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Software Tools to Support the Assessment of System Health

This presentation provides an overview of three software tools that were developed by the NASA Glenn Research Center to support the assessment of system health: the Propulsion Diagnostic Method Evaluation Strategy (ProDIMES), the Systematic Sensor Selection Strategy (S4), and the Extended Testability Analysis (ETA) tool. Originally developed to support specific NASA projects in aeronautics and space, these software tools are currently available to U.S. citizens through the NASA Glenn Software Catalog. The ProDiMES software tool was developed to support a uniform comparison of propulsion gas path diagnostic methods. Methods published in the open literature are typically applied to dissimilar platforms with different levels of complexity. They often address different diagnostic problems and use inconsistent metrics for evaluating performance. As a result, it is difficult to perform a one ]to ]one comparison of the various diagnostic methods. ProDIMES solves this problem by serving as a theme problem to aid in propulsion gas path diagnostic technology development and evaluation. The overall goal is to provide a tool that will serve as an industry standard, and will truly facilitate the development and evaluation of significant Engine Health Management (EHM) capabilities. ProDiMES has been developed under a collaborative project of The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) based on feedback provided by individuals within the aircraft engine health management community. The S4 software tool provides a framework that supports the optimal selection of sensors for health management assessments. S4 is structured to accommodate user ]defined applications, diagnostic systems, search techniques, and system requirements/constraints. One or more sensor suites that maximize this performance while meeting other user ]defined system requirements that are presumed to exist. S4 provides a systematic approach for evaluating combinations of sensors to determine the set or sets of sensors that optimally meet the performance goals and the constraints. It identifies optimal sensor suite solutions by utilizing a merit (i.e., cost) function with one of several available optimization approaches. As part of its analysis, S4 can expose fault conditions that are difficult to diagnose due to an incomplete diagnostic philosophy and/or a lack of sensors. S4 was originally developed and applied to liquid rocket engines. It was subsequently used to study the optimized selection of sensors for a simulation ]based aircraft engine diagnostic system. The ETA Tool is a software ]based analysis tool that augments the testability analysis and reporting capabilities of a commercial ]off ]the ]shelf (COTS) package. An initial diagnostic assessment is performed by the COTS software using a user ]developed, qualitative, directed ]graph model of the system being analyzed. The ETA Tool accesses system design information captured within the model and the associated testability analysis output to create a series of six reports for various system engineering needs. These reports are highlighted in the presentation. The ETA Tool was developed by NASA to support the verification of fault management requirements early in the Launch Vehicle process. Due to their early development during the design process, the TEAMS ]based diagnostic model and the ETA Tool were able to positively influence the system design by highlighting gaps in failure detection, fault isolation, and failure recovery.

Melcher, Kevin J.↗

Atmospheric and Soil Carbon and Halophytes

World population is anticipated to grow 40% within 40-50 years with unprecedented demands for energy, food, freshwater, and clean environments. At 43% of the total landmass, exploiting the Earth s arid and semi-arid lands becomes a matter of necessity. Compared with glycophyte agriculture, we view seawater and brackish water halophyte saline agriculture in its nascent stage and see the need to explore and farm on a massive scale. Halophyte farming costs should be the same as glycophyte cellulosic biomass farming; processing for cellulosic matter should also be applicable. Halophyte life cycle analyses (LCA) within the fueling debate are incomplete, yet glycophyte LCA favors biomass fueling. The Biomass Revolution is in progress. The capacity, cost, and logistics required for biomass replacement of petroleum-based fuels, however, will require all feedstock sources and regional cooperative productivity, technical investments, and both the participation and cooperation of the American farmer and global farm community

