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Buildings are becoming more data-rich. Building analytics tools, including energy information systems (EIS) and fault detection and diagnostic (FDD) tools, have emerged to enable building operators to translate large amounts of time-series data into actionable findings to achieve energy and non-energy benefits. To expedite data analytics adoption and facilitate technology innovation, building owners, technology developers, and researchers need reliable cost–benefit data and evidence-based guidance on deployment practices. This paper fulfills these needs with the energy use and survey data from a wide-ranging research and industry partnership program that covers thousands of buildings installed with analytics tools. The paper indicates that after two years of implementation, organizations using FDD tools and EIS tools achieved 9% and 3% median annual energy savings, respectively. The median base cost and annual recurring cost for FDD are USD 0.65 per square meter (m2) (USD 0.06 per square foot [ft2]) and USD 0.22 per m2 (USD 0.02 per ft2), and are USD 0.11 per m2 (USD 0.01 per ft2) and USD 0.11 per m2 (USD 0.01 per ft2) for EIS. The common metrics and analyses that are used in the tools to support the discovery of energy efficiency measures are summarized in detail. Two best practice examples identified to maximize the benefits of tool implementation are also presented. Opportunities to advance the state of technology include simplified data integration and management, and more efficient processes for acting on analytics outputs. Compared with previous efforts in the literature, the findings presented in this paper demonstrate the effectiveness of building analytics tools with the largest known dataset.
Solar energy is growing at record rates, but its rapid expansion brings little-discussed challenges. I will present the global deployment goals and how these translate into future amounts of waste and critical material needs. I will also address common myths about end of life, toxicity, and the real impacts of technological changes, and why research in reliability and field testing is essential to ensure a resilient, sustainable network prepared for the next decades of photovoltaic growth.
The Advanced Missions Analysis Office (AMAO) of GSFC has completed a study of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES-N) series. The feasibility, risks, schedules, and associated costs of advanced space and ground system concepts responsive to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requirements were evaluated. The study is the first step in a multi-phased procurement effort that is expected to result in launch ready hardware in the post 2000 time frame. This represents the latest activity of GSFC in translating meteorological requirements of NOAA into viable space systems in geosynchronous earth orbits (GEO). GOES-N represents application of the latest spacecraft, sensor, and instrument technologies to enhance NOAA meteorological capabilities via remote and in-situ sensing from GEO. The GOES-N series, if successfully developed, could become another significant step in NOAA weather forecasting space systems, meeting increasingly complex emerging national needs for that agency's services.
With a concentration on Fourier optics pattern recognition, we have developed several methods of tracking objects in dynamic imagery to automate certain space applications such as orbital rendezvous and spacecraft capture, or planetary landing. We are developing two of these techniques for Earth applications in real-time medical image processing. The first is warping of a video image, developed to evoke shift invariance to scale and rotation in correlation pattern recognition. The technology is being applied to compensation for certain field defects in low vision humans. The second is using the optical joint Fourier transform to track the translation of unmodeled scenes. Developed as an image fixation tool to assist in calculating shape from motion, it is being applied to tracking motions of the eyeball quickly enough to keep a laser photocoagulation spot fixed on the retina, thus avoiding collateral damage.
With a concentration on Fourier optics pattern recognition, we have developed several methods of tracking objects in dynamic imagery to automate certain space applications such as orbital rendezvous and spacecraft capture, or planetary landing. We are developing two of these techniques for Earth applications in real-time medical image processing. The first is warping of a video image, developed to evoke shift invariance to scale and rotation in correlation pattern recognition. The technology is being applied to compensation for certain field defects in low vision humans. The second is using the optical joint Fourier transform to track the translation of unmodeled scenes. Developed as an image fixation tool to assist in calculating shape from motion, it is being applied to tracking motions of the eyeball quickly enough to keep a laser photocoagulation spot fixed on the retina, thus avoiding collateral damage.
