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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 307 records · Page 17
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Safe and Private Forward-trading Platform for Transactive Microgrids

Power grids are evolving at an unprecedented pace due to the rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DER) in communities. These resources are very different from traditional power sources, as they are located closer to loads and thus can significantly reduce transmission losses and carbon emissions. However, their intermittent and variable nature often results in spikes in the overall demand on distribution system operators (DSO). To manage these challenges, there has been a surge of interest in building decentralized control schemes, where a pool of DERs combined with energy storage devices can exchange energy locally to smooth fluctuations in net demand. Building a decentralized market for transactive microgrids is challenging, because even though a decentralized system provides resilience, it also must satisfy requirements such as privacy, efficiency, safety, and security, which are often in conflict with each other. As such, existing implementations of decentralized markets often focus on resilience and safety but compromise on privacy. In this article, we describe our platform, called TRANSAX, which enables participants to trade in an energy futures market, which improves efficiency by finding feasible matches for energy trades, enabling DSOs to plan their energy needs better. TRANSAX provides privacy to participants by anonymizing their trading activity using a distributed mixing service, while also enforcing constraints that limit trading activity based on safety requirements, such as keeping planned energy flow below line capacity. We show that TRANSAX can satisfy the seemingly conflicting requirements of efficiency, safety, and privacy. We also provide an analysis of how much trading efficiency is lost. Trading efficiency is improved through the problem formulation, which accounts for temporal flexibility, and system efficiency is improved using a hybrid-solver architecture. Lastly, we describe a testbed to run experiments and demonstrate its performance using simulation results.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

The effect of local chemical ordering on Frank-Read source activation in a refractory multi-principal element alloy

In this work, we investigate the operation of Frank-Read (FR) sources in a refractory multi-principal element alloy (MPEA). Simulations of discrete dislocation motion in MPEAs is enabled by the development of a phase field dislocation dynamics model that treats the atomic-scale fluctuations in lattice energies across the glide plane, present due to local ordering in the chemical composition within the nominally random MPEA atomic structure. We consider, through simulation, a range of length scales over which ordering occurs, varying from short-range lengths, a few times dislocation core width, to long-range lengths, an order of magnitude longer than the core. Characteristic of this body-centered cubic MPEA, the simulations also include screw/edge character dependence in glide resistance, as informed by atomic scale simulation. The critical stresses to activate the source for the same source size are found to be statistically distributed, as a direct consequence of the underlying variation in lattice energy. Furthermore, analysis of critical state for activating edge and screw FR sources in the MPEA reveals that FR source operation occurs via a two-step mechanism, involving athermal kink-pair formation, unlike the conventional FR source operation in a material with no composition fluctuations. This mechanism lowers the average critical stress required to activate the FR source and causes the statistical dispersion in critical stress to depend on the range of composition ordering. More importantly, it leads to a more severe dependence of source strength on FR source length than predicted by line tension alone.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
NASA NTRS1981

Infrared sources in dense molecular clouds

Recent accomplishments in the infrared study of dense molecular clouds are reviewed, and the outstanding problems in the area are discussed. Such questions as whether clouds are collapsing, how they can be classified, and whether star formation is occurring on the edges of clouds are analyzed. Problems of determining size, energy distribution and luminosity, spectral features, evolutionary state, and energetics of infrared sources are discussed.

Evans, N. J., II↗
DOE OSTI2022

Emerging Trends and Systemic Issues Influencing Today’s U.S. Electric Grid

With increasing shifts from vertically integrated to horizontally structured operations and from centralized to distributed electric power delivery, today’s electric power grid (the “grid”) operators and designers face the challenge of creating an architecture that accommodates a host of diverse requirements. The grid’s modes of operation must address concerns of reliability and stability, new deployments of renewable energy sources, threats from cyber-attacks and natural disasters, and increasingly distributed system operations. Grid modernization calls for a reliable, affordable, sustainable, agile, secure, and resilient grid. However, the modernization of the U.S. power grid is hampered by mounting complexity and diverging objectives from owners and operators and is consequently risky and fraught with potential missteps. Flawed architecture, design, and implementation will lead to stranded investments and lost opportunities. A principled approach to minimize risk and develop a robust grid of the future is to begin with a sound architecture for the grid to inform the design process. Architecture development starts with the context of influencing factors that provide constraints as well as driving goals. This report provides the context of emerging trends and cross-cutting systemic issues in the U.S. electric power grid and serves as a vital input for grid architecture development.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Formulation of Three-Phase State Estimation Problem Using a Virtual Reference

