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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS2006

Multiple Waveband Temperature Sensor (MWTS)

This slide presentation reviews the development of Multiple Waveband Temperature Sensor (MWTS). The MWTS project will result in a highly stable, monolithically integrated, high resolution infrared detector array sensor that records registered thermal imagery in four infrared wavebands to infer dynamic temperature profiles on a laser-irradiated ground target. An accurate surface temperature measurement of a target in extreme environments in a non-intrusive manner is required. The development challenge is to: determine optimum wavebands (suitable for target temperatures, nature of the targets and environments) to measure accurate target surface temperature independent of the emissivity, integrate simultaneously readable multiband Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (QWIPs) in a single monolithic focal plane array (FPA) sensor and to integrate the hardware/software and system calibration for remote temperature measurements. The charge was therefore to develop and demonstrate a multiband infrared imaging camera with the detectors simultaneously sensitive to multiple distinct color bands for front surface temperature measurements Wavelength ( m) measurements. Amongst the requirements are: that the measurement system will not affect target dynamics or response to the laser irradiation and that the simplest criterion for spectral band selection is to choose those practically feasible spectral bands that create the most contrast between the objects or scenes of interest in the expected environmental conditions. There is in the presentation a review of the modeling and simulation of multi-wave infrared temperature measurement and also a review of the detector development and QWIP capacities.

infrared photodector↗
NASA NTRS2012

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Protocols and Pilot Studies

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is a major international effort linking the climate, crop, and economic modeling communities with cutting-edge information technology to produce improved crop and economic models and the next generation of climate impact projections for the agricultural sector. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. Analyses of the agricultural impacts of climate variability and change require a transdisciplinary effort to consistently link state-of-the-art climate scenarios to crop and economic models. Crop model outputs are aggregated as inputs to regional and global economic models to determine regional vulnerabilities, changes in comparative advantage, price effects, and potential adaptation strategies in the agricultural sector. Climate, Crop Modeling, Economics, and Information Technology Team Protocols are presented to guide coordinated climate, crop modeling, economics, and information technology research activities around the world, along with AgMIP Cross-Cutting Themes that address uncertainty, aggregation and scaling, and the development of Representative Agricultural Pathways (RAPs) to enable testing of climate change adaptations in the context of other regional and global trends. The organization of research activities by geographic region and specific crops is described, along with project milestones. Pilot results demonstrate AgMIP's role in assessing climate impacts with explicit representation of uncertainties in climate scenarios and simulations using crop and economic models. An intercomparison of wheat model simulations near Obregón, Mexico reveals inter-model differences in yield sensitivity to [CO2] with model uncertainty holding approximately steady as concentrations rise, while uncertainty related to choice of crop model increases with rising temperatures. Wheat model simulations with midcentury climate scenarios project a slight decline in absolute yields that is more sensitive to selection of crop model than to global climate model, emissions scenario, or climate scenario downscaling method. A comparison of regional and national-scale economic simulations finds a large sensitivity of projected yield changes to the simulations' resolved scales. Finally, a global economic model intercomparison example demonstrates that improvements in the understanding of agriculture futures arise from integration of the range of uncertainty in crop, climate, and economic modeling results in multi-model assessments.

Rosenzweig, C.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Flexible Data Fusion for Air Quality Estimation and Forecasting in Google Earth Engine to support Global Health Management Needs

The assessment and forecasting of air quality around the world at high spatial and temporal resolution can be enhanced by integrating data from multiple sources including models, satellites, regulatory monitors, and low-cost sensors. Such integration is subject to numerous technical challenges, however, including heterogeneous data resolution and formatting, different levels of data availability and reliability, and computational and capacity challenges to developing data fusion tools and platforms. This presentation will provide an overview of a NASA-funded effort to develop a data fusion system within the Google Earth Engine platform which integrates these air quality data sources to produce comprehensive assessments and forecasts of key air pollutants at sub-daily and sub-city scales. The system is being developed in collaboration with city- and regional-level air quality managers, and will provide them with information to the assess and anticipate the health impacts of poor air quality, track local changes in air quality due to ongoing transportation and land use changes, and identify potential gaps in their current air quality monitoring strategies. The presentation will report advances achieved through the project, including bringing local air quality monitoring data into Google Earth Engine, quantifying uncertainties in air quality estimates and forecasts, and tailored communications tools providing integration into end-user processes to meet their needs.