Hendricks, Robert C.↗

Atmospheric and Soil Carbon and Halophytes

World population is anticipated to grow 40% within 40-50 years (2008 baseline) with unprecedented demands for energy, food, freshwater, and clean environments. At 43% of the total landmass, exploiting the Earth's arid and semi-arid lands becomes a matter of necessity. Compared with glycophyte agriculture, we view seawater and brackish water halophyte saline agriculture in its nascent stage and see the need to explore and farm on a massive scale. Halophyte farming costs should be the same as glycophyte cellulosic biomass farming; processing for cellulosic matter should also be applicable. Halophyte life cycle analyses (LCA) within the fueling debate are incomplete, yet glycophyte LCA favors biomass fueling. The Biomass Revolution is in progress. The capacity, cost, and logistics required for biomass replacement of petroleum-based fuels, however, will require all feedstock sources and regional cooperative productivity, technical investments, and both the participation and cooperation of the American farmer and global farm community.

Hendricks, Robert C.↗

TEAMER Technical Support for Aquantis (Modeling): Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-21-17763

NREL will provide numerical modelling support to Requestor by completing four successive stages of numerical modeling effort which are capable of accurate predicting the performance of the Aquantis turbine. NREL will develop a baseline OpenFAST model (a couple model of AeroDyn and ElastoDyn solver) of the Aquantis turbine, subsequently couples this model to OrcaFlex or within OpenFAST framework to preliminarily design and explore a full floating tidal turbine system in a control co-design process.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

Remote sensing by satellite - Technical and operational implications for international cooperation

International cooperation in the U.S. Space Program is discussed and related to the NASA program for remote sensing of the earth. Satellite remote sensing techniques are considered along with the selection of the best sensors and wavelength bands. The technology of remote sensing satellites is considered with emphasis on the Landsat system configuration. Future aspects of remote sensing satellites are considered.

Doyle, S. E.↗

Achieving Cooperative Community Equitable Solar Sources (ACCESS) (Final Technical Report)

Since 2011, solar has grown from a niche technology to a widely accessible source of power for homes and businesses across the United States and has become a fundamental part of the modern grid. There are still challenges, however, in learning how to integrate and use PV most effectively and how to make PV universally available. Most low- and moderate-income (LMI) customers cannot currently afford PV; capital costs and financing costs are too high to drive significant penetration. Providing access to LMI individuals and communities is a critical and immediate priority, and the focus of this project. The overall objective of the Achieving Cooperative Community Equitable Solar Sources (ACCESS) project is to explore and amplify the use of innovative, cost-effective energy access programs to serve co-ops’ LMI members1. ACCESS will research at least three financing mechanisms and at least six LMI program designs including LMI engagement strategies to maximize participation for these hard-to-reach audiences. ACCESS evaluated the financial mechanisms and program designs from field tests sited at diverse co-ops that provide recognizable models for the broader co-op community to identify optimal solutions for small utilities. The research with these cooperatives allowed testing of concepts and development of models and tools for other utilities to adapt to their own program designs and expansions. ACCESS published results and developed an “ACCESS Solar Access Toolkit” consisting of program designs, LMI engagement strategies, how-to guidance, and other tools to facilitate replication at small utilities across the country. Through the dissemination practices of the ACCESS project team, all NRECA member co-ops (~900) were made aware of the “ACCESS Solar Access Toolkit” and all other ACCESS resources. NRECA and its partners developed innovations to expand co-ops’ solar energy offerings to provide all of a co-op’s members—especially those who struggle to pay their bills—with cost-effective options that meet their needs. ACCESS specifically explored utility financing mechanisms and program designs that, independently or used in combination, increase solar access for rural electric cooperatives’ LMI members/ratepayers and that reduce LMI member/ratepayers’ electricity costs by at least 10%. LMI engagement strategies focused on maximizing the number of members who receive benefits and on the cost savings to LMI participants.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Resilient El Rito, Microgrif System Laboratory (Village of El Rito) (Final CTAP Report)

