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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

Automotion of domain walls for spintronic interconnects

We simulate “automotion,” the transport of a magnetic domain wall under the influence of demagnetization and magnetic anisotropy, in nanoscale spintronic interconnects. In contrast to spin transfer driven magnetic domain wall motion, the proposed interconnects operate without longitudinal charge current transfer, with only a transient current pulse at domain wall creation and have favorable scaling down to the 20 nm dimension. Cases of both in-plane and out-of-plane magnetization are considered. Analytical dependence of the velocity of domain walls on the angle of magnetization are compared with full micromagnetic simulations. Deceleration, attenuation and disappearance, and reflection of domain walls are demonstrated through simulation. Dependences of the magnetization angle on the current pulse parameters are studied. The energy and delay analysis suggests that automotion is an attractive option for spintronic logic interconnects.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Lateral buckling and mechanical stretchability of fractal interconnects partially bonded onto an elastomeric substrate

Fractal-inspired designs for interconnects that join rigid, functional devices can ensure mechanical integrity in stretchable electronic systems under extreme deformations. The bonding configuration of such interconnects with the elastomer substrate is crucial to the resulting deformation modes, and therefore the stretchability of the entire system. In this study, both theoretical and experimental analyses are performed for postbuckling of fractal serpentine interconnects partially bonded to the substrate. The deformation behaviors and the elastic stretchability of such systems are systematically explored, and compared to counterparts that are not bonded at all to the substrate.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Metal-interconnection-free integration of InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes with AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

We report a metal-interconnection-free integration scheme for InGaN/GaN light emitting diodes (LEDs) and AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by combining selective epi removal (SER) and selective epitaxial growth (SEG) techniques. SER of HEMT epi was carried out first to expose the bottom unintentionally doped GaN buffer and the sidewall GaN channel. A LED structure was regrown in the SER region with the bottom n-type GaN layer (n-electrode of the LED) connected to the HEMTs laterally, enabling monolithic integration of the HEMTs and LEDs (HEMT-LED) without metal-interconnection. In addition to saving substrate real estate, minimal interface resistance between the regrown n-type GaN and the HEMT channel is a significant improvement over metal-interconnection. Furthermore, excellent off-state leakage characteristics of the driving transistor can also be guaranteed in such an integration scheme.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Tartan: Evaluating Modern GPU Interconnect via a Multi-GPU Benchmark Suite

In this paper, we fill the gap by proposing a multi-GPU benchmark suite named Tartan, which contains microbenchmarks, scale-up and scale-out applications. We then apply Tartan to evaluate the four latest types of modern GPU interconnects, i.e., PCI- e, NVLink-V1, NVLink-V2 and InfiniBand with GPUDirect- RDMA from two recently released NVIDIA super AI platforms as well as ORNL’s exascale prototype system. Based on empirical evaluation, we observe four new types of NUMA effects: three types are triggered by NVLink’s topology, connectivity and routing, while one type is caused by PCI-e (i.e., anti-locality). They are very important for performance tuning in multi-GPU environment. Our evaluation results show that, unless the current CPU-GPU master-slave programming model can be replaced, it is difficult for scale-up multi-GPU applications to really benefit from faster intra-node interconnects such as NVLinks; while for inter-node scale-out applications, although interconnect is more crucial to the overall performance, GPUDirect-RDMA appears to be not always the optimal choice.

HPC↗

Comparative Analysis of Inter-Area Oscillations in the US Eastern and Western Interconnections

This paper presents a comparative analysis of interarea oscillations in the US Eastern and Western Interconnections using frequency disturbance data collected from the advanced wide-area Frequency Monitoring Network (FNET/GridEye), enabling us to investigate and compare the oscillation characteristics of both regions. The study analyzes the statistical data from the two interconnections, including total oscillation events, average dominant frequencies, damping ratios, and maximum amplitudes. We also explore the impact of seasonal and daily variations on oscillation occurrences and the influence of different grid topologies and operational practices. The results provide insights into both interconnections' stability and control characteristics, offering valuable information for power system operators to enhance grid stability and oscillation suppression measures.

Fu, Hao [University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)]↗

Secondary Frequency Control for Reconfigurable Interconnecting Microgrids

Microgrids and microgrid technologies offer an operations and control framework for realizing the needed aggregation of a growing share of distributed energy resources. As the number of microgrids increases, so will the incentive to interconnect them, leading to a combinatorial growth of potential operating states. At the same time, their growing complexity nudges interconnected microgrids conceptually closer to balancing authorities in the bulk power system. This paper focuses on secondary frequency control and leverages the conceptual similarity between balancing authorities and interconnected microgrids to adopt an automatic generation control design with some adaptations. Frequency control and restoration is demonstrated via several use-cases with switching and reconfiguration events.

