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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

iFair: Achieving Fairness in the Allocation of Scarce Resources for Senior Health Care

Efficient resource allocation is crucial in many domains, particularly in senior care, where assigning resources to older adults must consider uncertainties associated with vulnerable populations. In collaboration with Senior Health Facilities (SHFs) and domain experts, this paper presents iFair, a novel framework designed to assist decision-makers in equitably allocating scarce resources to older adults. iFair was prototyped in the context of ongoing work on a data exchange platform, CAREDEX, used for enhancing older adults' resilience during disasters. A key novelty of iFair focuses on aligning resident preferences with resources in urgent situations, expediting care, and enhancing task efficiency. We integrate static and dynamic environmental data, including facility layouts and sensor data, with detailed resident profiles to cater to the individual needs and preferences of residents. While our framework primarily focuses on allocation within facilities, it also extends to a regional scale to support the planning and transfer of seniors to mutual aid facilities. Our experiments adapt data from a real SHF to emulate resource allocation in an emergency fire evacuation setting and highlight the delicate balance that decision-makers can achieve between efficiency and fairness.

Kenne, Modeste Mefenya↗
DOE OSTI2025

Deploying Adversarial Attacks in Super-Resolution Models

Reliable super-resolution methods are crucial for applications like remote sensing, grid resilience and disaster impact analysis, and standoff biometrics. These methods infuse additional high-frequency information into reconstructions, allowing for better contextualization and image intelligence. However, super-resolution models can also introduce hallucinations or other unseen vulnerabilities that could be exploited by an adversary. This is further compounded by the prominence of deep learning in these models, as models are often blindly applied on out-of-distribution images. In this work, we implement adversarial attacks in common open-source super-resolution models and examine their impact on reconstructions and downstream classification tasks. We find that an adversarially trained super-resolution model can produce high-quality reconstructions that degrade downstream classifications. Moreover, these attacks do not require access to low-resolution imagery or class labels at inference time. These results demonstrate the vulnerability of super-resolution methods to malicious actors and motivates the development of a detector for super-resolution adversarial attacks. Further exploration of adversarial attacks in this domain is required to ensure trustworthiness and robustness of super-resolution models for national security applications.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2024

Water Security: Trends, Capabilities, and Research Directions to Secure Water Infrastructure

Water and wastewater sector is target rich and resource poor ~153k water utilities, serve 80% of US population ~16k publicly-owned wastewater systems in the US serve 75% of the population Need scalable solutions to fit small and medium to large systems Federal attention to critical infrastructure continues to grow – particularly in the water sector Increase in water sector incidents and threats for large scale disruption – particularly by nation-state actors and their proxies EPA is the SRMA DHS CISA focuses on critical infrastructure protection across sectors They must work together to secure WWW systems Research capabilities to enable secure water systems Current and future threats Resilience – natural disasters, accidents, cyber-physical attacks

99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2022

Post-Disaster Microgrid Formation for Enhanced Distribution System Resilience

This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based approach for post-disaster critical load restoration in active distribution systems to form microgrids through network reconfiguration to minimize critical load curtailments. Distribution networks are represented as graph networks, and optimal network configurations with microgrids are obtained by searching for the optimal spanning forest. The constraints to the research question being explored are the radial topology and power balance. Unlike existing analytical and population-based approaches, which necessitate the repetition of entire analyses and computation for each outage scenario to find the optimal spanning forest, the proposed approach, once properly trained, can quickly determine the optimal, or near-optimal, spanning forest even when outage scenarios change. When multiple lines fail in the system, the proposed approach forms microgrids with distributed energy resources in active distribution systems to reduce critical load curtailment. The proposed DRL-based model learns the action-value function using the REINFORCE algorithm, which is a model-free reinforcement learning technique based on stochastic policy gradients. A case study was conducted on a 33-node distribution test system, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed approach for post-disaster critical load restoration.

active distribution systems↗
DOE OSTI2022

Alaska's First Thermalize Campaign: An Effort to Reduce Fuel Reliance in Juneau, AK