The STRV-1B cryocooler vibration suppression experiment is a satellite flight demonstration of piezo vibration-suppression technology. A very small, tactical stirling-cooler was flown primarily as a vibration source. Two types of piezo actuators were demonstrated. Low-voltage piezo translators were used to move the entire cryocooler so that the tip of the coldfinger stood still. Also, high-voltage ceramic applique was bonded to the base of the coldfinger providing a second actuation method to compare with the translators. three eddy current transducers were used to measure the coldfinger tip motion relative to the experiment case. The eddy current signal drove two types of control systems. A digital adaptive-feed- forward control system was used to cancel the tip motion of the cryocooler in three dimensions. An analog-comb filter controller was also developed to contrast the two techniques. Motion suppression does nothing to suppress the unbalanced forces in the cryocooler, so a triaxial accelerometer measured the vibration of the satellite in response to the cryocooler. Satellite/ground test results from each of the experiment systems are shown and the systems are compared.
Estimation and control methods for a Drag-Free spacecraft are discussed. The functional and analytical synthesis of on-board estimators and controllers for an integrated attitude and translation control system is represented. The framework for detail definition and design of the baseline drag-free system is created. The techniques for solution of self-gravity and electrostatic charging problems are applicable generally, as is the control system development.
The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge is part of NASA's Centennial Challenges Program. NASA's Centennial Challenges seek to accelerate innovation in aerospace technology development through public competitions. The 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, launched in 2015, is part of the Centennial Challenges portfolio and focuses on habitat design and development of large-scale additive construction systems capable of fabricating structures from in situ materials and/or mission recyclables. The challenge is a partnership between NASA, Caterpillar (primary sponsor), Bechtel, Brick and Mortar Ventures, and Bradley University. Phase I of the challenge was an architectural concept competition in which participants generated conceptual renderings of habitats on Mars which could be constructed using locally available resources. Phase II asked teams to develop the printing systems and material formulations needed to translate these designs into reality. Work under the phase II competition, which concluded in August 2017 with a head to head competition at Caterpillar's Edward Demonstration Facility in Peoria, Illinois, is discussed, including the key technology development outcomes resulting from this portion of the competition. The phase III competition consists of both virtual and construction subcompetitions. Virtual construction asks teams to render high fidelity architectural models of a habitat and all the accompanying information required for construction of the pressure retaining and load bearing portions of the structure. In construction phase III, teams are asked to scale up their printing systems to produce a 1/3 scale habitat on-site at Caterpillar. The levels of the phase III construction competition (which include printing of a foundation and printing and hydrostatic testing of a habitat element) are discussed. Phase III construction also has an increased focus on autonomy, as these systems are envisioned for robotic precursor missions which would buildup infrastructure prior to the arrival of crew. Results of the phase III competition through July 2017 (which includes virtual construction level 1) are discussed. This Centennial Challenge enables an assessment of the scaleability and efficacy of various processes, material systems, and designs for planetary construction. There are also near-term terrestrial applications, from disaster response to affordable housing and infrastructure refurbishment, for these technologies.
Quantum optics has led to important advancements in our ability to prepare and detect correlations between individual photons. Its principles are increasingly translated into nanoscale characterization tools, furthering methods in spectroscopy, microscopy and metrology. Here, in this Review, we discuss the rapid progress in this field driven by advanced technologies of single-photon detectors and quantum-light sources, including time-resolved single-photon counting cameras, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors and entangled photon sources of increasing brightness. We emphasize emerging applications in super-resolution microscopy, measurements below classical noise limits and photon-number-resolved spectroscopy—a powerful paradigm for the characterization of nanoscale electronic materials. We conclude by discussing key technological challenges and future opportunities in materials science and bionanophotonics alike.
Connecting students and teachers in classrooms with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experts provides an invaluable opportunity. Subject matter experts can share exciting science and science-related events as well as help to "translate" science being conducted by professionals. The Expedition Earth and Beyond (EEAB) Program, facilitated by the Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Division at the NASA Johnson Space Center, has been providing virtual access to subject matter experts through classroom connection webinars for the last five years. Each year, the reach of these events has grown considerably, especially over the last nine months. These virtual connections not only help engage students with role models, but are also designed to help teachers address concepts and content standards they are required to teach. These events also enable scientists and subject matter experts to help "translate" current science in an engaging and understandable manner while actively involving classrooms in the journey of science and exploration.
