Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “system sizing”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 37 records · Page 2
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Finite-Size Scaling on a Digital Quantum Simulator Using Quantum Restricted Boltzmann Machine

The critical point and the critical exponents for a phase transition can be determined using the Finite-Size Scaling (FSS) analysis. This method assumes that the phase transition occurs only in the infinite size limit. However, there has been a lot of interest recently in quantum phase transitions occurring in finite size systems such as a single two-level system interacting with a single bosonic mode e.g., in the Quantum Rabi Model (QRM). Since these phase transitions occur at a finite system size, the traditional FSS method is rendered inapplicable for these cases. For cases like this, we propose an alternative FSS method in which the truncation of the system is done in the Hilbert space instead of the physical space. This approach has previously been used to calculate the critical parameters for stability and symmetry breaking of electronic structure configurations of atomic and molecular systems. We calculate the critical point for the quantum phase transition of the QRM using this approach. We also provide a protocol to implement this method on a digital quantum simulator using the Quantum Restricted Boltzmann Machine algorithm. Our work opens up a new direction in the study of quantum phase transitions on quantum devices.

Khalid, Bilal↗
DOE OSTI2026

An Anisotropic Yield and Damage Material Model to Improve the Contact Pressure Analysis in a Biomass Shredding System

Size reduction systems used in biomass processing break biomass into smaller pieces by utilizing the kinetic energy from the sharp rotating blades. Abrasive and/or erosive wear caused by biomass comminution results in blade wear of the sharp edged cutters, deteriorating the process efficiency. Here, this study aims to optimize the blade design and improve the system efficiency by attempting to understand the interactions between the blades and biomass particles. Since real-time monitoring of these interactions is impractical during operation, mechanical simulations offer a viable alternative for investigating the shredding process. Yet, the irregular geometry and complex mechanical properties of biomass—such as the anisotropic nature of woodchips and their nonlinear fracture behavior—pose significant challenges for accurately simulating contact pressure. In this work an anisotropic yield material model, along with a damage initiation and evolution function, is applied to the woodchip particle to study the contact pressure on shredder blade, offering a scientific basis for improved blade design and process efficiency. This approach can be extended to other biomass processing systems with similar anisotropic feedstocks, making it a valuable tool for advancing sustainable biomass utilization.

09 - BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2023

Drude weights in one-dimensional systems with a single defect

Ballistic transport of a quantum system can be characterized by Drude weight, which quantifies the response of the system to a uniform electric field in the infinitely long timescale. The Drude weight is often discussed in terms of the Kohn formula, which gives the Drude weight by the derivative of the energy eigenvalue of a finite-size system with the periodic boundary condition in terms of the Aharonov-Bohm flux. Recently, the Kohn formula is generalized to nonlinear responses. However, the nonlinear Drude weight determined by the Kohn formula often diverges in the thermodynamic limit. In order to elucidate the issue, in this work we examine a simple example of a one-dimensional tight-binding model in the presence of a single defect at zero temperature. We find that its linear and nonlinear Drude weights given by the Kohn formula (i) depend on the Aharonov-Bohm flux and (ii) diverge proportionally to a power of the system size. Here, we argue that the problem can be attributed to different order of limits. The Drude weight according to the Kohn formula (“Kohn-Drude weight”) indicates the response of a finite-size system to an adiabatic insertion of the Aharonov-Bohm flux. While it is a well-defined physical quantity for a finite-size system, its thermodynamic limit does not always describe the ballistic transport of the bulk. The latter should be rather characterized by a “bulk Drude weight” defined by taking the thermodynamic limit first before the zero-frequency limit. While the potential issue of the order of limits has been sometimes discussed within the linear response, the discrepancy between the two limits is amplified in nonlinear Drude weights. We demonstrate the importance of the low-energy excitations of O(1/L), which are excluded from the Kohn-Drude weight, in regularizing the bulk Drude weight.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Finite-size subthermal regime in disordered SU ( N ) -symmetric Heisenberg chains

