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At least 397 records · Page 22

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DOE OSTI2022

Optimal Gas-Electric Energy System Decarbonization Planning

As energy utilities implement climate change mitigation policies, system planners require strategies for achieving affordable emissions reductions. Coordinated planning of electric power and natural gas systems will allow synergistic investments to address cross-sector operational constraints, competing uses for net-zero emissions fuels, and shifts in energy demands across energy carriers. In this study, we develop a novel optimization program that finds the cost-minimizing mix of infrastructure expansion or reduction across gas and electric systems to satisfy sector-specific emissions constraints. Alongside energy supply resources, our framework allows for central-planning of end-use equipment stocks to allow switching between gas and electric appliances upon failure or premature replacement. The proposed model is used to simulate case study scenarios for a benchmark 24-pipe gas network coupled to a 24-node power system test network. We find that electrification of greater than 80% of core gas demands is a component of the least-cost solution for modeled energy systems. Despite this substitution, the gas system is maintained to service difficult-to-electrify customers and to deliver net-zero emissions gas to electricity generators in times of peak electricity demand. Restricting electrification of gas appliances increases reliance on power- to-gas technologies and increases annual costs by 15% in 2040. Neglecting constraints on pipeline blending of hydrogen can produce a misleading result that relies on hydrogen blend fractions of greater than 50%. In all cases, we find the average costs of delivered gas increase nearly 5-fold across the decarbonization transition, highlighting the importance of future work investigating cost-allocation strategies for ensuring an equitable energy transition.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

DOE OSTI2022

Data-driven based coordinated smart inverter control for distributed energy resources

Smart inverters (SI) for distributed energy resources (DER) are becoming popular since they have the ability to stabilize as well as restore the voltage and frequency of power systems. Aiming at establishing the mathematical models combined with SI control methods, multiple optimization methods are developed. However, the computational complexity of solving such a mathematical model with various uncertainties limits the real-time application of the SI control. To conquer this challenge, a data-driven-based SI control approach is developed to achieve coordinated control in the high penetration DER system. First, an optimization problem for maximizing the active power generation and minimizing the power loss is designed using the Volt/VAR control. To reduce the time consumption, the recurrent neural network (RNN) is proposed to model the relationship between the uncertainties and control actions during the offline site. The RNN with different sub-structures such as the long short-term memory cell and gated recurrent unit cell are included to enrich the diversity of features. In the last stage, different experiment comparisons, including multiple uncertainties maps and stateof- art machine learning methods, are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method based on the IEEE 123 bus power system. The results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively achieve a rapid and coordinated control with a lower error rate.

Qiu, Wei↗

NASA NTRS1993

Adjoint methods for aerodynamic wing design

A model inverse design problem is used to investigate the effect of flow discontinuities on the optimization process. The optimization involves finding the cross-sectional area distribution of a duct that produces velocities that closely match a targeted velocity distribution. Quasi-one-dimensional flow theory is used, and the target is chosen to have a shock wave in its distribution. The objective function which quantifies the difference between the targeted and calculated velocity distributions may become non-smooth due to the interaction between the shock and the discretization of the flowfield. This paper offers two techniques to resolve the resulting problems for the optimization algorithms. The first, shock-fitting, involves careful integration of the objective function through the shock wave. The second, coordinate straining with shock penalty, uses a coordinate transformation to align the calculated shock with the target and then adds a penalty proportional to the square of the distance between the shocks. The techniques are tested using several popular sensitivity and optimization methods, including finite-differences, and direct and adjoint discrete sensitivity methods. Two optimization strategies, Gauss-Newton and sequential quadratic programming (SQP), are used to drive the objective function to a minimum.

Grossman, Bernard↗

NASA NTRS2019

MSL relay coordination and tactical planning in the era of InSight, MAVEN, and TGO

This study examines an approach for optimizing the scheduling of regular relay communications between the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) rover and the non-sun-synchronous Mars orbiters MAVEN and TGO as well as the impacts of the approaching InSight landing on MSL relay and tactical planning. Rover operations require knowledge of recently executed activities, termed decisional data, in order to inform tactical activity planning. As a result, timely and routine data return is critical for nominal rover operations. Mars orbiters are used as relay assets to achieve such timeliness.