This paper describes the process development for fabricating a high thermal conductivity NARloy-Z-Diamond composite (NARloy-Z-D) combustion chamber liner for application in advanced rocket engines. The fabrication process is challenging and this paper presents some details of these challenges and approaches used to address them. Prior research conducted at NASA-MSFC and Penn State had shown that NARloy-Z-40%D composite material has significantly higher thermal conductivity than the state of the art NARloy-Z alloy. Furthermore, NARloy-Z-40 %D is much lighter than NARloy-Z. These attributes help to improve the performance of the advanced rocket engines. Increased thermal conductivity will directly translate into increased turbopump power, increased chamber pressure for improved thrust and specific impulse. Early work on NARloy-Z-D composites used the Field Assisted Sintering Technology (FAST, Ref. 1, 2) for fabricating discs. NARloy-Z-D composites containing 10, 20 and 40vol% of high thermal conductivity diamond powder were investigated. Thermal conductivity (TC) data. TC increased with increasing diamond content and showed 50% improvement over pure copper at 40vol% diamond. This composition was selected for fabricating the combustion chamber liner using the FAST technique.
The ongoing pursuit of improved fuel economy and reduced greenhouse gas emissions has resulted in sustained interest for lightweight materials technologies. In this context, carbon fiber composites have captured the imagination of automotive engineers due to the potential to achieve substantial mass reduction when compared to traditional steel construction. That stated, the use of carbon fiber composites in automotive has been limited for the most part to premium supercars and other derivative platforms. In these cases, manufacturing costs are less of an obstacle to implementation, and the performance benefits of carbon fiber have enabled production of structures offering more than 50% weight savings. In practice, translating these low-volume demonstrations onto high-volume vehicle platforms has remained challenging. This can be attributed to several factors, with the absence of suitable high throughput production methodologies being a key impediment. To date, structural, crash critical components have relied upon manufacturing techniques born out of the aerospace industry. This has created a disconnect between automotive production systems that are accustomed to manufacturing multiple parts per minute and the aerospace technologies that have cycle times in the order of hours. Consequently, the focus of this project is the development of manufacturing process technology for carbon fiber composites that can support a mainstream vehicle program at an assumed throughput of 100,000 vehicles per year. In practice, this translates to a part-to-part cycle time of less than 3 minutes. Project participation included contributions from a broad range of academic, industrial and national lab partners. The primary scope of work, being the development of new carbon fiber epoxy compounds that are stable at room temperature and suited to high throughput automated processing. For project management, the work streams were divided into six key areas, with the lead organization in parentheses. • Carbon fiber/epoxy materials formulation development and scale up (Dow) • Simulation of discontinuous near isotropic meso-structure intermediates (Purdue) • Simulation of mechanical performance of compression molded components (Purdue) • Meso-Scale morphological analysis and correlation with structural performance (UTK) • Paint and adhesion durability analysis (MSU) • Demonstrator part design, prototype production, and validation testing (Ford). The primary goal at the commencement of the project was development of a chopped carbon fiber sheet molding compound (SMC) that offered a three times improvement in tensile modulus over a comparable glass-based SMC. In addition to meeting mechanical performance targets, the resin kinetics were modified to achieve a processing cycle time of less than 3 minutes. Other critical-to-quality (CTQ) specifications were also stipulated to account for a broad range of materials and processing characteristics. To achieve the above, staff scientists at Dow Chemical created an extensive series of new epoxy blends for testing and validation. Throughout this development, a key challenge was attaining material performance goals without impacting processing behavior and paintability of finished components. The latter required a new internal mold release system being developed by Dow that was designed to complement the kinetics of the rapid cure epoxy. As a complement to work studies at the industrial partners, the teams from academia executed a series of analytical and experimental studies to investigate potential factors influencing CF-SMC performance. Unit cell models were developed to capture the meso-scale representations of the fiber matrix architecture. Results of this analysis and subsequent morphological investigations led to the design of a novel composite derivative comprising carbon fiber platelets embedded in an epoxy matrix; the platelet size and aspect ratio playing significant