SU⁡(N) symmetry is incompatible with the many-body localized (MBL) phase, even when strong disorder is present. However, recent studies have shown that finite-size SU⁡(2) systems exhibit nonergodic, subthermal behavior, characterized by the breakdown of the eigenstate thermalization hypothesis, and by the excited eigenstates entanglement entropy that is intermediate between area and volume law. In this paper, we extend previous studies of the SU⁡(2)-symmetric disordered Heisenberg model to larger systems, using the time-dependent density matrix renormalization group (tDMRG) method. We simulate quench dynamics from weakly entangled initial states up to long times, finding robust subthermal behavior at stronger disorder. Although we find an increased tendency towards thermalization at larger system sizes, the subthermal regime persists at intermediate time scales, nevertheless, and therefore should be accessible experimentally. At weaker disorder, we observe signatures of thermalization; however, entanglement entropy exhibits slow sublinear growth, in contrast to conventional thermalizing systems. Furthermore, we study dynamics of the SU⁡(3)-symmetric disordered Heisenberg model. Similarly, strong disorder drives the system into subthermal regime, albeit thermalizing phase is broader compared to the SU⁡(2) case. Finally, our findings demonstrate the robustness of the subthermal regime in spin chains with non-Abelian continuous symmetry, and are consistent with eventual thermalization at large system sizes and long time scales, suggested by previous studies.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Sizing Energy Storage System for Energy Arbitrage in Extreme Fast Charging Station

This paper proposes a non-linear programming (NLP) model to optimally size the energy storage system (ESS) and obtain an optimal energy management for energy arbitrage of an extreme fast charging station (XFCS) for electric vehicles (EVs), with minimized total cost of XFCS operation and ESS investment. Different from most reported work on sizing the ESS for EV charging stations, this paper proposes a pragmatic approach to model the ESS life degradation and accurately count the ESS cycles. Moreover, this work incorporates the peak demand charges in the operational cost of the charging station which are often overlooked in the literature. The proposed model is formulated and solved using AIMMS. Finally, a thorough sensitivity analysis is performed to offer insights into how different input parameters impact the ESS sizing and savings from the energy arbitrage perspective.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2025

Optimal sizing of battery energy storage systems for peak shaving and demand response using a degradation-aware Bayesian Optimization-Mixed-Integer Linear Programming framework

The increasing integration of renewable energy and rising electricity demand highlight the importance of battery energy storage systems for peak shaving and demand response. Unlike prior approaches that overlook operational impacts on degradation, this study proposes a Bayesian Optimization–Mixed Integer Linear Programming framework for optimal battery energy storage system sizing. In this framework, Mixed Integer Linear Programming determines short-term scheduling while a calibrated electrochemical model iteratively evaluates degradation. The central hypothesis is that the framework can efficiently identify optimal sizes that yield realistic and economically robust outcomes. The method is tested across three scenarios: peak shaving, peak shaving with energy-reduction demand response, and peak shaving with power-reduction demand response. Results show that the framework converge to the optimum within 20 iterations out of 150 possible sizes. Under baseline conditions, the framework consistently selects the smallest feasible system, minimizing unnecessary degradation costs from oversized storage. Sensitivity analyses reveal that larger systems are favored as demand rates or incentives increase. Comparisons of demand response programs indicate that power-reduction demand response offers greater economic benefits than energy-reduction demand response, although demand savings from peak shaving remain the dominant contributor to overall performance. This study demonstrates that the proposed framework balances computational tractability with degradation fidelity, identifies critical economic thresholds for investment, and offers a practical, flexible tool to guide industrial stakeholders in cost-effective battery energy storage system deployment.

