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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2026

SuperLab 2.0 Showcase: Connecting Five Labs to Tackle Grid Complexity and Unlock Unique Grid Asset Potential

SuperLab 2.0 (a five-lab demonstration) is a collaborative, national-scale experiment showcasing the coordination of geographically distributed energy assets in real time. The demonstration integrates 25 physical and digital assets, spanning wind, photovoltaics, batteries, electrolyzers, DC fast chargers, microgrid controllers, building automation systems, small modular reactors, control centers, and gas turbines, across five U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national laboratories: National Laboratory of the Rockies (NLR), Idaho National Laboratory, National Energy Technology Laboratory, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratories. These assets are unified using Energy Sciences Network (ESnet), a low-latency, high-performance DOE network, and are controlled via a centralized energy controller hosted at NLR's Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems facility. The demonstration validates the ability to stress-test hybrid energy systems under dynamic scenarios to de-risk advanced control strategies for greater resilience and flexibility.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimal Sizing of Movable Energy Resources for Enhanced Resilience in Distribution Systems: A Techno-Economic Analysis

This article introduces a techno-economic analysis aimed at identifying the optimal total size of movable energy resources (MERs) to enhance the resilience of electric power supply. The core focus of this approach is to determine the total size of MERs required within the distribution network to expedite restoration after extreme events. Leveraging distribution line fragility curves, the proposed methodology generates numerous line outage scenarios, with scenario reduction techniques employed to minimize computational burden. For each reduced multiple line outage scenario, a systematic reconfiguration of the distribution network, represented as a graph, is executed using tie-switches within the system. To evaluate each locational combination of MERs for a specific number of these resources, the expected load curtailment (ELC) is calculated by summing the load curtailment within microgrids formed due to multiple line outages. This process is repeated for all possible locational combinations of MERs to determine minimal ELC for each MER total size. For every MER total size, the minimal ELCs are determined. Finally, a techno-economic analysis is performed using power outage cost and investment cost of MERs to pinpoint an optimal total size of MERs for the distribution system. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, case studies are conducted on the 33-node and the modified IEEE 123-node distribution test systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sensors with Intelligent Measurement Platform and Low-cost Equipment (SIMPLE) for Monitoring and Control of Medium Voltage Distribution Systems with High Penetration of Intermittent Distributed Energy Resources

The primary focus of the SIMPLE project was to develop, commission, test and introduce intelligent voltage and current sensor platform with enhanced characteristics (accuracy, bandwidth and harmonic range) and high measurement granularity for medium voltage distribution system monitoring, protection and control. The enhancements incorporated existing (commercially available) sensors and made them suitable for applications such as voltage regulation, frequency support, fault detection and location, distribution system state estimation, power quality measurements and electrical distribution network topology processing. The development of the intelligent sensor platform was driven by the need for high-fidelity monitoring and control of medium voltage distribution feeder to enable higher penetration of renewable resources and microgrid operation.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Smart Energy Storage Integration and Management Platform for Buildings (SESIMP-B)

This project involved the design, development, and testing of a commercial smart service panel. It includes an innovative AI-driven control method to manage smart functions of the panel and a technical-economic feasibility assessment for enhancing building energy resilience and grid-edge technology integration.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter (HERO WEC)

The Hydraulic and Electric Reverse Osmosis Wave Energy Converter (HERO WEC) is a 6-ft wave energy device that turns seawater into drinking water. It is designed for rapid deployment in disaster response scenarios where fresh water is limited. Featuring both hydraulic and electric power takeoff systems, HERO WEC has undergone two ocean deployments at Jennette's Pier on the Outer Banks of North Carolina in addition to extensive in-lab testing. The research provides practical insights into the real-world challenges of wave energy conversion beyond modeling and dry-lab environments. Attendees will develop an understanding of the practical considerations for deploying wave energy devices and the lessons learned from real-world HERO WEC deployments.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2020

Large-Scale Adoption of Self-Synchronized Universal Droop Controller-Based Inverters to Enable Ancillary Services for Different Modes of Distribution System Operations

This work proposes the large-scale adoption of self-synchronized universal droop controller (SUDC)-based inverters to enable ancillary services for different modes of distribution system operations. The IEEE 123 bus system was modeled on a real-time simulator to study the performance of large-scale adoption of SUDC inverters in a distribution system. The resulting data collected shows that the voltage and the frequency were regulated within ranges, such as less than 5% for voltage and less than 0.5% for frequency, under different load variations and grid operations. Also, the black start was achieved within 0.4 s without any voltage overshoot. Through the simulation and validation on a small microgrid and the IEEE 123 bus distribution system, it can be concluded that the SUDC was successfully adopted to regulate the voltage and the frequency within the given ranges, and black start achieved within 1 s without voltage overshoot for different modes of distribution system operations.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Performance Evaluation of Multi-Vendor Grid-Forming Inverters for Grid-Connected Operation Through Hardware Experimentation: Preprint

