Results for “demand flexibility” — Page 16

NASA NTRS1978

A video display interface for the LORAN-C navigation receiver development system

A microprocessor-based development system was designed and fabricated for prototype test of navigation receiver designs. During use of this system in the development of low-cost LORAN-C receiver/processor concepts, the limitations of the integral KIM-1 display were severely felt. It was to augment this numerical display that the video character display was produced. The circuit design presented meets the need for a flexible-format display capable of driving a small standard video monitor with only minimal demands upon microprocessor memory and MPU cycles.

Fischer, J. P.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Lightweight, direct-radiating nickel hydrogen batteries

Two battery module configurations were developed which, in addition to integrating cylindrical nickel hydrogen (NiH2) cells into batteries, provide advances in the means of mounting, monitoring and thermal control of these cells. The main difference between the two modules is the physical arrangement of the cells: vertical versus horizontal. Direct thermal radiation to deep space is accomplished by substituting the battery structure for an exterior spacecraft panel. Unlike most conventional nickel-cadmium (NiCd) and NiH2 batteries, the cells are not tightly packed together; therefore ancillary heat conducting media to outside radiating areas, and spacecraft deck reinforcements for high mass concentration are not necessary. Testing included electrical characterization and a comprehensive regime of environmental exposures. The designs are flexible with respect to quantity and type of cells, orbit altitude and period, power demand profile, and the extent of cell parameter monitoring. This paper compares the characteristics of the two battery modules and summarizes their performance.

Metcalfe, J. R.↗

NASA NTRS1989

Advanced manned space flight simulation and training: An investigation of simulation host computer system concepts

The findings of a preliminary investigation by Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) in simulation host computer concepts is presented. It is designed to aid NASA in evaluating simulation technologies for use in spaceflight training. The focus of the investigation is on the next generation of space simulation systems that will be utilized in training personnel for Space Station Freedom operations. SwRI concludes that NASA should pursue a distributed simulation host computer system architecture for the Space Station Training Facility (SSTF) rather than a centralized mainframe based arrangement. A distributed system offers many advantages and is seen by SwRI as the only architecture that will allow NASA to achieve established functional goals and operational objectives over the life of the Space Station Freedom program. Several distributed, parallel computing systems are available today that offer real-time capabilities for time critical, man-in-the-loop simulation. These systems are flexible in terms of connectivity and configurability, and are easily scaled to meet increasing demands for more computing power.

Montag, Bruce C.↗

NASA NTRS1998

The ASAC Air Carrier Investment Model (Third Generation)

To meet its objective of assisting the U.S. aviation industry with the technological challenges of the future, NASA must identify research areas that have the greatest potential for improving the operation of the air transportation system. To accomplish this, NASA is building an Aviation System Analysis Capability (ASAC). The ASAC differs from previous NASA modeling efforts in that the economic behavior of buyers and sellers in the air transportation and aviation industries is central to its conception. To link the economics of flight with the technology of flight, ASAC requires a parametrically based model with extensions that link airline operations and investments in aircraft with aircraft characteristics. This model also must provide a mechanism for incorporating air travel demand and profitability factors into the airlines' investment decisions. Finally, the model must be flexible and capable of being incorporated into a wide-ranging suite of economic and technical models flat are envisioned for ASAC.