State Estimation (SE) is the backbone of modern Energy Management System (EMS) due its capability of processing real time measurements and provide reliable information to system operators. Since its introduction to power systems in the 70’s, SE has been widely used in transmission networks. Distribution grids on the other hand lack sufficient number of real time measurements, and for that reason SE has not been widely implemented on these systems. The recent increase in the number of renewable energy sources connected to the grid at lower voltage levels, the advent of Distribution Automation (DA) and Smart Grids necessitate closer monitoring of distribution networks and thus forcing utilities to upgrade their operations and deploy Advanced Distribution Management Sytems (ADMS). Therefore, Distribution System State Estimation (DSE) is paramount to provide real time monitoring of active distribution grids. This papers investigates the formulation of the three-phase distribution state estimation where in the most general case, none of the system buses may have balanced three phase voltages. In such a case, the choice and definition of the slack bus need to be revisited. Most of the existing work arbitrarily assign the root bus of the distribution feeder as the balanced three-phase reference which may not be realistic for today’s active distribution systems. This paper addresses this shortcoming of the existing SE formulations by introducing a virtual reference bus. Here, the proposed approach is effectively validated by simulations carried out on distribution test systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2009

On the Nature of the First Galaxies Selected at 350 Micrometers

We present constraints on the nature of the first galaxies selected at 350 micrometers. The sample includes galaxies discovered in the deepest blank-field survey at 350 micrometers (in the Bo6tes Deep Field) and also later serendipitous detections in the Lockman Hole. In determining multiwavelength identifications, the 350 lam position and map resolution of the second generation Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera are critical, especially in the cases where multiple radio sources exist and the 24 micrometer counterparts are unresolved. Spectral energy distribution templates are fitted to identified counterparts, and the sample is found to comprise IR-luminous galaxies at 1 < z < 3 predominantly powered by star formation. The first spectrum of a 350 micrometer selected galaxy provides an additional confirmation, showing prominent dust grain features typically associated with star-forming galaxies. Compared to submillimeter galaxies selected at 850 and 1100 micrometers, galaxies selected at 350 micrometers have a similar range of far-infrared color temperatures. However, no 350 micrometer selected sources are reliably detected at 850 or 1100 micrometers. Galaxies in our sample with redshifts 1 < z < 2 show a tight correlation between the far- and mid-infrared flux densities, but galaxies at higher redshifts show a large dispersion in their mid- to far-infrared colors. This implies a limit to which the mid-IR emission traces the far-IR emission in star-forming galaxies. The 350 micrometer flux densities (15 < S(sub 350) < 40 mJy) place these objects near the Herschel/SPIRE 350 micrometer confusion threshold, with the lower limit on the star formation rate density suggesting the bulk of the 350 micrometers contribution will come from less luminous infrared sources and normal galaxies. Therefore, the nature of the dominant source of the 350 micrometers background-star-forming galaxies in the epoch of peak star formation in the universe-could be more effectively probed using ground-based instruments with their angular resolution and sensitivity offering significant advantages over space-based imaging. Key words: galaxies: high-redshift galaxies: starburst infrared: galaxies submillimeter

Khan, Sophia A.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Probability Density Function Control of Frequency Fluctuations in Renewable-Rich Power Systems

The stochastic nature of renewable energy sources (RESs) necessitates treating power system frequency response as a random process with a nonstationary probability density function (PDF). Here, based upon the stochastic distribution control theory originated by the second author, this paper proposes a novel stochastic controller to improve the frequency PDF in power grids when integrating a large amount of RESs, thereby minimizing the effects of uncertainties and enhancing overall system stability. The key idea is to manipulate the controllable power generation resources so that the frequency PDF is make to follow a target PDF by using the stochastic distribution control theory originated by the second author. The proposed method can easily be plugged into existing automatic generation controls for multi-area transmission grids. The proposed method is validated via a modified Kundar's two area system and 240-bus Western Electricity Coordinating Council systems. The simulation results show that the proposed control shapes the frequency PDF narrower and sharper, leading to a notable improvement toward minimizing the effects of randomness and uncertainty during grid operation.

frequency↗
NASA NTRS1990

4C 41.17 - A radio galaxy at a redshift of 3.8

Observations, comprising radio imaging at three frequencies, optical broadband and narrow-band imaging, optical spectroscopy, and K-band IR imaging, of a distant radio source, 4C 41.17, are presented. It is shown that 4C 41.17 is associated with an extended source of optical and IR emission at a redshift of 3.8. The morphological similarities between the radio source and the ionized gas and optical/IR continua suggest that the radio source is interacting vigorously with the galaxy. Various mechanisms for producing the optical/IR emission in 4C 41.17 are considered. It is concluded that a large fraction of the spectral energy distribution is from stars, and that the star formation induced by the radio source is the likely mechanism to account for the radio/optical alignment.

