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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 217 records · Page 12

Locational Value of Distributed Energy Resources

This report focuses on potential DER benefits for distribution systems, primarily in their role as non-wires alternatives to defer, mitigate, or eliminate the need for some traditional system investments at locations where distribution capacity is insufficient to meet expected future needs. It describes approaches and tools to estimate the locational value of DERs. The report includes 24 case studies to illustrate how states and utilities are considering the locational value of DERs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Maximum Likelihood Estimation: Some Basics

The maximum likelihood estimation is a general estimation procedure. It is often compared to estimation procedures like the ordinary least squares regression or generalized method of moments, to name a few. We discuss some basics about the maximum likelihood estimation, its advantages and disadvantages, and provide an example application to a gamma distribution function.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Development of a Systematic and Extensible Force Field for Peptoids (STEPs)

Peptoids (N-substituted glycines) are a class of biomimetic polymers that have attracted significant attention due to their accessible synthesis and enzymatic and thermal stability relative to their naturally occurring counterparts (polypeptides). While these polymers provide the promise of more robust functional materials via hierarchical approaches, they present a new challenge for computational structure prediction for material design. The reliability of calculations hinges on the accuracy of interactions represented in the force field used to model peptoids. For proteins, structure prediction based on sequence and de novo design has made dramatic progress in recent years; however, these models are not readily transferable for peptoids. Current efforts to develop and implement peptoid-specific force fields are spread out, leading to replicated efforts and a fragmented collection of parameterized sidechains. Here, we developed a peptoid-specific force field containing 70 different side chains, using GAFF2 as starting point. The new model is validated based on the generation of Ramachandran-like plots from DFT optimization compared against force field reproduced potential energy and free energy surfaces as well as the reproduction of equilibrium cis/trans values for some residues experimentally known to form helical structures. In conclusion, equilibrium cis/trans distributions (Kct) are estimated for all parameterized residues to identify which residues have an intrinsic propensity for cis or trans states in the monomeric state.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

A Machine Learning-Based Method to Estimate Transformer Primary-Side Voltages with Limited Customer-Side AMI Measurements: Preprint

Distribution control applications such as volt/var optimization, network reconfiguration, and distribution automation require accurate knowledge of the distribution system state. The lack of sufficient sensors on the primary side of distribution networks often limits the accuracy of the control decisions by these applications. The deployment of advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) provides utilities an opportunity to translate the AMI data on the secondary onto the primary so that it can be used as pseudo-measurements to augment the limited existing measurements on the primary. This paper develops an approach for estimating service transformer primary-side voltages by using limited secondary-side AMI measurements. The estimated primary-side voltages can be used by utilities as pseudo-measurements for distribution control applications. The detailed secondary model topology, which is an essential input data for many existing algorithms, is not required for the proposed method. The performance of the proposed method is validated by using AMI measurements from the field and an actual distribution feeder model of San Diego Gas & Electric Company.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

2020 Cost of Wind Energy Review

This report uses representative utility-scale and distributed wind energy projects to estimate the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for land-based and offshore wind power plants in the United States. Data and results detailed here are derived from 2020 commissioned plants and representative industry data as well as state-of-the-art modeling capabilities. Modeling is conducted to provide more granular detail on specific cost categories. This report represents the tenth annual installment and is intended to provide insight into current component-level costs as well as a basis for understanding variability in wind energy LCOE across the country.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Neumann Series Based Voltage Sensitivity Analysis for Three Phase Distribution System

In this letter, a simplified voltage sensitivity analysis technique that can provide accurate estimates of voltage change across the network for a given change in bus power injections in a three-phase unbalanced distribution network is proposed. This technique is derived from the first-order approximation of the Neumann series, which allows maintaining the accuracy of the solution while the computational effort is reduced. Here, the proposed technique is tested on a 559-bus unbalanced distribution system with multiple distributed generation resources. The results show that the average error in the voltage estimates with the proposed method is not more than 0.3% with the execution time of similar order relative to the state-of-the-art sensitivity analysis methods.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Colloidal State Machines as Smart Tracers for Chemical Reactor Analysis

