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At least 415 records · Page 23

Oscillation Risks of Grid-Following and Grid-Forming Inverter-Based Resources in Series-Compensated Networks

Here, this paper investigates the dynamic behavior of a grid-connected inverter-based resource (IBR) when connected radially to a series compensated line. Potential interactions between the series compensation and the IBR have been identified for both types: grid-following (GFL) or grid-forming (GFM). The study begins with electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations to demonstrate stability issues. Subsequently, nonlinear analytical models are formulated in the dq frame, validated against the EMT simulation, and leveraged to assess eigenvalues and participation factors. Influencing factors of the dominant oscillation modes have been identified. The analysis results show that series compensation may make a mode associated with the synchronization unit unstable. Furthermore, customized feedback systems are built for the synchronizing loop. Series compensation can increase the sensitivity of the voltage phase angle towards the synchronizing angle, and introduce phase lag in the real power response towards the synchronizing angle. These factors may cause interactions with the phase-locked loop in GFL-IBR systems and with power-based synchronization in GFM-IBR systems, potentially leading to instability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Enzyme kinetics by GH7 cellobiohydrolases on chromogenic substrates is dictated by non‐productive binding: insights from crystal structures and MD simulation

Cellobiohydrolases (CBHs) in the glycoside hydrolase family 7 (GH7) ( EC3.2.1.176 ) are the major cellulose degrading enzymes both in industrial settings and in the context of carbon cycling in nature. Small carbohydrate conjugates such as p‐ nitrophenyl‐β‐ d ‐cellobioside (pNPC), p‐ nitrophenyl‐β‐ d ‐lactoside (pNPL) and methylumbelliferyl‐β‐ d ‐cellobioside have commonly been used in colorimetric and fluorometric assays for analysing activity of these enzymes. Despite the similar nature of these compounds the kinetics of their enzymatic hydrolysis vary greatly between the different compounds as well as among different enzymes within the GH7 family. Through enzyme kinetics, crystallographic structure determination, molecular dynamics simulations, and fluorometric binding studies using the closely related compound o‐nitrophenyl‐β‐ d ‐cellobioside (oNPC), in this work we examine the different hydrolysis characteristics of these compounds on two model enzymes of this class, TrCel7A from Trichoderma reesei and PcCel7D from Phanerochaete chrysosporium . Protein crystal structures of the E212Q mutant of TrCel7A with pNPC and pNPL, and the wildtype TrCel7A with oNPC, reveal that non‐productive binding at the product site is the dominating binding mode for these compounds. Enzyme kinetics results suggest the strength of non‐productive binding is a key determinant for the activity characteristics on these substrates, with PcCel7D consistently showing higher turnover rates ( k cat ) than TrCel7A, but higher Michaelis–Menten ( K M ) constants as well. Furthermore, oNPC turned out to be useful as an active‐site probe for fluorometric determination of the dissociation constant for cellobiose on TrCel7A but could not be utilized for the same purpose on PcCel7D, likely due to strong binding to an unknown site outside the active site.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Direct Numerical Simulation of Partial Fuel Stratification Assisted Lean Premixed Combustion for Assessment of Hybrid G-Equation/Well-Stirred Reactor Model

Partial fuel stratification (PFS) is a promising fuel injection strategy to stabilize lean premixed combustion in spark-ignition (SI) engines. PFS creates a locally stratified mixture by injecting a fraction of the fuel, just before spark timing, into the engine cylinder containing homogeneous lean fuel/air mixture. Further, this locally stratified mixture, when ignited, results in complex flame structure and propagation modes similar to partially premixed flames and allows for faster and more stable flame propagation than a homogeneous lean mixture. This study focuses on understanding the detailed flame structures associated with PFS-assisted lean premixed combustion. First, a two-dimensional direct numerical simulation (DNS) is performed using detailed fuel chemistry, experimental pressure trace, and realistic initial conditions mapped from a prior engine large-eddy simulation (LES), replicating practical lean SI operating conditions. DNS results suggest that the conventional triple flame structure is prevalent during the initial stage of flame kernel growth. Both premixed and nonpremixed combustion modes are present with the premixed mode contributing dominantly to the total heat release. Detailed analysis further reveals the effects of flame stretch and fuel pyrolysis on flame displacement speed. Based on the DNS findings, the accuracy of a hybrid G-equation/well-stirred reactor (WSR) combustion model is assessed for the PFS-assisted lean operation in the LES context. It is found that the G-equation model qualitatively captures the premixed branches of the triple flame, while the WSR model predicts the nonpremixed branch of the triple flame. Finally, potential needs for improvements to the hybrid G-equation/WSR modeling approach are discussed.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