Chambers, K. C.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mapping variations of redshift distributions with probability integral transforms

We present a method for mapping variations between probability distribution functions and apply this method within the context of measuring galaxy redshift distributions from imaging survey data. This method, which we name PITPZ for the probability integral transformations it relies on, uses a difference in curves between distribution functions in an ensemble as a transformation to apply to another distribution function, thus transferring the variation in the ensemble to the latter distribution function. This procedure is broadly applicable to the problem of uncertainty propagation. In the context of redshift distributions, for example, the uncertainty contribution due to certain effects can be studied effectively only in simulations, thus necessitating a transfer of variation measured in simulations to the redshift distributions measured from data. We illustrate the use of PITPZ by using the method to propagate photometric calibration uncertainty to redshift distributions of the Dark Energy Survey Year 3 weak lensing source galaxies. For this test case, we find that PITPZ yields a lensing amplitude uncertainty estimate due to photometric calibration error within 1 per cent of the truth, compared to as much as a 30 per cent underestimate when using traditional methods.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2021

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Final Scientific/Technical Report Small Scale Ammonia Synthesis Using Stranded Wind Energy

Ammonia absorber columns offer an alternative separation unit to replace condensation in the Haber-Bosch synthesis loop. Metal halide salts can selectively separate ammonia from the reactor outlet gas mixture and incorporate it into their crystal lattice with remarkably high thermodynamic capacity. While the salts’ working capacity can be limited and unstable when they are in their pure form, the capacity is stable and can be high when using a porous ceramic support. In this project, we found optimal conditions for sorbent fabrication, we demonstrated benchmark levels of uptake and release of ammonia, and we fabricated and demonstrated a prototype at a scale of 1 kg/day ammonia. This task allowed us to assess improvement in the techno-economic prospects for this new separation approach, making viable more distributed production of green ammonia from geographically dispersed renewable energy sources.

08 HYDROGEN↗
NASA NTRS1974

The abundances of nuclei in the cosmic radiation

The relative abundances are treated as a consequence of processes in cosmic ray transport occurring during passage of the radiation through interstellar material at high velocity. Some of the subjects mentioned are nuclear fragmentation and the production of secondary nuclei, nuclear reactions, energy loss and nuclear decay, ionization, the range-energy relation and propagation variables, capture and loss of electrons, the propagation of nuclei, the transport equation, equilibrium solutions, energy-dependent path length distribution, exponential path length distributions, discrete spectra, sources, supernovae, and the origin of the abundances. The connection between the space-time features of the sources, the material traversed, and the effects of magnetic fields is established by describing the particle-field interaction as a diffusive or random-walk process.

Reames, D. V.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A radiometric model of an earth radiation budget radiometer optical system with diffuse-specular surfaces

The Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) is to fly on NASA's Earth Radiation Budget Satellite (ERBS) and on NOAA F and NOAA G. Large spatial scale earth energy budget data will be derived primarily from measurements made by the ERBE nonscanning instrument (ERBE-NS). A description is given of a mathematical model capable of simulating the radiometric response of any of the ERBE-NS earth viewing channels. The model uses a Monte Carlo method to accurately account for directional distributions of emission and reflection from optical surfaces which are neither strictly diffuse nor strictly specular. The model computes radiation exchange factors among optical system components, and determines the distribution in the optical system of energy from an outside source. Attention is also given to an approach for implementing the model and results obtained from the implementation.

Luther, M. R.↗
NASA NTRS1986

20 kHz Space Station power system

The Space Station represents the next major U.S. commitment in space. The efficient delivery of power to multiple user loads is key to that success. In 1969, NASA Lewis Research Center began a series of studies with component and circuit developments that led to the high frequency bi-directional, four quadrant resonant driven converter. Additional studies and subsequent developments into the early 1980's have shown how the high frequency ac power system could provide overall advantages to many aerospace power systems. Because of its wide versatility, it also has outstanding advantages for the Space Station Program and its wide range of users. High frequency ac power provides higher efficiency, lower cost, and improved safety. The 20 kHz power system has exceptional flexibility, is inherently user friendly, and is compatible with all types of energy sources - photovoltaic, solar dynamic, rotating machines or nuclear Lewis distribution system testbed. The testbed demonstrates flexibility, versatility, and transparency to user technology as well as high efficiency, low mass, and reduced volume.

Hansen, Irving G.↗
NASA NTRS1988

A mirror instability associated with newly created ions in a moving plasma

Using a plasma model in which the ambient magnetic field is parallel to the z axis and the wave vector, an instability that resembles the usual hydromagnetic mirror instability is demonstrated. The instability is caused by freshly created ions in a moving plasma; the source of its free energy is associated with the ring distribution of the newly created ions, resulting in a high ion kinetic temperature in the direction transverse to the ambient magnetic field. The results of a stability analysis indicate that this instability can lead to the amplification of magnetosonic waves.

