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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

A Methodology for Loading the Advanced Test Reactor Driver Core for Experiment Analysis

The Advanced Test Reactor (ATR) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) is one of the premier irradiation facilities in the world. The ATR hosts experiments from a variety of laboratories, companies, and disciplines. Because of its flexibility in providing customized irradiation conditions to experiments, such as coolant chemistry, temperature, and reactor power, analysis for experiments, both from a programmatic and safety perspective, can be a challenging endeavor. Because of these experiment variables, there is always an effort to improve upon the existing analysis methodology in order to provide the sponsor of any given experiment with the most accurate predictions possible. The paper discusses the effort to improve upon the methodology for loading the ATR driver core for experiment analysis. Experiment analysis at INL is generally broken up into three separate disciplines: neutronics, thermal-hydraulics, and structural. The focus of this paper is neutronics analysis. After the experiment has a preliminary design, the neutronics analyst will create a model in the Monte Carlo N-Particle (MCNP) transport code to calculate fuel and material heating rates from MCNP tallies and provide those to the thermal-hydraulics analyst, and calculate reactivity worths, perturbation on the axial fission profile of the ATR driver core by the experiment, void worths, and experiment backup worths. Also, there are usually several programmatic parameters that the experiment sponsor requests that the neutronics analyst calculates. These can include heat generation rates, burnup and displacements per atom (DPA). In order to accurately analyze these parameters, an important input into the physics analyst's MCNP model is the loading of the ATR driver core. The ATR driver core consists of 40, 19-plate highly-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel elements, arranged in a serpentine shape, as pictured in Figure 1. The ATR driver core is responsible for the vast majority of the thermal power of the reactor and the nuclear interactions with the experiments being irradiated in ATR. A unique feature of ATR is the 'power tilt' across the reactor. A power tilt means that the Northwest, Northeast, Southwest, and Southeast Lobes of ATR frequently operate at different powers, providing different irradiation conditions for the experiments in and around the lobes of the reactor. In order to achieve lobe power splits, different fuel elements for each of the 40 positions are chosen by ATR Reactor Engineering so that lobe power splits can be maintained during an operating cycle. A typical fuel loading for an ATR cycle consists of 14 to 18 new fuel elements and 2 to 26 depleted fuel elements. These loadings are typically chosen from three different types of fuel elements. All three ATR fuel element types share a common design, spelled out in Chapter 4 of the ATR Safety Analysis Report (SAR). The fuel element meat is HEU UAlx dispersion fuel sandwiched between aluminum cladding with a length of 121.92 cm (4 ft), with 19 plates per fuel element. The three variations of this common design are designated by the first two letters in their serial numbers: XA, YA, and NB. XA elements are most commonly used. These elements have nominally 1075 g of uranium-235 and 0.66 g of boron-10. The NB elements have the same uranium-235 loading as the XA elements, but no boron in any plates. These elements are used when excess reactivity is needed. The YA elements have the same loading as the XA elements, except that the outermost plate (Plate 19) has no boron or uranium. These elements are used to mitigate aged reflector damage. In order to accurately model the ATR driver core, all three types of fuel elements must be accounted for in the MCNP model. (authors)

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Development and Use of the SPACE Computer Code for Analyzing the Space Station Electrical Power System