role in final composite properties. This approach was a departure from previous research in CF-SMC development whereby bulk filamentization or disassembly of the carbon fiber rovings had been considered the most effective means of achieving both fiber wet through and wet-out. As the course of the academia studies progressed, the aspect ratio of the fiber constituents was further optimized before finalizing material attributes and processing conditions. For the purposes of technology validation, the Ford team led a work stream devoted to the design, fabrication and testing of demonstration components. The carbon fiber SMC material has the potential to displace numerous stampings and castings on an automotive structure but ultimately vehicle closure applications were selected to showcase the abilities of the CF-SMC to achieve both mass reduction and business case for large complex structures. Using target properties established by the Dow staff scientists, the complete closure system for a full-size sedan decklid and a mid-size wagon liftgate were engineered. Prototypes for both applications were fabricated using production representative processing methods to allow for physical testing and performance validation of the CF-SMC structures. Following completion of a testing program that concluded with a FMVSS301 55 mph offset rear crash, the CF-SMC formulation was declared by the Ford team to have met all engineering requirements. To summarize, the joint development activities during this project led to significant technical breakthroughs and achievement of all milestones. The result was the development of a novel, tack-free carbon fiber molding compound that is suited to automated processing. This combined room temperature stability, fast cure kinetics, and internal mold release system facilitates cycle times that are conducive to high-volume production. The VORAFUSE M6400 successfully passed technology validation at Ford and is now eligible for consideration on future production commercial vehicle programs.
Scientific need and technological opportunity require that we move toward implementing a global network of geodetic fiducial stations which feature co-located SLR, VLBI, GNSS, and DORIS instrumentation. Earth science of the next decade will require more accurate global change measurements of sea level topography, sea level change, polar ice mass balance, hydrological and atmospheric mass flux. and topographic deformation, real time mm scale navigation and precision time transfer on a global scale. These scientific requirements have been translated into a goal of mm scale annual stability for the terrestrial reference frame, earth orientation parameters, as well as the orbit and clock determinations tbr the GNSS systems. To meet these challenges, the four geodetic observing systems must be more tightly integrated in technology, location, and analysis. NASA strongly supports the objectives of the IGGOS initiative vis NASA's National Geodetic Observatory and INDIGO programs. The Global networks of GNSS, SLR. and VLBI observatories are for the most part poorly suited for these new demands. These important geodetic networks have evolved with little planning yet these systems are providing essential measurements to a wide swath of society. New signal structures in the GPS and the developing Galileo GNSS will soon require replacement of the GNSS receivers. The SLR network is poorly distributed globally, requires labor intensive observations and analysis, and for the most part relies upon antiquated technology. The VLBI observatories utilize large radio telescopes in remote regions that are poorly distributed globally. Co-location of these networks is sparse and co-location errors contribute significantly to the observing error spectrum. Increasing use of the S and X band by commercial and other government services will also contribute to increased observational errors. The time is upon us for an international effort to develop an optimized global geodetic fiducial network of twelve or more integrated automated geodetic observatories that will provide in near real time high density mea.surements of Earth orientation, geodetic positioning, and GNSS system monitoring. The strategic goal for the optimized global fiducial network should be efficient autonomous operation, real time data streaming to analysis centers with an integrated near real time analysis capability for all four observing systems. These goals are achievable in the next decade given the dramatic technological improvements in all geodetic systems. For VLBI, the BKG TIGO might be viewed as a preliminary prototype of technology for fundamental stations. Mark 5, PC-VSI. e-VLBI broadband development efforts are laying the groundwork to reduce the aperture of the VLBI antennas and to allow for precision mm level co-location of observing systems. Operating costs and enhanced accuracy would accrue from the elimination of hydrogen maser clocks using double differencing, GNSS time transfer technology, GHz broadband recording, real time analysis, and mm wavelength VLBI observations. A global geodetic fiducial network will not be realizable without international efforts and the support of the four services.