Existing real-world projects of GFM inverters that operate in parallel to power grids typically are sized between dozens and a few hundreds Megawatt (MW) scale according to a recent NERC GFM inverter white paper. These large systems are often difficult to evaluate prior to deployments because of their large size. The performance of smaller GFM inverters (dozens to a few hundreds MW) that operate parallel with power grids (distribution systems) is even less understood. There is an opportunity to better understand these systems through hardware testing under controlled laboratory conditions. Therefore, this paper presents the functional performance evaluation tests of multiple (three) commercial GFM inverters when they operate in parallel with the grid through hardware experiments. The goal of these tests is to explore the GFM inverters' functionalities and dynamic response when in parallel with power grids to eventually develop universal specifications for GFM inverters. Both steady state (changing the inverter's frequency and voltage droop) and transient (adding step change in grid's frequency/voltage) tests are performed for each GFM inverter with the same testing circuit and testing protocol. The experimental results indicate the bench-marked performance that: 1) the GFM inverters can be dispatched through frequency and voltage droop intercepts to output the target power when paralleled to the grid; 2) the GFM inverters automatically respond to system frequency and voltage events to output the needed power, however, the GFM inverters all show stability issues when absorbing reactive power from the grid.

grid-forming inverters↗
DOE OSTI2021

Angle Droop Design for Grid-Forming Inverters Considering Impacts of Virtual Impedance Control

Grid-forming inverters (GFMs) based on active power-frequency droop control and reactive power-voltage droop control have been developed in recent years, which can generate voltage and frequency references for islanded power systems or microgrids to improve system-wide synchronization and power-sharing capability. It is known that the control delays in GFMs may cause system harmonic instability. To eliminate this issue, virtual impedance techniques are normally adopted. This paper gives a comprehensive examination of the impacts of virtual impedance control block Z v in GFMs on system stability. It is revealed that although Z v is effective in eliminating system harmonic stability, it may ruin system synchronization stability as a side effect. To compensate for the negative impacts caused by Z v , an active power-angle control block is added into the conventional droop control. Design criteria are also proposed accordingly to ensure system stability over the entire frequency range. Simulations and experimental testing are conducted to validate the analysis and the proposed design guidelines. It can be concluded that the Z v control-caused grid-synchronization instability issues can be eliminated with an appropriate active power-angle droop design.

Kong, Le↗
DOE OSTI2023

Power Flow Models of Grid-Forming Inverters in Unbalanced Distribution Grids

Load unbalance in electric distribution systems is unavoidable. Unbalanced load currents will lead to negative sequence (NS) voltages that may damage electric equipment. Unbalanced power flow analysis is a common tool to detect and mitigate NS voltage issues and requires accurate models of grid components. While traditional source models are available, grid-forming (GFM) inverter models are not well developed. GFM inverters implement various control strategies, which affect their power flow models. Here, in this paper, a novel GFM inverter model considering control effects is proposed. We show that for some control methods, unbalanced system loading will lead to unbalanced terminal voltages of the GFM inverters, which are modeled through an equivalent negative sequence impedance. The proposed models are initially validated using a simple test circuit. Then, they are applied in the power flow analysis on the IEEE 13-bus and 34-bus systems to demonstrate the accuracy improvement over the state-of-the-art. Using time-domain simulations as benchmarks, we show that the proposed models reduce the calculation error of negative sequence voltages by at least 25% in unbalanced distribution systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Solar+ Optimizer: A Model Predictive Control Optimization Platform for Grid Responsive Building Microgrids

With the falling costs of solar arrays and battery storage and reduced reliability of the grid due to natural disasters, small-scale local generation and storage resources are beginning to proliferate. However, very few software options exist for integrated control of building loads, batteries and other distributed energy resources. The available software solutions on the market can force customers to adopt one particular ecosystem of products, thus limiting consumer choice, and are often incapable of operating independently of the grid during blackouts. In this paper, we present the “Solar+ Optimizer” (SPO), a control platform that provides demand flexibility, resiliency and reduced utility bills, built using open-source software. SPO employs Model Predictive Control (MPC) to produce real time optimal control strategies for the building loads and the distributed energy resources on site. SPO is designed to be vendor-agnostic, protocol-independent and resilient to loss of wide-area network connectivity. The software was evaluated in a real convenience store in northern California with on-site solar generation, battery storage and control of HVAC and commercial refrigeration loads. Preliminary tests showed price responsiveness of the building and cost savings of more than 10% in energy costs alone.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

