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At least 289 records · Page 16

HVDC Macrogrid Modeling for Power-flow and Transient Stability Studies in North American Continental-Level Interconnections

High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission lines are being constructed throughout the world, aided by advancements in power electronics and the potential value to transfer power between distant areas and off-shore locations. Multiple HVDC lines within and across large AC interconnections could bring about economic benefits such as interregional capacity exchange, and transfer of low-cost, distant electric energy directly to load centers. In addition, network configuration of HVDC lines could result in additional benefits that have not been deeply studied. This paper describes the modeling process for continental-level power system interconnections with the addition of multiple HVDC lines configured as a macrogrid. The models used for study are based on industry-accepted power-flow and dynamic system models for the North American Eastern and Western Interconnections. The model provides insight on feasibility and initial steady-state and stability tests of the HVDC macrogrid and its interactions with the existing electricity infrastructure, opening the door to analysis of the technical value of such a macrogrid.

HVDC transmission, North American Power Grids, AC ↗

Thrust and mass flow characteristics of four 36 inch diameter tip turbine fan thrust vectoring systems in and out of ground effect

The calibration tests carried out on the propulsion system components of a 70 percent scale, powered model of a NASA 3-fan V/STOL aircraft configuration are described. The three X3/6B/T58 turbotip fan units used in the large scale powered model were tested on an isolated basis over a range of ground heights from H/D of 1.02 to infinity. A higher pressure ratio LF336/J85 fan unit was tested over a range of ground heights from 1.55 to infinity. The results of the test program demonstrated that: (1) the thrust and mass flow performance of the X376B/T58 nose lift unit is essentially constant for H/D variations down to 1.55; at H/D 1.02 back pressurization of the fan exit occurs and is accompanied by an increase in thrust of five percent; (2) a change in nose fan exit hub shape from flat plate to hemispherical produces no significant difference in louvered lift nozzle performance for height variations from H/D = 1.02 to infinity; (3) operation of the nose lift nozzle at the higher fan pressure ratio generated by the LF336/J85 fan system causes no significant change in ground proximity performance down to an H/D of 1.55, the lowest height tested with this unit; and (4) the performance of the left and right X376B/T58 lift/cruise units in the vertical lift mode remains unchanged, within plus or minus two percent for the range of ground heights from H/D = 1.02 to infinity.

Esker, D. W.↗

Modeling and Analysis of Stirling Power Convertors

Modeling and Analysis of Stirling Power Convertors Luis A. Rodriguez1 Steven M. Geng, Terry V. Reid, Scott D. Wilson NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH, 44135, USA NASA Glenn’s Thermal Energy Conversion Branch is supporting the development of the next generation free-piston Stirling power convertors. American Superconductor (AMSC) and Sunpower Inc. are the two firms under contract to develop the Flexure Isotope Stirling Convertor (FISC) and the Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor (SRSC), respectively. To comprehend and forecast convertor performance, Sage, ANSYS® Maxwell, and ANSYS® Fluent were used to model the Stirling thermodynamic cycle, alternator electromagnetics, and piston and displacer dynamics. I. Introduction Stirling convertors are being developed by NASA as a potential steady source of electrical power for NASA’s future scientific space missions. Currently, NASA Glenn Research Center has two corporations under contract, American Superconductor (AMSC) and Sunpower Inc., for the development of the next generation of free-piston Stirling convertors for dynamic radioisotope power systems. AMSC is developing the Flexure Isotope Stirling Convertor (FISC), which uses flexures to prevent side motion and rubbing of the piston. Similarly, Sunpower Inc, is developing the Sunpower Robust Stirling Convertor (SRSC). The SRSC uses gas bearings to prevent radial contact of the moving piston. As convertor development continues, it is increasingly important to understand and predict the interactions of components in the system, how they respond to one another, and how they perform as a response to changes in operating conditions. A suitable and enlightening way to demonstrate and foresee these interactions is with the use of accurate modeling software. Sage, ANSYS® Maxwell, and ANSYS® Fluent are the current modeling tools used by NASA to analytically determine convertor performance. Sage is a one-dimensional object-oriented commercial software package used for modeling and optimizing Stirling convertors for Dynamic Radioisotope Power Systems (DRPS) and it is one of the most accurate Stirling convertor codes in use by NASA. This code is the successor to GLIMPS (Globally-Implicit Stirling Cycle Simulation) and GLOP (GLIMPS Optimization) software created by Gedeon Associates [1]. Model input parameters are typically material/gas type, component physical dimensions, temperatures, frequency, charge pressure, and number of time/space nodes. Sage is used to model both the FISC’s and SRSC’s Stirling cycle thermodynamics and piston/displacer dynamics. Performance maps were created and analyzed for both power systems to better understand the relationship between the following conditions: cold-end temperature, hot-end temperature, piston/displacer amplitudes, pressure drop, and thermal input power. The synergy between these conditions will help determine parameter sensitivity. ANSYS® Maxwell was used to create a three-dimensional (3-D) axisymmetric model for both FISC and SRSC alternators. The significant physical components included in each model are the magnets, magnet carrier, outer/inner laminations, and the coil. Inputs to the model are piston amplitude, piston frequency, alternator load, coil resistance, tuning capacitance, and specific material properties. The alternator models calculate terminal voltage, current, piston/current phase, voltage/current phase, coil inductance, terminal power and efficiency. The RI2 losses, core (hysteresis and eddy) losses, and magnet/can eddy losses are also a part of the final results. ANSYS® Fluent is used to build 3-D computational fluid dynamic (CFD) models to examine the Stirling cycle thermodynamics for both the FISC and SRSC systems. Three-dimensional Computer Aided Design (CAD) models were used to create the physical components of each convertor. Steady-state simulations were conducted for hardware testing, prediction of environmental losses during testing, and generation of radiation look-up tables. The model inputs to the aforementioned analysis are the material properties and boundary thermal conditions. The steady-state model calculates temperature and heat flow distributions. Transient 3-D calculations were also part of the CFD analysis. In this study a physically reduced version of the FISC is used to obtain a prediction of available engine power. For the gas bearing SRSC, the transient effort is used to obtain a prediction of bearing pad performance and its sensitivity to micro-channel geometric variation. The model inputs to the transient simulations are the piston amplitude, displacer amplitude, frequency, displacer/piston phase angle, dynamic deforming CFD grid, temperature boundary conditions, and user defined files describing motion profile of piston/displacer. The results of the model are temperature distributions, heat distributions, and PV power produced at pre-determined conditions.