Carl Malings↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Flexible Data Fusion for Air Quality Estimation and Forecasting in Google Earth Engine to support Global Health Management Needs

The assessment and forecasting of air quality around the world at high spatial and temporal resolution can be enhanced by integrating data from multiple sources including models, satellites, regulatory monitors, and low-cost sensors. Such integration is subject to numerous technical challenges, however, including heterogeneous data resolution and formatting, different levels of data availability and reliability, and computational and capacity challenges to developing data fusion tools and platforms. This presentation will provide an overview of a NASA-funded effort to develop a data fusion system within the Google Earth Engine platform which integrates these air quality data sources to produce comprehensive assessments and forecasts of key air pollutants at sub-daily and sub-city scales. The system is being developed in collaboration with city- and regional-level air quality managers and will provide them with information to the assess and anticipate the health impacts of poor air quality, track local changes in air quality due to ongoing transportation and land use changes, and identify potential gaps in their current air quality monitoring strategies. The presentation will report advances achieved through the project, including bringing local air quality monitoring data into Google Earth Engine, quantifying uncertainties in air quality estimates and forecasts, and tailored communications tools providing integration into end-user processes to meet their needs.

Nathan R. Pavlovic↗
DOE OSTI2023

Enabling Floating Solar Photovoltaic (FPV) Deployment: FPV Technical Potential Assessment for Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia (SE Asia) is a region with growing energy demand and increasing development of floating solar photovoltaic (FPV) systems, which can help meet countries' renewable energy and energy security goals. This study uses a high-level geospatial assessment methodology to estimate the technical potential for monofacial and bifacial FPV on reservoirs and natural waterbodies in the ten countries within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Technical potential consists of the suitable waterbody area for FPV development (km2), the capacity of FPV that could be installed on this suitable area (MW), and the annual energy that could be generated from these installations (GWh/year). This first-of-its-kind FPV technical potential assessment for SE Asia can help policymakers and planners better understand the role that FPV could play in meeting regional energy demand and can ultimately guide investment decisions. Although this work focuses on SE Asia, the methodology may also be applicable for countries in other regions, with adaptations. The FPV technical potential results are also integrated into the Renewable Energy (RE) Data Explorer online tool (https://www.re-explorer.org/).