In 2018, the Bureau and City of Juneau set the goal of reaching 80% renewable energy in the sectors of transportation and space heating by 2045. This effort will minimize their reliance on fossil fuels, reduce their carbon footprint and increase their resilience in the event of a natural disaster as fuel oil reaches Juneau by boat and such shipments may be disrupted in a disaster. The community's resilience in the face of a disaster and lower carbon footprint goes hand-in-hand with public safety and health. The Cold Climate Housing and Research Center (CCHRC) partnered with several local and statewide groups, including Alaska Heat Smart and Information Insights, Inc, to lead Alaska's first thermalize campaign. Thermalize Juneau 2021 is an energy campaign working to lower the cost of heating homes in Juneau through beneficial electrification and increased energy efficiency. The goal of the campaign was to offer homeowners a streamlined and more affordable way to install heat pumps and energy efficiency improvements into their homes. Converting household heating from fuel to electricity also helps improve indoor and outdoor air quality and reduces maintenance requirements. The campaign had over 160 participants. As of Fall 2021, it is in its final stages of heat pump installations and energy efficiency improvements. In addition to tracking the energy savings and carbon reduction attributed to the campaign, the social equity was an important aspect. Thermalize Juneau attempted to include all the demographics present in Juneau in the campaign. The presentation will cover the goals and implementation of the campaign, current data on how it is improving community and household resilience, lessons learned, and next steps.

clean energy↗
DOE OSTI2021

Application of Mobile Energy Storage for Enhancing Power Grid Resilience: A Review

Natural disasters can lead to large-scale power outages, affecting critical infrastructure and causing social and economic damages. These events are exacerbated by climate change, which increases their frequency and magnitude. Improving power grid resilience can help mitigate the damages caused by these events. Mobile energy storage systems, classified as truck-mounted or towable battery storage systems, have recently been considered to enhance distribution grid resilience by providing localized support to critical loads during an outage. Compared to stationary batteries and other energy storage systems, their mobility provides operational flexibility to support geographically dispersed loads across an outage area. This paper provides a comprehensive and critical review of academic literature on mobile energy storage for power system resilience enhancement. As mobile energy storage is often coupled with mobile emergency generators or electric buses, those technologies are also considered in the review. Allocation of these resources for power grid resilience enhancement requires modeling of both the transportation system constraints and the power grid operational constraints. These aspects are discussed, along with a discussion on the cost–benefit analysis of mobile energy resources. The paper concludes by presenting research gaps, associated challenges, and potential future directions to address these challenges.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Resilience Issues in Building Energy Codes

This report, prepared for the International Energy Agency’s Building Energy Codes Working Group (BECWG, part of the IEA Energy in Buildings and Communities Technical Collaboration Programme, or IEA EBC), focuses on the application of building energy codes to improve the ability of buildings to provide a minimum healthy level of thermal comfort and function during extreme events. It reviews the relationship of building energy codes to the other building resilience policies and strategies, such as other building life/safety codes, community planning or zoning to discourage rebuilding in areas most prone to climate disasters, and other resilience planning strategies. The report provides an overview of how different jurisdictions address resilience issues in building energy codes in countries that are part of the IEA EBC Building Energy Codes Working Group.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Looking Beyond Bill Savings to Equity in Renewable Energy Microgrid Deployment

Microgrids powered by renewable energy can provide backup power to critical infrastructure during grid outages. These systems can also play an important role in advancing energy justice by providing economic, environmental, health, and resilience benefits for underserved communities. The value of microgrids is often measured by the economic savings and resilience provided, but there are other energy justice factors that should be considered. This paper describes a methodology for quantifying broader costs and benefits including utility bill savings, value of resilience, social cost of carbon, public health costs, and jobs associated with the construction and operation of microgrids. We evaluate these factors at three case study sites and find that including energy justice values in the cost-benefit analysis of microgrids can change investment decisions. When climate, health, resilience, and job creation are considered, cost-optimal microgrids include more renewable generation, leading to a 52-82% reduction in emissions and diesel fuel use. The net present values of the microgrids grow from negative $626,000-843,000 in the diesel only case to $10-16 million in the hybrid microgrid case and $12-19 million in the renewable microgrid case, indicating potential for greater microgrid deployment if energy justice values are incorporated in decision making. However, we also see large increases in capital expenses, which could limit deployment unless accompanied by innovative financing measures. These findings may be useful to communities as they seek to strengthen resilience to natural disasters while also improving public health, meeting climate goals, and providing economic opportunity for residents.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2025