Wu, C. S.↗
NASA NTRS1993

A nonequilibrium model for a moderate pressure hydrogen microwave discharge plasma

This document describes a simple nonequilibrium energy exchange and chemical reaction model to be used in a computational fluid dynamics calculation for a hydrogen plasma excited by microwaves. The model takes into account the exchange between the electrons and excited states of molecular and atomic hydrogen. Specifically, electron-translation, electron-vibration, translation-vibration, ionization, and dissociation are included. The model assumes three temperatures, translational/rotational, vibrational, and electron, each describing a Boltzmann distribution for its respective energy mode. The energy from the microwave source is coupled to the energy equation via a source term that depends on an effective electric field which must be calculated outside the present model. This electric field must be found by coupling the results of the fluid dynamics and kinetics solution with a solution to Maxwell's equations that includes the effects of the plasma permittivity. The solution to Maxwell's equations is not within the scope of this present paper.

Scott, Carl D.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Near-IR Polarized Scattered Light Imagery of the DoAr 28 Transitional Disk

We present the first spatially resolved polarized scattered light H-band detection of the DoAr 28 transitional disk. Our two epochs of imagery detect the scattered light disk from our effective inner working angle of 0 double prime.10 (13 AU) out to 0double prime.50 (65 AU). This inner working angle is interior to the location of the system's gap inferred by previous studies using spectral energy distribution modeling (15 AU). We detected a candidate point source companion 1 double prime.08 northwest of the system; however, our second epoch of imagery strongly suggests that this object is a background star. We constructed a grid of Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer models of the system, and our best fit models utilize a modestly inclined (50 degrees), 0.01 solar mass disk that has a partially depleted inner gap from the dust sublimation radius out to approximately 8 AU. Subtracting this best fit, axi-symmetric model from our polarized intensity data reveals evidence for two small asymmetries in the disk, which could be attributable to a variety of mechanisms.

polarized scattered light H-band↗
NASA NTRS1983

Effects of line width and spatial extent on measurements of the 0.51 MeV Galactic center line

Over the past 15 years, a number of measurements have been made of positron-electron annihilation radiation from the Galactic Center region. The results after 1979 show a significant decrease in measured flux intensity from that previously observed with the same instruments. This is probably due to time variations; however, the contributions of a spatially extended and/or energy-broadened component should also be considered. The entire data set is consistent with a time variable point source plus a distribution along the Galactic Disk. There is no strong evidence for a component broadened in energy.

Dunphy, P. P.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Agent-Based Coordination Scheme for PV Integration (ABC4PV)

Renewables and especially photovoltaics (PV) have benefitted significantly from a host of incentives and policies targeted toward enhanced integration and adoption of specific energy technologies. However, with the push to move forward into a subsidy-free market framework, behind-the-meter residential PV applications have generally struggled to retain their value (unlike utility scale and commercial projects) [1]. This project focused on developing control-theoretic solutions aimed at improving the integration and interaction of behind-the-meter residential PV with other distribution system assets (controllable and non-controllable) to enhance the integrated value of residential PV. To this end, a suite of decentralized control methodologies have been developed to enable effective coordination and control of behind-the-meter residential load customers’ PV, battery storage systems (BSS), controllable loads and other similar assets within a distribution feeder. This interaction aims at procuring energy savings and, thus, energy bill savings. The main source of savings is drawn from reducing the effect of demand charge pricing and is realized at the feeder level, assuming community level interaction and management among the aforementioned assets. Optimal control of the assets is implemented with a distributed optimization methodology, leveraging consensus-based algorithms. The results gathered from the optimal control simulations demonstrates that the savings can be duly achieved and the algorithm decision times (to dynamically control asset set points, for example) are fast. As for the overall efficiency of PV+BSS systems, to procure energy savings from curtailment of the demand charge pricing effects, the optimal control is set up so as to minimize the variance of the load for all customers, throughout a feeder and throughout time in a rolling horizon scheduling with model predictive control. The control takes into account inter-temporal electrochemical storage (battery) degradation costs: specifically, we have developed a long-term lifetime model for the BSS that weighs in the effect of the degradation factor in the dispatch formulations, thus, a considerable operating cost that affects energy decision making. The levelized cost of energy (LCOE – redefined for the purpose of quantifying asset integration effectiveness through the customers’ energy cost) is shown to be below the threshold set for the combined PV+BSS topology of $ 0.14/kWh for multiple cases of PV penetration all the way up to 50%, provided that a policy of shared ownership of and savings is in place. Further, the LCOE calculated for the case before the deployment PV+BSS systems is also achievable, i.e. the deployment of PV+BSS, if planned and scheduled optimally. will have no effect on customers’ energy costs. From the control methodology viewpoint, the developed consensus-based algorithms are shown to converge for a wide range of problem cases (spanning normal operating scenarios and contingencies), guaranteeing dispatch solutions under forecasting errors, communication break-downs and cyber-security attacks. The proposed control solutions are scalable and real-time implementable, with dispatch computations and device set-point updates converging in less than 2s in most practical instances of the above events.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