bifacial↗
DOE OSTI2025

Open Architecture for Cost Savings in Advanced Nuclear Reactors

Recently, nuclear power plant build projects in the West have run over budget due to high capital costs and schedule overruns. Compared to other sources of energy, nuclear power plants have higher capital costs. Reactors are often different at every site, resulting in a lack of standardization. Nuclear is expected to compete with other low carbon sources of energy which have lower capital costs making it essential for nuclear to develop ways of reducing costs. Strategies such as standardization, learning rates, modularization, and schedule reduction in advanced reactors can reduce nuclear costs by about 40%. Standardization as a way of cutting capital costs has been explored even in large nuclear power plants. Standardization of certain plant components can result in lower component and installation costs and higher learning from experience. Standardization can be achieved by adopting a criterion of key performance indicators and general design principles for a specific system or component such as the balance of plant. Modularization allows the construction of certain components of SMRs in a factory, which saves time, increases productivity, and encourages higher learning rates. Production learning decreases the time and the cost related to an activity. The potential for modularized components of advanced reactors to be manufactured in factories makes it conducive to achieving higher learning rates. Developing large-capacity nuclear programs through sequential builds cultivates a higher learning rate, which in effect may reduce schedule overruns. Open architecture has been identified as a way to drive standardization among advanced reactor designs and result in cost savings. Open architecture (OA) is defined as a design enabling a diverse supply chain by defining and publishing requirements of systems or equipment in functional and/or interface terms, utilizing technical standards in widespread use. Currently, the nuclear industry’s approach is to use closed architecture, making most designs proprietary. However, collaboration between various advanced reactor vendors and suppliers utilizing the concept of open architecture can result in modular and standardized architecture of subsystems or subcomponents of a nuclear power plant. Completely standardizing nuclear power plants may be impossible, however, certain common subsystems amongst the various reactor designs could be standardized and/or access a wider supply chain and leverage existing learning from other sectors. Open architecture will save time and allocate resources to the parts of the plants that have the most unique features. A key advantage of open architecture is its ability to improve production learning across advanced reactors (AR) types in the industry, by providing and utilizing the same kind of component. Sodium fast reactor (SFR), High Temperature Gas Reactor (HTGR) and Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) are the advanced reactors considered for this project. This paper aims to determine the cost savings in advanced reactor programs due to open architecture learning rate. This work is an extension of work done on light water reactor small modular reactors; the cost methodology was utilized to investigate the impact of open architecture on advanced reactors with a particular focus on sodium fast reactors. The cost data on sodium fast reactors used in the model presented the most adequate information required for the analysis.

Advanced Nuclear Reactors↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Demand Capacity Balancing at Vertiports for Initial Strategic Conflict Management of Urban Air Mobility Operations

Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is a new transportation concept that enables highly automated, cooperative, passenger or cargo-carrying air transportation services in and around urban areas. To achieve the high level of operational density and complexity desired by the UAM community, an airspace system that allows UAM operators to readily access and operate safely and efficiently in the airspace is needed. This airspace system will require air traffic management designed to reduce the risk of conflicts and loss of separation between UAM flights. In general, strategic conflict management is considered as the first layer of conflict management for safe flight operations to condition the traffic to reduce the need for airborne separation provision, the second layer of conflict management. Demand Capacity Balancing (DCB) is one of the concept components to achieve strategic conflict management. DCB strategically evaluates traffic demand and resource capacities to allow UAM operators to determine when, where and how they operate, while mitigating conflicting needs for airspace and vertiport capacity. DCB can be applied whenever UAM demand exceeds the capacity in airspace or at vertiports. As the UAM ecosystem evolves with advanced technologies and matured operational procedures, more complicated conflict management will likely be needed. In the current UAM ‘Concept of Operation (ConOps) 1.0’ operational stage defined by FAA, however, it will be meaningful to explore the demand capacity balancing at vertiports only, as an initial strategic conflict management approach for UAM operations because vertiport capacity seems to be a bottleneck of UAM traffic. For this research, we developed a demand-capacity imbalance detection and resolution service for UAM. This DCB service identifies the demand from operators and compares the demand to a given capacity at the shared resources (i.e., vertiports) over the upcoming time horizon which is divided into time bins having a constant interval. When a new flight plan is submitted, the algorithm embedded in the DCB service checks the available time bins based on the desired departure time and estimated arrival time at origin and destination vertiports, respectively. If the time bins for the originally desired times are already occupied by other flights (i.e., demand is at or above capacity), the algorithm finds the next available time bins for takeoff and landing and shifts the conflicting departure time to the earliest time that satisfies the capacity constraints at both origin and destination vertiports. The details of the algorithm will be described in the final manuscript. Figure 1 shows that the proposed DCB algorithm works well for a sample traffic scenario. In this example, a total of 144 flights, split between two operators, are planned over 2 hours, traveling 10 routes between five vertiports. In the heatmaps, the horizontal axis shows 12 time bins where each bin represents a 12-minute interval, and the vertical axis shows five vertiports. The number in each cell shows the number of operations, counting both departures and arrivals, at a specific vertiport in each time bin. For the given capacity of 2 operations/vertiport/bin, Figure 1 shows that the original demand sometimes exceeds the capacity, but the modified demand is reduced to the given capacity after resolving demand-capacity imbalances. When UAM flights are operated, it is expected that many practical issues would arise in the federated system architecture with multiple operators. UAM operators may experience a time synchronization issue due to communication delay between operator and vehicle. UAM vehicles would fly at different flight speeds, depending on vehicle models. Actual departure and arrival times can have large variations, compared to the schedule. The lead time from flight plan submission to desired departure time can vary by service type (e.g., regular shuttle service vs. on-demand service). Using the proposed DCB algorithm, we also investigated how the actual flight schedule and DCB performance are affected by these uncertainties such as unsynchronized times between operators, flight speed differences, lead time differences, and departure time errors. The final manuscript will include the background of this research work, the description of the DCB algorithm and its use cases with traffic scenarios. It will also provide the analytical results about the impact of various uncertainties that can occur in actual UAM operations on the DCB at vertiports, in terms of demand distribution changes, number of simultaneous operations, and delay propagation.