Batteries↗
DOE OSTI2022

Single- and two-particle finite size effects in interacting lattice systems

Simulations of extended quantum systems are typically performed by extrapolating results of a sequence of finite-system-size simulations to the thermodynamic limit. In the quantum Monte Carlo community, twist-averaging was pioneered as an efficient strategy to eliminate one-body finite size effects. In the dynamical mean field community, cluster generalizations of the dynamical mean field theory were formulated to study systems with nonlocal correlations. In this work, we put the twist-averaging and the dynamical cluster approximation variant of the dynamical mean field theory onto equal footing, discuss commonalities and differences, and compare results from both techniques to the standard periodic boundary technique. At the example of Hubbard-type models with local, short-range and Yukawa-like longer range interactions we show that all methods converge to the same limit, but that the convergence speed differs in practice. We show that embedding theories are an effective tool for managing both one-body and two-body finite size effects, in particular if interactions are averaged over twist angles.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2024

Static Subspace Approximation for Random Phase Approximation Correlation Energies: Implementation and Performance

Developing theoretical understanding of complex reactions and processes at interfaces requires using methods that go beyond semilocal density functional theory to accurately describe the interactions between solvent, reactants and substrates. Methods based on many-body perturbation theory, such as the random phase approximation (RPA), have previously been limited due to their computational complexity. However, this is now a surmountable barrier due to the advances in computational power available, in particular through modern GPU-based supercomputers. In this work, we describe the implementation of RPA calculations within BerkeleyGW and show its favorable computational performance on large complex systems relevant for catalysis and electrochemistry applications. Our implementation builds off of the static subspace approximation which, by employing a compressed representation of the frequency dependent polarizability, enables the evaluation of the RPA correlation energy with significant acceleration and systematically controllable accuracy. We find that the computational cost of calculating the RPA correlation energy scales only linearly with system size for systems containing up to 50 thousand bands, and is expected to scale quadratically thereafter. We also show excellent strong scaling results across several supercomputers, demonstrating the performance and portability of this implementation.

algorithmic development↗
DOE OSTI2021

Regulation of the normalized rate of driven magnetic reconnection through shocked flux pileup

Magnetic reconnection is explored on the Terrestrial Reconnection Experiment (TREX) for asymmetric inflow conditions and in a configuration where the absolute rate of reconnection is set by an external drive. Magnetic pileup enhances the upstream magnetic field of the high-density inflow, leading to an increased upstream Alfvén speed and helping to lower the normalized reconnection rate to values expected from theoretical consideration. In addition, a shock interface between the far upstream supersonic plasma inflow and the region of magnetic flux pileup is observed, important to the overall force balance of the system, thereby demonstrating the role of shock formation for configurations including a supersonically driven inflow. Despite the specialized geometry where a strong reconnection drive is applied from only one side of the reconnection layer, previous numerical and theoretical results remain robust and are shown to accurately predict the normalized rate of reconnection for the range of system sizes considered. This experimental rate of reconnection is dependent on system size, reaching values as high as 0.8 at the smallest normalized system size applied.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2026

Rapid Quantum Ground State Preparation via Dissipative Dynamics

Inspired by natural cooling processes, dissipation has become a promising approach for preparing low-energy states of quantum systems. However, the potential of dissipative protocols remains unclear beyond certain commuting Hamiltonians. This work provides significant analytical and numerical insights into the power of dissipation for preparing the ground state of noncommuting Hamiltonians. For quasi-free dissipative dynamics, including certain 1D spin systems with boundary dissipation, our results reveal a new connection between the mixing time in trace distance and the spectral properties of a non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, leading to an explicit and sharp bound on the mixing time that scales polynomially with system size. For more general spin systems, we develop a tensor network-based algorithm for constructing the Lindblad jump operator and for simulating the dynamics. Using this algorithm, we demonstrate numerically that dissipative ground state preparation protocols can achieve rapid mixing for certain 1D local Hamiltonians under bulk dissipation, with a mixing time that scales logarithmically with the system size. We then prove the rapid mixing result for certain weakly interacting spin and fermionic systems in arbitrary dimensions, extending recent results for high-temperature quantum Gibbs samplers to the zero-temperature regime. Together, these results show that dissipation can be a powerful tool for ground state preparation, with potential applications across condensed matter physics, quantum materials science, and beyond.