Wingrove, Earl R., III↗

NASA NTRS2015

Layered Thermal Insulation Systems for Industrial and Commercial Applications

From the high performance arena of cryogenic equipment, several different layered thermal insulation systems have been developed for industrial and commercial applications. In addition to the proven areas in cold-work applications for piping and tanks, the new Layered Composite Insulation for Extreme Environments (LCX) has potential for broader industrial use as well as for commercial applications. The LCX technology provides a unique combination of thermal, mechanical, and weathering performance capability that is both cost-effective and enabling. Industry applications may include, for example, liquid nitrogen (LN2) systems for food processing, liquefied natural gas (LNG) systems for transportation or power, and chilled water cooling facilities. Example commercial applications may include commercial residential building construction, hot water piping, HVAC systems, refrigerated trucks, cold chain shipping containers, and a various consumer products. The LCX system is highly tailorable to the end-use application and can be pre-fabricated or field assembled as needed. Product forms of LCX include rigid sheets, semi-flexible sheets, cylindrical clam-shells, removable covers, or flexible strips for wrapping. With increasing system control and reliability requirements as well as demands for higher energy efficiencies, thermal insulation in harsh environments is a growing challenge. The LCX technology grew out of solving problems in the insulation of mechanically complex cryogenic systems that must operate in outdoor, humid conditions. Insulation for cold work includes equipment for everything from liquid helium to chilled water. And in the middle are systems for LNG, LN2, liquid oxygen (LO2), liquid hydrogen (LH2) that must operate in the ambient environment. Different LCX systems have been demonstrated for sub-ambient conditions but are capable of moderately high temperature applications as well.

thermal conductivity↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

An Augmented Ground Station Architecture for Spacecraft-Initiated Communication Service Requests

Spacecraft performing science and exploration missions have increasingly complex and event-driven objectives, making communication needs difficult to predict in advance. Additional flexibility is required in space communication provider networks to effectively meet time-varying demand. We envision a framework for automated resource allocation in which requests for communications service are initiated by spacecraft based on current mission needs. We propose an augmented ground station configuration featuring a wide field-of-view antenna to receive transmissions from spacecraft requesting high-rate communications. A software suite to automate the service fulfillment process, including interfacing with external scheduling systems such as NASA’s Near Space Network, is described. Experimental results characterizing the physical-layer link between the wide field-of-view antenna and a software-defined radio testbed on the International Space Station are presented. We also discuss long-duration software testing on a ground-based testbed. Taken together, these proof-of-concept results demonstrate the feasibility of the concept to improve the responsiveness of space communications.

user-initiated service↗

DOE OSTI2025

Electrical and Thermal Load Impacts of Three District Heating and Cooling Designs for an Existing Community in Washington, DC

District energy systems that provide building heating and cooling are a promising option to provide low-cost, energy efficient heating and cooling solutions for communities. As some buildings move to electrified heating designs, there may be significant increases in electric grid demand, particularly in the winter. District energy systems may be able to help reduce these high electrical demands on the electric grid, while also providing decreased overall energy consumption with an increased flexibility in electrical energy usage. To evaluate and compare district options for district-based heating and cooling, an existing neighborhood of Washington, DC consisting of 35 existing buildings was selected as a case study. This study models and compares a fourth generation (4G) district heating and cooling systems that provide hot and chilled water from a central plant directly to each prosumer and a fifth generation (5G) district heating and cooling systems that provide near-ambient water via geothermal boreholes to interface with an energy transfer station with a heat pump at each prosumer. These district systems are compared against a baseline of the non-connected buildings with their self-contained and current HVAC systems. The neighborhood was selected as a good candidate for a district system for its diversity of loads (mix of different commercial and property types) and the availability of building characteristics. URBANopt District Energy Systems (DES) was used to model the buildings and create initial Modelica models for the district systems. Finally, the DES models were tuned and simulated in Dymola, and the outputs were post-processed for verification and to calculate the electrical and thermal grid impact metrics. This is the first documentation of this workflow and its complete analysis. The three designed systems are compared via their grid metrics including: total energy consumption, electrical demand peak loads, daily peak-to-valley ratios, and system ramping. A detailed discussion is provided about how each system impacts and interacts with the electric grid.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