Urban Air Mobility↗
DOE OSTI2022

Promoting Reversibility of Multielectron Redox in Alkali-Rich Sulfide Cathodes through Cryomilling

We report conventional cathodes for Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are reaching their theoretical capacity limits. One way to meet the growing demands for high-capacity LIBs is by developing so-called Li-rich cathode materials that greatly benefit from additional capacities from anionic moieties in the structure. Li-rich materials are intrinsically subject to higher degrees of (de)intercalation, leaving the particles more prone to fractures and thus rapid capacity fade. Alkali-rich LiNaFeS 2 reversibly cycles with capacities exceeding 300 mAh g -1 , but its capacity fades faster than an isostructural material Li 2 FeS 2 . Using synchrotron-based transmission X-ray microscopy (TXM), we demonstrate that the capacity fade of LiNaFeS 2 stems from particle fractures in the first charge cycle. We improve the cycling performance of LiNaFeS 2 by means of cryomilling, which enhances capacity retention at cycle 50 by 76%. Through crystallographic and morphological characterization techniques, we confirm that cryomilling not only decreases particle and crystallite size while increasing microstrain but also prevents particles from fracturing. Cryomilling is a powerful tool to engineer nanoscale battery materials, and TXM allows the direct observation of morphological changes of the particles, which can be leveraged to develop next-generation cathode materials for LIBs.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Williston Basin Resource Study for Commercial-Scale Subsurface Hydrogen Storage