decoherence↗
DOE OSTI2021

Practical verification protocols for analog quantum simulators

Abstract Analog quantum simulation is expected to be a significant application of near-term quantum devices. Verification of these devices without comparison to known simulation results will be an important task as the system size grows beyond the regime that can be simulated classically. We introduce a set of experimentally-motivated verification protocols for analog quantum simulators, discussing their sensitivity to a variety of error sources and their scalability to larger system sizes. We demonstrate these protocols experimentally using a two-qubit trapped-ion analog quantum simulator and numerically using models of up to five qubits.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2024

Efficient quantum circuits based on the quantum natural gradient

Efficient preparation of arbitrary entangled quantum states is crucial for quantum computation. This is particularly important for noisy intermediate-scale quantum simulators relying on variational hybrid quantum-classical algorithms. To that end, we propose symmetry-conserving modified quantum approximate optimization algorithm (SCom-QAOA) circuits. The depths of these circuits depend not only on the desired fidelity to the target state but also on the amount of entanglement the state contains. The parameters of the SCom-QAOA circuits are optimized using the quantum natural gradient method based on the Fubini-Study metric. The SCom-QAOA circuit transforms an unentangled state into a ground state of a gapped one-dimensional Hamiltonian with a circuit depth that depends not on the system size but rather on the finite correlation length. In contrast, the circuit depth grows proportionally to the system size for preparing low-lying states of critical one-dimensional systems. Even in the latter case, SCom-QAOA circuits with depth less than the system size were sufficient to generate states with fidelity in excess of 99%, which is relevant for near-term applications. The proposed scheme enlarges the set of the initial states accessible for variational quantum algorithms and widens the scope of investigation of nonequilibrium phenomena in quantum simulators. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Filling constraints on translation invariant dipole conserving systems

Systems with conserved dipole moment have drawn considerable interest in light of their realization in recent experiments on tilted optical lattices. Here, an important question for such systems is delineating the conditions under which they admit a unique gapped ground state that is consistent with all symmetries. Here, we study one-dimensional translation-invariant lattices that conserve U(1) charge and Z L dipole moment, where discreteness of the dipole symmetry is enforced by periodic boundary conditions, with L the system size. We show that in these systems, a symmetric, gapped, and non-degenerate ground state requires not only integer charge filling, but also a fixed value of the dipole filling, while other fractional dipole fillings enforce either a gapless or symmetry-breaking ground state. In contrast with prior results in the literature, we find that the dipole filling constraint depends both on the charge filling as well as the system size, emphasizing the subtle interplay of dipole symmetry with boundary conditions. We support our results with numerical simulations and exact results.

1-dimensional systems↗
DOE OSTI2020

Many-body reactive force field development for carbon condensation in C/O systems under extreme conditions

In this paper, we describe the development of a reactive force field for C/O systems under extreme temperatures and pressures, based on the many-body Chebyshev Interaction Model for Efficient Simulation (ChIMES). The resulting model, which targets carbon condensation under thermodynamic conditions of 6500 K and 2.5 g cm –3 , affords a balance between model accuracy, complexity, and training set generation expense. We show that the model recovers much of the accuracy of density functional theory for the prediction of structure, dynamics, and chemistry when applied to dissociative condensed phase systems at 1:1 and 1:2 C:O ratios, as well as molten carbon. Our C/O modeling approach exhibits a 104 increase in efficiency for the same system size (i.e., 128 atoms) and a linear system size scalability over standard quantum molecular dynamics methods, allowing the simulation of significantly larger systems than previously possible. We find that the model captures the condensed-phase reaction-coupled formation of carbon clusters implied by recent experiments, and that this process is susceptible to strong finite size effects. Overall, we find the present ChIMES model to be well suited for studying chemical processes and cluster formation at pressures and temperatures typical of shock waves. We expect that the present C/O modeling paradigm can serve as a template for the development of a broader high pressure–high temperature force-field for condensed phase chemistry in organic materials.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2024