Sandia provided technical assistance to Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) to assess the technical merits of a proposed community resilience microgrid project in the Village of El Rito, New Mexico (NM). The project includes a proposed community resilience microgrid in the Village of El Rito, NM, around the campus of Northern New Mexico College (NNMC). A conceptual microgrid analysis plan was performed, considering a campus and community-wide approach. The analysis results provided conceptual microgrid configurations, optimized according to the performance metrics defined. The campus microgrid was studied independently and many conceptual microgrid solutions were provided that met the performance requirements. Considering the existing 1.5 MW PV system on campus far exceeds the simulated campus load peak and energy demand, a small battery installation was deemed sufficient to support the campus microgrid goals. Following the analysis and consultation, it was determined that the core Resilient El Rito team will need to further investigate the results for additional economic and environmental considerations to continue toward the best approach for their goals and needs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

An international aerospace information system: A cooperative opportunity

Scientific and technical information (STI) is a valuable resource which represents the results of large investments in research and development (R&D), and the expertise of a nation. NASA and its predecessor organizations have developed and managed the preeminent aerospace information system. We see information and information systems changing and becoming more international in scope. In Europe, consistent with joint R&D programs and a view toward a united Europe, we have seen the emergence of a European Aerospace Database concept. In addition, the development of aeronautics and astronautics in individual nations have also lead to initiatives for national aerospace databases. Considering recent technological developments in information science and technology, as well as the reality of scarce resources in all nations, it is time to reconsider the mutually beneficial possibilities offered by cooperation and international resource sharing. The new possibilities offered through cooperation among the various aerospace database efforts toward an international aerospace database initiative which can optimize the cost/benefit equation for all participants are considered.

Cotter, Gladys A.↗

Community Solar for the Southeast (Final Report)

The Community Solar for the Southeast project provided technical assistance for cooperative and municipal utilities in the southeastern United States that are considering community solar programs. The project provided generally applicable information for these utilities in the form of an implementation guide and other freely available materials. It also provided detailed technical assistance to specific utilities in the form of feasibility analyses for possible community-scale solar (and energy storage) projects and program designs for community solar programs, all at no direct cost to the utilities. By helping to spur development of community solar projects in a region that historically had not seen much community-scale solar development, the program provided proof-of-concept for other community solar projects in the region, and helped to open up a market segment (cooperative and municipal utilities) that may have otherwise lacked the resources to independently pursue community solar development. The overall goal of the project was an expansion of community solar capacity at municipal and cooperative utilities in the southeastern United States (in this case meaning Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, and Mississippi). The specific target was to spur the development of community solar at these utilities throughout the Southeast such that at least 200 MW of community-scale solar would be developed by 2020. In order to reach this goal the project team first aimed to develop useful materials and conduct outreach with utilities and other relevant stakeholders. The team then conducted technical assistance projects to help individual utilities evaluate and, in several cases, pursue development of projects. The team conducted nine technical assistance projects in total: five in North Carolina, two in Virginia, one in Georgia, and one in Kentucky. The team also responded to smaller scale information requests from southeastern utilities throughout the project period.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Basic Scientific Cooperation for Visits and Assignments of Scientific and Technical Personnel

The purpose of this CRADA is to establish the procedures, standards and policies for visits and assignments of scientific and technical personnel, including student exchanges, between Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) and the Instituto de Física Corpuscular (IFIC) to foster cooperation in the area of particle and astroparticle physics and cosmology. The CRADA supports the basic and fundamental research to build collaboration with international partners that can help both share the cost of large-scale projects as well as add valuable capabilities and expertise that may not exist within the U.S.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Strengthening Technical Safeguards of Fresh Fuel Through International Cooperation