This special publication tells the story of the dedicated efforts of very talented individuals to create a preeminent space electrical power system modeling and simulation tool called SPACE, short for System Power Analysis for Capability Evaluation. This computer model has evolved for 30 years, withstanding the test of time and obsolescence, and garnering international recognition for its ability to simulate complex space electrical power systems. The analytical results from this model have saved millions of dollars in hardware redesign, testing, and verification for NASA's International Space Station (ISS) and its European and Russian partners. SPACE has played a pivotal role in the station's design and development and continues to support its ongoing operation. It has also extended its reach beyond the ISS to other key NASA programs, where it guides the design and planned operation of NASA's Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Orion and simulates electric power system operation in a dusty atmosphere on Mars' surface. The SPACE lineage was created by a core civil servant staff, supplemented by a cadre of interns and other temporary helpers. They created a tightly integrated tool that includes all phenomena that impact a solar array and battery space power system performance. SPACE is self-contained, requiring no other software modules and associated license fees. SPACE "rings true" in that is has been extensively validated with ISS on-orbit telemetry data. This report is being released as the generation of engineers who created it are nearing retirement, passing the baton to a new generation. This next generation will carry the code into the future, no doubt further evolving it to be able to assure mission planners that newly conceived systems will successfully power NASA's next endeavors. As a previous SPACE code developer and analyst, I have worked alongside many of the people mentioned in this report. The engineers who created the code, along with those just now learning it, are among the best and brightest at NASA. It is an honor to write this foreword as the present Branch Chief under which the legacy of SPACE continues to thrive.

Electrical Power System↗

NRC Reactor Operating Experience Analysis and Trend Summary: 2024 Update

This report presents a summary of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) reactor operating experience analyses with data through 2024 as well as the reliability and frequency trends identified in the 2024 update reports for the component performance studies, loss-of-offsite power analysis, initiating events analysis, and system studies provided on the NRC Reactor Operating Experience Results and Databases website (https://nrcoe.inl.gov/).

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

In-Vehicle Assessment of Human Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from 25-kW Wireless Power Transfer System Based on Near-Field Analysis

Wireless power transfer (WPT) technology has the potential to be a convenient and reliable charging method for the light and heavy duty electric vehicles. However, the loose coupling between the two sides results in strong near-electromagnetic fields (EMFs) around the system, which may have the possibility to impact human safety if the standard limits are exceeded. Therefore, comprehensive tests are necessary to ensure the electromagnetic fields are with in safe limits. This paper presents a test methodology for the near-field from a 25-kW WPT system from Momentum Dynamics, which is installed in a heavy-duty electric shuttle at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The paper describes in detail the measuring device, test setup, and conditions.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Space station interior noise analysis program

Documentation is provided for a microcomputer program which was developed to evaluate the effect of the vibroacoustic environment on speech communication inside a space station. The program, entitled Space Station Interior Noise Analysis Program (SSINAP), combines a Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) prediction of sound and vibration levels within the space station with a speech intelligibility model based on the Modulation Transfer Function and the Speech Transmission Index (MTF/STI). The SEA model provides an effective analysis tool for predicting the acoustic environment based on proposed space station design. The MTF/STI model provides a method for evaluating speech communication in the relatively reverberant and potentially noisy environments that are likely to occur in space stations. The combinations of these two models provides a powerful analysis tool for optimizing the acoustic design of space stations from the point of view of speech communications. The mathematical algorithms used in SSINAP are presented to implement the SEA and MTF/STI models. An appendix provides an explanation of the operation of the program along with details of the program structure and code.

Stusnick, E.↗

Getting a Cohesive Answer from a Common Start: Scalable Multidisciplinary Analysis through Transformation of a Systems Model

One of the challenges of systems engineering is in working multidisciplinary problems in a cohesive manner. When planning analysis of these problems, system engineers must trade between time and cost for analysis quality and quantity. The quality often correlates with greater run time in multidisciplinary models and the quantity is associated with the number of alternatives that can be analyzed. The trade-off is due to the resource intensive process of creating a cohesive multidisciplinary systems model and analysis. Furthermore, reuse or extension of the models used in one stage of a product life cycle for another is a major challenge. Recent developments have enabled a much less resource-intensive and more rigorous approach than hand-written translation scripts between multi-disciplinary models and their analyses. The key is to work from a core systems model defined in a MOF-based language such as SysML and in leveraging the emerging tool ecosystem, such as Query/View/Transformation (QVT), from the OMG community. SysML was designed to model multidisciplinary systems. The QVT standard was designed to transform SysML models into other models, including those leveraged by engineering analyses. The Europa Habitability Mission (EHM) team has begun to exploit these capabilities. In one case, a Matlab/Simulink model is generated on the fly from a system description for power analysis written in SysML. In a more general case, symbolic analysis (supported by Wolfram Mathematica) is coordinated by data objects transformed from the systems model, enabling extremely flexible and powerful design exploration and analytical investigations of expected system performance.

