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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

Collimator challenges at SuperKEKB and their countermeasures using nonlinear collimator

In SuperKEKB, movable collimators reduce the beam background noise in the Belle II particle detector and protect crucial machine components, such as final focusing superconducting quadrupole magnets (QCS), from abnormal beam losses. The challenges related to the collimator, which were not properly considered at the time of SuperKEKB design, have surfaced through experience with its operation. In this paper, we report the collimator operation strategy in SuperKEKB. In addition, a significant challenge of beam collimation due to the future increase in the beam background is highlighted. We also discuss another issue caused by unexpected and sudden beam losses in the machine that damage collimators, leading to weaker beam collimation performance and an increase in transverse impedance. Furthermore, we introduce a novel collimation approach called the nonlinear collimator (NLC) to address these challenges. We detail the concept of NLC and evaluate their effectiveness by assessing the collimator impedance, beam background reduction, and impact on the dynamic aperture. The possibility of using NLCs as absorber collimators to counteract events that damage the collimator is also shown to be helpful.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

Block orbital-selective Mott insulators: A spin excitation analysis

We present a comprehensive study of the spin excitations—as measured by the dynamical spin structure factor S(q,ω)—of the so-called block-magnetic state of low-dimensional orbital-selective Mott insulators. We realize this state via both a multi-orbital Hubbard model and a generalized Kondo-Heisenberg Hamiltonian. Due to various competing energy scales present in the models, the system develops periodic ferromagnetic islands of various shapes and sizes, which are antiferromagnetically coupled. The 2×2 particular case was already found experimentally in the ladder material BaFe2Se3 that becomes superconducting under pressure. Here we discuss the electronic density as well as Hubbard and Hund coupling dependence of S(q,ω) using density matrix renormalization group method. Several interesting features were identified: (1) An acoustic (dispersive spin-wave) mode develops. (2) The spin-wave bandwidth establishes a new energy scale that is strongly dependent on the size of the magnetic island and becomes abnormally small for large clusters. (3) Optical (dispersionless spin excitation) modes are present for all block states studied here. In addition, a variety of phenomenological spin Hamiltonians have been investigated but none matches entirely our results that were obtained primarily at intermediate Hubbard U strengths. Our comprehensive analysis provides theoretical guidance and motivation to crystal growers to search for appropriate candidate materials to realize the block states, and to neutron scattering experimentalists to confirm the exotic dynamical magnetic properties unveiled here, with a rich mixture of acoustic and optical features.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Origin of the anomalously low Raman exponents in single molecule magnets

The Raman exponent of single molecular magnetic relaxation may take various unexpected values because of rich phonon spectra and spin-phonon coupling of molecular crystals. Here, we systematically examine the origins of different abnormalities and clarify misunderstandings of the past, particularly the appropriateness of the fitting procedures for the exponents. We find that exponential laws raised by optical phonons can yield spurious power laws with low exponents. This observation indicates long-standing misunderstandings of the origins of low Raman exponents in a large bulk of single molecule magnets. Resulting from spin-lattice coupling with optical modes, the presence of these exponents suggests the importance of the local dynamical environment for the magnetic relaxation in this regime.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

Statistical properties of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence in He II measured via particle tracking velocimetry

Despite being a quantum two-fluid system, superfluid helium-4 (He II) is observed to behave similarly to classical fluids when a flow is generated by mechanical forcing. This similarity has brought up the feasibility of utilizing He II for high Reynolds number classical turbulence research, considering the small kinematic viscosity of He II. However, it has been suggested that the nonclassical dissipation mechanism in He II at small scales may alter its turbulent statistics and intermittency. In this work, we report our study of a nearly homogeneous and isotropic turbulence (HIT) generated by a towed grid in He II. We measure the velocity field using particle tracking velocimetry with solidified deuterium particles as the tracers. By correlating the velocities measured simultaneously on different particle trajectories or at different times along the same particle trajectory, we are able to conduct both Eulerian and Lagrangian flow analyses. Spatial velocity structure functions obtained through the Eulerian analysis show scaling behaviors in the inertial subrange similar to that for classical HIT but with enhanced intermittency. The Lagrangian analysis allows us to examine the flow statistics down to below the dissipation length scale. Interestingly, abnormal deviations from the classical scaling behaviors are observed in this regime. Lastly, we discuss how these deviations may relate to the motion of quantized vortices in the superfluid component in He II.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Phonon modes and Raman signatures of MnBi 2n Te 3n+1 (n=1,2,3,4) magnetic topological heterostructures