Thomas, Steven↗

NASA NTRS1987

Nonlinear feedback control of multiple robot arms

Multiple coordinated robot arms are modeled by considering the arms: (1) as closed kinematic chains, and (2) as a force constrained mechanical system working on the same object simultaneously. In both formulations a new dynamic control method is discussed. It is based on a feedback linearization and simultaneous output decoupling technique. Applying a nonlinear feedback and a nonlinear coordinate transformation, the complicated model of the multiple robot arms in either formulation is converted into a linear and output decoupled system. The linear system control theory and optimal control theory are used to design robust controllers in the task space. The first formulation has the advantage of automatically handling the coordination and load distribution among the robot arms. In the second formulation, by choosing a general output equation, researchers can superimpose the position and velocity error feedback with the force-torque error feedback in the task space simultaneously.

Tarn, T. J.↗

NASA NTRS1988

New nonlinear control algorithms for multiple robot arms

Multiple coordinated robot arms are modeled by considering the arms as closed kinematic chains and as a force-constrained mechanical system working on the same object simultaneously. In both formulations, a novel dynamic control method is discussed. It is based on feedback linearization and simultaneous output decoupling technique. By applying a nonlinear feedback and a nonlinear coordinate transformation, the complicated model of the multiple robot arms in either formulation is converted into a linear and output decoupled system. The linear system control theory and optimal control theory are used to design robust controllers in the task space. The first formulation has the advantage of automatically handling the coordination and load distribution among the robot arms. In the second formulation, it was found that by choosing a general output equation it became possible simultaneously to superimpose the position and velocity error feedback with the force-torque error feedback in the task space.

Tarn, T. J.↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Optimal Control Allocation for Distributed Electric Propulsion in A Series/Parallel Partial Hybrid Powertrain

The SUbsonic Single Aft eNgine (SUSAN) Electrofan is a NASA concept transport aircraft representative of technology anticipated for a 2040 entry-into-service date. The powertrain consists of a single thrust-producing geared turbofan engine with generators driving a series/parallel partial hybrid power/propulsion system. The architecture includes 16 underwing contrarotating fans, eight on each side. The distributed fans can be used by the flight control system to augment or replace the rudder function. This paper sets up the optimal control problem of setpoint determination for individual wingfans in the distributed propulsion system, accounting for electrical string efficiencies, saturations, and failures. The solution minimizes power consumption while maintaining thrust and torque on the airframe for maneuvering. Additionally, thrust that would have been lost due to temporary fan speed or power saturation is optimally redistributed to maintain overall desired thrust and torque on the aircraft. A simulation of a coordinated turn utilizing the distributed electric propulsion for yaw rate control in a multiple wingfan failure scenario demonstrates the robustness of the powertrain design to failures and helps define its limitations.

Distributed Electric Propulsion↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Optimal Control Allocation for Distributed Electric Propulsion in A Series/Parallel Partial Hybrid Powertrain

Distributed Electric Propulsion↗

NASA NTRS2018

Numerically Optimized Coronagraph Designs for the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx) Concept

The primary science goal of the Habitable Exoplanet Imaging Mission (HabEx), one of four candidate ﬂagship missions under investigation, is to image and spectrally characterize Earth-like exoplanets. It is well known that pupil obscurations degrade coronagraphic performance and complicate coronagraph design, so HabEx is planned to have an oﬀ-axis, unobscured primary mirror. We utilize the circular symmetry of the aperture to investigate 1D-radial coronagraph optimization methods that are prohibitively time-consuming or intractable in 2D, such as diﬀractive pupil remapping and concurrent, multi-plane optimization. We also directly constrain sensitivities to dynamic, low-order Zernike aberrations, which are separable in polar coordinates and can thus be propagated as 1D-radial integrals. The mask technologies in our designs claim heritage from the extensive modeling and testbed experiments performed by the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) project. In this paper, we detail our optimization methods and outline future work to complete our design survey.

Balasubramaian, Kunjithapatham↗

DOE OSTI2021

Origin of enhanced water oxidation activity in an iridium single atom anchored on NiFe oxyhydroxide catalyst

The efficiency of the synthesis of renewable fuels and feedstocks from electrical sources is limited, at present, by the sluggish water oxidation reaction. Single-atom catalysts (SACs) with a controllable coordination environment and exceptional atom utilization efficiency open new paradigms toward designing high-performance water oxidation catalysts. Here, using operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy measurements with calculations of spectra and electrochemical activity, we demonstrate that the origin of water oxidation activity of IrNiFe SACs is the presence of highly oxidized Ir single atom (Ir 5.3+ ) in the NiFe oxyhydroxide under operating conditions. We show that the optimal water oxidation catalyst could be achieved by systematically increasing the oxidation state and modulating the coordination environment of the Ir active sites anchored atop the NiFe oxyhydroxide layers. Based on the proposed mechanism, we have successfully anchored Ir single-atom sites on NiFe oxyhydroxides (Ir 0.1 /Ni 9 Fe SAC) via a unique in situ cryogenic–photochemical reduction method that delivers an overpotential of 183 mV at 10 mA · cm – 2 and retains its performance following 100 h of operation in 1 M KOH electrolyte, outperforming the reported catalysts and the commercial IrO 2 catalysts. These findings open the avenue toward an atomic-level understanding of the oxygen evolution of catalytic centers under in operando conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2026