LandScan Global 30 Arcsecond Annual Global Gridded Population Datasets from 2000 to 2022

Abstract Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) annually develops the LandScan Global (LSG) dataset, a 30 arcsecond global gridded population dataset representing global ambient human population distribution. This multivariable dasymetric model disaggregates census counts within administrative boundaries using ancillary data. Each country’s distribution reflects cultural and socioeconomic patterns; manual validations yield a unique global dataset for assessing populations at risk. For over two decades, LSG has been a standard for estimating populations at risk, aiding U.S. federal government, academia and humanitarian organizations. During disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake and geopolitical crises such as the Syrian civil war and the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, LSG supported scientific and operational communities in emergency response and recovery. In 2022, LSG datasets from 2000 onward were made publicly available through ORNL’s LandScan Portal. This data descriptor details our methodology and the application of geospatial science and machine learning to geographic and demographic data, highlighting uses in urban resiliency, emergency management, disaster response, and human health and security.

Science & Technology - Other Topics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Renewable Energy Systems in the Transition of North America to Net Zero Emissions

The North American transition to low-carbon energy sources depends on the technology decisions of its diverse communities and stakeholders. Each region and industry will have its own portfolio of renewable energy technologies to meet the common goal of net zero emissions. Our presentation will share integrated renewable energy solutions being explored at scale by major U.S cities, rural regions dependent on oil and gas, and industries redefining their infrastructure and their missions. Case examples will be presented on: the Los Angeles 100% renewable energy goals; challenges and opportunities of decarbonizing and reducing emissions from the oil and gas industry; repurposing oil and gas infrastructure such as using pipelines for hydrogen blends and renewable natural gas and idle wells for geothermal energy and energy storage; treatment of produced water using renewable energy for agriculture applications; and the preserving water and agricultural resources in the transition to renewable energy. Key challenges will also be discussed, including resilience to increasing disasters, stranded assets, unequal community impact, and meeting the last 5-20% of energy with renewable energy.

challenges↗
DOE OSTI2023

NREL's Advanced Distribution Management System (ADMS) Test Bed

NREL's advanced distribution management system (ADMS) research helps utilities meet customer expectations of reliability, power quality, renewable energy use, data security, and resilience to natural disasters and other threats.

Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems↗
DOE OSTI2025

A building performance-based approach to determining energy resilience for grocery stores in the event of a power outage

Evaluating progress toward a built environment that is best equipped to serve communities during a regional power outage will require metrics that capture the energy resilience of the unique buildings and businesses most crucial to the well-being of those nearby. We focused on grocery stores as key buildings for which access, and thus energy resilience, is critical during a disaster when power is unavailable. We evaluated the energy resilience of these buildings by offering and testing building-scale metrics that assess business continuity potential during a power outage. Metrics proposed in this study are calculated based on the unique power loads characteristic to grocery stores, primarily refrigeration and maintaining safe indoor environmental conditions. Building simulations based on varying levels of backup power were carried out against occupant safety and comfort parameters to apply these metrics, with additional criteria imposed on grocery stores to capture the inventory and sales loss from food spoilage resulting from a lack of refrigeration power. Findings from this study demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed metrics and methodology to serve as a low-data burden means for stakeholders to evaluate the energy resilience of grocery stores, with greater implications in helping to understand the impact on community-scale energy resilience.