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC), in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), the EERC’s State Energy Research Center (SERC), MPLX Operations LLC, and TC Energy Development Holdings Inc. (a subsidiary of TC Energy Corporation), studied the potential for subsurface hydrogen storage and recovery in the Williston Basin of western North Dakota. The project’s goal was to evaluate the feasibility of large-scale, secure geologic H 2 storage to support future hydrogen generation, storage, and use. This work included laboratory testing, H 2 –rock–fluid exposure experiments, literature reviews on H 2 embrittlement, and reservoir modeling and simulations. The study included an assessment of storage potential across three types of storage reservoirs using both reservoir simulation and DOE’s web-based tool SHASTA-HELP (Subsurface Hydrogen Assessment, Storage, and Technology Acceleration – Hydrogen Estimator for Logistical Planning), as well as investigation of potential H 2 production and markets for commercial-scale deployment. Building on prior EERC gas storage research, three storage options were selected for detailed evaluation: the Broom Creek Formation (a clastic saline reservoir), the Dickinson Lodgepole Mounds (DLM) complex (carbonate mud mound structures) of the Lodgepole Formation (an active oil and gas producing reservoir), and the Dunham Salt Interval of the Piper Formation (to be used for engineered salt cavern development). These targets were prioritized based on prior EERC research using datasets related to seal capacity, reservoir quality, mechanical integrity, and injectivity. Exposure tests on Broom Creek and DLM samples showed mineral dissolution and precipitation that increased brine salinity and altered reservoir rock surfaces. Although these results provide useful insight, they are limited by small sample sizes and short-term (30-day) exposure, requiring further study to assess long-term storage integrity. Salt formations were not tested because of their known nonreactivity and established mechanical stability. Results of reservoir simulations performed for a single site demonstrated that the Broom Creek Formation may be capable of receiving up to 42,000 tonnes of injected H 2 over 7 months via one well. H 2 recovery took place over 5 months, resulting in approximately 26,000 tonnes (~62% without cushion gas [CG]). This work suggests water production may be important and subsequent cycles of injection and production may perform more efficiently; however, significant site-specific work in the future is needed to assess actual reservoir performance of injection and withdrawal of H 2 storage. For oil reservoir potential, a multiple-well model was used to simulate injection of approximately 32,000 tonnes of H 2 into a single wellbore while simultaneously producing in place reservoir fluids from four offset wells to maintain reservoir pressure. The simulation results suggested a high recovery (~98%); in addition, cost advantages through existing infrastructure could be realized. Challenges in this reservoir include vi managing gas purity and leakage risks. In both scenarios, production of H 2 takes place in a single-well scenario with 10 cycles (7 months of injection and 5 months of production) over 10 years. Finally, the use of engineered caverns in the Dunhan Salt was evaluated, and the results suggest that while they have a smaller capacity (<1000 tonnes per cavern), they exhibit nearly complete gas recovery (>99%), fast response times, and low purity risk. While caverns in North Dakota may be smaller in capacity, fields can be developed in galleries to accommodate the volumetric needs and rapid turnaround times necessary to meet market demands. Geographic limitations and thin salt intervals in North Dakota may represent less total storage potential than salt domes elsewhere, but significant opportunities exist to expand this market for gas storage in North Dakota. A basinwide assessment was performed to estimate a first-of-its-kind value for H 2 storage on a large scale. DOE’s SHASTA-HELP, combined with EERC simulation work, was used to perform the assessment. Estimated H 2 storage potential varied widely for each formation type. The Broom Creek saline formation was estimated to have a storage potential of approximately 1.7–90.5 million tonnes (MMt). The DLM oil reservoirs were estimated to have 0.07–0.19 MMt of capacity. Notably, each of these estimates relies on significant assumptions regarding reservoir thickness, porosity, permeability, and CG needed for operation. Much research is needed to understand the true site-specific storage resource potential of each formation. Using the Dunham Salt Interval for cavern development may result in as much as 4.79 MMt (up to 2.87 MMt working gas) of H 2 storage potential. An important note for consideration is that the values presented here need significantly more geological characterization and engineering assessments prior to gaining confidence in performance. This will be a focal point for future research and development needs. The basinwide evaluation also indicated that North Dakota has significant H 2 generation potential, with estimates up to a possible 13 MMt annually, suggesting a substantial opportunity for H 2 market development and thus the need for commercial-scale H 2 storage to facilitate growth and resilience. Key Recommendations 1. Conduct detailed site characterization (3D seismic, well logs, core sampling) to reduce geologic uncertainty. 2. Perform techno-economic analyses incorporating market, regulatory, and incentive frameworks. 3. Investigate long-term interactions among H 2 , CGs, well materials, and formations to assess risks. 4. Develop pilot- and field-scale demonstrations to validate models and establish best practices.

03 NATURAL GAS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sparse chronology strategy for integrating seasonal energy storage in capacity expansion models

