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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 37 records · Page 2

Modeled Electricity Demand Profiles for Electric Airport Ground Support Equipment in the United States

Electric airport ground support equipment (eGSE) hourly annual (8760) load datasets for the top 50 U.S. airports (by enplanements), as described in Liu et al. (2025). Please cite as: Liu, Bo, Kevin Robby, Jayaraj Rane, Adway Das, Kara Podkaminer, and Brennan Borlaug. 2025. Hourly Load Profile Dataset for Electric Airport Ground Support Equipment in the United States. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. NREL/TP-5400-92139. https://www.nlr.gov/docs/fy25osti/92139.pdf

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Overview of Potential Hazards in Electric Aircraft Charging Infrastructure

With increasing efforts in electrification of Advanced Air Mobility and electric aircraft, there is a growing need to install new infrastructure to support them. This report highlights potential hazards (non exhaustive) that the installation must be aware of and be prepared to mitigate with increased electrical equipment on site. The hazards can be due to natural causes as well as non natural causes. The report aims to provide starting guidelines for awareness of these hazards and to help plan for mitigation of the same.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Supporting Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Deployment

FEMP assists federal agencies with the transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs) by offering technical guidance on electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installations and site-specific planning through partnerships with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL's) EVSE Tiger Teams. This fact sheet introduces the EVSE Tiger Team site assessment and technical assistance process.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Industry Scan of Non-SF6 Gas-Insulated Technologies

Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF 6 ) is a specialty gas with excellent electrical insulation properties which has been used extensively in the power industry. This gas is unfortunately also one of the most potent greenhouse gases known to humanity. A 2014 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that SF 6 has a global warming potential (GWP) 23,000 times higher than Carbon Dioxide, and has the highest GWP of all gases assessed (Myhre 2013). SF 6 is almost exclusively man-made and is produced for use as an insulator in high voltage electrical equipment. This makes the production and use of SF 6 one of the leading sources of anthropogenic climate change. Since SF 6 recognition as a significant contributor to climate change, most governments and organizations have sought ways to reduce or eliminate their use of this gas. Many utilities have initiated leak monitoring and repair programs which have significantly reduced emissions of this gas into the atmosphere. While leak reduction programs have been effective at reducing emission rates in the developed world, leak rates remain frozen at ~1% annually. However, one of the largest and fastest growing markets for this gas is in the developing world where emissions standards are often lacking (P&S Intelligence. 2023). To fully eliminate the environmental impacts of SF 6 , alternative technology is needed. The ideal replacement would be a technology that can fulfil the same role as SF 6 , at the same cost or cheaper, but without adverse environmental effects. Currently, no technology fits this description, however several promising technologies have begun to enter the market. This report was commissioned by the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity under the Transformer Resilience and Advanced Components (TRAC) program to assess the state of industry adoption and manufacturing capability for SF 6 -free alternative technologies for use at the high-voltage level, and the primary barriers to broader adoption. While this report is tailored to the United States, the findings should be relevant to all stakeholders seeking to reduce SF 6 emissions.

24 - POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Characterization of ambient polychlorinated biphenyl background conditions in surface waters of the Pajarito Plateau, New Mexico

Abstract This study presents the development of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) background threshold values (BTVs) that statistically characterize ambient background conditions for surface waters in undeveloped and developed landscapes of the Pajarito Plateau in the Rio Grande Basin of New Mexico. Between 2009 and 2018, surface water data were collected at 45 locations under a variety of flow conditions and regimes. A total of 163 samples were collected, with roughly 1/3 of samples and locations being in undeveloped areas (n = 53 from 17 locations), and the remainder being in developed areas (n = 110 from 28 locations). While there are areas on the Pajarito Plateau where PCB point sources are known or likely to have contributed to PCBs in soils, PCB BTVs calculated for undeveloped portions of watersheds (upstream of areas where PCB point sources are known or likely to have contributed to PCBs in soils, and therefore not affected by PCB sources within the watershed) are well above New Mexico's human health organism-only (HH-OO) water quality criterion (0.64 ng/L). Background threshold values are even higher in developed areas upstream of managed soil sites, suggesting that in developed areas, both diffuse ambient PCB sources (e.g., atmospheric deposition) and localized urban sources (e.g., building materials, paints, and electrical equipment) contribute to PCBs in those watersheds. These findings indicate that New Mexico's current HH-OO water quality criterion for PCBs cannot practicably be met due to ambient conditions. It is also impracticable to meet the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) criterion continuous concentration (CCC) of 14 ng/L in developed background areas, where the BTV is approximately 1.5 times the CCC. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:1307–1319. © 2022 SETAC