A widely utilized tool in reactor analysis is passive tracers that report the residence time distribution, allowing estimation of the conversion and other properties of the system. Recently, advances in microrobotics have introduced powered and functional entities with sizes comparable to some traditional tracers. This has motivated the concept of Smart Tracers that could record the local chemical concentrations, temperature, or other conditions as they progress through reactors. Herein, the design constraints and advantages of Smart Tracers by simulating their operation in a laminar flow reactor model conducting chemical reactions of various orders are analyzed. It is noted that far fewer particles are necessary to completely map even the most complex concentration gradients compared with their conventional counterparts. Design criteria explored herein include sampling frequency, memory storage capacity, and ensemble number necessary to achieve the required accuracy to inform a reactor model. Cases of severe particle diffusion and sensor noise appear to bind the functional upper limit of such probes and require consideration for future design. The results of the study provide a starting framework for applying the new technology of microrobotics to the broad and impactful set of problems classified as chemical reactor analysis.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Model Predictive Fault-Tolerant Tracking Control for PDF Control Systems With Packet Losses

In this article, a fault-tolerant tracking control strategy is investigated for nonlinear probability density function (PDF) control systems with the actuator fault, uncertainties, unknown disturbance, and random packet losses. The control input signal dropout and measurement signal dropouts are described as the independent Bernoulli distribution. An adaptive fault diagnosis (FD) observer based on the Lyapunov function is given to simultaneously estimate the fault, disturbance, and state with packet losses. Furthermore, different from the traditional robust fault-tolerant control (FTC), a new active fault-tolerant tracking controller is designed based on the model predictive control framework, which has better adaptive fault-tolerant performance. Finally, the validity of the proposed FTC method has been proved by a simulation study of a papermaking process.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Recursive Dynamic Compressive Sensing in Smart Distribution Systems

With a transition to a smarter grid, we are witnessing a significant growth in smart metering infrastructure and sensor deployment in the distribution system. The underlying communication infrastructure is stressed due to the large volume of data that is generated by the smart meters/sensors. Furthermore, real time operations such as state estimation and control are impaired due to the lack of reliable aggregation of the data. In this paper, we exploit the underlying sparsity in grid data to implement two recursive dynamic compressive sensing (CS) approaches-streaming modified weighted-`1 CS and Kalman filtered CS. These approaches aim to reconstruct the sparse signal using the current underdetermined measurements and the prior information about the sparse signal and its support set. Slow signal and support change is in distribution grid data is validated using Pecan Street data. Both the IEEE 34 node test feeder system and PecanStreet data are considered as two examples to validate the superior performance of the two recursive CS techniques relative to classic CS.

Karimi, Hazhar Sufi↗

Assessing equation of state-independent relations for neutron stars with nonparametric models

Relations between neutron star properties that do not depend on the nuclear equation of state offer insights on neutron star physics and have practical applications in data analysis. Such relations are obtained by fitting to a range of phenomenological or nuclear physics equation of state models, each of which may have varying degrees of accuracy. In this study we revisit commonly used relations and reassess them with a very flexible set of phenomenological nonparametric equation of state models that are based on Gaussian processes. Our models correspond to two sets: equations of state which mimic hadronic models, and equations of state with rapidly changing behavior that resemble phase transitions. Here we quantify the accuracy of relations under both sets and discuss their applicability with respect to expected upcoming statistical uncertainties of astrophysical observations. We further propose a goodness-of-fit metric which provides an estimate for the systematic error introduced by using the relation to model a certain equation-of-state set. Overall, the nonparametric distribution is more poorly fit with existing relations, with the I–Love–Q relations retaining the highest degree of universality. Fits degrade for relations involving the tidal deformability, such as the binary-Love and compactness-Love relations, and when introducing phase transition phenomenology. For most relations, systematic errors are comparable to current statistical uncertainties under the nonparametric equation of state distributions.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Characterization of Partially Observed Epidemics - Application to COVID-19