Here, this study develops the sparse chronology method to enhance the representative period framework in capacity expansion models, enabling the effective integration of long-duration energy storage modeling. Traditional representative period methods cannot capture the state of charge of seasonal energy storage systems because they do not establish effective inter-day linkages to connect the state of charge between periods. The sparse chronology approach addresses this limitation by establishing inter-day linkages that allow state of charge to shift inter-seasonally. At the same time, it groups identical representative days into partitions, applying constraints sparsely and implicitly to reduce computational load further. Validation results demonstrate that this method successfully simulates long-duration energy storage patterns, achieving close alignment with a continuous yearly benchmark model, with seasonal trends and state of charge cycles clearly represented. The computational load analysis reveals that the sparse chronology method efficiently applies constraints on maximum and minimum state of charge limits within the representative day framework, eliminating the need for detailed constraints on each individual day. By partitioning representative days and constraining only the start and end of each partition, the method significantly decreases computational requirements. Simulation results show that sparse chronology closely approximates the continuous yearly method's accuracy, even with as few as 20 representative days, achieving correlation values with the benchmark of nearly 0.9 in state of charge plots. Furthermore, it maintains computational efficiency, requiring only 4 % of the solver time compared to the continuous yearly method with 20 representative days. This approach allows capacity expansion models to incorporate long-duration energy storage with high temporal, spatial, and technological resolution, enabling more detailed modeling for large-scale power systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Accelerating Ocean-Based Renewable Energy Educational Opportunities to Achieve a Clean Energy Future

The United Nations has named 2021–2030 the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development with goals to 'strengthen the international cooperation needed to develop the scientific research and innovative technologies that can connect ocean science with the needs of society' (IOC 2019 The science we need for the ocean we want: the United Nations decade of ocean science for sustainable development (2021–2030) (Paris) p 24). Important actions that have been identified in support of sustainable development goals include capacity-building, training, and education. This includes educational opportunities for ocean-based renewable energy development in support of a healthy planet and ocean. Offshore wind is experiencing rapid development globally and, while the U.S. offshore wind market is still nascent, it is on the brink of exponential growth based on large cost reductions driven largely by European development and technology advances. Growth is also expected in wave and tidal energy with significant opportunities identified for various distributed markets through the Powering the Blue Economy™ initiative, with longer-term implications for expansion at the utility scale (LiVecchi et al 2019 Powering the blue economy; exploring opportunities for marine renewable energy in maritime markets p 207). In order to expedite progress and maximize benefits to the national, state, and local economies, these development actions will require a broad, diverse, and appropriately trained workforce. The ocean-based renewable energy workforce needs engineers and scientists to develop cost-effective technologies, as well as trade and maritime workers to eventually deploy the technologies at scale. In the United States, educational institutions, state governments, and private developers are taking action to understand job skills and capability requirements and to develop educational and training programs to meet offshore workforce needs; most are focused on offshore wind power, with gaining interest in marine energy. This article explores the workforce requirements of the growing ocean-based renewable energy industry and the current state of education and training programs to meet those requirements in order to identify gaps and make recommendations for further workforce development activities and initiatives. An international view needs to be adopted that incorporates the education and skill needs of early-stage marine energy technologies and evolving offshore wind technologies together with more market-ready offshore renewable energy markets. By accelerating educational development opportunities in ocean-based renewable energy, these growing blue economy markets can deliver significant economic and social benefits.