An intrinsic antiferromagnetic topological insulator MnBi 2 Te 4 arises when intercalating a Mn-Te bilayer chain in a topological insulator, Bi 2 Te 3 . We present observations on the inter- and intralayer phonon modes of the generalized MnBi 2n Te 3n+1 (n=1,2,3,4) family using cryogenic low-frequency Raman spectroscopy with various polarization configurations. Two peaks at 66 and 112 cm –1 show abnormal perturbation in Raman linewidths below magnetic transition temperature due to spin-phonon coupling. In MnBi 4 Te 7 , B i2 Te 3 layers induce Davydov splitting of the A1g mode around 137 cm –1 at 5 K. The out-of-plane interlayer force constant estimated using the linear chain model was (3.98±0.14)×10 19 N/m 3 , three times weaker than that of Bi 2 Te 3 . Adding more Bi 2 Te 3 layers, such as MnBi 6 Te 10 and MnBi 8 Te 13 , makes Bi 2 Te 3 properties more dominant than magnetic properties. Our work experimentally and theoretically discovers the dynamics of phonon modes of MnBi 2n Te 3n+ 1 family, facilitating utilization of magnetic topological heterostructures.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Locating the Source of Forced Oscillations in Transmission Power Grids

A forced oscillation event in power grids refers to a state where malfunctioning or abnormally operating equipment causes persisting periodic disturbances in the system. While power grids are designed to damp most perturbations during standard operations, some of them can excite normal modes of the system and cause significant energy transfers across the system, creating large oscillations thousands of miles away from the source. Localization of the source of such disturbances remains an outstanding challenge due to a limited knowledge of the system parameters outside of the zone of responsibility of system operators. Here, we propose a new method for locating the source of forced oscillations that addresses this challenge by performing a simultaneous dynamic model identification using a principled maximum likelihood approach. We illustrate the validity of the algorithm on a variety of examples where forcing leads to resonance conditions in the system dynamics. Our results establish that an accurate knowledge of system parameters is not required for a successful inference of the source and frequency of a forced oscillation. We anticipate that our method will find a broader application in general dynamical systems that can be well described by their linearized dynamics over short periods of time.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A Medium Voltage Testbed for the Performance and Function Tests of a 13.8 kV Power Conditioning System Converter

Medium voltage SiC devices facilitate the development of medium voltage grid-connected power electronics converters. However, it is difficult to test these converters directly on the real medium voltage grid, especially considering abnormal grid conditions, such as grid voltage and frequency variation, and different converter operation modes, such as grid-connected mode and islanded mode. This paper introduces the design and implementation of a medium voltage testbed, which supports tests of medium voltage converters in both grid-connected and islanded mode tests. In the grid-connected mode, the testbed can provide up to 13.8 kV grid voltage, can support the four-quadrant operation, and can emulate different grid conditions, such as voltage and frequency variation. In the islanded mode, the converter under test works as a voltage source and the testbed emulates a three-phase balanced or unbalanced load. Experiment test results are provided to validate the design and capability of the testbed.

Li, Haiguo↗

Adaptive Anomaly Detection for Dynamic Clinical Event Sequences

Over the past decade, health information technology (IT) has enabled the amount of digital information stored in electronic health records (EHRs) to expand greatly. However, according to some studies, hazards in health IT can lead to changes in clinical decisions, care processes, and care outcomes, as well as other issues. Thus, the effects of health IT hazards on patient safety have been at the forefront of recent patient safety research. Nonetheless, hazard detection in health IT remains a challenge. In this paper, the authors assume that safety-related issues in health IT would exhibit anomalous characteristics in EHR data. Although all hazards will exhibit some anomalous characteristics, not all anomalies can be regarded as hazards. The authors hypothesize that errors in health IT could lead to interruptions in the sequence of clinical actions. To this end, the problem of detecting anomalous sequences in big EHR data is considered. This paper focuses on dynamic event sequences, which are a series of clinical actions in motion. The authors propose an adaptive anomaly detection approach that uses higher-order network representation to detect anomalous sequences. Furthermore, the authors propose a contiguous subsequence anomaly detection approach that identifies abnormal subsequences in the detected anomalous sequences. The proposed approaches are tested by using synthetic and real-world EHR data. The proposed methods outperform existing state of the art anomaly detection techniques. To reduce the computational complexity associated with the operational implementation of the proposed approaches, the Apache Spark environment was leveraged, and a much shorter run time together with improved performance were achieved, especially for data with more than 60,000 sequences.