Significance Historically, it has been understood that for gene expression in eukaryotes, each messenger RNA encodes a single protein. With the recent development of technologies to sequence full-length transcripts en masse, we have discovered hundreds of examples in two species of green algae where two, three, or more proteins are translated from a single transcript. These “polycistronic” transcripts are found in diverse species throughout the green algal lineage, which highlights their biological importance. We have leveraged these findings to coexpress pairs of genes on polycistronic transcripts in vitro, which should facilitate efforts to engineer algae for research and industrial applications.
As part of the 2021 Biological Systems Science Division (BSSD) Principal Investigator (PI) Meeting, the Bioimaging Science program (BSP), within BSSD's Biomolecular Characterization and Imaging Science portfolio, held its annual PI meeting virtually February 22–23. BSP's mission is to understand the translation of genomic information into the mechanisms that power living cells, communities of cells, and whole organisms. The goal of BSP is to develop new imaging and measurement technologies to visualize the spatial and temporal relationships of key metabolic processes governing phenotypic expression in plants and microbes. BSP convenes annual PI meetings to bring together its contributing investigators to review progress and current state-of-the-art bioimaging research. Holding the BSP meeting as part of the broader BSSD PI meeting allowed researchers to interact with the extended Genomic Science program community. This convergence provided a platform for networking and exchange of ideas, helping to forge new multidisciplinary collaborations among investigators from the two sister programs. An important highlight of the BSP meeting was the keynote presentation “Enhancing Fluorescence Microscopy with Computation” by Dr. Hari Shroff of the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. All the BSP PIs made presentations describing their research focus and progress, and these were followed by roundtable discussions of each project. The meeting’s proceedings provide an outline of the program’s current state and potential future directions and opportunities.
The mission of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Biological and Environmental Research (BER) program’s Bioimaging Science Program (BSP) is to understand the translation of genomic information into the mechanisms that power living cells, communities of cells, and whole organisms. The goal of BSP is to develop new imaging and measurement technologies to visualize the spatial and temporal relationships of key metabolic processes governing phenotypic expression in plants and microbes. The extended goal of dynamic imaging is to functionally connect cellular components and interdependent organisms. Information about the time and place of chemical reactions in situ can identify causal relationships between biological activators and downstream effectors. BSP held its annual PI meeting virtually February 28–March 1. Contributing investigators are convened to review progress and current state-of-the-art bioimaging research. Holding the 2022 BSP meeting as part of the broader Genomic Science Program (GSP) PI meeting allowed researchers to interact with the extended GSP community. This convergence provided a platform for networking and exchange of ideas with experts in other technologies and in target BSP application areas, helping to forge new multidisciplinary collaborations among investigators from the sister programmatic areas within BER’s Biological Systems Science Division. An important highlight of the BSP meeting was the keynote presentation by Nobel Laureate Dr. Joachim Frank on Time-Resolved Macromolecular Imaging using Cryo-EM. He discussed microfluidic mixing and fast freezing to capture nonequilibrium intermediate states during molecular binding and conformational changes. The action of molecular machines can be captured at nanometer resolution and millisecond discrimination. BSP PIs made presentations describing their research focus and progress in plenary sessions on bioimaging science and on quantum-enabled bioimaging science research projects. BSP research at universities and DOE laboratories is presented in this report. A final discussion of the BSP was organized by meeting plenary session chairs, who prepared the following Executive Summary of current BSP research, research challenges, future opportunities, and potential ideas for expanding the BSP’s impact and interactions.
Capillary condensation phenomena are important in various technological and environmental processes. Using molecular simulations, we study the confined phase behavior of fluids relevant to carbon sequestration and shale gas production. As a first step toward translating information from the molecular to the pore scale, we express the thermodynamic potential and excess adsorption of methane, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water in terms of the pore’s geometric properties via Minkowski functionals. This mathematical reconstruction agrees very well with molecular simulations data. Our results show that the fluid molecular electrostatic moments are positively correlated with the number of adsorption layers in the pore. Moreover, stronger electrostatic moments lead to adsorption at lower pressures. These findings can be applied to improve pore-scale thermodynamic and transport models.