TPSAS-NF1676L-33992-DND

The CERES Science Team integrates and fuses observations from 6 CERES instruments aboard the Terra, Aqua, S-NPP, and NOAA-20 missions with data from more than 20 other unique data sources. Following the November 2017 launch of CERES Flight Model 6 (FM6) onboard NOAA20, CERES has now amassed over 80 instrument-years of valuable Earth radiation budget data. The rapidly growing volume of CERES data coupled with the introduction of new data products alongside improvements to existing science algorithms fosters the requirement for faster, more flexible, and scalable data production and orchestration. New virtualized, cloud-centric compute hardware hosted by the NASA Langley Research Center’s (LaRC) Atmospheric Sciences Data Center (ASDC) provides an ideal environment for these ever-increasing data production demands for CERES. This poster discusses updates to the implementation of the CERES Data Management Team’s (DMT) CERES AuTomAted job Loading sYSTem (CATALYST), a custom data processing workflow engine for CERES, to use on-demand computing resources to perform automated CERES data production processing in a Linux-based container environment. Linux containers provide CERES the flexibility to build multiple production environments in containers tailored for specific workloads and allow effortless provisioning of resources based on the CERES Science Team’s data production requirements.

Thomas N. Hillyer↗

NASA NTRS2023

Flexible User Radio for Lunar Missions

NASA’s Artemis program and other lunar exploration and development programs are planning over 40 lunar missions before 2030. Lunar missions, both crewed and uncrewed, include orbiters, landers, rovers, and surface stations. All these missions require communications with Earth, either via Direct to Earth (DTE) links or through relays in lunar orbit. Multiple DTE options are available among existing and planned ground stations: Deep Space Network (DSN), European Space Agency, and others. Relay options include the planned Lunar Gateway, LunaNet compliant relays, and some lunar landers propose to launch dedicated orbiters. The dilemma for lunar system designers is to identify a communication link which meets mission requirements but does not have issues of limited access (e.g. DSN is in high demand supporting deep space missions with high priority and some with inflexible schedules), system impacts (high power Radio Frequency (RF) for DTE links), cost (dedicated relay), or operational date. To avoid this difficult decision, a Flexible Radio for Lunar Missions is proposed, which will enable system designs to proceed prior to any final decision on the communication network to be used, by enabling compatibility with any of multiple DTE or orbital relay communication systems. The Flexible Radio will support the necessary frequency, bandwidth, modulation, and power requirements to interoperate with the majority of known or planned DTE or relay systems, and can be designed into a lunar mission without prior knowledge of which link will ultimately be used. Furthermore, the link being used can be changed as needed during the mission, in near real time. The Flexible Radio design will leverage work already completed at NASA in the areas of Wideband RF, Software Defined Radio, Adaptive Coding and Modulation, and Phased Array antennas. The Flexible Radio requires sufficient bandwidth to cover the allocated frequencies for both the operation of links in cislunar space and for space-to-Earth links; the flexibility to support multiple modulations, data rates, and coding schemes; the ability to identify available relays, detect and recognize the signals of those relays, and adapt its own frequency, modulation, symbol rate, and code rate to operate with the detected relay (or DTE station); and finally, it requires appropriate software to support network configuration and interoperability with the detected network. The Flexible Radio can be designed in a sufficiently small, lightweight, and low-power package to be used in a wide variety of lunar systems. The initial implementation, as proposed, will focus on the Ka-band, supporting up to 2 GHz bandwidth around the 27 GHz frequency for return links, and 23 GHz for forward links. Other frequency bands are under consideration for future configurations. The software defined modem will support OQPSK, BPSK, and NASA-defined modulations which also support two-way ranging with data. For near-real time adaptation, the Flexible Radio will scan the sky for available relays, using a phased array antenna with Adaptive/Cognitive Communications. It will then configure for network interoperability supporting DTN and other protocol options. The Flexible Radio will support scheduled connections and on-demand use when available.