Operational QVT↗

Energy-Efficient and Secure S-Box circuit using Symmetric Pass Gate Adiabatic Logic

Differential Power Analysis (DPA) attack is considered to be a main threat while designing cryptographic processors. In cryptographic algorithms like DES and AES, S-Box is used to indeterminate the relationship between the keys and the cipher texts. However, S-box is prone to DPA attack due to its high power consumption. In this paper, we are implementing an energy-efficient 8-bit S-Box circuit using our proposed Symmetric Pass Gate Adiabatic Logic (SPGAL). SPGAL is energy-efficient as compared to the existing DPAresistant adiabatic and non-adiabatic logic families. SPGAL is energy-efficient due to reduction of non-adiabatic loss during the evaluate phase of the outputs. Further, the S-Box circuit implemented using SPGAL is resistant to DPA attacks. The results are verified through SPICE simulations in 180nm technology. SPICE simulations show that the SPGAL based S-Box circuit saves upto 92% and 67% of energy as compared to the conventional CMOS and Secured Quasi-Adiabatic Logic (SQAL) based S-Box circuit. From the simulation results, it is evident that the SPGAL based circuits are energy-efficient as compared to the existing DPAresistant adiabatic and non-adiabatic logic families. In nutshell, SPGAL based gates can be used to build secure hardware for lowpower portable electronic devices and Internet-of-Things (IoT) based electronic devices.

Kumar, Dinesh↗

Form Factors, Grey Bodies and Radiation Conductances (Radks)

With today's analysis tools, large, complex thermal radiation problems are easily solved; But, as with any analytical tool, lack of an understanding of the fundamental equations and technique limitations may leave you with the wrong answer; Whether you are a new engineer or a seasoned veteran, an understanding of the techniques employed by these powerful analysis tools is crucial.

Thermal↗

Computational Controls Workstation: Algorithms and hardware

The Computational Controls Workstation provides an integrated environment for the modeling, simulation, and analysis of Space Station dynamics and control. Using highly efficient computational algorithms combined with a fast parallel processing architecture, the workstation makes real-time simulation of flexible body models of the Space Station possible. A consistent, user-friendly interface and state-of-the-art post-processing options are combined with powerful analysis tools and model databases to provide users with a complete environment for Space Station dynamics and control analysis. The software tools available include a solid modeler, graphical data entry tool, O(n) algorithm-based multi-flexible body simulation, and 2D/3D post-processors. This paper describes the architecture of the workstation while a companion paper describes performance and user perspectives.

Venugopal, R.↗

Power Systems integration

Power systems integration in large flexible space structures is discussed with emphasis upon body control. A solar array is discussed as a typical example of spacecraft configuration problems. Information on how electric batteries dominate life-cycle costs is presented in chart form. Information is given on liquid metal droplet generators and collectors, hot spot analysis, power dissipation in solar arrays, solar array protection optimization, and electromagnetic compatibility for a power system platform.

Brantley, L. W.↗

Analysis of Trinity Power Metrics for Automated Monitoring

This is a presentation from Los Alamos National Laboraotyr (LANL) about the analysis of trinity power metrics for automated monitoring. The following topics are covered: current monitoring efforts, motivation for analysis, tools used, the methodology, work performed during the summer, and future work planned.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Real-time analysis keratometer