Luis A Rodriguez↗

iMatTOUGH: An open-source Matlab-based graphical user interface for pre- and post-processing of TOUGH2 and iTOUGH2 models

TOUGH2 and iTOUGH2 are powerful models that simulate the heat and fluid flows in porous and fracture media, and perform parameter estimation, sensitivity analysis and uncertainty propagation analysis. However, setting up the input files is not only tedious, but error prone, and processing output files is time consuming. Here, we present an open source Matlab-based tool (iMatTOUGH) that supports the generation of all necessary inputs for both TOUGH2 and iTOUGH2 and visualize their outputs. The tool links the inputs of TOUGH2 and iTOUGH2, making sure the two input files are consistent. It supports the generation of rectangular computational mesh, i.e., it automatically generates the elements and connections as well as their properties as required by TOUGH2. The tool also allows the specification of initial and time-dependent boundary conditions for better subsurface heat and water flow simulations. The effectiveness of the tool is illustrated by an example that uses TOUGH2 and iTOUGH2 to estimate soil hydrological and thermal properties from soil temperature data and simulate the heat and water flows at the Rifle site in Colorado.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Thread Group Multithreading: Accelerating the Computation of an Agent-Based Power System Modeling and Simulation Tool -- C GridLAB-D

GridLAB-DTM is an open source next generation agent-based smart-grid simulator that provides unprecedented capability to model the performance of smart grid technologies. Over the past few years, GridLAB-D has been used to conduct important analyses of smart grid concepts, but it is still quite limited by its computational performance. In order to break through the performance bottleneck to meet the need for large scale power grid simulations, we develop a thread group mechanism to implement highly granular multithreaded computation in GridLAB-D. We achieve close to linear speedups on multithreading version compared against the single-thread version of the same code running on general purpose multi-core commodity for a benchmark simple house model. The performance of the multithreading code shows favorable scalability properties and resource utilization, and much shorter execution time for large-scale power grid simulations.

Jin, Shuangshuang↗

An Approach for Utilizing Power Flow Modeling for Simulations of Hybrid Electric Propulsion Systems

This paper describes an approach to creating simulations of the electric components for a hybrid electric propulsionsystem. The proposed modeling technique is based on power/load flow modeling and is designed to provide a modularframework that includes buses, lines, and other electrical components that can be connected together to form the electrical distribution system. The purpose of this paper is to detail an electric distribution system modeling technique and to demonstrate how these models may be integrated with turbomachinery simulations. These general modeling techniques were created to be utilized for system and control design studies. Additionally, steady-state and dynamic performance for a proposed model example is compared with data from a hardware in the loop simulation.