50 EE - Wind and Water Power Program - Water (EE-4↗
DOE OSTI2025

Land of Opportunity: Potential for Renewable Energy on Federal Lands

Renewable energy (RE) in the United States has historically been deployed primarily on private lands, but the growing interest in RE development, generally across the country and specifically on federal lands, raises questions about the potential for RE on public lands. This study seeks to estimate RE technical potential on federal lands and project the amount of RE to be developed on federal lands under decarbonization scenarios for the contiguous United States. The study applied a combination of high-resolution geospatial analysis and power sector modeling and relied on multiple partner federal agencies and land administrators from the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the U.S. Department of Energy. In our reference siting access case, we estimate 44 million acres of federal land across the contiguous United States is potentially suitable for UPV development, which corresponds to a capacity technical potential of 5,750 gigawatts (GW) (Figure ES-1). Federal land area available for wind development is similar to UPV but wind’s generating capacity technical potential is lower (875 GW). The technical potential is estimated for two geothermal technologies, hydrothermal and enhanced geothermal systems (EGS), both of which have a smaller amount of federal land available for development (12 and 27 million acres, respectively). However, in terms of capacity, the technical potential for EGS (975 GW) is approximately equal to wind’s technical potential and there is an estimated 130 GW of hydrothermal potential. We also developed cases with more-limited land available for UPV and wind (for federal and non-federal lands) resulting in 96% reduction of wind capacity potential and 70% reduction for UPV. In a case with additional constraints applied to non-federal lands only (Limited Private), the overall (federal and non-federal) technical potential declines but the share of that technical potential on federal lands is higher than in the other siting cases. The technical potential is the maximum amount that could be developed, but only a small fraction would be developed or needed in the future. Across seven scenarios that achieve 100% carbon-free electricity by 2035, we estimate 26 GW to 270 GW of RE capacity could be deployed on federal lands by 2035. The three central scenarios have 51–84 GW of RE deployed by 2035 and requiring about 500,000 to 1,000,000 acres of total land area. Direct land consumption is less than total land use required, thus enabling co-use opportunities. The large technical potential estimates and the increasing deployment projections from the collection of scenarios show the opportunities for RE development on federal lands. Capturing these opportunities-while minimizing conflicts with other land uses, federal department or agency missions, and public interest, and simultaneously maximizing the economic, grid, and social value of the projects-would require collaborative planning among federal land administrators, grid planners, project developers, the public, and other stakeholders.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Applying deep learning methods to develop new models of molecular charge transfer, nonadiabatic dynamics, and nonlinear spectroscopy in the condensed phase

Photon- and field-induced charge transfer has central importance in the generation and storage of electricity, the novel properties of materials, photo-induced catalysis, and electro-optic activity (e.g., photovoltaic cells, fuel cells, and organic chromophores for use in optical fibers and light-emission diodes). These non-equilibrium electronic and chemical transformations are probed by ultrafast, nonlinear spectroscopies. Accurate simulations play a crucial role in our ability to understand, optimize, and control these transformations. This project applies modern deep learning and machine learning (ML) methods to dramatically improve models of electronic dynamics, electronic-nuclear dynamics, and spectroscopic measurements for improved simulations of chemistry in complex environments, far from equilibrium phenomena, and processes in extreme environments, such as materials exposed to strong or resonant fields. This project develops accurate neural net models that go beyond predictive capability to also provide new insight into the fundamental physics underlying electron and nuclear dynamics. To achieve its objectives, this project explores and develops customized versions of high-capacity deep learning algorithms/models. These techniques are developed with an emphasis on fundamental chemical insight, not just predictive accuracy, to assist the development of the next generation of quantum simulation methods.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

20 Watt 20 Kelvin Reverse Turbo-Brayton Cycle Cryocooler Testing and Applications

Long-term storage of cryogens is an essential capability required to enable NASA’s anticipated missions to both the Lunar and Martian surfaces. A key component to furthering these capabilities is the development of a high capacity, low temperature cryocooler to allow for zero-boil-off storage of liquid hydrogen propellant. The technology being developed by NASA to meet this objective is a reverse turbo-Brayton cycle cryocooler capable of removing 20 Watts (W) of heat at 20 Kelvin (K). This hardware was recently tested at Creare LLC in a vacuum chamber to simulate a relevant mission environment. This testing demonstrated the hardware’s functionality and established a baseline for the cryocooler’s capabilities. Additional NASA led characterization testing is underway and will provide a broader picture of the operational capability of the cryocooler. This paper will discuss the results of this recent testing, along with highlighting the applications for high capacity cryocoolers on future NASA missions, such as Nuclear Thermal Propulsion (NTP) and a sustainable lunar architecture.

Cryocooler↗
DOE OSTI2022

Bounds on Optimal Revisit Times in Persistent Monitoring Missions With a Distinct and Remote Service Station</strong

We report persistent monitoring missions require an up-to-date knowledge of the changing state of the underlying environment. Unmannned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be gainfully employed to continually visit a set of targets representing tasks (and locations) in the environment and collect data therein for long time periods. The enduring nature of these missions requires the UAV to be regularly recharged at a service station. In this article, we consider the case in which the service station is not colocated with any of the targets. An efficient monitoring requires the revisit time, defined as the maximum of the time elapsed between successive revisits to targets, to be minimized. Here, we consider the problem of determining UAV routes that lead to the minimum revisit time. The problem is NP-hard, and its computational difficulty increases with the fuel capacity of the UAV. We develop an algorithm to construct near-optimal solutions to the problem quickly when the fuel capacity exceeds a threshold. We also develop lower bounds to the optimal revisit time and use these bounds to demonstrate (through numerical simulations) that the constructed solutions are, on an average, at most 0.01% away from the optimum.

