passive conduits for methane (CH₄) produced in anoxic soils via microbial methanogenesis, where CH₄ is thought to be transported upward through the transpiration stream and/or diffusion and emitted through stem surfaces and the canopy. However, recent observations from dynamic stem chambers suggest that stems may also act as active sinks for atmospheric CH₄. Despite these findings, the extent and drivers of stem CH₄ consumption remain poorly characterized across biomes, species, and environmental gradients, and its quantitative relationship to stem respiration has not been established. Moreover, previous studies captured only snapshot fluxes, leaving diurnal patterns of CH₄ exchange uncharacterized. Here, we address these limitations by combining real-time measurements of stem CH₄ and O₂ uptake under ambient conditions in a California cherry tree, using a dynamic stem gas exchange system with three chambers receiving a continuous flow of ambient air and automated chamber and reference air sampling every 10 min. Our results confirm that stems of upland trees can actively consume both atmospheric CH₄ and O₂, but with decreasing temperature sensitivity as daily temperatures increase. Early mornings were marked by rapid influxes of both gases, followed by declining uptake as temperatures rose further. Methane uptake was tightly coupled with O₂ influx and represented a minor (0.012% ± 0.002%) fraction of stem respiratory activity, as determined by concurrent O₂ uptake. These findings suggest that while atmospheric CH₄ oxidation is a minor respiratory process in stems, it is strongly linked with stem physiological activity. This challenges the current assumption that terrestrial CH₄ uptake is driven solely by microbial methanotrophy and raises the possibility that living stem tissues may contribute to CH₄ oxidation through an as-yet-unidentified plant-based mechanism.

Atmospheric greenhouse gases↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coupling Mesoscale Budget Components to Large-Eddy Simulations for Wind-Energy Applications

To simulate the airflow through a wind farm across a wide range of atmospheric conditions, microscale models (e.g., large-eddy simulation, LES, models) have to be coupled with mesoscale models, because microscale models lack the atmospheric physical processes to represent time-varying local forcing. Here we couple mesoscale model outputs to a LES solver by applying mesoscale momentum- and temperature-budget components from the Weather Research and Forecasting model to the governing equations of the Simulator fOr Wind Farm Applications model. We test whether averaging the budget components affects the LES results with regard to quantities of interest to wind energy. Our study focuses on flat terrain during a quiescent diurnal cycle. The simulation results are compared with observations from a 200-m tall meteorological tower and a wind-profiling radar, by analyzing time series, profiles, rotor-averaged quantities, and spectra. However, while results show that averaging reduces the spatio-temporal variability of the mesoscale momentum-budget components, when coupled with the LES model, the mesoscale bias (in comparison with observations of wind speed and direction, and potential temperature) is not reduced. In contrast, the LES technique can correct for shear and veer. In both cases, however, averaging the budget components shows no significant impact on the mean flow quantities in the microscale and is not necessary when coupling mesocale budget components to the LES model.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Case Study of the Weather Research and Forecasting Model Applied to the Joint Urban 2003 Tracer Field Experiment. Part III: Boundary-Layer Parametrizations

Numerical weather prediction is often used to supply the mean wind and turbulence fields for atmospheric transport and dispersion plume models as they provide dense geographic coverage in comparison to typically sparse monitoring networks. Here, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model 4.0 was run over the month-long period of the Joint Urban 2003 field campaign conducted in Oklahoma City. We compare three different simulations in their ability to reproduce the observations, each using a different boundary-layer parametrization. Specifically, we examine the Mellor–Yamada–Janjic (MYJ), Yonsei University (YSU), and Mellor–Yamada–Nakanishi–Niino (MYNN) boundary-layer parametrizations. All three predict the wind speed well during the day but overpredict it at night. The MYNN parametrization is better than MYJ at predicting the daytime turbulence in the surface layer, but both underpredict the nocturnal turbulence. Additionally, the MYJ parametrization is best at predicting the reciprocal Obukhov length, while MYNN and YSU both significantly overpredict thermal stability. Reconstructing the reciprocal Obukhov length from other simulated parameters produces more accurate values for both parametrizations. All three models overpredict the boundary-layer height, particularly under convective conditions. The MYJ parametrization overestimates boundary-layer height the most, while YSU and MYNN have comparable performance with MYNN having an advantage in predicting the stable boundary-layer height. Several days were found where the WRF simulations predict significant deviations from the prevailing diurnal pattern in wind direction, which are not found in the observations.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