The CanBikeCO Mini Pilot: Preliminary Results and Lessons Learned

In fall 2020, the Colorado Energy Office, as part of the State of Colorado’s “Can Do Colorado” initiative, initiated a project aimed at encouraging energy-efficient transportation during the COVID-19 pandemic. The initial mini-pilot provided e-bikes to 13 low-income households under an individual ownership model. This report assesses the impact of providing this additional mobility option on the travel behavior of participants. It also outlines the lessons learned from deploying a continuous monitoring platform to track the travel behavior. These lessons will influence the evaluation component for the full pilot, which will cover multiple geographic regions, starting in summer 2021, and run for 2 years. The continuous data collection was enabled by a customized version of the open-source e-mission platform, called CanBikeCO, configured with a behavioral gamification feature. The Colorado Energy Office used this system to collect a unique data set consisting of 3 months of partially automated travel diaries, combining sensed and surveyed data and linked with demographic information, from 12 participants. The data collection process worked well overall: users generally liked the app, appreciated the game, and did not complain about battery life. The long tracking period introduced behavioral challenges in user engagement, which we plan to address using repeated patterns and automated status checks for the full pilot. The analysis results, based on the subset of trips with user-reported labels (68%), indicate that the e-bike was the dominant commute mode share (31%), in sharp contrast to the census bicycle commute mode share (<1%). E-bike trips primarily replaced single-occupancy vehicle (SOV) trips (28%), followed closely by walking (24%) and regular bike (20%). The nonmotorized mode replacement corresponds to lower travel time and increased productivity enabled by the program. The emissions impact analysis of the program, computed using trip-level energy intensity factors, indicates savings of 1,367 lbs. of CO 2 . Although the results are strongly positive, the narrow demographic profile of study participants, their limited mobility alternatives, and nonuniform labeling indicate caution in broader interpretation. These preliminary results do suggest that such programs, supported by real-time education and support from program managers, can simultaneously meet equity and sustainability goals. The planned full pilot, addressing the data collection challenges and broadening the geographic scope, will provide additional insights into the generality of this approach.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Wind Turbine Drivetrain Reliability [Slides]

Pitch bearings, main bearings, and gearboxes in conventional wind turbine drivetrains often do not meet their 20-year minimum specified lifetime, resulting in turbine downtime as well as expensive, time-consuming repairs or replacements. The dominant failure modes of the drivetrain components and the conditions that lead to their failure are not fully accounted for during product design or routinely modeled for life management. Drivetrain reliability improvements and O&M cost reductions remain top priorities for both land-based and offshore wind turbines, especially as wind turbines continue to be deployed in increasingly remote and offshore locations, continue to increase in size, and are becoming expected to be in service beyond their original design life, all of which correspond to an increase in the impact of any reliability issues on O&M costs. This presentation summarizes the most recent activities by NREL and ANL on drivetrain reliability.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Muon Decay Study at NSRL

A muon is an unstable subatomic particle, classified as a lepton according to the Standard Model. Muons are charged leptons with 1/2 spin. They were discovered by Neddermeyer and Anderson from hadronic cosmic ray showers. Figure 1 provides a visual representation of a cosmic ray shower in Earth’s atmosphere. At a height of 50 000 m in the atmosphere, a primary cosmic ray (mainly protons, helium, a heavy nucleus or a gamma ray) interacts with a gas molecule. The striking of a gas molecule creates a cosmic ray shower, where the energy of the primary particle is distributed among many secondary particles and gamma rays. With each interaction, the cosmic ray particles in the shower lose energy but distribute this energy among a higher number of particles. From the initial interaction, primarily heavy nuclei and pions are generated. Heavy nuclei will interact with gas molecules to produce protons, gamma rays, electrons and pions. The dominant decay mode of neutral pions is to two gamma rays, while charged pions decay to a muon and a neutrino (equation 1): $π^+ → µ^+$ + $\overline ν$ $_µ$; $π → µ$ $^-$ + $\overline v$ $_µ$.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Light long-lived particles at colliders

Searches for long-lived particles (LLPs) are a rapidly expanding frontier at the LHC and other collider experiments. Still, many gaps remain in the current search program, in particular for LLPs with masses at the GeV or sub-GeV scale and with very large decay lengths. In this talk, I will illustrate two different approaches to filling this gap by discussing two models of light LLPs and their associated collider signals. First, I will show that the dominant decay mode of vectorlike leptons can be a very long-lived pseudoscalar and a tau lepton and argue that the muon chambers of CMS or ATLAS are ideal places to search for this final state. Second, I will illustrate the excellent sensitivity of Belle II to light LLPs with meter-scale decay lengths using the example of displaced vertex signals from strongly interacting dark sectors.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Develop and Connect TRISO Failure Analysis and Uncertainty Quantification to Fission Product Release Calculation Capability