Advancing Our Understanding of System Availability through the PV Fleet Performance Data Initiative

The PV Fleet Performance Data Initiative partners with photovoltaic (PV) fleet owners to collect time-series data of PV production data and publishes aggregated anonymized results of system performance metrics. With an extensive dataset drawn from over 2,200 PV systems across the United States, comprising 8.5 GW and 24,000 separate inverter data channels, this initiative aims to ensure that systemic risks in the US PV fleet are detected. The current work explores system availability, revealing a pronounced dependence on time, especially within the initial 6 months of system performance. Following this start-up period, the average system availability stabilizes. Statistical analyses illustrate a median (P5O) monthly availability of 0.991 and a dependence on system size with a negative trend in availability with increasing system size. This finding indicates that larger systems experience lower availability compared to their smaller counterparts.

inverter availability↗
DOE OSTI2020

Nonthermal electron and ion acceleration by magnetic reconnection in large laser-driven plasmas

Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process that is thought to play a key role in the production of nonthermal particles associated with explosive phenomena in space physics and astrophysics. Experiments at high-energy-density facilities are starting to probe the microphysics of reconnection at high Lundquist numbers and large system sizes. We have performed particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations to explore particle acceleration for parameters relevant to laser-driven reconnection experiments. We study particle acceleration in large system sizes that may be produced soon with the most energetic laser drivers available, such as at the National Ignition Facility. In these conditions, we show the possibility of reaching the multi-plasmoid regime, where plasmoid acceleration becomes dominant. Our results show the transition from X point to plasmoid-dominated acceleration associated with the merging and contraction of plasmoids that further extend the maximum energy of the power-law tail of the particle distribution for electrons. We also find for the first time a system-size-dependent emergence of nonthermal ion acceleration in driven reconnection, where the magnetization of ions at sufficiently large sizes allows them to be contained by the magnetic field and energized by direct X point acceleration. For feasible experimental conditions, electrons and ions can attain energies of ϵ max , e / k B T e > 100 and ϵ max , i / k B T i > 1000 . Using PIC simulations with binary Monte Carlo Coulomb collisions, we study the impact of collisionality on plasmoid formation and particle acceleration. The implications of these results for understanding the role reconnection plays in accelerating particles in space physics and astrophysics are discussed.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Exploring finite temperature properties of materials with quantum computers

Abstract Thermal properties of nanomaterials are crucial to not only improving our fundamental understanding of condensed matter systems, but also to developing novel materials for applications spanning research and industry. Since quantum effects arise at the nano-scale, these systems are difficult to simulate on classical computers. Quantum computers can efficiently simulate quantum many-body systems, yet current quantum algorithms for calculating thermal properties of these systems incur significant computational costs in that they either prepare the full thermal state on the quantum computer, or they must sample a number of pure states from a distribution that grows with system size. Canonical thermal pure quantum (TPQ) states provide a promising path to estimating thermal properties of quantum materials as they neither require preparation of the full thermal state nor require a growing number of samples with system size. Here, we present an algorithm for preparing canonical TPQ states on quantum computers. We compare three different circuit implementations for the algorithm and demonstrate their capabilities in estimating thermal properties of quantum materials. Due to its increasing accuracy with system size and flexibility in implementation, we anticipate that this method will enable finite temperature explorations of relevant quantum materials on near-term quantum computers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Technology Demonstration of a High-Pressure Swirl Oxy-Coal Combustor