A computer assisted keratometer in which a fiducial line pattern reticle illuminated by CW or pulsed laser light is projected on a corneal surface through lenses, a prismoidal beamsplitter quarterwave plate, and objective optics. The reticle surface is curved as a conjugate of an ideal corneal curvature. The fiducial image reflected from the cornea undergoes a polarization shift through the quarterwave plate and beamsplitter whereby the projected and reflected beams are separated and directed orthogonally. The reflected beam fiducial pattern forms a moire pattern with a replica of the first recticle. This moire pattern contains transverse aberration due to differences in curvature between the cornea and the ideal corneal curvature. The moire pattern is analyzed in real time by computer which displays either the CW moire pattern or a pulsed mode analysis of the transverse aberration of the cornea under observation, in real time. With the eye focused on a plurality of fixation points in succession, a survey of the entire corneal topography is made and a contour map or three dimensional plot of the cornea can be made as a computer readout in addition to corneal radius and refractive power analysis.

Adachi, Iwao P.↗

Getting a Cohesive Answer from a Common Start: Scalable Multidisciplinary Analysis through Transformation of a System Model

One of the challenges of systems engineering is in working multidisciplinary problems in a cohesive manner. When planning analysis of these problems, system engineers must tradeoff time and cost for analysis quality and quantity. The quality is associated with the fidelity of the multidisciplinary models and the quantity is associated with the design space that can be analyzed. The tradeoff is due to the resource intensive process of creating a cohesive multidisciplinary system model and analysis. Furthermore, reuse or extension of the models used in one stage of a product life cycle for another is a major challenge. Recent developments have enabled a much less resource-intensive and more rigorous approach than handwritten translation scripts or codes of multidisciplinary models and their analyses. The key is to work from a core system model defined in a MOF-based language such as SysML and in leveraging the emerging tool ecosystem, such as Query-View- Transform (QVT), from the OMG community. SysML was designed to model multidisciplinary systems and analyses. The QVT standard was designed to transform SysML models. The Europa Hability Mission (EHM) team has begun to exploit these capabilities. In one case, a Matlab/Simulink model is generated on the fly from a system description for power analysis written in SysML. In a more general case, a symbolic mathematical framework (supported by Wolfram Mathematica) is coordinated by data objects transformed from the system model, enabling extremely flexible and powerful tradespace exploration and analytical investigations of expected system performance.

Cole, Bjorn↗

Magnetospheric and ionospheric signals in magnetic observatory monthly means: Electrical conductivity of the deep mantle

First differences of magnetic observatory monthly means for 1963-1982 were analyzed using techniques of spherical harmonics analysis and power spectral analysis. The external source signal is shown to be primarily zonal in geomagnetic coordinates. Prominent peaks are present in the power spectrum at frequencies of 1.0 cycle/yr and 2.0 cycles/yr. The annual signal is largest on the degree 2 external zonal spherical harmonic, while the semiannual signal is largest on the degree 1 and degree 3 external zonal spherical harmonics. The presence of the semiannual signal on odd-degree spherical harmonics and of the annual signal on even-degree spherical harmonics was predicted from symmetry considerations and the annual cycle of solar inclination. These signals are all modulated by the sunspot frequency and its harmonics. The degree 1 term is believed to be due mainly to magnetopause and ring currents while the degree 2 and degree 3 terms are believed to be due mainly to ionospheric currents. The degree 1 external zonal harmonic has a continuous spectrum in addition to the semiannual spectral peak. A corresponding degree 1 internal term is due to electromagnetic induction. The degree 1 continuous spectrum is useful for study of the electrical conductivity of the deep mantle. A global geomagnetic response function consistent with a mantle conductivity of about 10 S/m at the core-mantle boundary has been derived.