Power Flow↗

Three-Phase AC Optimal Power Flow Based Distribution Locational Marginal Price

Designing market mechanisms for electricity distribution systems has been a hot topic due to the increased presence of smart loads and distributed energy resources (DERs) in distribution systems. The distribution locational marginal pricing (DLMP) methodology is one of the real-time pricing methods to enable such market mechanisms and provide economic incentives to active market participants. Determining the DLMP is challenging due to high power losses, the voltage volatility, and the phase imbalance in distribution systems. Existing DC Optimal Power Flow (OPF) approaches are unable to model power losses and the reactive power, while single-phase AC OPF methods cannot capture the phase imbalance. To address these challenges, in this paper, a three-phase AC OPF based approach is developed to define and calculate DLMP accurately. The DLMP is modeled as the marginal cost to serve an incremental unit of demand at a specific phase at a certain bus, and is calculated using the Lagrange multipliers in the three-phase AC OPF formulation. Extensive case studies have been conducted to understand the impact of system losses and the phase imbalance on DLMPs as well as the potential benefits of flexible resources.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A semi-empirical power-law model for the dip-coating of a substrate into a particle-containing, non-Newtonian, complex fluid system

The apparent viscosity of a particle suspension of ZrSi 2 particles, polyhydromethylsiloxane (PHMS) preceramic polymer and n-Octane solvent, used to process polymer-derived ceramic composite coatings, is shown by viscometric experiments to be shear-thinning. The suspension is dip-coated onto substrates and the measured entrained coating thickness, h 0 , is observed to be a power-law function of U, the substrate extraction speed, as h 0 = 0.5051U 0.5 . The experimentally observed semi-empirical model is directly compared to the results of a variety of theoretically derived Landau-Levich scaling laws and other models that have similar liquids and that include other effects. None of these cases predicts the scaling observed in these experiments. A correction factor is introduced to quantify the difference between the semi-empirical model with existing theoretical models. Possible explanations for the observed scaling behavior are presented.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Testbed-based Evaluation of SIEM Tool for Cyber Kill Chain Model in Power Grid SCADA System

Development of a smarter electric grid necessitates addressing the associated cyber security challenges. Since the interdependence between the legacy grid infrastructure and advanced information technology is growing rapidly, there are numerous ways advanced, motivated, and persistent attackers can affect the SCADA based critical infrastructure. Hence, developing a security information and event management (SIEM) is crucial for securing the SCADA power system. This paper presents the application of Security Onion (SecOn) to develop the network security monitoring (NSM) and intrusion detection system (IDS) in the context of SCADA cyber physical security. Initially, we have applied a cyber kill-chain model to demonstrate the different stages of attacks and associated mechanisms. Later, the rule- based IDS (RIDS) is developed using Snort IDS, and tested in the cyber-physical SCADA environment. Furthermore, we have evaluated its performance in terms of accuracy and detection latency. Our experimental results reveal that the SecOn tool is efficient in monitoring and detecting attacks within an acceptable time frame with a high accuracy rate.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Frequency Responsive Demand in U.S. Western Power System Model

Frequency control from the demand side presents a novel and viable way to complement control by traditional generators. This paper presents simulation tests of a previously developed load controller in a large interconnected system model. The controller was implemented as a user defined model in PowerWorld software. WECC system model was used. The simulation tests include comparison of situation with and without control, sensitivities to controller location, control gain parameters, and type of end-use loads. The performance is measured in terms of frequency and intertie power flow deviations after a large generator outage.

Power system dynamics, power system control↗

Emerging Trends in Power System Planning Models

This presentation highlights NREL's power system modeling capabilities, both existing and the future direction of improvements. Specific enhancements to the ReEDS (Regional Energy Deployment System) model and a new electricity market design testbed called EMIS (Electricity Markets and Investment Suite) were described. This content was part of a broader discussion to help inform the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine Committee on the Future of Electric Power in the U.S. on existing power system models and improvements needed in these models to capture the increasing complexity and interconnectedness of the power system.

capacity expansion modeling↗

Cost-optimal evaluation of centralized and distributed microgrid topologies considering voltage constraints

Optimal design of hybrid renewable mini-grids requires both economic and power quality considerations. Existing modeling approaches address these considerations via separate or loosely coupled models. Here, we extend REopt—a techno-economic optimization model developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory—to consider both within a single model. REopt formulates the design problem as a mixed-integer linear program that solves for a site's optimal technology mix, sizing, and operation to minimize life cycle cost. REopt has traditionally assumed a single node system. In the work presented here, we expand the REopt platform to consider multiple connected nodes with associated voltage constraints. In order to do this, we model power flow using a fixed-point linear approximation method. Additionally, we then use the model to explore design considerations of mini-grids in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, we evaluate under what combinations of transmission line distance and capacity it is technically viable and economically preferable to build multiple isolated mini-grids versus an interconnected, centralized system.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Electronic stopping powers for heavy ions in SiC and SiO{sub 2}