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Power Flow Models of Grid-Forming Inverters in Unbalanced Distribution Grids

Load unbalance in electric distribution systems is unavoidable. Unbalanced load currents will lead to negative sequence (NS) voltages that may damage electric equipment. Unbalanced power flow analysis is a common tool to detect and mitigate NS voltage issues and requires accurate models of grid components. While traditional source models are available, grid-forming (GFM) inverter models are not well developed. GFM inverters implement various control strategies, which affect their power flow models. Here, in this paper, a novel GFM inverter model considering control effects is proposed. We show that for some control methods, unbalanced system loading will lead to unbalanced terminal voltages of the GFM inverters, which are modeled through an equivalent negative sequence impedance. The proposed models are initially validated using a simple test circuit. Then, they are applied in the power flow analysis on the IEEE 13-bus and 34-bus systems to demonstrate the accuracy improvement over the state-of-the-art. Using time-domain simulations as benchmarks, we show that the proposed models reduce the calculation error of negative sequence voltages by at least 25% in unbalanced distribution systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

OpenStudio-Occupant-Variability-Gem v1.0

This gem contains methods to introduce occupant-related variability to extend core OpenStudio SDK. The goal of introducing the variability is to improve the assumptions related to stochastic occupant movement, occupant-related lighting and electric equipment, and thermostat set points schedules in traditional OpenStudio and EnergyPlus models.

Li, Han↗

Implementation Strategy - Efficiency Standards and Labeling Programs in Uganda

In 2016, the development of an Energy Efficiency Roadmap (USAID, 2017) undertaken by Agency for International Development (USAID) showed that an energy-saving potential of 310 MW by 2030 was possible at a cost lower than the current supply of electricity. However, the energy efficiency potential is spread out across many technologies and requires the establishment of enabling policies to stimulate efficient use of energy. Chief among these is the establishment of energy- efficiency standards and labeling (EESL) for electric equipment as indicated by Uganda national energy policy legislation (MEMD, 2002). This report first includes an assessment of energy consumption in the residential sector to identify priority products of focus for the EESL program followed by an assessment of the legal and administrative capacity needs of Ugandan institutions to operate and enforce Uganda’s EESL program.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article - Fiscal Year 2023 (Final Report)

The Thermal Hydraulic Experimental Test Article (THETA) is a facility that is used to develop sodium components and instrumentation as well as acquire experimental data for validation of reactor thermal hydraulic and safety analysis codes. The facility simulates nominal conditions as well as protected/unprotected loss of flow accidents in a sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR). High fidelity distributed temperature profiles of the developed flow field may be acquired with Rayleigh backscatter based optical fiber temperature sensors. The facility was designed in partnership with systems code experts to tailor the experiment to ensure the most relevant and highest quality data for code validation. THETA is comprised of a traditional primary coolant and secondary coolant system. The primary system is submerged in the pool of sodium and consists of a pump, electrically heated core, intermediate heat exchanger, and connected piping and thermal barriers (redan). The secondary system, located outside of the sodium pool, consists of a pump, sodium to air heat exchanger, and connected piping and valves. To date a test matrix has been completed utilizing the primary system of THETA. These tests, along with computational fluid dynamics and systems code models, determined the heat transfer across the core barrel and intermediate heat exchanger outlet was too great to effectively represent scaled thermal hydraulic phenomena of a liquid metal cooled reactor. Therefore, a significant effort was made to remove the primary system from the METL 28” test vessel #4 and clean the residual sodium from the primary system to facilitate upgrades. Thermal insulation was then incorporated in the core barrel and intermediate heat exchanger outlets. The primary system was then replaced, and a series of tests were performed to assess the performance of the thermal insulation. With primary system testing and upgrades complete, the secondary system could then be brought online. The tube side of the shell-and-tube intermediate heat exchanger was installed onto the primary system flange to begin installing the secondary system. The support structure for the secondary system was then erected on the METL mezzanine alongside the THETA primary system to facilitate installation of the secondary system components (sodium-to-air heat exchanger, flowmeter and pump). The piping and expansion tank were welded into the secondary system. Non-destructive examination of the secondary system welds was completed in order to satisfy ASME B31.3 pipe code for class M process fluids. The heating system and insulation were then added to prepare the system to be filled with sodium. The ancillary electrical equipment was installed which included the pump control box, blower VFD, pipe heater control system, etc. The secondary system will be filled, and a test matrix will be completed in early FY2024.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗

High Energy Arcing Fault (HEAF): Sandia National Laboratories 2023 Report

High Energy Arcing Faults (HEAFs) are hazardous events in which an electrical arc leads to the rapid release of energy in the form of heat, vaporized metal, and mechanical force. In Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs), these events are often accompanied by loss of essential power and complicated shutdowns. To confirm the probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) methodology in NUREG/CR-6850, which was formulated based on limited observational data, the NRC led an international experimental campaign from 2014 to 2016. The results of these experiments uncovered an unexpected hazard posed by aluminum components in or near electrical equipment and the potential for unanalyzed equipment failures. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), in support of the NRC work, collaborated with NIST, BSI, KEMA, and NRC to support the full-scale HEAF test campaign in 2023. SNL provided high speed and real time from visible and infrared video/data of tests that collected data from copper and aluminum busses from switchgears and bus-ducts. Part of SNL work was to place cameras with high-speed data collection capability at different vantage points that provide the NRC a more complete and granular view of the test events.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

High Energy Arcing Fault (HEAF) Photometrics 2022 Test Report

High Energy Arcing Faults (HEAFs) are hazardous events in which an electrical arc leads to the rapid release of energy in the form of heat, vaporized metal, and mechanical force. In Nuclear Power Plants, these events are often accompanied by loss of essential power and complicated shutdowns. To confirm the probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) methodology in NUREG/CR-6850, which was formulated based on limited observational data, the NRC led an international experimental campaign from 2014 to 2016. The results of these experiments uncovered an unexpected hazard posed by aluminum components in or near electrical equipment and the potential for unanalyzed equipment failures. Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), in support of the NRC work, collaborated with NIST, BSI, KEMA, and NRC to support the full-scale HEAF test campaign in 2022. SNL provided high speed visible and infrared video/data of ten tests that collected data from HEAFs originated on copper and aluminum buses inside switchgears and bus ducts. Part of the SNL scope was to place cameras with high-speed data collection at different vantage points within the test facility to provide NRC a more complete and granular view of the test events.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Report on Lightning Simulation Standards and Facilities

Lightning strikes pose a significant threat to various forms of infrastructure and electrical equipment. Aircraft and high explosives are of particular interest due to the massive ramifications of the device being compromised due to exposure to lightning damage. However, due to lightning being a varying weather phenomenon, testing a device’s vulnerability to lightning is generally not as simple as simply exposing it to real world lightning. To consistently test a device’s ability to survive the worst-case scenario of lightning exposure, the effects of the most severe lightning strikes must be able to be reproduced consistently and measurably. One such facility for this purpose is the Sandia Lightning Simulator (SLS), which is designed to simulate the current waveform of a severe lightning flash. However, the SLS’s design and age lead to difficulties in its operation and inconsistencies in its output. The methodology used in other lightning simulation facilities may offer information on how to improve the SLS’s operation, or at the very least, expose the SLS’s hidden strengths. This report explores lightning simulation, lightning testing standards, and lightning simulation facilities.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Realistic Estimation of CO2 Emission Reductions Due to Building Retrofit

Constant CO2 emission factors of electricity are often used to study the emissions of buildings. However, in the era of increased renewable energy for power generation, emission factors of electricity are dynamically changing. This study is to investigate the impact of dynamic CO2 emission factors, which are more realistic than constant ones, on the emission reductions due to building retrofits. The results reveal that if dynamic CO2 emission factors are used for U.S. medium office buildings, improving the efficiency of lighting or electric equipment will lead to more emission reductions in locations with high wind power penetration (e.g., 12% more reductions in Rochester) and fewer reductions in locations with high solar power penetration (e.g., 8% fewer reductions in San Diego). As for improving envelope insulation, dynamic CO2 emission factors have more impact on the emission reductions in hot climates than in cold climates.