Over time, nuclear fuel designs have shifted towards having higher initial enrichments and a greater number of burnable poison rods. This enables increased burnup for commercial reasons. These changes have made safeguards measurements of the 235 U content in modern fresh fuel more challenging.This is addressed here through a re-evaluation of the UNCL (Uranium Neutron Collar–Light Water Reactor Fuel)poison rod correction factor. Coefficients of the poison rod correction factor were updated by simulating response of AngraII PWR fuel with a wide range of both burnable poison rods and Gd 2 O 3 contentper rod. Benchmark comparisons are made to experiments performed at Resende (Brazil) and CNEN/LASAL in Brazil. By updating these coefficients, while maintaining the same mathematical form to allow INCC to be used without software modification,it was possible to reduce error in experimental 235 U linear density assay by an order of magnitude.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Results of Speciation Determination Measurements of Insulating Sulfur Hexafluoride Gas

Under the direction of the NNSA NA-231 Mo-99 Program, SRNL has provided technical assistance to U.S. companies under cooperative agreements. One such area of technical assistance has been for the recommendation for contamination management methods in the eventuality that tritium contaminates the insulating gas of a high-voltage ion source used in the accelerator-based process developed by SHINE Medical Technologies to produce Mo-99. The SHINE accelerator process uses tritium as the target of a deuterium ion beam, where the ion beam is produced within a high-voltage ion source insulated with sulfur hexafluoride (SF 6 ), and is separated from the tritium target by an extensive pump train. Normal operating conditions preclude the conditions necessary for contamination of the insulating gas, however certain atypical conditions could result in a tritium contamination event. Accelerator based processes for medical isotope production represent an anomalous tritium contamination challenge due to the presence of SF 6 . SF 6 decomposes through normal use as an insulator gas, and the exact speciation of the decomposition byproducts depends on a variety of factors. This creates a scenario where the anticipation of species present in the insulating gas mixture is difficult. In turn, the fate of tritium within such a chemical system is unclear. This document discusses the results of measurements made in-situ of the SF 6 insulating gas in use within a SHINE Medical Technology’s high-voltage ion source. This was done in an effort to determine the chemical speciation of the gas, allowing for the recommendation of management strategies in the event that tritium contaminates the insulating gas. The results of the measurements reported in this work suggest that tritium contamination in the insulating gas may result in two chemical forms of tritium in the system, tritiated water and molecular tritium. These two forms of tritium would be captured by two methods. Tritiated water may be captured and removed from the SF 6 by an adsorbent canister already present within the pressure vessel that houses the insulating gas while in use. It may also be separated from the SF 6 during routine purification of the SF 6 , which is performed by SHINE personnel routinely. The purification cart will perform all non-embedded systems cleanup necessary to remediate tritiated species in the system. The purification cart passes the insulating gas through several filters, followed by the liquefication of the SF 6 . The filters will separate tritiated water from the SF 6 at this stage. It is expected that molecular tritium will accumulate in the gas-phase during the liquification step, which is separated and stored. Tritium may be recovered from this mixture through more conventional hydrogen purification methods such as a palladium diffuser.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗

Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) (Final Technical Report)

This is the final technical report for cooperative agreement DE-SC0000661, between the Department of Energy Office of Science and Michigan State University, for the design and establishment of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, its transition to operations and early operations, and the effort to plan and design the High Rigidity Spectrometer.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

A comparison of European and American microgravity combustion experimental techniques

The European and the NASA microgravity combustion programs are complementary in many aspects. Differences appear in the technical approaches and cooperative efforts are beneficial. Droplet combustion gaseous fuel studies and the study of solid-fuel combustion are areas of common interest. It is recognized that the progress that can be made in low gravity combustion investigations, depends on advanced diagnostic tools, developed for normal gravity laboratories. The benefits of combustion experiments in reduced gravity, the ground-based low gravity facilities and the NASA microgravity combustion program are also considered.