Accurate information on electronic stopping power is fundamental for broad advances in materials science, electronic industry, space exploration, and sustainable energy technologies. In the case of slow heavy ions in light targets, current codes and models provide significantly inconsistent predictions, among which the Stopping and Range of Ions in Matter (SRIM) code is the most commonly used one. Experimental evidence, however, has demonstrated considerable errors in the predicted ion and damage profiles based on SRIM stopping powers. In this work, electronic stopping powers for Cl, Br, I, and Au ions are experimentally determined in two important functional materials, SiC and SiO{sub 2}, based on a single ion technique, and new electronic stopping power values are derived over the energy regime from 0 to 15 MeV, where large deviations from the SRIM predictions are observed. As an experimental validation, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) are utilized to measure the depth profiles of implanted Au ions in SiC for energies from 700 keV to 15 MeV. The measured ion distributions by both RBS and SIMS are considerably deeper than the SRIM predictions, but agree well with predictions based on our derived stopping powers.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

A power-balance model for local helicity injection startup in a spherical tokamak

A 0D circuit model for predicting I p ( t ) in Local Helicity Injection (LHI) discharges is developed. Analytic formulas for estimating the surface flux of finite-A plasmas developed are modified and expanded to treat highly shaped, ultralow-A tokamak geometry using a database of representative equilibria. Model predictions are compared to sample LHI discharges in the A ~ 1 Pegasus spherical tokamak, and are found to agree within 15% of experimental I p ( t ). High performance LHI discharges are found to follow the Taylor relaxation current limit for approximately the first half of the current ramp, or I p ≲ 75 kA. The second half of the current ramp follows a limit imposed by power-balance as plasmas expand from high- A to ultralow- A . Here, this shape evolution generates a significant drop in external plasma inductance, effectively using the plasma’s initially high inductance to drive the current ramp and provide > 70% of the current drive V-s. Projections using this model indicate the relative influences of higher helicity input rate and injector current on the attainable total plasma current.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗

Aerodynamic Characteristics, Temperature, and Noise Measurements of a Large-Scale External-Flow Jet-Augmented-Flap Model with Turbojet Engines Operating

An investigation has been conducted in the Langley full-scale tunnel on a large-scale model powered by turbojet engines with flattened rectangular nozzles. The wing had 35 deg. sweep of the leading edge, an aspect ratio of 6.5, a taper ratio of 0.31, and NACA 65(1)-412 and 65-408 airfoils at the root and tip. The investigation included measurements of the longitudinal aerodynamic characteristics of the model with half-span and full-span flaps and measurements of the sound pressure and skin temperature on the portions of the lower surface of the wing immersed in the jet flow. The tests were conducted over a range or angles of attack from -8 to 16 deg. for Reynolds numbers from 1.8 x 10(exp 6) to 4.4 x 10(exp 6) and a range of momentum coefficients from 0 to 2.0. In general, the aerodynamic results of this investigation made with a large-scale hot-jet model verified the results of previous investigations with small models powered by compressed-air jets. Although blowing was only done over the inboard portion of the wing, substantial amounts of induced lift were also obtained over the outboard portion of the wing. Skin temperatures were about 340 F and wing heating could be handled with available materials without cooling. Random acoustic loadings on the wing surface were high enough to indicate that fatigue failure from this source would require special consideration in the design of an external-flow jet flap system for an airplane.

Fink, Marvin P.↗

Evaluation of the Performance and Exhaust Emissions of a 4 Cylinder CI Engine Operating With Dimethyl Ether (DME) and Propane Blends

In response to stringent emissions regulations and the need for higher efficiency engines, the utilization of DME and propane fuel blends in compression ignition (CI) engines has gained interest in the automotive industry. In this study, a range of DME-propane blends are explored in a CI combustion strategy at high injection pressures. A GT-Power model of a 2.2 L Hyundai CI engine was developed to facilitate evaluation of the impacts of variations of DME and propane blends at a light and medium engine speed-torque-load operating condition; specifically at 1500 rpm, 50 Nm and 2.84 bar brake mean effective pressure (BMEP); and 2000 rpm, 150 Nm, 8.53 bar BMEP speed-torque-load combination. Here, the GT-Power model was validated using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations. The results indicate that high diesel-like efficiencies can be achieved with a 100% DME mass substitution and up to 50% propane-DME blends could be implemented without a significant penalty on engine performance indicators. Significant brake specific nitrogen oxides (BSNOx) reductions were also observed along with reductions in carbon dioxide (CO2) and soot when leveraging these fuel blends.

computational fluid dynamics↗