Lou, Yingli↗

Passive Islanding Detection of Inverter-Based Resources in a Noisy Environment

Islanding occurs when a load is energized solely by local generators and can result in frequency and voltage instability, changes in current, and poor power quality. Poor power quality can interrupt industrial operations, damage sensitive electrical equipment, and induce outages upon the resynchronization of the island with the grid. This study proposes an islanding detection method employing a Duffing oscillator to analyze voltage fluctuations at the point of common coupling (PCC) under a high-noise environment. Unlike existing methods, which overlook the noise effect, this paper mitigates noise impact on islanding detection. Power system noise in PCC measurements arises from switching transients, harmonics, grounding issues, voltage sags and swells, electromagnetic interference, and power quality issues that affect islanding detection. Transient events like lightning-induced traveling waves to the PCC can also introduce noise levels exceeding the voltage amplitude by more than seven times, thus disturbing conventional detection techniques. The noise interferes with measurements and increases the nondetection zone (NDZ), causing failed or delayed islanding detection. The Duffing oscillator nonlinear dynamics enable detection capabilities at a high noise level. The proposed method is designed to detect the PCC voltage fluctuations based on the IEEE standard 1547 through the Duffing oscillator. For the voltages beyond the threshold, the Duffing oscillator phase trajectory changes from periodic to chaotic mode and sends an islanded operation command to the inverter. The proposed islanding detection method distinguishes switching transients and faults from an islanded operation. Experimental validation of the method is conducted using a 3.6 kW PV setup.

Energy & Fuels↗

Recovery and Enhanced Upgrading of Rare Earth Elements from Coal-Based Resources: Bioleaching and Precipitation

Rare earth elements (REEs) are of great importance to modern society and their reliable supply is a major concern of many industries that utilize them in metal alloys, semiconductors, electrical equipment, and defense equipment. REEs in the coal waste have been revealed to be an alternative resource for REEs production. In this study, the extraction, recovery, and upgrading of the REEs from coal waste has been realized with the bioleaching and precipitation processes. Reliable and sustainable acid and oxidant production from the oxidation of the pyrite with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to generate acid for leaching were realized in this research. The acidified bioleaching solution was used to extract REEs from coal waste, with 13–14% yields for most REE elements (~72 h of leaching). However, recovery for longer duration tests was significant higher (varies from 40–60% for individual REEs). After extraction, precipitation and separation processes were designed with the aid of Visual Minteq calculations and modeling to concentrate the REEs. With the procedures designed in this research, a final REEs precipitate product containing 36.7% REEs was produced.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗

Seismic Resilience of Large Power Transformer Bushings & Non-SF6 Industrial Base Scan Review

Large (high voltage) power transformers (LPT), and more specifically, their bushings, are known to be susceptible to seismic failure. With bushing failure, a transformer will have to be replaced, which has a considerable lead time, adding to the power outage duration. Cost-efficient, proven solutions are not currently available to mitigate this risk, which can persist for the more than 30-year life of a particular transformer. This work will focus on developing and demonstrating a hardware solution to address seismic vulnerabilities and reduce outage risks from LPT failure. Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6) is a specialty gas with excellent electrical insulation properties which has been used extensively in the power industry. This gas is unfortunately also one of the most potent greenhouse gases known to humanity. A 2014 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that SF6 has a global warming potential (GWP) 23,000 times higher than Carbon Dioxide, and has the highest GWP of all gases assessed (Myhre 2013). SF6 is almost exclusively man-made and is produced for use as an insulator in high voltage electrical equipment. This makes the production and use of SF6 one of the leading sources of anthropogenic climate change. To fully eliminate the environmental impacts of SF6, alternative technology is needed. The ideal replacement would be a technology that can fulfil the same role as SF6, at the same cost or cheaper, but without adverse environmental effects. Currently, no technology fits this description, however several promising technologies have begun to enter the market. An industry scan was performed to assess the state of industry adoption and manufacturing capability for SF6-free alternative technologies for use at the high-voltage level, and the primary barriers to broader adoption.

10 SYNTHETIC FUELS↗

Supporting Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Deployment

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) helps federal agencies electrify their fleets and support the deployment of charging infrastructure. To assist agencies with the transition to zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), including battery electric vehicles (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), FEMP offers technical guidance on electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) installations and site-specific planning through on-site and virtual EVSE Tiger Teams.

ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

PyChargeModel (Oriented Programming Based Electric Vehicle and Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment Charging Model in Python) [SWR-22-39]

The PyChargeModel creates two classes called "ElectricVehicles" and "evse_class", which can be used to create multiple instances of electric vehicles (EVs) and electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE or charging ports) and simulate charging behavior. These objects can be instantiated with several properties such as battery chemistries, battery pack sizes, cell sizes, charging port power, dc or ac chargers etc. The objects can communicate with each other by calling different methods built within the classes. Through these methods, each EV object can be assigned to an EVSE, charged either using a default protocol or using setpoint values communicated from a site controller via the EVSE object.

Mishra, Partha↗