Niu, Haoran↗

Self-Security for Grid-Interactive Smart Inverters Using Steady-State Reference Model

Smart inverters exchange information with other devices through a shared communication link, making the inverters more prone to receive harmful commands from external parties. This erroneous data can be received due to an anomaly in the system, such as a device fault, unintentional utility operator action, or a cyber-attack. In this paper, a device-level self-security strategy is implemented using reference models for a grid-interactive inverter to examine the incoming power setpoints, detect the anomalies, and protect the system accordingly. The PQ setpoints received from the utility supervisory controller are autonomously examined using the inverter’s normal and stable operating regions before engaging the setpoints to the inverter’s local controller. Grid parameters are estimated in real-time during the examination process. The efficacy of the self-security algorithm is tested using a three-phase 3-kVA SiC-MOSFET inverter and a 12-kW NHR 9410 regenerative grid emulator. The results verify that the proposed method can detect harmful PQ setpoints that can cause abnormal or unstable inverter operation.

Gursoy, Mehmetcan↗

A Model-Reference Adaptive Direct-Power Control Scheme for Grid-Interactive Inverters

This paper develops an adaptive direct power control scheme for grid-interactive inverters while the control parameters are adaptively adjusted as the grid and filter parameters vary under different conditions. To demonstrate the efficacy and robustness of the adaptive operation, the performance of the adaptive controller is compared with a typical direct power controller by estimating the filter and grid impedances using a model reference parameter estimation technique with small signal injection. The simulation results verify that the developed methodology can track the reference power setpoints under output circuit parameter uncertainties while the typical design leads to instability. To improve the performance of the adaptive technique and eliminate the need for filter parameter estimation, a Lyapunov stability criterion-based model-reference adaptive direct power controller is designed to track the filter impedance. The developed method was tested using MATLAB/Simulink software to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The results verify that adaptively tuning the control parameter can still maintain stable operation if the control gains are poorly selected while applying the classical method leads to abnormal operation or instability.

Gursoy, Mehmetcan↗

Smart Inverter Twin Model for Anomaly Detection

Smart inverters connected to a communication network are vulnerable to various anomalies in the form of cyberattacks. In this paper, a self-security approach is implemented using the digital twin concept for smart inverters. The digital twin is formed using the inverter’s dynamic model. Then, the incoming setpoints are autonomously examined using the digital twin, and only the safe setpoints are engaged to the inverter’s local controller. This paper demonstrates the details of the self-security algorithm and how the inverter’s digital twin is formed. In particular, the stable and unstable operation region is experimentally verified by changing the power setpoints engaged to the local controller, using a laboratory setup including a three-phase 1.5-kVA SiC-MOSFET inverter and a 12-kW NHR 9410 regenerative power grid emulator. The results demonstrate that the digital twin model can potentially protect inverters from abnormal operation by examining the incoming commands (new setpoints) using the inverter’s digital twin before engaging the setpoints to the local controller.

Hossen, Tareq↗

Signal Processing Based Method for Real-Time Anomaly Detection in High-Performance Computing

Performance anomalies can manifest as irregular execution times or abnormal execution events for many reasons, including network congestion and resource contention. Detecting such anomalies in real-time by analyzing the details of performance traces at scale is impractical due to the sheer volume of data High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications produce. In this paper, we propose formulating HPC performance anomaly detection as a signal-processing problem where anomalies can be treated as noise. We evaluate our proposed method in comparison with two other commonly used anomaly detection techniques of varying complexity based on their detection accuracy and scalability. Since real-time in-situ anomaly detection at a large scale requires lightweight methods that can handle a large volume of streaming data, we find that our proposed method provides the best trade-off. We then implement the proposed method in Chimbuko, the first online, distributed, and scalable workflow-level performance trace analysis framework. We compare our proposed signal-based anomaly detection algorithm with two other methods using a function of their accuracy, F1 score, and detection overhead. Our experiments demonstrate that our proposed approach achieves a 99% improvement for the benchmark datasets and a 93% improvement with Chimbuko traces.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Intrusion Detection for Cybersecurity of Power Electronics Dominated Grids: Inverters PQ Set-Points Manipulation

This work provides cybersecurity analytics for a high photovoltaic (PV) penetrated distribution network, representing future power electronics dominated grid (PEDG). Firstly, the impact of active and reactive power (PQ) set-points manipulation on the network is studied. Then, an intrusion detection system (IDS) is developed for identifying the potentially compromised PV inverters in the network. The proposed IDS is based on defining the normal, safe, and abnormal operation regions of the PV inverters from point of view of the steady state voltage stability of the network. These three-operation regions are identified by utilizing active power, reactive power, and voltage (PQV) limits of each specific grid-following inverter in the network. Each grid-following inverter's PQV contour includes the information of network topology, inverter ratings, and inverter controller. The developed PQ limits are integrated into the centralized secondary control layer for realization of the proposed IDS. Furthermore, the proposed secondary control layer is capable of providing remedial actions during an anomaly event to enhance the grid resiliency. The theoretical analyses are verified by several attack scenarios for a network of grid-following inverters.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗

Autonomous Electrochemistry Platform with Real-Time Normality Testing of Voltammetry Measurements Using ML