This report documents a statistical method for the "real-time" characterization of partially observed epidemics. Observations consist of daily counts of symptomatic patients, diagnosed with the disease. Characterization, in this context, refers to estimation of epidemiological parameters that can be used to provide short-term forecasts of the ongoing epidemic, as well as to provide gross information for the time-dependent infection rate. The characterization problem is formulated as a Bayesian inverse problem, and is predicated on a model for the distribution of the incubation period. The model parameters are estimated as distributions using a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, thus quantifying the uncertainty in the estimates. The method is applied to the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020, using data at the country, provincial (e.g., states) and regional (e.g. county) levels. The epidemiological model includes a stochastic component due to uncertainties in the incubation period. This model-form uncertainty is accommodated by a pseudo-marginal Metropolis-Hastings MCMC sampler, which produces posterior distributions that reflect this uncertainty. We approximate the discrepancy between the data and the epidemiological model using Gaussian and negative binomial error models; the latter was motivated by the over-dispersed count data. For small daily counts we find the performance of the calibrated models to be similar for the two error models. For large daily counts the negative-binomial approximation is numerically unstable unlike the Gaussian error model. Application of the model at the country level (for the United States, Germany, Italy, etc.) generally provided accurate forecasts, as the data consisted of large counts which suppressed the day-to-day variations in the observations. Further, the bulk of the data is sourced over the duration before the relaxation of the curbs on population mixing, and is not confounded by any discernible country-wide second wave of infections. At the state-level, where reporting was poor or which evinced few infections (e.g., New Mexico), the variance in the data posed some, though not insurmountable, difficulties, and forecasts were able to capture the data with large uncertainty bounds. The method was found to be sufficiently sensitive to discern the flattening of the infection and epidemic curve due to shelter-in-place orders after around 90% quantile for the incubation distribution (about 10 days for COVID-19). The proposed model was also used at a regional level to compare the forecasts for the central and north-west regions of New Mexico. Modeling the data for these regions illustrated different disease spread dynamics captured by the model. While in the central region the daily counts peaked in the late April, in the north-west region the ramp-up continued for approximately three more weeks.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

CFD modeling of natural circulation in LiCl-KCl molten salt closed loop

Characterizing flow within a molten salt closed-loop system is crucial for assessing system requirements, evaluating performance, and identifying potential flaws. Direct flow measurement using instrumentation is challenging due to extreme environmental conditions and the limitations associated with measuring molten salt flow under natural convection. Here, this study aims to provide comprehensive insights into the thermal-hydraulic behavior of a closed loop, with a particular focus on temperature distribution and velocity prediction. The Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model demonstrated the capability to effectively simulate and predict both temperature distributions and flow velocities within the molten salt loop. The CFD model's predictive capability was validated by its ability to replicate temperature measurements under varying boundary conditions. The analysis revealed that the CFD model tends to underpredict temperatures in the cold leg and overpredict them in the hot leg, highlighting the need for continuous model refinement and acknowledging the limitations of using a steady-state approach. Furthermore, the potential of using external temperature measurements to estimate internal molten salt temperatures and predict flow velocity was explored, revealing that this approach could introduce up to a 5.5% error in flow velocity calculations. Line probes mapping temperature distributions across the tube's cross-section and molten salt provided valuable insights into temperature gradients, emphasizing the need for a thermal conductivity equation for molten salt with lower uncertainty to achieve more accurate temperature predictions of the system.

22 - GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Characterization and thermometry of dissipatively stabilized steady states

In this work we study the properties of dissipatively stabilized steady states of noisy quantum algorithms, exploring the extent to which they can be well approximated as thermal distributions, and proposing methods to extract the effective temperature T. We study an algorithm called the relaxational quantum eigensolver (RQE), which is one of a family of algorithms that attempt to find ground states and balance error in noisy quantum devices. In RQE, we weakly couple a second register of auxiliary ‘shadow’ qubits to the primary system in Trotterized evolution, thus engineering an approximate zero-temperature bath by periodically resetting the auxiliary qubits during the algorithm’s runtime. Balancing the infinite temperature bath of random gate error, RQE returns states with an average energy equal to a constant fraction of the ground state. We probe the steady states of this algorithm for a range of base error rates, using several methods for estimating both T and deviations from thermal behavior. In particular, we both confirm that the steady states of these systems are often well-approximated by thermal distributions, and show that the same resources used for cooling can be adopted for thermometry, yielding a fairly reliable measure of the temperature. These methods could be readily implemented in near-term quantum hardware, and for stabilizing and probing Hamiltonians where simulating approximate thermal states is hard for classical computers.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

A modified Susceptible-Infected-Recovered model for observed under-reported incidence data