Lunar Space Communications↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Flexible User Radio for Lunar Missions

NASA’s Artemis program and other lunar exploration and development programs are planning over 40 lunar missions before 2030. Lunar missions, both crewed and uncrewed, include orbiters, landers, rovers, and surface stations. All these missions require communications with Earth, either via Direct to Earth (DTE) links or through relays in lunar orbit. Multiple DTE options are available among existing and planned ground stations: Deep Space Network (DSN), European Space Agency, and others. Relay options include the planned Lunar Gateway, LunaNet compliant relays, and some lunar landers propose to launch dedicated orbiters. The dilemma for lunar system designers is to identify a communication link which meets mission requirements but does not have issues of limited access (e.g. DSN is in high demand supporting deep space missions with high priority and some with inflexible schedules), system impacts (high power Radio Frequency (RF) for DTE links), cost (dedicated relay), or operational date. To avoid this difficult decision, a Flexible Radio for Lunar Missions is proposed, which will enable system designs to proceed prior to any final decision on the communication network to be used, by enabling compatibility with any of multiple DTE or orbital relay communication systems. The Flexible Radio will support the necessary frequency, bandwidth, modulation, and power requirements to interoperate with the majority of known or planned DTE or relay systems, and can be designed into a lunar mission without prior knowledge of which link will ultimately be used. Furthermore, the link being used can be changed as needed during the mission, in near real time. The Flexible Radio design will leverage work already completed at NASA in the areas of Wideband RF, Software Defined Radio, Adaptive Coding and Modulation, and Phased Array antennas. The Flexible Radio requires sufficient bandwidth to cover the allocated frequencies for both the operation of links in cislunar space and for space-to-Earth links; the flexibility to support multiple modulations, data rates, and coding schemes; the ability to identify available relays, detect and recognize the signals of those relays, and adapt its own frequency, modulation, symbol rate, and code rate to operate with the detected relay (or DTE station); and finally, it requires appropriate software to support network configuration and interoperability with the detected network. The Flexible Radio can be designed in a sufficiently small, lightweight, and low-power package to be used in a wide variety of lunar systems. The initial implementation, as proposed, will focus on the Ka-band, supporting up to 2 GHz bandwidth around the 27 GHz frequency for return links, and 23 GHz for forward links. Other frequency bands are under consideration for future configurations. The software defined modem will support OQPSK, BPSK, and NASA-defined modulations which also support two-way ranging with data. For near-real time adaptation, the Flexible Radio will scan the sky for available relays, using a phased array antenna with Adaptive/Cognitive Communications. It will then configure for network interoperability supporting DTN and other protocol options. The Flexible Radio will support scheduled connections and on-demand use when available.

Lunar Space Communications↗

DOE OSTI2025

Integrating Intelligent Hydro-informatics into an effective Early Warning System for risk-informed urban flood management

The urban drainage system constantly facing flooding issues in coastal and urban areas. Robust and accurate urban flood management, particularly considering fast-moving compound floods, is crucial to minimize the impact of flood disasters in coastal cities. Till now, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) lacks an effective means of urban flood management because of flood risk communication among residents. Existing flood risk communication tools rely on post-disaster flood model outcomes and data. Therefore, this research proposes a real-time Early Urban Flooding Warning System (EUFWS) integrated with a user-friendly web and app interface. The backbone of this system consists of flood models developed using machine learning (ML) algorithms, combined with big data and Web-GIS visualization, with ML serving as the core for constructing the EUFWS. EUFWS offer several key advantages: they are available at all times, accessible from anywhere, and provide a real-time, multi-user working platform. Additionally, the system is flexible, allowing for the easy addition of components and services and scalable, adjusting to workload demands. EUFWS have been successfully deployed in Thu Duc City, Vietnam, as a case study and are operating effectively. EUFWS have been successfully deployed in Thu Duc City, Vietnam, as a case study and are operating effectively. Research results indicate that EUFWS supported decision-makers to be effectively risk informed and make intelligent decisions during urban flood emergencies. Finally, this underscores the significant potential of integrating ML and information technology to enhance the management of smart urban drainage systems in flood-prone cities worldwide.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2025

High-Temperature Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (HT-ATES) Projects in Germany and the Netherlands—Review and Lessons Learned

Aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) is a concept that can help to address heating and cooling needs through the use of the subsurface as a seasonal thermal energy storage (STES) system. Over 2800 ATES systems have been deployed with storage temperatures typically below 25 °C and only a few with higher temperatures (>40 °C), which would increase the energy density and utility of the stored thermal fluids. Until now, only a few high-temperature aquifer thermal energy storage (HT-ATES) projects have been initiated and are still in operation. These HT-ATES projects have encountered a range of technical and non-technical challenges. This study reviews ten such projects: four in Germany and six in the Netherlands. The non-technical issues include public acceptance, a lack of regulatory framework for these systems, managing overlapping uses of the subsurface, managing changes with the providers and off-takers of thermal energy, and obtaining financing to implement these projects. Common technical issues include geological factors such as incomplete characterization of the subsurface and reservoir heterogeneity; geochemical issues such as mineral scaling, corrosion, and biofouling; lower than expected thermal recovery; and issues with system design and reliability. This review highlights benefits and challenges faced by HT-ATES projects with the goal to use the lessons learned to improve the siting, design, development, and operation of such systems. Recommendations include improved initial subsurface site characterization, use of coupled process models to optimize system design and predict system performance, cascaded uses of stored thermal energy to better utilize the stored heat, monitoring networks to provide feedback on system performance, and expanded system scale to allow for continued operation even when maintenance of some system components is required. Techno-economic modeling and risk analysis could be used to optimize such HT-ATES project design and identify key factors that will affect sustained economic viability. In addition, design flexibility is important for these systems to allow for changing conditions regarding the supply and demand of thermal energy. Adopting these findings should improve the performance and reduce the risks for future HT-ATES projects worldwide.

15 - GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1984

NASA OAST perspective

An advanced OTV is one of a number of advanced STS vehicles that the NASA OAST Space Systems Division Transportation Systems Office identified as candidates for future vehicle development. Vehicle requirements as well as technology needs and need dates were established and technology programs initiated to support those potential developments in a timely manner. It is assumed that advanced OTV will be space based and fully reusable for low cost operations, use aeroassist for return to low-Earth-orbit, and evolve to a man-rated system. The propulsion system will need to maintain high performance over a wide thrust range for mission flexibility, ranging from the transfer of large, acceleration limited structures from LEO to GEO, to demanding high reliability round-trip manned missions. Technology advances are needed in propulsion, aerobraking, low-gravity cryogenic fluid management, and in environmentally compatible, low-loss cryogenic tankage. In addition, diagnostic instrumentation for monitoring the health of on-board components and systems, and automated check-out capability will enhance low-cost space based OTV operations.

Stephenson, F.↗

NASA NTRS2017

ATD-2 Surface Scheduling and Metering Concept

This presentation describes the concept of ATD-2 tactical surface scheduling and metering. The concept is composed of several elements, including data exchange and integration; surface modeling; surface scheduling; and surface metering. The presentation explains each of the elements. Surface metering is implemented to balance demand and capacity• When surface metering is on, target times from surface scheduler areconverted to advisories for throttling demand• Through the scheduling process, flights with CTOTs will not get addedmetering delay (avoids potential for ‘double delay’)• Carriers can designate certain flights as exempt from metering holds• Demand throttle in Phase 1 at CLT is through advisories sent to rampcontrollers for pushback instructions to the flight deck– Push now– Hold for an advised period of time (in minutes)• Principles of surface metering can be more generally applied to otherairports in the NAS to throttle demand via spot-release times (TMATs Strong focus on optimal use of airport resources• Flexibility enables stakeholders to vary the amount of delay theywould like transferred to gate• Addresses practical aspects of executing surface metering in aturbulent real world environment• Algorithms designed for both short term demand/capacityimbalances (banks) or sustained metering situations• Leverage automation to enable surface metering capability withoutrequiring additional positions• Represents first step in Tactical/Strategic fusion• Provides longer look-ahead calculations to enable analysis ofstrategic surface metering potential usage

Departure↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

In-Space Manufacturing to Support Human Spaceflight

As human spaceflight pushes beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), resupply of consumables becomes a significant challenge. One solution to this problem is In-Space Manufacturing (ISM), the capability to perform on-demand manufacturing and repair of consumables in an in-space environment. ISM offers significant flexibility to missions as it allows for a high degree of tailor ability and reduction in launch mass. Leveraging advancements in fabrication, repair and recycling, ISM provides a highly sustainable and affordable solution to exploration mission operations and logistics. In this talk, advances in printed electronics and sensors, ranging from nanomaterial ink development and hands-free fabrication methodologies to devices will be presented. Applications presented will include sensors for crew health monitoring along with supporting electronics. In the future, these devices will be fabricated and characterized on the International Space Station and the approach will be evaluated for future in-space manufacturing to support human spaceflight.

nanotechnology↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Printed Sensors and Electronics for Sustained Human Spaceflight

As human spaceflight pushes beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO), resupply of consumables becomes a significant challenge. One solution to this problem is In-Space Manufacturing (ISM), the capability to perform on-demand manufacturing and repair of consumables in an in-space environment. ISM offers significant flexibility to missions as it allows for a high degree of tailorability and reduction in launch mass. Leveraging advancements in fabrication, repair and recycling, ISM provides a highly sustainable and affordable solution to Exploration mission operations and logistics. In this talk, advances in printed electronics and sensors, ranging from nanomaterial ink development and hands-free fabrication methodologies to devices will be presented.

In Space Manufacturing↗

DOE OSTI2024

Providing a Flexible and Comprehensive Software Stack Via Spack, an Extreme-Scale Scientific Software Stack, and Software Development Kits

To manage the complex demands of modern high-performance computing (HPC), software applications increasingly depend on software developed by other teams, often at other institutions. An HPC software ecosystem approach is required to support dependencies on third-party scientific software. An ecosystem approach provides layers of activity above the individual software product level that promote interoperability, quality improvement, porting, testing, and deployment. The U.S. Exascale Computing Project (ECP) developed its HPC software ecosystem using a three-pronged approach. First, the ECP adopted and invested in Spack, a package manager designed to handle complex HPC package dependencies. Second, the ECP created the Extreme Scale Scientific Software Stack, an effort that supports developing, deploying, and running scientific applications on HPC platforms. Third, the ECP supported software product communities, or software development kits, to develop and promote best practices, improve software interoperability, and other collaborative efforts. This article describes ECP contributions to HPC software ecosystem challenges.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

DOE OSTI2026

Cyclic moisture reactivation of calcium sorbents for long duration thermochemical energy storage

The transition to a flexible and reliable energy infrastructure, using electro-thermal energy generation technologies such as geothermal, concentrated solar power, and nuclear, usually demands simultaneous advancement of thermal energy storage (TES) to support on-demand electricity generation and industrial applications while mitigating the inherent intermittency of renewable energy sources and power outages from direct energy generation. Among TES technologies, thermochemical energy storage (TCES) based on calcium looping emerges as a compelling high-power energy storage candidate due to its high reaction enthalpy, compatibility with elevated operating temperatures, and abundance of low-cost materials. However, the long-term durability of calcium-based sorbents for TCES is hindered by surface sintering and particle aggregation, leading to performance degradation over repeated thermal cycles. This study explores a moisture hydration-based strategy to regenerate a degraded calcium sorbent and mitigate performance degradation for long duration TCES. The addition of moisture transforms calcium oxide into calcium hydroxide and produces intercalation water layers, associated with a regenerated surface area and reduced calcium oxide crystallite size. Both these effects are beneficial in restoring the sorbents' reactivity for carbonization. Additionally, an optimized hydration-assisted reactivation protocol balances the recovered energy storage capacity with heating penalty required for moisture removal from hydrated samples, resulting in an enhanced energy storage capacity up to 176% compared to benchmark sorbents that undergo cycling without reactivation after 60 cycles. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential of hydration-assisted reactivation to enhance the long-term performance of TCES, providing an effective pathway to advancing electro-thermal storage technologies.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