Electrochemistry workflows utilize various instruments and computing systems to execute workflows consisting of electrocatalyst synthesis, testing and evaluation tasks. The heterogeneity of the software and hardware of these ecosystems makes it challenging to orchestrate a complete workflow from production to characterization by automating its tasks. We propose an autonomous electrochemistry computing platform for a multi-site ecosystem that provides the services for remote experiment steering, real-time measurement transfer, and AI/ML-driven analytics. We describe the integration of a mobile robot and synthesis workstation into the ecosystem by developing custom hub-networks and software modules to support remote operations over the ecosystem’s wireless and wired networks. We describe a workflow task for generating I-V voltammetry measurements using a potentiostat, and a machine learning framework to ensure their normality by detecting abnormal conditions such as disconnected electrodes. We study a number of machine learning methods for the underlying detection problem, including smooth, non-smooth, structural and statistical methods, and their fusers. We present experimental results to illustrate the effectiveness of this platform, and also validate the proposed ML method by deriving its rigorous generalization equations.

Alnajjar, Anees↗

Self-Secure Inverters Against Malicious Setpoints

The next generation of grid-interactive inverters brings a communication feature that allows data sharing from utility supervisory controllers and smart devices that are connected to the same network. This feature enhances the control capabilities of grid-interactive inverters to provide services beyond active power injection. However, communication networks entail more vulnerable surfaces to malicious attacks that may result in modifying active and reactive power setpoints and causing weak-grid conditions or abnormal inverter operation. In this paper, steady-state and the dynamic behavior of the inverter for the incoming setpoints are analyzed to detect false data injection attacks and provide device-level security. The steady-state behavior of the inverter in the operating region is determined from the grid parameters such as the grid voltage and the grid impedance. These estimations are accomplished by the proposed self-security technique through a low-frequency signal injection-based approach combined with the recursive least square method. Moreover, a reduced fourth-order inverter model is used as the dynamic reference model, and grid parameters as well as the incoming setpoints are implemented to the reference model to verify whether the dynamic behavior of the inverter is inside the permissible region of operation. The validity and performance of the proposed method are verified experimentally through Allen-Bradley Powerflex 755 three-phase inverter and a 12 kW NHR 9410 regenerative power grid emulator. The results show that the self-secure smart-inverter is able to accept or reject the incoming commands and thus is protected from malicious cyber-physical attacks.

Hossen, Tareq↗

A Hybrid Data-Driven and Model-Based Anomaly Detection Scheme for DER Operation

This paper proposes a hybrid data and model-based anomaly detection scheme to secure the operation of distributed energy resources (DERs) in distribution grids. Data-driven autoencoders are set up at the edge device level and they use local DER operational data as inputs. The abnormal statuses are detected by analyzing reconstruction errors. In parallel, modelbased state estimation (SE) is set up at the central level and it uses system-wide models and measurements as data inputs. The anomalies are identified by analyzing measurement residuals. The hybrid scheme preserves the benefits of both data-driven and model-based analyses and thus improves the robustness and the accuracy of anomaly detection. Numerical tests based on the model of a real distribution feeder in Southern California highlight the proposed scheme's effectiveness and benefits.

anomaly detection↗

An Inrush Current Limiting Method for Grid-Connected Converters Considering Grid Voltage Disturbances

To support the electric power grid, some grid-connected converters are required to ride through abnormal grid conditions, including voltage disturbances. However, at the moment, when a grid voltage disturbance happens, a large inrush current could be induced due to the large difference between the grid and converter output pulsewidth modulation (PWM) voltages. This inrush current could be more severe in the faster switching SiC-based multilevel converter, which only needs a small filter inductance to meet its normal operation requirements, such as harmonics and peak ripple currents. In this article, a PWM mask method is used to limit the inrush current. With this method, the inrush current can be effectively limited to a preset value and can help the converter ride through grid voltage disturbances. Furthermore, the method is validated through experiments conducted on a single-phase SiC-based five-level converter considering low voltage, high voltage, and phase angle disturbances.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Feedback Optimization of Incentives for Distribution Grid Services

Energy prices and net power injection limitations regulate the operations in distribution grids and typically ensure that operational constraints are met. Nevertheless, unexpected or prolonged abnormal events could undermine the grid's functioning. During contingencies, customers could contribute effectively to sustaining the network by providing services. Herein this paper proposes an incentive mechanism that promotes users' active participation by essentially altering the energy pricing rule. The incentives are modeled via a linear function whose parameters can be computed by the system operator (SO) by solving an optimization problem. Feedback-based optimization algorithms are then proposed to seek optimal incentives by leveraging measurements from the grid, even in the case when the SO does not have a full grid and customer information. Numerical simulations on a standard testbed validate the proposed approach.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