Siegel, Lino Sanchez↗
DOE OSTI2023

Multi-dimensional resilience: A quantitative exploration of disease outcomes and economic, political, and social resilience to the COVID-19 pandemic in six countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a need for better understanding of countries’ vulnerability and resilience to not only pandemics but also disasters, climate change, and other systemic shocks. A comprehensive characterization of vulnerability can inform efforts to improve infrastructure and guide disaster response in the future. In this paper, we propose a data-driven framework for studying countries’ vulnerability and resilience to incident disasters across multiple dimensions of society. To illustrate this methodology, we leverage the rich data landscape surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic to characterize observed resilience for several countries (USA, Brazil, India, Sweden, New Zealand, and Israel) as measured by pandemic impacts across a variety of social, economic, and political domains. We also assess how observed responses and outcomes (i.e., resilience) of the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with pre-pandemic characteristics or vulnerabilities, including (1) prior risk for adverse pandemic outcomes due to population density and age and (2) the systems in place prior to the pandemic that may impact the ability to respond to the crisis, including health infrastructure and economic capacity. Our work demonstrates the importance of viewing vulnerability and resilience in a multi-dimensional way, where a country’s resources and outcomes related to vulnerability and resilience can differ dramatically across economic, political, and social domains. This work also highlights key gaps in our current understanding about vulnerability and resilience and a need for data-driven, context-specific assessments of disaster vulnerability in the future.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Optimal Siting of EV Fleet Charging Station Considering EV Mobility and Microgrid Formation for Enhanced Grid Resilience

Coordinating infrastructure planning for transportation and the power grid is essential for enhanced reliability and resilience during operation and disaster management. This paper presents a two-stage stochastic model to optimize the location of electric vehicle fleet charging stations (FEVCSs) to enhance the resilience of a distribution network. The first stage of this model deals with the decision to place an FEVCS at the most favorable and optimized location, whereas the second stage aims to minimize the weighted sum of the value of lost load in multiple potential scenarios with different faults. Indeed, the second stage is a joint grid restoration scheme with network reconfiguration and microgrid formation using available distributed generators and fleet electric vehicles. The proposed model is tested on a modified IEEE-33 node distribution network and a four-node transportation network. Case studies demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed model.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Co-optimization of repairs and dynamic network reconfiguration for improved distribution system resilience

In this work, a post-disaster distribution system repair and restoration (DSRR) strategy is proposed to improve distribution system resilience. The DSRR strategy is formulated as a two-stage optimization. The first stage is a comprehensive co-optimization of repair crew scheduling, dynamic network reconfiguration, and distributed energy resource (DER) dispatch based on the forecast load profile. The goal is to minimize the accumulative operating cost caused by the load reduction payment as well as DER operating cost. In particular, since the number of available repair crews is usually smaller than the number of faulted lines after a disaster event, the DSRR strategy determines the optimal scheduling for repairing faulted lines. The second stage is a re-dispatch of the DER power output and load shedding based on the real-time load demand of each bus. The proposed algorithm is validated by case studies of the IEEE 33-bus and 123-bus test systems. We consider those scenarios in which faults occur in multiple heavy-loaded feeders. The simulation results demonstrate that the DSRR strategy effectively coordinate the repair scheduling, network reconfiguration and load shedding to minimize the operating cost.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Weather-Driven Resilience for Distribution Systems

With increasing billion dollar disasters due to weather events, it is of utmost priority for utility and grid operators to maintain and enhance the resilience of distribution grid. Traditionally, such analysis were conducted with reliability metrics alone. However, with increasing complexity of distribution grid and advancements in grid edge resources, evaluating grid resilience is challenging and involves multi-faceted analysis of the impact of weather events on the distribution grid. This presentation provides background, details, and future works in the field of weather-driven resilience for power distribution systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy Security and Resilience (ESR) Initiative

Central to achieving reduced carbon emissions and sustained economic recovery from the COVID pandemic is a national energy system based on low-carbon technologies and resistant to disruption from severe weather events and human attacks. NREL’s Energy Security and Resilience (ESR) Initiative applies NREL’s expertise in the design and operation of clean, highly distributed energy systems to the most pressing security and resilience challenges.

cybersecurity↗