Schweitzer, Eran↗

The Value of Increased HVDC Capacity Between Eastern and Western U.S. Grids: The Interconnections Seam Study

The Interconnections Seam Study examines the potential economic value of increasing electricity transfer between the Eastern and Western Interconnections using high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) transmission and cost-optimizing both generation and transmission resources across the United States, proposing, assessing, justifying, and illustrating a major infrastructure change involving two of the worlds largest power grids. The study conducted a multi-model analysis that used co-optimized generation and transmission expansion planning and production cost modeling. Four transmission designs under eight scenarios were developed and studied to estimate costs and potential benefits. The results show benefit-to-cost ratios that reach as high as 2.5, indicating significant value to increasing the transmission capacity between the interconnections under the cases considered, realized through sharing generation resources and flexibility across regions.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Application of Electronics Packaging Fundamentals to Photovoltaic Interconnects and Packaging

The energy capacity of photovoltaic (PV) installations worldwide has increased significantly in the last decade, increasing the demand for rigorous investigation of the physical phenomena causing degradation and failures in PV modules. As PV reliability science develops, established methods and approaches from longer-standing industries can inform and expedite PV reliability advances. This work demonstrates how thermomechanical solder bond fatigue models derived for electronics packaging applications can be applied to both standard and emerging PV interconnect designs. This expertise cannot be directly translated to PV however, as target PV module lifetimes are significantly longer than most electronics and the modules must withstand the natural climate wherever they are deployed. Verification of analytical reliability models is then an additional challenge, due to model size, test time, and climate variability. Furthermore, unconventional materials, such as low-temperature solders, are now being integrated into PV designs, for which appropriate material models must be selected and material parameters derived. In this paper, the current state of PV interconnect research is explored, with an emphasis on the experimental and simulation approaches and models being used for this work. Recent results for standard module architectures as well as emerging interconnect schemes are discussed.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

An evaluation of the CORAL interconnects

The US Department of Energy deployed the Summit and Sierra supercomputers with the latest state-of-the-art network interconnect technology in 2018 and both systems entered production in 2019. In this paper, we provide an in-depth assessment of the systems' network interconnects that are based on Enhanced Data Rate (EDR) 100 Gb/s Mellanox InfiniBand. Both systems use second-generation EDR Host Channel Adapters (HCAs) and switches with several new features such as Adaptive Routing (AR), switch-based collectives, and HCA-based tag matching. Although based on the same components, Summit's network is "non-blocking" (i.e., a fully provisioned Clos network) and Sierra's network has a 2:1 taper between the racks and aggregation switches. We evaluate the two systems' interconnects using traditional communication benchmarks as well as production applications. We find that the new Adaptive Routing dramatically improves performance but the other new features still need improvement.

Zimmer, Christopher↗

Impact of hydropower availability on resource adequacy of the United States western interconnection

Hydropower is a key energy source in the western interconnection of the United States, comprising about 25% of the annual installed nameplate capacity in 2020. However, its generation is increasingly impacted by changing hydrological conditions, operational constraints, environmental factors, water availability, and aging dam infrastructure. Assessing hydropower availability and resource adequacy is valuable for shaping energy policies and infrastructure requirements. In this study we evaluate the sensitivity of resource adequacy in the Western Interconnection to the unavailability of hydropower plants, under a wide-ranging set of 16,384 hydropower loss scenarios derived from a combination of 14 major hydrologic regions. Although a complete loss of hydropower capacity in any region is unlikely, studying such scenarios helps in identifying hydrologic regions most critical for maintaining resource adequacy. So, we identify key hydrologic regions with disproportionately large adequacy impacts relative to their installed hydropower capacity and study compounding effects between regions using classification and regression trees. Even after controlling for total installed capacity, we find that hydropower resources in the Pacific Northwest contribute the most to interconnection-wide adequacy outcomes, with resources in Northern California and the Desert Southwest providing more moderate incremental contributions.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Reactive power interconnection requirements for PV and wind plants : recommendations to NERC

Voltage on the North American bulk system is normally regulated by synchronous generators, which typically are provided with voltage schedules by transmission system operators. In the past, variable generation plants were considered very small relative to conventional generating units, and were characteristically either induction generator (wind) or line-commutated inverters (photovoltaic) that have no inherent voltage regulation capability. However, the growing level of penetration of non-traditional renewable generation - especially wind and solar - has led to the need for renewable generation to contribute more significantly to power system voltage control and reactive power capacity. Modern wind-turbine generators, and increasingly PV inverters as well, have considerable dynamic reactive power capability, which can be further enhanced with other reactive support equipment at the plant level to meet interconnection requirements. This report contains a set of recommendations to the North-America Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) as part of Task 1-3 (interconnection requirements) of the Integration of Variable Generation Task Force (IVGTF) work plan. The report discusses reactive capability of different generator technologies, reviews existing reactive power standards, and provides specific recommendations to improve existing interconnection standards.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Utility-Scale Photovoltaic Procedures and Interconnection Requirements

This report focuses on the procedures and technical requirements for interconnecting utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants, typically greater than 20 MW, to the transmission grid within the United States. The discussion is primarily based on requirements set out by entities such as the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. The interconnection of utility-scale PV plants is a relatively new concept within the United States, and the requirements for plant performance and interconnection facilities are different from PV's more common application as a distributed resource, especially with respect to generator response to voltage and frequency disturbances. The reasons for growth and the attractiveness of the U.S. PV market are also examined along with the topology of a typical PV plant.