Mcleod, Malcolm G.↗

Advanced Measurements for Resilient Integration of Inverter-Based Resources: PROGRESS MATRIX Final Report

As nearly every aspect of the electric power grid undergoes rapid change, measurement technologies that support grid operation and planning must evolve as well. The rapid large-scale deployment of inverter-based resources (IBRs) vital to achieving the nation’s clean energy goals has in some cases led to negative impacts on the reliability and security of the bulk power system (BPS). Advanced power system measurements, including synchronized phasor and waveform measurements, are key to making IBR integration secure and reliable. To this end, the Department of Energy (DOE) initiated the PROGRESS MATRIX project to develop advanced measurement capabilities and analytics that will accelerate adoption of IBRs while improving the reliability and resilience of the BPS. This report discusses the outcomes of the project, which was a joint effort between the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). In the project’s first year, PNNL, NREL, and ORNL partnered with the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA), and Kauai Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC) to understand their existing measurement capabilities and the gaps limiting deployment of IBR-focused measurement systems and analytics. The other primary activity in the first year was deployment of GridSweep instruments, which provide unprecedented precision in waveform measurement while probing distribution systems. The instruments were deployed at Dominion Energy and the University of California, Riverside. In the project’s second year, the input from partner utilities and collected measurements were used to advance measurement capabilities. Twelve analytical methods spanning disturbance analysis, power plant evaluation, feeder evaluation, and modeling were developed. Two software tools were developed, one to analyze GridSweep measurements and another to automatically evaluate the control performance of power plants connected to the BPS. Testbeds at ORNL and NREL were augmented to better enable studies of IBR integration. The project culminated in demonstrations of these analytical methods, software tools, and testbeds, both in the field and in the laboratory. This report discusses these various accomplishments and documents the significant progress in developing advanced measurement capabilities to support the secure, reliable, and accelerated adoption of IBRs in the BPS.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

THEMIS: A Parameter Estimation Framework for the Event Horizon Telescope

The Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) provides the unprecedented ability to directly resolve the structure and dynamics of black hole emission regions on scales smaller than their horizons. This has the potential to critically probe the mechanisms by which black holes accrete and launch outflows, and the structure of supermassive black hole spacetimes. However, accessing this information is a formidable analysis challenge for two reasons. First, the EHT natively produces a variety of data types that encode information about the image structure in nontrivial ways; these are subject to a variety of systematic effects associated with very long baseline interferometry and are supplemented by a wide variety of auxiliary data on the primary EHT targets from decades of other observations. Second, models of the emission regions and their interaction with the black hole are complex, highly uncertain, and computationally expensive to construct. As a result, the scientific utilization of EHT observations requires a flexible, extensible, and powerful analysis framework. We present such a framework, Themis, which defines a set of interfaces between models, data, and sampling algorithms that facilitates future development. We describe the design and currently existing components of Themis, how Themis has been validated thus far, and present additional analyses made possible by Themis that illustrate its capabilities. Importantly, we demonstrate that Themis is able to reproduce prior EHT analyses, extend these, and do so in a computationally efficient manner that can efficiently exploit modern high-performance computing facilities. Themis has already been used extensively in the scientific analysis and interpretation of the first EHT observations of M87.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Market assessment of photovoltaic power systems for agricultural applications in Colombia

The market potential for photovoltaic systems in the agricultural sector of Colombia is assessed. Consideration was given to over twenty specific livestock production, crop production, and rural services applications requiring less than 15 kW of power without backup power. Analysis revealed that near-term potential exists for photovoltaic technology in applications in coffee depulging, cattle watering, rural domestic users, rural water supply and small irrigation, rural telephones, rural health posts, and vaccine refrigeration. Market size would be in the 1200 to 2500 kWp range in the 1981 to 86 timeframe. Positive factors influencing the market size include a lack of electrical services, potential for developing the Llanos Orientales Territory, high fuel costs in remote areas, balance of system availability, the presence of wealthy land owners, and a large government-sponsored contract for photovoltaic (PV)-powered rural telephone systems. The anticipated eligibility of photovoltaic equipment for loans would be a further positive factor in market potential. Important negative factors include relatively inexpensive energy in developed locations, reliance on hydropower, lack of familiarity with PV equipment, a lack of financing, and established foreign competition in PV technology. Recommendations to American PV manufacturers attempting to develop the Colombian market are given.

Steigelmann, W.↗