High-Temperature Latent Heat Storage System using Transportable Heat Pipes for Versatile Integration with Emerging Microreactors

With the growing interest in the development of micro nuclear reactors and their application to microgrid, high-temperature thermal energy storage (TES) has also been receiving great attention as a technology to reinforce the energy utilization and profitability of this class of reactors. Given the importance and research needs of the TES technology, a research project is underway at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to develop high-temperature TES that can be easily interfaced with emerging micro nuclear reactors. Currently under development is the Heat pipe-Integrated Thermal Battery (HITB), a novel latent heat storage design that enables flexible and robust integration with any design of currently considered micro nuclear reactors. The development of detailed design based on the proposed TES concept, HITB, requires not only development and validation of modeling and simulation capabilities, but also research that spans thermal performance analysis, component- and system-scale design optimization, and experimental demonstrations including high-temperature feasibility testing. The current research efforts (and plans) are divided into the following four areas: (i) Thermal and structural modeling and analysis at both system- and component-scales for evaluating performance and conducting design optimization, (ii) Small-scale experimental demonstrations for the key components of the proposed HITB design, (iii) Modelica-based dynamic model development for developing a control strategy under dynamic operation within integrated energy systems configuration, (iv) Integrated experimental testing and demonstration. This paper introduces the overall research efforts that have been and are being conducted to develop and demonstrate the novel design of the high-temperature latent heat storage device, HITB. The key design features, ongoing research efforts including the development of modeling and simulation capabilities, small-scale demonstrations of the HITB’s key functionalities prior to scaled-up experimental demonstration, are discussed. Then, this paper concludes with a remark on the future research plans for this project.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

A Structural Design Approach Tailored for the Rapid Preliminary Design of Microreactor Components

High-temperature microreactors can play a role in developing reliable, portable energy sources for off-grid remote locations, microgrid concepts, and industrial process heat. Portability and passive safety criteria tend to skew microreactor structural component designs toward complex geometries, high thermal stresses, and design bases with large numbers of startup/shutdown cycles. Current design rules, as typified by Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler & Pressure Vessel Code, are less than optimal for these conditions, particularly for preliminary component designs where developers need to rapidly consider a large number of potential component configurations. This paper presents a design method targeted toward rapid, efficient evaluation of preliminary component designs using modern finite element analysis. The new method retains key connections with the ASME Code rules and design data while streamlining the design approach. This paper presents the design method, several verification examples illustrating the similarities and differences between the new method and the current ASME rules, and the application of the new approach to the evaluation of a test article mimicking key features of a heat pipe–cooled microreactor.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2020

Grid Application and Controls Development for Medium-Voltage SiC-Based Grid Interconnects

This paper studies, the grid-interconnection requirements of directly connected medium-voltage (MV) Silicon Carbide-based (SiC-based) converters and details the necessary control implementations. These power electronic converters follow the interconnection standard IEEE 1547-2018, but can also have additional controls supported by the microgrid standards in IEEE 2030.7, which is demonstrated in this work. Additionally, this paper defines the grid applications realized by these directly connected medium-voltage power electronic converters at the distribution scale and demonstrates results. The controls for the studied grid applications are then developed and implemented on the controller. The paper also includes details of the control algorithm development and validations of the control algorithm through hardware-in-the-loop results.

28 EE - Advanced Manufacturing Office (EE-5A)↗
DOE OSTI2023

Quantitative Small-Signal Stability Analysis of Grid-Forming Inverters in Large-Scale Power Systems

In this paper, the challenges induced by the integration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) into existing power systems are discussed. Although the grid-forming (GFM) control has been used to enhance system performance in multiple sections of electric power systems (e.g., transmission and distribution systems, microgrids, among others), the coupling mechanism between GFM inverter and various types of other components in modern power systems should be clearly explored. Existing analyses mainly focus on qualitative investigations that verify the effectiveness of deploying GFM inverters for stability enhancement. A holistic system-level quantitative analysis is still missing to verify the detailed benefits of GFM inverters and their interactions with other generation units (e.g., synchronous generators [SGs], conventional grid-following [GFL] inverters, synchronous condensers, among others). To fill in the technical gaps, a holistic small-signal model of the entire system with both rotating generation units and IBRs is established along with the customized power flow analysis for varying steady-state operating points. Further, a quantitative method is proposed to identify the impacts of GFM inverters on system performance with an emphasis on a quantifiable stability margin and a complete modal analysis at the system level. Finally, a realistic test system is used to verify the proposed approach.