Fitting Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) models to incidence data is problematic when not all infected individuals are reported. Assuming an underlying SIR model with general but known distribution for the time to recovery, this paper derives the implied differential-integral equations for observed incidence data when a fixed fraction of newly infected individuals are not observed. The parameters of the resulting system of differential equations are identifiable. Using these differential equations, we develop a stochastic model for the conditional distribution of current disease incidence given the entire past history of reported cases. We estimate the model parameters using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte-Carlo sampling of the posterior distribution. We use our model to estimate the transmission rate and fraction of asymptomatic individuals for the current Coronavirus 2019 outbreak in eight American Countries: the United States of America, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Panama, from January 2020 to May 2021. Our analysis reveals that the fraction of reported cases varies across all countries. For example, the reported incidence fraction for the United States of America varies from 0.3 to 0.6, while for Brazil it varies from 0.2 to 0.4.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗

A robust dynamic state estimation approach against model errors caused by load changes

Dynamic state estimation (DSE) plays an important role in power system security monitoring and online control. In practice, there are two approaches to implementing DSE. The first approach is distributed DSE, which is based on the assumption that the terminal bus of each generator can be measured by PMUs (phasor measurement units). The assumption cannot be satisfied currently, however, because PMUs usually are installed at important high-voltage buses such as 500-kV buses installed in portions of the grid overseen by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council. Another issue of this approach is that performance of DSE is vulnerable to bad measurement data. The reason for this vulnerability is that DSE is performed separately through measurements at each terminal bus, and measurements at terminal buses are the only measurement upon which DSE can rely. Therefore, important redundant measurements are not included in this approach. The second approach is centralized DSE. This approach does not have the requirement for PMU location, and redundant measurements can be considered fully. However, load changes and grid topology changes impact centralized DSE. In this paper, we propose a new approach for handling the impact of load changes on DSE. We have developed a new algorithm that includes two sequential steps. In the first step, errors caused by load changes are detected by analyzing the difference between prediction results and measured results. In the second step, once model error is detected, a model optimization procedure is run to correct the error so the state estimation error can be mitigated. Simulation results from the IEEE 68 bus system show that the proposed approach can effectively handle model errors caused by load changes.

robust dynamic state estimation, load change, powe↗

Synergy of tensile strength and high cycle fatigue properties in a novel additively manufactured Al-Ni-Ti-Zr alloy with a heterogeneous microstructure

Alloy design strategies in additive manufacturing (AM) to achieve grain refinement and terminal eutectic solidification have been introduced to engineer Al alloys having microstructural hierarchy and heterogeneity. Such alloy design strategies enable crack-free builds with an expanded AM processing window and pushed the strength limit in Al alloys. However, fatigue performance of Al alloys made by AM is restricted by the presence of process induced defects and its stochasticity. In this work, tensile and high cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of a novel Al-Ni-Ti-Zr alloy with a heterogeneous microstructure is studied in the as-built condition, supplemented by detailed microstructural and mechanical characterization. Excellent strength-ductility synergy of 342 MPa and 16% failure strain achieved in the alloy was associated with the microstructural attributes that pertain to the novel alloy. Additionally, the alloy showed excellent HCF performance with a fatigue endurance limit to ultimate tensile strength ratio of 0.29 in flexural fatigue mode. The study revealed the existence of multiple crack retardation mechanisms and favorable crack propagation pathways through the fine-grained regions which enabled good fatigue performance to the alloy. Further, a probabilistic model has been used to estimate the fatigue life of the alloy as a function of the stochastic microstructure by utilizing the statistical distribution of pores, solid-state inclusions, and grains in the AM Al alloy. Finally, the model parametric trends are consistent with the experimental observations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Mycorrhizal Distributions Impact Global Patterns of Carbon and Nutrient Cycling

Most tree species predominantly associate with a single type of mycorrhizal fungi, which can differentially affect plant nutrient acquisition and biogeochemical cycling. Uncertainties in mycorrhizal distributions are non-trivial, and current estimates disagree in up to 50% over 40% of the land area, including tropical forests. Remote sensing capabilities for mycorrhizal detection show promise for refining these estimates further. Here, we address for the first time the impact of mycorrhizal distributions on global carbon and nutrient cycling. Using the state-of-the-art carbon-nitrogen economics within the Community Land Model version 5, we found Net Primary Productivity (NPP) increased throughout the 21st century by 20%; however, as soil nitrogen has progressively become limiting, the costs to NPP for nitrogen acquisition—that is, to mycorrhizae—have increased at a faster rate by 60%. This suggests that nutrient acquisition will increasingly demand a higher portion of assimilated carbon to support the same productivity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