Effect of Solvent on the Local Structure, Dynamics, and Vibrational Density of States in Sn-BEA Zeolite

Lewis acid zeolites are attractive catalysts for epoxidation and biomass valorization, as they are highly active and selective in the liquid phase and can operate at or near ambient conditions. While a rich experimental literature exists on liquid-phase Lewis acid zeolite catalysis, our understanding of the molecular organization and solvent dynamics in the vicinity of Lewis acid sites with differing metal site speciation remains limited. In this work, we investigate the molecular coordination and diffusion of two common solvents (methanol and water) around the closed and open Sn-BEA zeolite active sites using molecular dynamics simulations with a machine-learned interatomic potential trained on ab initio molecular dynamics trajectories. Molecular dynamics simulations reveal that introducing active sites significantly enhances local order in the first and second solvation shells compared to the pure silica case. For methanol, both closed and open active sites are singly coordinated, while more than two water molecules coordinate the open site. In contrast to methanol, we observed that water molecules dissociate, leading to the formation of additional Sn-OH and silanol groups away from the active site. The diffusion coefficients of water and methanol are functions of the solvent population in the pore. Here, our work provides insights into how active site speciation in Lewis acid zeolites affects solvent coordination, diffusion, and vibrational signature. This information is foundational for catalyst design and optimization of liquid-phase catalytic processes in zeolites. It also demonstrates the suitability of machine-learned interatomic potentials for modeling reactive systems, enabling sufficiently long trajectories for appropriate statistical averaging.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2022

Pt Atomic Single-Layer Catalyst Embedded in Defect-Enriched Ceria for Efficient CO Oxidation

The local coordination structure of metal sites essentially determines the performance of supported metal catalysts. Here, using a surface defect enrichment strategy, we successfully fabricated Pt atomic single-layer (Pt ASL ) structures with 100% metal dispersion and precisely controlled local coordination environment (embedded vs adsorbed) derived from Pt single-atoms (Pt 1 ) on ceria-alumina supports. The local coordination environment of Pt 1 not only governs its catalytic activity but also determines the Pt 1 structure evolution upon reduction activation. For CO oxidation, the highest turnover frequency can be achieved on the embedded Pt ASL in the CeO 2 lattice, which is 3.5 times of that on the adsorbed Pt ASL on the CeO 2 surface and 10–70 times of that on Pt1. The favorable CO adsorption on embedded Pt ASL and improved activation/reactivity of lattice oxygen within CeO 2 effectively facilitate the CO oxidation. This work provides new insights for the precise control of the local coordination structure of active metal sites for achieving 100% atomic utilization efficiency and optimal intrinsic catalytic activity for targeted reactions simultaneously.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Mesoscale Design of Magnetoelectric Heterostructures and Nanocomposites

Multiferroic materials have a coexistence of at least two ferroic orders. The coupling interaction between the different order parameters can produce new phenomena, such as the magnetoelectric (ME) effect. The ME response is the appearance of an electric polarization P upon applying a magnetic field H, and/or vice versa. Magnetoelectricity has been observed as an intrinsic effect in some natural materials at low temperature; however, such single phase materials suffer from extremely weak ME exchange. Better alternatives are two-phase composites consisting of magnetostrictive and piezoelectric phases, which have been shown to have large ME coefficients. Said composites exploit a unique product ME tensor property that depends upon the individual strictions of the piezoelectric and magnetostrictive phases, the elastic stiffness and integrity of the interphase interfaces, the phase distribution and the dimensionality of its connectivity, and any elastic constraint; amongst other things. This research program between D. Viehland PI and S.Priya at Virginia Tech investigated the mesoscale physics and chemistry of such two-phase ME heterostructures. The results of the proposed research are relevant to new generations of multifunctional materials involving heterogeneous components. How the product ME property be optimized? The answers lies with the interphase-interfaces, where the atomic layers coordinate stress transfer from one phase to another. It was the primary goal of this research program to discover such fundamental relationship for two phase ME heterostructures and nanocomposites. This research program integrated all the components required to fully investigate the ME phenomenon: starting from synthesis of nanomaterials with diversified interfacial characteristics; to full electrical, magnetic, and structural characterizations.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