Ellis, Abraham↗

Eastern Interconnection Demand Response Potential

Demand response (DR), one of the key components in the Smart Grid initiative, has received increasing interest in recent years among power utilities, independent system operators, and policy makers. With this surge of interest in DR, in April 2010 the Department of Energy (DOE) issued a research call to provide technical support to the interconnection-level electric infrastructure planning projects they had issued earlier in the year. In Area of Interest 2, they identified a need/purpose: “The Eastern Interconnection States’ Planning Council (EISPC) seeks to significantly improve the knowledge base and modeling capabilities of demand-side resources for purposes of transmission planning.” In response to the research call, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducted a research project to estimate the DR potential peak load reductions in the Eastern Interconnection area over the next two decades until 2030, as well as analyzed costs and benefits occurring out of the DR resources. This final report is the outcome of the study by a team of ORNL researchers with diverse backgrounds in engineering, economics, and public policy.

demand response↗

A Guidebook on Grid Interconnection and Islanded Operation of Mini-Grid Power Systems Up to 200 kW

A Guidebook on Grid Interconnection and Islanded Operation of Mini-Grid Power Systems Up to 200 kW is intended to help meet the widespread need for guidance, standards, and procedures for interconnecting mini-grids with the central electric grid as rural electrification advances in developing countries, bringing these once separate power systems together. The guidebook aims to help owners and operators of renewable energy mini-grids understand the technical options available, safety and reliability issues, and engineering and administrative costs of different choices for grid interconnection. The guidebook is intentionally brief but includes a number of appendices that point the reader to additional resources for indepth information. Not included in the scope of the guidebook are policy concerns about “who pays for what,” how tariffs should be set, or other financial issues that are also paramount when “the little grid connects to the big grid.”

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Waiting in Queue: A Historical Evaluation of Interconnection Policy

Both states and Independent System Operators (ISO)/Regional Transmission Organizations (RTO) have struggled with long wait times in interconnection queues. As a result, numerous reforms have been proposed to expedite the connection of new resources to the grid. This paper conducts a quantitative analysis of two of these policies: one providing detail hosting capacity information in Massachusetts, the other experimenting with cost allocation in New York. We find that both policies led to a statistically significant decrease in the times projects spend pending in interconnection queues, with New York seeing a small drop in days pending, and Massachusetts seeing a much larger one. We also include an analysis of how energy storage is impacts queue time in these states. These results can help inform regulators who are weighing reforms to interconnection policies, with the goal of reducing wait times.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

How a Large-Scale Deployment of Grid-Forming Inverters May Impact Inter-Area Oscillation Modes: An Investigation in the US Western Interconnection

This report describes work performed to evaluate the impact of high grid-forming (GFM) inverter penetration on the inter-area oscillation mode characteristics of the Western Interconnection. Using simulations, this work analyzes how: a) replacing fossil-fuel-based synchronous generators by GFM inverters will impact properties of the North-South mode, and b) replacing the Colstrip power plant by grid-following (GFL) and GFM inverters will change the characteristics of the Montana mode. Results obtained indicate that high penetration of GFM inverters will significantly alter inter-area oscillation characteristics in interconnections. Low frequency oscillations in the 0.11 Hz range will be predominantly driven by remaining synchronous machines, and hence their relative distribution in the interconnection will impact mode characteristics and observability.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Small Hydropower Interconnection: Decision Support Tool User Guide

The Small Hydropower Interconnection Decision Support Tool is designed to provide specific information to small hydropower developers about the interconnection process. Developers follow this user guide to understand the general process; the Small Hydropower Interconnection Tool accompanies this user guide and provides specific knowledge of the processes and costs pertinent to specific locations.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Thermal simulation of the EIC HSR interconnect module - RF fingers

The Electron Ion Collider (EIC) Hadron Storage Ring (HSR) will reuse most of the existing superconducting magnets from the RHIC storage ring. However, the existing beam vacuum chamber and stripline BPMs will not be compatible with the planned EIC hadron bunches that will have a 3x higher intensity and be 10x shorter, and some operational scenarios with large radial offsets of the beam in the vacuum chamber. To address these challenges, a copper coated beam screen will be implemented, the existing RHIC stripline BPMs will be shielded and an interconnect module design, including new BPM will be installed adjacent to the existing BPMs. A thermal analysis of the new arc BPM interconnect housing has been conducted to assess the heating caused by beam induced resistive wall heating and electron cloud heating. An analysis of the BPM module has been made and reported separately. This report will focus on the other side of the interconnect module, containing the RF fingers.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