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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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27 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

A valuation framework for customers impacted by extreme temperature-related outages

Extreme temperature outages can lead to not just economic losses but also various non-energy impacts (NEI), such as increased mortality rates, property damage, and reduced productivity, due to significant degradation of indoor operating conditions caused by service disruptions. However, existing resilience assessment approaches lack specificity for extreme temperature conditions. They often overlook temperature-related mortality and neglect the customer characteristics and grid response in the calculation, despite the significant influence of these factors on NEI-related economic losses. This paper aims to address these gaps by introducing a comprehensive framework to estimate the impact of resilience enhancement not only on the direct economic losses incurred by customers but also on potential NEI, including mortality and the value of statistical life during extreme temperature-related outages. The proposed resilience valuation integrates customer characteristics and grid response variables based on a scalable grid simulation environment. This study adopts a holistic approach to quantify customer-oriented economic impacts, utilizing probabilistic loss scenarios that incorporate health-related factors and damage/loss models as a function of exposure for valuation. The proposed methodology is demonstrated through comparative resilient outage planning, using grid response models emulating a Texas weather zone during the 2021 winter storm Uri. The case study results show that enhanced outage planning with hardened infrastructure can improve the system resilience and thereby reduce the relative risk of mortality by 16% and save the total costs related to non-energy impacts by 74%. In conclusion, these findings underscore the efficacy of the framework by assessing the financial implications of each case, providing valuable insights for decision-makers and stakeholders involved in extreme-weather related resilience planning for risk management and mitigation strategies.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Evaluation of Power Transmission Lines Hardening Scenarios Using a Machine Learning Approach

The power transmission infrastructure is vulnerable to extreme weather events, particularly hurricanes and tropical storms. A recent example is the damage caused by Hurricane Maria (H-Maria) in the archipelago of Puerto Rico in September 2017, where major failures in the transmission infrastructure led to a total blackout. Numerous studies have been conducted to examine strategies to strengthen the transmission system, including burying the power lines underground or increasing the frequency of tree trimming. However, few studies focus on the direct hardening of the transmission towers to accomplish an increase in resiliency. This machine learning-based study fills this need by analyzing three direct hardening scenarios and determining the effectiveness of these changes in the context of H-Maria. A methodology for estimating transmission tower damage is presented here in this study as well as an analysis of impact of replacing structures with a high failure rate with more resilient ones. We found the steel self-support-pole to be the best replacement option for the towers with high failure rate. Furthermore, the third hardening scenario, where all wooden poles were replaced, exhibited a maximum reduction in damaged towers in a single line of 66% while lowering the mean number of damaged towers per line by 10%.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Resilient Solar PV Structures a.k.a. the "Nuts and Bolts" of PV Resilience

Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems can and has survived many extreme weather events. On occasion, however, solar PV systems have been damaged. This damage is related more to the features of individual PV systems rather than the magnitude of the weather events. Much of this damage can be avoided with relatively simple, cost-effective measures that include design, installation, inspection, and O&M best practices.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1972

Changes in the distribution of low-energy trapped protons associated with the April 17, 1965, magnetic storm.

The absolute intensity of geomagnetically trapped protons in the energy ranges from 0.52 to 4.0 MeV and from 0.90 to 1.8 MeV has been measured with the solid-state proton detector on the satellite Injun 4 for the period from Mar. 1 to May 31, 1965. A study of the temporal variations of these fluxes associated with the Apr. 17, 1965, magnetic storm shows a general redistribution of these protons for L greater than 2.5. The effect of the sudden commencement was a general depression in the intensities and a hardening of the energy spectra, although the intensities recovered to their prestorm level during the initial phase. The major redistribution was apparently initiated by the polar substorm. During the recovery phase, a secondary peak developed in the intensity profile at L of about 3.5 for 0.52-MeV protons that had no counterpart at this energy at the equator. No such peak was observed for 0.9-MeV protons.