Sacksteder, Kurt↗

Test and Evaluation Metrics of Crew Decision-Making And Aircraft Attitude and Energy State Awareness

NASA has established a technical challenge, under the Aviation Safety Program, Vehicle Systems Safety Technologies project, to improve crew decision-making and response in complex situations. The specific objective of this challenge is to develop data and technologies which may increase a pilot's (crew's) ability to avoid, detect, and recover from adverse events that could otherwise result in accidents/incidents. Within this technical challenge, a cooperative industry-government research program has been established to develop innovative flight deck-based counter-measures that can improve the crew's ability to avoid, detect, mitigate, and recover from unsafe loss-of-aircraft state awareness - specifically, the loss of attitude awareness (i.e., Spatial Disorientation, SD) or the loss-of-energy state awareness (LESA). A critical component of this research is to develop specific and quantifiable metrics which identify decision-making and the decision-making influences during simulation and flight testing. This paper reviews existing metrics and methods for SD testing and criteria for establishing visual dominance. The development of Crew State Monitoring technologies - eye tracking and other psychophysiological - are also discussed as well as emerging new metrics for identifying channelized attention and excessive pilot workload, both of which have been shown to contribute to SD/LESA accidents or incidents.

Bailey, Randall E.↗

NASA/Army Rotorcraft Transmission Research, a Review of Recent Significant Accomplishments

A joint helicopter transmission research program between NASA Lewis Research Center and the U.S. Army Research Lab has existed since 1970. Research goals are to reduce weight and noise while increasing life, reliability, and safety. These research goals are achieved by the NASA/Army Mechanical Systems Technology Branch through both in-house research and cooperative research projects with university and industry partners. Some recent significant technical accomplishments produced by this cooperative research are reviewed. The following research projects are reviewed: oil-off survivability of tapered roller bearings, design and evaluation of high contact ratio gearing, finite element analysis of spiral bevel gears, computer numerical control grinding of spiral bevel gears, gear dynamics code validation, computer program for life and reliability of helicopter transmissions, planetary gear train efficiency study, and the Advanced Rotorcraft Transmission (ART) program.

Krantz, Timothy L.↗

OPALCO - Decatur Island Solar and Energy Storage Project: An Assessment of Battery Technical Performance

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is a member-owned, nonprofit cooperative utility that provides energy services to approximately 11,200 customers across 20 islands in San Juan County, Washington. OPALCO’s mostly hydroelectric power is generated by Bonneville Power Administration and delivered to the islands by submarine cables. In 2016, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, OPALCO received a $1 million matching grant to support a project that deployed a 504-kW LG community photovoltaic (PV) system in combination with a 1 MW/2 MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) on Decatur Island, Washington. The Decatur Island Substation is essential to ensuring reliable energy for the residents of the San Juan Islands as it is the point of interconnection with the mainland transmission system. The BESS, in combination with the community solar array, will deliver an innovative method to both defer the costly upgrade of the transmission system and allow for other high-value applications intended to benefit the utility and its customers. In 2018, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed a preliminary economic assessment for several identified use cases in collaboration with OPALCO. Between August 2021 and May 2022, extensive testing was conducted, and the results were used to assess the technical performance of the BESS subjected to actual field operations. Both reference performance and use case tests were performed: (a) Reference performance tests assess the general technical capabilities of the BESS, such as energy capacity, round-trip efficiency (RTE), ramp rate, and signal tracking capability. These are the first tests performed (baseline) and are repeated after use case tests (post cycle). A standardized U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage performance protocol was used to characterize the BESS, including representative duty cycle profiles, test procedure guidance, and calculation guidance for determining key characteristics. (b) Use case tests examine the performance of the BESS for specific use cases using duty cycles developed by PNNL in collaboration with OPALCO. Four use cases were selected for testing: 1) demand charge reduction, 2) load shaping, 3) outage mitigation, and 4) transmission deferral. The use case duty cycles were developed based on utility and site-specific characteristics in addition to the technical characteristics and physical capabilities of the BESS. Use case tests were performed between the baseline and post cycle tests. This report describes the BESS and its components, presents testing and performance analysis results, and shares key insights and lessons learned from this project. Outcomes of the tests and analyses will help OPALCO understand the performance of the Decatur Island BESS in its current state and design appropriate operational strategies for this and other BESSs over the long term.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