grid-following↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Hierarchical Control of Distributed Battery Energy Storage System in a DC Microgrid

This paper presents a novel hierarchical control approach of a DC microgrid (DCMG) which is supplied by a distributed battery energy storage system (BESS). With this approach, all battery units distributed in the BESS can be controlled to discharge with accurate current sharing and state-of-charge (SoC) balancing. Similar to other hierarchical control approaches used in DCMGs, this approach consists of three levels: (1) primary control, (2) secondary control and (3) tertiary control. This work includes defining a unit control error (UCE) at the secondary control level and evaluating current sharing weights at tertiary control level. A centralized controller at secondary control level is designed to detect the UCEs of each battery unit, and to restore the average voltage of a DCMG and control battery current sharing simultaneously. The distributed battery units share the load current in a DCMG based on weights. These weights are evaluated at the tertiary control level based on battery SoCs. The approach’s effectiveness was confirmed in digital simulation tests with the same simulation model as used in the NASA AMPS Modular Hardware Emulator.

Jing Zhang↗
DOE OSTI2026

Hierarchical semi-Markov models with duration-aware dynamics for activity sequences

Residential electricity demand at granular scales is driven by what people do and for how long. Accurately forecasting this demand for applications like microgrid management and demand response therefore requires generative models for activities that can produce realistic daily activity sequences, capturing both the timing and duration of human behavior. This paper develops a generative model of human activity sequences using nationally representative time-use diaries at a 10-min resolution. We use this model to quantify which demographic factors are most critical for improving predictive performance. We propose a hierarchical semi-Markov framework that addresses two key modeling challenges. First, a time-inhomogeneous Markov router learns the patterns of “which activity comes next.” Second, a semi-Markov hazard component explicitly models activity durations, capturing “how long” activities realistically last. To ensure statistical stability when data are sparse, the model pools information across related demographic groups and time blocks. The entire framework is trained and evaluated using survey design weights to ensure our findings are representative of the U.S. population. On a held-out test set, we demonstrate that explicitly modeling durations with the hazard component provides a substantial and statistically significant improvement over purely Markovian models. Furthermore, our analysis reveals a clear hierarchy of demographic factors: Sex, Day-Type, and Household Size provide the largest predictive gains, while Region and Season, though important for energy calculations, contribute little to predicting the activity sequence itself. The result is an interpretable and robust generator of synthetic activity traces, providing a high-fidelity foundation for downstream energy systems modeling.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

PV Inverter Systems Enabled by Monolithically Integrated SiC based Four Quadrant Power Switch (4-QPS) [BiDFET]

The purpose of this project was to develop a new breed of Power Conversion Systems (PCS) for PV integration that is enabled by the newly developed 4-Quadrant Single Die SiC Power Semiconductor Switches (4-QPS) or also referred to as “Bidirectional FET (BIDFET)”. This work includes semiconductor die development, advanced packaging, converter design, development, and testing of 4-QPS enabled hardware prototypes at 1 kW (for single phase residential application) and 10 kW (for three phase commercial application). The BiDirectional Field-Effect Transistor (BiDFET) can enable circuit topologies requiring four-quadrant switches, that were earlier designed using discrete combinations of MOSFETs, IGBTs, GaN HEMTs, and PiN diodes. The monolithic nature of the BiDFET allows lower device count, smaller switch volume, lower inductance, and simpler packaging, and hence more reliable and commercially viable implementation in power electronics converters. The matrix converter topologies, now feasible using BiDFETs, can eliminate the bulky and unreliable dc link capacitors or inductors required for conventional voltage-source or current-source converters in ac–ac and ac–dc applications. The 1.2 kV BiDFET has the potential to disrupt all the applications utilizing 1.2 kV switches, including electric vehicle (EV) drivetrain, bidirectional EV chargers, industrial motor drives, solid-state transformers, datacenter power supplies, elevator drives, dc microgrids, energy storage grid integration, solid-state breakers, etc.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Source Authentication of Distribution Synchrophasors for Cybersecurity of Microgrids

This letter proposes a hybrid approach combining Self-Adaptive Mathematical Morphology (SAMM) and Time-Frequency (TF) techniques to authenticate the source information of Distribution Synchrophasors (DS) within near-range locations. The SAMM can adaptively regulate the synchrophasors variations which are representatives of local environmental characteristics. Subsequently, TF mapping is employed to extract informative signatures from the regulated synchrophasors variation. Finally, Random Forest Classification (RFC) is used to correlate the extracted signatures with the source information based on the derived TF mapping. Experiment results using DS collected at multiple small geographical scales validated the proposed methodology.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