Burns, A. L.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Scintillation-Hardened GPS Receiver

CommLargo, Inc., has developed a scintillation-hardened Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver that improves reliability for low-orbit missions and complies with NASA's Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) architecture standards. A software-defined radio (SDR) implementation allows a single hardware element to function as either a conventional radio or as a GPS receiver, providing backup and redundancy for platforms such as the International Space Station (ISS) and high-value remote sensing platforms. The innovation's flexible SDR implementation reduces cost, weight, and power requirements. Scintillation hardening improves mission reliability and variability. In Phase I, CommLargo refactored an open-source GPS software package with Kalman filter-based tracking loops to improve performance during scintillation and also demonstrated improved navigation during a geomagnetic storm. In Phase II, the company generated a new field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based GPS waveform to demonstrate on NASA's Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) test bed.

Stephens, Donald R.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Risk-controlled Expansion Planning with Distributed Resources (REPAIR) v1.0

The Risk-controlled Expansion Planning with Distributed Resources (REPAIR) is an innovative tool to support decisions around utility grid planning to prevent and mitigate the impact of outages caused by routine equipment failures (reliability) or by extreme events (resilience), such as storms, earthquakes or wildfires that long term interruption of service. REPAIR is a risk-based optimization and decision-making model allowing informed and transparent "cost vs risk" decisions regarding infrastructural planning of electric utilities. The model considers long-term resilience and reliability planning strategies that rely on traditional infrastructure upgrade (e.g. circuit hardening, reinforcement, new substations, etc.) or new investment alternatives, such as DERs.

Heleno, Miguel [Lawrence Berkeley National Laborat↗
NASA NTRS1988

Mars sampling strategy and aeolian processes

It is critical that the geological context of planetary samples (both in situ analyses and return samples) be well known and documented. Apollo experience showed that this goal is often difficult to achieve even for a planet on which surficial processes are relatively restricted. On Mars, the variety of present and past surface processes is much greater than on the Moon and establishing the geological context of samples will be much more difficult. In addition to impact hardening, Mars has been modified by running water, periglacial activity, wind, and other processes, all of which have the potential for profoundly affecting the geological integrity of potential samples. Aeolian, or wind, processes are ubiquitous on Mars. In the absence of liquid water on the surface, aeolian activity dominates the present surface as documented by frequent dust storms (both local and global), landforms such as dunes, and variable features, i.e., albedo patterns which change their size, shape, and position with time in response to the wind.

Greeley, Ronald↗
NASA NTRS1988

Aircraft jolts from lightning bolts

The trend toward the use of composite materials and digital electronics has renewed the need to quantify the effects of lightning strikes to airplanes, since composite structures do not provide shielding equivalent to that of metal aircraft, and digital systems are potentially more susceptible to upset by electrical transients than are analog electronic systems. A research program, called the Storm Hazards Program, has been run by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the past eight years and has provided the first statistically significant measurements of the electromagnetic interaction between lightning and aircraft. A NASA-owned F-106B airplane has been flown through thunderstorms about 1500 times at altitudes between 5,000 and 40,000 feet (1,500 to 12,000 meters). The airplane, lightning-hardened and outfitted with special instruments, was hit by lightning 714 times. The types of measurements made and the results are described.

Pitts, Felix L.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Integrating Resilience Planning in Distribution System Planning

Electric utilities, regulators, and stakeholders face increasing risks of severe storms, freezes, floods, and heat waves damaging grid infrastructure and causing power outages—and increasing risks of utility equipment igniting wildfires. At the same time, customer electricity rates have risen substantially in recent years, due in part to replacing aging infrastructure and improving resilience to natural hazards and physical threats. To address these challenges, utilities are beginning to move beyond traditional, siloed planning processes to balance resilience with other fundamental grid objectives such as affordability, reliability, safety, and serving new loads. This study presents a framework for states and utilities that want to advance integration of resilience and distribution planning processes to improve planning efficiency, better prioritize cost-effective grid expenditures, and balance planning objectives. The framework includes 7 key integration points between these planning processes: -Strategy process -Data -Threat assessments -Solution identification and prioritization -Optimization opportunities -Consideration of other grid needs -Metrics Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory reviewed utility distribution system plans and interviewed subject matter experts to identify emerging practices for each of the 7 integration points. This report presents these practices, which can be used as a guide toward more holistic planning and cohesive investment strategies. It also includes 3 case studies to provide practical examples of how utilities apply such integrated planning processes: two pole hardening programs and one microgrid planning effort. The report concludes by identifying opportunities for future research.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