NASA NTRS1979

Design, development, and test of a laser velocimeter for a small 8:1 pressure ratio centrifugal compressor

The instrument was designed as a diagnostic tool for the basic fluid dynamics of the inducer, impeller, and diffuser regions of this type compressor. The LV instrumentation was optimized to measure instantaneous velocities up to approximately 500 m/s, measured in absolute coordinates, within the rotating compressor impeller and in the two dimensional radial plane of the diffuser. Some measurements were made within the diffuser and the impeller inlet flows; however, attempts to make detailed measurements of the velocity field were not successful. Difficulties in maintaining high seed particle rates within the probe volume and the improper operation of the blade gating optics may explain the lack of success. Recommendations are made to further pursue these problems. At 100% speed the stage attained a total static pressure ratio of 7.5:1 at 75% total-static efficiency. Flow range from choke-to-surge was 6.8% of choking mass flow rate. Performance was lower than the design intent of 8:1 pressure ratio at 77% efficiency and 12% flow range. Detailed measurements of the stage components are presented which show the reasons for the stage performance deficiencies.

Dolan, F. X.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Computational methods for hypersonic viscous flow over finite ellipsoid-cones at incidence

A numerical method, which is simpler than others currently in use, is proposed for determining the full viscous flow over a finite body in hypersonic stream at high altitude. It treats the shock layer surrounding the blunt foebody and the near wake behind the base simultaneously by formulating the Navier-Stokes equations in conformal and azimuthal-angle coordinates. The computational domain is confined to the body wall, outflow surface and the bow shock, which is adjusted along the coordinate normal to the wall in the course of iterations. Because of the optimal grid and a well developed alternating direction implicit factorization technique for the governing equations, reasonably accurate results can be obtained on a 30 by 36 by 6 grid with 400 time-marching iterations. Results for body shapes belonging to the ellipsoid-cone family are compared with the experimental data for the Apollo command module and the Viking aeroshell. Validation of the method based on self-consistency is also discussed.

Li, C. P.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Numerical procedure for three-dimensional hypersonic viscous flow over aerobrake configuration

A numerical method, which is simpler and more efficient than others currently in use, is proposed for the computation of the full viscous flow over an aerobrake body in hypersonic stream at high altitude. It treats the shock layer surrounding the blunt forebody and the near wake behind the base simultaneously by formulating the Navier-Stokes equations in conformal and azimuthal-angle coordinates. The computational domain is confined by the body wall, outflow surface and the shock, which is adjusted along the coordinate normal to the wall in the course of iterations. Because of the optimal grid and a well developed alternating direction implicit factorization technique for the governing equations, reasonably accurate results can be obtained with a 28 x 36 x 7 grid and 400 time-marching iterations. Excellent agreement of shock location is found between the present result and the schlieren photograph. Details of the base flow and shear layer impingement on the cylindrical aft body are presented for an adiabatic wall case.

Li, C. P.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Automatic blocking of nested loops

Blocked algorithms have much better properties of data locality and therefore can be much more efficient than ordinary algorithms when a memory hierarchy is involved. On the other hand, they are very difficult to write and to tune for particular machines. The reorganization is considered of nested loops through the use of known program transformations in order to create blocked algorithms automatically. The program transformations used are strip mining, loop interchange, and a variant of loop skewing in which invertible linear transformations (with integer coordinates) of the loop indices are allowed. Some problems are solved concerning the optimal application of these transformations. It is shown, in a very general setting, how to choose a nearly optimal set of transformed indices. It is then shown, in one particular but rather frequently occurring situation, how to choose an optimal set of block sizes.

Schreiber, Robert↗

NASA NTRS1992

Airborne gravimetry, altimetry, and GPS navigation errors

Proper interpretation of airborne gravimetry and altimetry requires good knowledge of aircraft trajectory. Recent advances in precise navigation with differential GPS have made it possible to measure gravity from the air with accuracies of a few milligals, and to obtain altimeter profiles of terrain or sea surface correct to one decimeter. These developments are opening otherwise inaccessible regions to detailed geophysical mapping. Navigation with GPS presents some problems that grow worse with increasing distance from a fixed receiver: the effect of errors in tropospheric refraction correction, GPS ephemerides, and the coordinates of the fixed receivers. Ionospheric refraction and orbit error complicate ambiguity resolution. Optimal navigation should treat all error sources as unknowns, together with the instantaneous vehicle position. To do so, fast and reliable numerical techniques are needed: efficient and stable Kalman filter-smoother algorithms, together with data compression and, sometimes, the use of simplified dynamics.

Colombo, Oscar L.↗