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Nuclear Energy Advanced Modeling and Simulation (NEAMS) program aims to develop predictive capabilities by applying computational methods to the analysis and design of advanced reactor and fuel cycle systems. This program has been providing engineering-scale support for the development of BISON, a high-fidelity and high-resolution fuel performance tool. Stress-based failure probability has been developed and analyzed to assess the integrity of tri-structural isotropic (TRISO) fuel particles during fuel life cycles. While simple, stress-based approaches to failure probability leveraging the Weibull statistical distribution entails a number of drawbacks when stress concentration occurs near crack tips, including finite element mesh size dependency. In this report, we use an interaction integral approach to the computation of stress intensity factors in functionally graded materials (FGM) for axisymmetric models. The inner pyrolytic carbon (IPyC) cracking induced silicon carbide (SiC) failure is one of the dominated failure modes in TRISO failure analysis. In this study, we consider a crack in the IPyC layer perpendicular to the SiC layer. The interface between these two TRISO layers is considered to be porous, which we simulate considering a transition of mechanical properties over the porous length. These aspects are considered in the computation of stress intensity factor (SIF) from a fracture mechanics approach and compared with the known stress-based failure probability approach.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Analysis of Deformation and Fracture Mechanisms in the Harvested High-Dose Baffle-Former Bolt with Stress-Corrosion Cracks Formed While in Service

This report presents the results of advanced mechanical testing conducted on miniature tensile specimens excised from an irradiated baffle-former bolt, a commercial pressurized water reactor component. The specimens were extracted from the midsection of the bolt shank, where the estimated damage dose reached 23 displacements per atom. The mechanical testing included the following tests: (1) conventional tensile testing at room temperature, augmented by digital image correlation (DIC) to enable noncontact strain measurements, and (2) in situ tensile testing within a scanning electron microscopy (SEM) instrument equipped with energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) detectors to evaluate active deformation and fracture mechanisms. Additionally, SEM fractographic analysis revealed alterations in the fracture mechanism from a predominantly ductile fracture in nonirradiated steel to a mixed fracture mode (still dominating ductile and minor cleavage spots) in irradiated specimens derived from the baffle bolts. The findings indicate a complex strain localization behavior for in-service irradiated steel specimens. Beyond conventional necking at the macro scale and defect-free channel formation at the micro scale, DIC results identified the presence of deformation bands approximately 100 μm in width. These bands consist of chains of grains exhibiting elevated local strain levels and may be considered an intermediate or mesoscale level of strain localization. These bands become discernible near the yield stress as localized hot spots, areas of elevated strain, persisting throughout most of the experiment. The formation of mesoscale deformation bands as a strain localization mechanism may exacerbate the defect-free channel formation in irradiated materials, further promoting irradiation-assisted stress corrosion crack initiation.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Raindrop Size Spectrum in Deep Convective Regions of the Americas

This study compared drop size distribution (DSD) measurements on the surfaces, the corresponding properties, and the precipitation modes among three deep convective regions within the Americas. The measurement compilation corresponded to two sites in the midlatitudes: the U.S. Southern Great Plains and Córdoba Province in subtropical South America, as well as to one site in the tropics: Manacapuru in central Amazonia; these are all areas where intense rain-producing systems contribute to the majority of rainfall in the Americas’ largest river basins. This compilation included two types of disdrometers (Parsivel and 2D-Video Disdrometer) that were used at the midlatitude sites and one type of disdrometer (Parsivel) that was deployed at the tropical site. The distributions of physical parameters (such as rain rate R, mass-weighted mean diameter D m , and normalized droplet concentration N w ) for the raindrop spectra without rainfall mode classification seemed similar, except for the much broader N w distributions in Córdoba. The raindrop spectra were then classified into a light precipitation mode and a precipitation mode by using a cutoff at 0.5 mm h -1 based on previous studies that characterized the full drop size spectra. These segregated rain modes are potentially unique relative to previously studied terrain-influenced sites. In the light precipitation and precipitation modes, the dominant higher frequency observed in a broad distribution of N w in both types of disdrometers and the identification of shallow light precipitation in vertically pointing cloud radar data represent unique characteristics of the Córdoba site relative to the others. As a result, the co-variability between the physical parameters of the DSD indicates that the precipitation observed in Córdoba may confound existing methods of determining the rain type by using the drop size distribution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Determining the Structure of Rotating Massive Stellar Cores with Gravitational Waves

The gravitational wave (GW) signal resulting from stellar core collapse encodes a wealth of information about the physical parameters of the progenitor star and the resulting core-collapse supernova (CCSN). We present a novel approach to constrain CCSN progenitor properties at collapse using two of the most detectable parts of the GW signal: the core-bounce signal and evolution of the dominant frequency mode from the protoneutron star. We focus on the period after core bounce but before explosion and investigate the predictive power of GWs from rotating CCSNe to constrain properties of the progenitor star. We analyze 34 2D and four 3D neutrino-radiation-hydrodynamic simulations of stellar core collapse in progenitors of varied initial mass and rotation rate. Extending previous work, we verify the compactness of the progenitor at collapse to correlate with the early ramp-up slope, and in rotating cases, also with the core angular momentum. Combining this information with the bounce signal, we present a new analysis method to constrain the pre-collapse core compactness of the progenitor. Because these GW features occur less than a second after core bounce, this analysis could allow astronomers to predict electromagnetic properties of a resulting CCSN even before shock breakout.

Astronomy & Astrophysics↗

Temporal Properties of Compressible Magnetohydrodynamic Turbulence

Describing the temporal properties of compressible magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence is a fundamental problem that has important implications for particle acceleration and transport in astrophysical plasmas. