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At least 289 records · Page 16

Throughput Estimation of Data Transport Networks From Digital Twin Measurements

Digital twins of networked infrastructures, known as Virtual Infrastructure Twins (VITs), are increasingly used for software development, pre-deployment testing, and design space exploration. While VITs avoid the costs and potential disruptions associated with experiments on operational networks, their throughput measurements are typically not sufficiently accurate for performance profiling of wide-area networks that they emulate. Here, machine learning (ML) methods are developed to transform these inaccurate VIT network throughput measurements to closely match in peak and overall profile of those from a physical testbed or production network. First, a micro kernel network reflecting a physical network is utilized to collect one-time measurements on a host to support this ML transformation. Then, a generic multi-modal ML method is developed to learn a map that transforms measurements from subsequent VITs on the same host to match past, current and follow-on testbed and cloud networks. ML generalization equations are derived to establish its correctness and probabilistically guarantee its generalization accuracy. Experimental results are presented for a variety of VIT hosts with target testbed and cloud networks; they include a case study of a four-site science ecosystem wherein inaccurate convex VIT measurement profiles are transformed into accurate concave profiles of target networks.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Energy-Efficient and Resilient Infrastructure: Simulation, Validation, and Installation

Advanced, high-performance computing at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has enabled access to vast data resources with cutting-edge software techniques to understand, design, plan for, and maintain energy-efficient and resilient infrastructure. We have focused on cities and airports, but the technology we have developed will easily translate to seaports, inland ports, military installations, or other complex and large-scale energy-intensive systems. We can digitally simulate and explore current and future scenarios to make datadriven decisions for optimizing advanced energy systems, transportation and building operations, infrastructure planning and expansion, and battery storage to guide short- and long-term investments, electrification strategies, and integration of new technologies.

Athena↗

Optimizing Hydrogen Fueling Infrastructure Plans on Freight Corridors for Heavy-Duty Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles

The development of a future hydrogen energy economy will require the development of several hydrogen market and industry segments including a hydrogen-based commercial freight transportation ecosystem. For a sustainable freight transportation ecosystem, the supporting fueling infrastructure and the associated vehicle powertrains making use of hydrogen fuel will need to be co-established. This article introduces the OR-AGENT (Optimal Regional Architecture Generation for Electrified National Transportation) tool developed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which has been used to optimize the hydrogen refueling infrastructure requirements on the I-75 corridor for heavy-duty (HD) fuel cell electric commercial vehicles (FCEV). This constraint-based optimization model considers existing fueling locations, regional-specific vehicle fuel economy and weight, vehicle origin and destination (O-D), and vehicle volume by class and infrastructure costs to characterize in-mission refueling requirements for a given freight corridor. The authors applied this framework to determine the ideal public access locations for hydrogen refueling (constrained by existing fueling stations), the minimal viable cost to deploy sufficient hydrogen fuel dispensers, and associated equipment, to accommodate a growing population of hydrogen fuel cell trucks. The framework discussed in this article can be expanded and applied to a larger interstate system, expanded regional corridor, or other transportation network. This article is the third in a series of papers that defined the model development to optimize a national hydrogen refueling infrastructure ecosystem for HD commercial vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Baltimore Energy & Infrastructure: Assessing Urban Heat Vulnerability in Baltimore Neighborhoods to Inform Transportation Resiliency Planning Efforts

Across the world, climate change is altering cities and their local climate systems. Following global trends of rising mean temperatures, Baltimore, Maryland is projected to experience more frequent extreme heat events. Exacerbated by Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects, residents of the city face high temperatures from limited tree canopy, highly paved and impervious surfaces, limited air flow, and high concentrations of localized emissions. Urban heat is dispersed asymmetrically, with historically marginalized populations experiencing disproportionately severe heat. Recognizing the impacts of extreme urban heat, the Maryland Transit Administration (MTA) collaborated with us, the Spring 2024 Goddard Energy and Infrastructure NASA DEVELOP team to assess urban impacts of MTA users and assets and explore opportunities to enhance resiliency planning. We evaluated the feasibility of NASA Earth observations (EOs) in visualizing heat vulnerability in Baltimore City and County. We mapped UHI and extreme heat using remote sensing observations, tailored a Heat Priority Score (HPS) to analyze heat data in tandem with socioeconomic data from American Community Survey (ACS), and utilized SOlar and LongWave Environmental Irradiance Geometry (SOLWEIG) model to estimate MTA riders’ thermal comfort. NASA EOs served to quantify the distribution and severity of extreme heat at the block group level, which was found to correlate with a lack of vegetation and presence of densely built-up surroundings. The HPS revealed that extreme heat events most negatively impact communities that exhibit social vulnerability through indicators such as age, race, and income. These findings will inform neighborhood resiliency plans for the MTA that can be incorporated into their Adaptation Resiliency Toolbox (ART).

Baltimore,↗

Yesterday’s extremes, today’s new normal: flood risk in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal

Unplanned urban growth has left many cities increasingly vulnerable to extreme rainfall events, particularly in regions with inadequate drainage infrastructures and development encroaching on natural floodplains. Here, in this perspective paper, we examine the September 2024 floods that struck Central Nepal, triggered by a persistent low-pressure system and enhanced by converging moisture flows from the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal which led to widespread catastrophic damage. In the Kathmandu Valley, floodwaters expanded to more than 2.5 times the bankfull water extent, causing significant damage to housing, transportation network, and critical infrastructure, displacing thousands of residents, and severely disrupting urban services. This event highlights the urgent need for improved flood management strategies that integrate both structural and non-structural measures into the infrastructure development. While early warning systems provided critical lead time, challenges remain in reducing forecasting uncertainties and improving communication across government agencies and with local communities. A forward-looking approach is essential, including probabilistic flood forecasting systems, sustainable floodplain management, risk-sensitive land use planning, climate- and disaster- resilient infrastructure development, and the integration of nature-based solutions like urban green and blue spaces to mitigate flood impacts. By involving local communities in planning and preparedness efforts, particularly through citizen science initiatives, and engagement with underserved and disadvantaged communities, Nepal can better adapt to the growing risks posed by extreme rainfall and urban flooding and enhance long-term disaster resilience in rapidly urbanizing areas like Kathmandu Valley.

Kathmandu Valley↗

Transforming Energy Through Computational Excellence: A Virtual Test-Drive of Energy Scenarios

Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are conducting groundbreaking research to decarbonize transportation systems and reduce emissions. As they plan for growing populations and related demands on aging infrastructure and energy systems, local transportation departments and city planners are facing significant, complex challenges. New approaches to planning and operations, as well as capitalizing on rapidly advancing technology, can address mobility and energy-centric challenges, including cost and energy efficiency, emissions reduction, decarbonization, and congestion.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

SynthEsizing Novel H2 Sensors for Operational Resilience in Pipeline Infrastructure (SENSOR) (CRADA Final Report)

Hydrogen (H₂) is gaining attention as a versatile energy carrier with potential applications across industrial processes, power generation, and transportation. However, its practical deployment, particularly in large-scale distribution systems, faces significant infrastructure challenges. Transporting hydrogen through dedicated pipelines or blending it into existing natural gas networks can lead to serious issues, such as leakage due to the small size of hydrogen molecules and material degradation in pipelines through embrittlement. These technical risks raise safety concerns and could limit the integration of hydrogen into current energy infrastructures. Additionally, using hydrogen-enriched gas mixtures in combustion systems like turbines and engines introduces new performance and compatibility challenges that must be resolved before widespread use becomes feasible.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Launch Alaska Transportation and Energy Accelerator (LATEA)

The Launch Alaska Transportation and Energy Accelerator (LATEA), funded through the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Technology Commercialization’s Energy Program for Innovation Clusters (EPIC),advanced deployment of innovative and efficient transportation and energy technology in Alaska from October 2021 through June 2025. The project was designed to leverage Launch Alaska’s accelerator model to identify, recruit, and support transportation technology companies with novel solutions to market needs while building the stakeholder networks, demonstration opportunities, and institutional capacity necessary to accelerate commercialization in one of the most challenging operating environments in the United States.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Airship Industry Study

There is an ongoing Government interest in the potential of airships for cargo transport; Conducting vertical or near-vertical airlift of heavy, outsized freight with little or no ground infrastructure is an attractive cargo transport option. USTRANSCOM wanted to understand the principal issues that are holding back commercial development of airship transports. NASA Ames Research Center was commissioned by USTRANSCOM to study the airship industry’s ability to design, develop, and operate cargo airships. Principal study objectives were to identify: (1) Current and near term state of the cargo airship industry; (2) Roadblocks hindering cargo airship development; (3) Steps needed to remove impediments to cargo airship deployment.

Hochstetler, Ron↗

Semi-Automated Diagnosis, Repair, and Rework of Spacecraft Electronics

NASA's Constellation Program for Exploration of the Moon and Mars places human crews in extreme isolation in resource scarce environments. Near Earth, the discontinuation of Space Shuttle flights after 2010 will alter the up- and down-mass capacity for the International Space Station (ISS). NASA is considering new options for logistics support strategies for future missions. Aerospace systems are often composed of replaceable modular blocks that minimize the need for complex service operations in the field. Such a strategy however, implies a robust and responsive logistics infrastructure with relatively low transportation costs. The modular Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) used for ISS requires relatively large blocks of replacement hardware even though the actual failed component may really be three orders of magnitude smaller. The ability to perform in-situ repair of electronics circuits at the component level can dramatically reduce the scale of spares and related logistics cost. This ability also reduces mission risk, increases crew independence and improves the overall supportability of the program. The Component-Level Electronics Assembly Repair (CLEAR) task under the NASA Supportability program was established to demonstrate the practicality of repair by first investigating widely used soldering materials and processes (M&P) performed by modest manual means. The work will result in program guidelines for performing manual repairs along with design guidance for circuit reparability. The next phase of CLEAR recognizes that manual repair has its limitations and some highly integrated devices are extremely difficult to handle and demand semi-automated equipment. Further, electronics repairs require a broad range of diagnostic capability to isolate the faulty components. Finally repairs must pass functional tests to determine that the repairs are successful and the circuit can be returned to service. To prevent equipment demands from exceeding spacecraft volume capacity and skill demands from exceeding crew time and training limits, the CLEAR project is examining options provided by non-real time tele-operations, robotics, and a new generation of diagnostic equipment. This paper outlines a strategy to create an effective repair environment where, with the support of ground based engineers, crewmembers can diagnose, repair and test flight electronics in-situ. This paper also discusses the implications of successful tele-robotic repairs when expanded to rework and reconfiguration of used flight assets for building Constellation infrastructure elements.

Struk, Peter M.↗

Experimental validation of multiphysics model simulations of the thermal response of a cement clinker rotary kiln at laboratory scale

Abstract An increasing demand for buildings, transportation systems and civil infrastructure development has driven expansion of cement consumption world‐wide, producing a significant increase in related global energy demand. With approximately 7% of the world‐wide industrial energy consumption (10.7 exajoules [EJ]), the cement industry is the third most energy intensive industrial processes and a key component for concrete, the most consumed composite material in the global construction industry. In cement manufacturing, the cement kiln accounts for most of the energy consumption in the production process. As the heart of a cement plant, the cement kiln is where the kiln feed primarily containing calcium oxide (CaO), silica (SiO 2 ), alumina (Al 2 O 3 ), and iron (Fe 2 O 3 ) are thermally and chemically transformed into clinker minerals. The presented work developed a multiphysics model, designed and built a laboratory‐scale rotary cement clinker kiln, and produced cement clinker at laboratory‐scale. The model was developed to study the interaction between the various thermal, fluid dynamic and chemical interactions involved in the sintering process used to form Portland cement clinker in an effort to reduce energy use. The analytical model was validated through experimental testing using a unique laboratory‐scale rotary cement kiln developed during the investigation. Also demonstrated was the feasibility of producing clinker at laboratory scale. This modeling and lab scale tests were designed to better understand the clinker sintering process so that operational and quality decisions can be made to optimize energy consumption without compromising cement clinker quality. The computational fluid dynamics modeling was developed in COMSOL Multiphysics 6.0. The characteristics of the combustion fluid flow, concentration of species, temperature and heat transfer were studied for a turbulent flow of methane (CH 4 ) gas and oxygen (O 2 ). Theory suggests that heat transfer impacts the cement production process but the multiphysics model more accurately describes the convection, conduction, and radiant heat transfer in the kilning process and thus allows for a better understanding of the energy exchange driving the chemical reactions that produce Portland cement. Clinker minerals were formed because of appropriate burning conditions implemented during experimental model validation.

Tabares, Juan David↗

Cross-sectoral impact of emerging technologies on U.S. manufacturing resilience and competitiveness

Introducing new technologies in one energy-intensive industry can affect how other industries operate and stay resilient, yet these cross-sector interactions are often underappreciated in conventional technology roadmaps. In practice, industrial systems do not evolve in isolation. They are linked through shared upstream and downstream dependencies, such as electricity and fuel supply, critical materials, transportation networks, and enabling infrastructure. As a result, large-scale technology deployment in one sector can reshape resource availability, infrastructure demand, and operational risk in others. These interdependencies mean that technology deployment decisions in one sector can create unintended bottlenecks or cascading benefits in others. Here, this article argues that a cross-sector, system-of-systems perspective is essential for evaluating and scaling emerging technologies in energy-intensive industries. By framing industrial transformation as an interconnected systems challenge rather than a set of isolated sectoral decisions, the study highlights how interdependence shapes technology feasibility, adoption pathways, and resilience outcomes. The article illustrates how cross-sector linkages can amplify both risks and benefits, and it emphasizes the importance of integrated planning approaches that account for shared dependencies, cascading impacts, and co-optimization opportunities. Adopting this broader perspective can support more robust technology roadmaps, improve strategic coordination across industries, and strengthen the long-term resilience of the industrial sector as a whole.

Nain, Preeti [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)↗

Factors influencing mode choice of adults with travel-limiting disability

Introduction: Despite the plethora of research devoted to analyzing the impact of disability on travel behavior, not enough studies have investigated the varying impact of social and environmental factors on the mode choice of people with disabilities that restrict their ability to use transportation modes efficiently. This research gap can be addressed by investigating the factors influencing the mode choice behavior of people with travel-limiting disabilities, which can inform the development of accessible and sustainable transportation systems. Additionally, such studies can provide insights into the social and economic barriers faced by this population group, which can help policymakers to promote social inclusion and equity. Method: This study utilized a Random Parameters Logit model to identify the individual, trip, and environmental factors that influence mode selection among people with travel-limiting disabilities. Here, using the 2017 National Household Travel Survey data for New York State, which included information on respondents with travel-limiting disabilities, the analysis focused on a sample of 8,016 people. In addition, climate data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were integrated as additional explanatory variables in the modeling process. Results: The results revealed that people with disabilities may be inclined to travel longer distances walking in the absence of suitable accommodation facilities for other transportation modes. Furthermore, people were less inclined to walk during summer and winter, indicating a need to consider weather conditions as a significant determinant of mode choice. Moreover, low-income people with disabilities were more likely to rely on public transport or walking. Conclusion: Based on this study’s findings, transportation agencies could design infrastructure and plan for future expansions that is more inclusive and accessible, thus catering to the mobility needs of people with travel-limiting disabilities.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Impacts and emerging research opportunities in Vehicle-Grid Integration for transportation: A review

This review provides a comprehensive examination of Vehicle-Grid Integration (VGI) technologies and their impacts on transportation systems, with a particular emphasis on the transportation-energy nexus. It systematically explores how VGI affects key transportation applications such as charging infrastructure planning, electric vehicle (EV) routing, smart charging coordination, shared mobility, and dynamic pricing. By synthesizing recent literature from both transportation and energy systems perspectives, this study highlights how advanced methodologies, such as reinforcement learning, game theory, and optimization techniques, are used to model the complex interactions between EVs, mobility patterns, and distributed energy systems. Furthermore, the review also identifies critical challenges, including behavioral factors, data limitations, and system scalability. Drawing on these insights, the paper outlines emerging research opportunities to support the design of integrated, resilient, and user-centric VGI solutions that advance sustainable mobility and energy system efficiency.

Charging coordination↗

SIMCCS2.0

SimCCS2.0 is an open-source software package for industry, researchers, and government to design carbon dioxide (CO2) capture, transport, and storage (CCS) infrastructure that optimally links CO2 sources (e.g., power plants) with CO2 sinks (e.g., saline aquifers, depleted oil fields) to reduce industry carbon footprints and increase energy production.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Assessment of Potential Future Demands for Hydrogen in the United States

H2@Scale is a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative that brings together stakeholders to advance the affordable production, transport, storage, and utilization of hydrogen (H2) as an energy carrier to increase revenue opportunities in multiple energy sectors. The focus of the current work is to characterize the growth potential of diverse hydrogen industries in the United States, given research and development (R&D) advancements in hydrogen technologies. Current and emerging hydrogen production technologies utilize diverse energy sources, including natural gas (NG) reforming, as well as renewable and nuclear power for low-temperature and high-temperature water splitting. The produced hydrogen also enables emerging domestic industries that value conventional and renewable hydrogen as an energy carrier for intermediate and end use. The success of H2@Scale (Figure ES.1) depends not only on hydrogen demand from growing existing markets such as petroleum refining and ammonia (NH 3 ) production, but also on the development of new markets such as metals refining, synthetic fuel (synfuel) and chemical production, biofuels, light-duty (LD) and heavy-duty (HD) hydrogen fuel cell (FC) electric vehicles (FCEVs), and injection into NG pipelines, all of which can significantly increase hydrogen demand relative to current levels of approximately10 million metric tons [MMT] annually. This study focused primarily on five demand sectors — synfuels, upgrading of oil/biomass, NH 3 /fertilizer, metals refining, and hydrogen vehicles (transportation) — along with gas infrastructure. For each sector, a hydrogen demand potential was quantified, along with a “threshold price.” The hydrogen demand potential reflects a practical amount of hydrogen that could be used in that sector, barring economic considerations. The threshold price reflects the price at which the consumer would utilize hydrogen in lieu of an alternative that could supply the same performance.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Midwest Nuclear-based Net-Zero Carbon Steelmaking Demonstration

Globally, the iron and steel industry accounts for around a quarter of GHG emissions from the manufacturing sector , which is about 7% of the 33 gigatonnes (Gt) of global CO 2 emissions . Thus, globally, the steel industry is a 2-3 Gt CO 2 per year emissions challenge. The steel industry is important to the U.S. economy with output equal to $0.5 trillion and domestic production capacity is critical to national defense, infrastructure, energy production, and transportation. President Biden’s executive order on climate identifies actions and policies to put the Nation on a path to achieve net-zero carbon emissions, economy-wide, by no later than 2050. To achieve this, deep carbon reductions in the power, transportation, buildings and capital-intensive industrial manufacturing segments such as steel, cement and chemicals need to be addressed. In its recent “Accelerating Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy System” report , the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) stated that, “while technology exists to decarbonize all parts of the energy system, some sectors remain at precommercial or first-of-a-kind demonstration stages and require significant improvement in cost and performance to become commercially viable.” The NAS goes on to state that these hard to decarbonize sectors include “aviation, shipping, and industrial subsectors such as steel, cement, and chemicals manufacturing .” The Administration has proposed a timeline to decarbonize energy, transportation and then industry and manufacturing. From a life-cycle approach, decarbonizing steel and other large industrial inputs are necessary to decarbonize transformations in energy and transportation. DOE’s TRI-Lab Consortium’s Integrated Energy Systems (IES) program is a collaboration amongst DOE’s three applied energy laboratories: the National Energy Technology Laboratory; National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Idaho National Laboratory. The IES approach looks at more tightly integrating low-carbon nuclear energy, renewable electricity, energy storage, load/demand balancing, and biomass (including plastics and other wastes) with one or more industrial processes that utilize heat and/or power from these clean and waste energy sources to produce a low-carbon commodity-scale product.

08 HYDROGEN↗

Predicting and Controlling Corrosion (Abbreviated Final Report)

Corrosion accumulates significant replacement costs in the transportation, utility, manufacturing, and infrastructure sectors. It also underpins several of LLNL’s core missions in stockpile stewardship, defense, and energy security. Whereas most corrosion and aging models are empirically parameterized to describe well-defined conditions late in the reaction, the factors that determine the early stages of corrosion—during which mitigation could be most impactful— are poorly understood. This project addressed the critical need for new approaches to predict the kinetics of corrosion initiation based on firm physical and chemical understanding. The activities encompassed degradation of relevant metals in both hydrogen-rich and environmental corrosion scenarios. The team integrated state-of-the-art multiscale simulation, in situ characterization, and data science within three technical thrusts: hydriding of Ti alloys; aqueous corrosion of Al and Ni-Cr alloys; and degradation of additively manufactured 316L stainless steel. In each case, novel capabilities were developed to identify and track the impacts of key atomistic, compositional, and microstructural features on the metal systems. For hydriding, protocols were developed to tightly integrate multiscale models, advanced multimodal characterization, and machine learning to determine how hydrogen interacts with native passivating surface oxides and nucleates new undesired phases, shedding new light on the critical role of grain boundaries, interfaces, and atomically disordered regions. For aqueous corrosion, the project demonstrated methods to predict dissolution rates of metal surfaces in corrosive solutions, to measure and understand microstructural and grain orientation effects on corrosion susceptibility, and to investigate competing growth and dissolution kinetics of surface oxides. For additively manufactured metals, analysis using state-of-the-art microscopy techniques revealed the role of specific heterogeneities invoked during laser processing, including cellular structure, dislocations, and precipitates, on corrosion susceptibility. In addition to new capabilities and understanding, the project provided an avenue for workforce development, as well as key partnerships with stakeholders in corrosion science.

08 HYDROGEN↗