42 ENGINEERING↗
NASA NTRS2006

Extending NASA Research Results to Benefit Society: Rapid Prototyping for Coastal Applications

The mission of the NASA Applied Sciences Program is to expand and accelerate the use of NASA research results to benefit society in 12 application areas of national priority. ONe of the program's major challenges is to perform a quick, efficient, and detailed review (i.e., prototyping) of the large number of combinations of NASA observations and results from Earth system models that may be used by a wide range of decision support tools. A Rapid Prototyping Capacity (RPC) is being developed to accelerate the use of NASA research results. Here, we present the conceptual framework of the Rapid Prototyping Capacity within the context of quickly assessing the efficacy of NASA research results and technologies to support the Coastal Management application. An initial RPC project designed to quickly evaluate the utility of moderate-resolution MODIS products for calibrating/validating coastal sediment transport models is also presented.

Glorioso, Mark V.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Building Capacity to Use Earth Observations for Land Monitoring: A Synoptic Review of NASA DEVELOP’s Terrestrial Projects

The NASA DEVELOP Program addresses environmental and public policy issues through interdisciplinary research studies that apply the lens of Earth observations to decision making. The program builds capacity in both programmatic participants (e.g., students and recent graduates) and partner organizations (e.g., federal agencies and non-governmental organizations) to use and integrate Earth science information into environmental decision making. DEVELOP conducts 50-60 projects each year, with approximately three quarters of projects focusing on terrestrial-related topics such as monitoring and assessing land use/land change, vegetation health, agriculture, water resources, and urban development. This presentation will share the DEVELOP model for building capacity, highlight example project case studies, and share lessons learned working with a wide variety of partner organizations.

Capacity Building↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Technology Architecture for Accessing the Oceans of Icy Worlds

The icy moon oceans beckon with ingredients that potentially may harbour extant life. Beginning with the Galileo and Cassini missions, measurements have revealed the presence of global oceans under the icy crust of several moons of Jupiter and Saturn. Among those moons, Europa and Enceladus have their ocean in contact with the rocky core, providing an environment similar to the conditions existing on the terrestrial sea-floor where life has developed at hydrothermal vents Accessing these oceans presents considerable difficulty due to a number of issues including the depth and composition of the icy crust, the time needed to travel through the crust, the power needed to propel a probe, communication of scientific and engineering data though the ice and back to Earth, entry and mobility in the ocean and autonomous operations for the life of the mission. A detailed trade space study was conducted to develop a technology architecture defining a system that would access an icy moon’s ocean. To specifically bound the architecture, Jupiter’s moon Europa was chosen as the target body though the work can apply to other bodies. The current understanding of the scientific properties of the ice crust and ocean was used to guide the development. A strawman scientific payload was devised to further develop a baseline set of requirements. Beginning with a launch and trajectory that can bring a system to Europa’s orbit, a complete trade space was developed outlining the engineering systems needed to access the ocean. The architecture was divided into specific phases for i) deorbit, descent and landing, ii) surface operations, iii) ice descent and iv) ocean access. The technical maturity of each of sub-system for the phases was assessed for systems that could be developed to a maturity ready for a preliminary design in less than ten years. Integrated system parameters on power, communication capacity, and mass were developed to further define the overall system. To constrain the design, a total time in the ice, from the ice crust surface to accessing the ocean was limited to three years, and 15Km of ice was baselined with a temperature profile through the ice estimated from the scientific literature.

Sengupta, Anita↗