This technical report presents the exploration of the design and prototyping of a High-Pressure Swirl Oxy-coal Combustor. Pressurized oxy-coal combustion systems have the potential to improve efficiency along with an increased carbon capture rate. Reduction of flue gas at higher pressure, smaller system size, and capital cost reductions render high-pressure oxy-coal systems particularly attractive as next-generation energy-producing systems. High-pressure oxy-coal combustion systems are a recent concept, and thus operability issues of combustor designs for such systems are not fully understood. Significant challenges exist to maintain oxy-coal combustion stability at elevated pressure and a high CO 2 diluent environment. Although a body of knowledge exists for high-pressure oxygen combustion in rocket engines (or similar applications), it is yet to be strategized how these fundamental concepts can be translated to low-temperature CO 2 diluent combustion regimes. The realization of the pressurized oxy-coal based systems requires combustor components to be designed and demonstrated for an operating pressure over 10 bar. However, pressurized oxy-coal combustor design information at this pressure range and scale relevant to validate those proposed systems is currently limited. Experimental data from MWth scale oxy-coal combustors are needed to identify the optimal trade-off between net efficiency and systems size. The proposed effort is aimed at demonstrating a 1 MWth down-fired swirl Oxy-Coal combustor and investigate the interrelation between combustor operating conditions (pressure; flame stability; flue gas recirculation ratio) and conversion efficiencies to minimize oxygen requirements. One of the key challenges is to configure burner design (i.e., swirl number and injector) and operating conditions for high-pressure oxy-coal combustion systems. These experiments differ from current systems partly due to the high theoretical flame temperature and related burner operability issues associated with oxy-combustion. An ASPEN PLUS® model study for 550 MWe TIPS and ENEL pressurized oxy-coal systems with CO 2 recirculation was performed to evaluate system design, subsystems sizing, and operating condition determination. The system analysis effort included TRL and technology gap determination of subsystems and critical components. This information was scaled to develop design requirements (design pressure and flue gas recirculation: RR Flue Gas = $\frac{m_{flue}}{m_{total}}$) for the 1 MWth combustor. The effects of a wide range of carbon dioxide recirculation ratios on the thermal efficiency of ENEL and TIPS cycles are studied. The pressure of 10 bar and 80 bar are used for ENEL and TIPS cycles, respectively. The thermal efficiency of ENEL is significantly higher than the efficiency of TIPS at a pressure of less than 10 bar. The insights from system analysis were then used to design a 1 MWth swirl oxy-coal combustor. Flame temperature analysis and material strength analysis was performed to determine the combustor thickness. The structural integrity of the combustor was validated by finite element analysis using Abacus® and Hypermesh®. Feasibility of igniters and secondary burners are investigated in successful high-pressure oxy-methane combustion. The secondary burners are designed in such a way that it can operate between 100 to 500 kW firing input. Three generations of the pintle injector were designed based on swirl numbers (S=0, 0.9, and 1.2). Key pintle injector parameters such as pintle size, pintle orifice size, spray pattern were investigated by cold flow tests. Information from these tests was used to modify injector design for smooth and successful operation. A 5 mm pintle orifice size was decided upon as the optimum size for oxy-coal operation for the combustor. Shadow sizing experiments were performed to identify the atomization rate of each injector. Different coal water slurry mixtures (30 – 50% coal by wt% in the mixture) at various total momentum ratios (TMR) were investigated for this purpose. These experiments provided decisive information to choose the best design of the injector. The injector with 1.2 swirl provided higher atomization in all cases than other designs. The mean equivalent droplet size of the jet was similar at different TMR and mixture ratios using this injector, thus making it suitable for use in most cases. Therefore, the 1.2 swirl-pintle injector was chosen for the shakedown test. The combustor and other sub-systems, including feed systems and control and data acquisition, have been manufactured, assembled, and integrated. The total system integration and installation began on July 1, 2020. The shake-down tests and initial operational capability demonstration are expected to be completed by September 30, 2020.

01 COAL, LIGNITE, AND PEAT↗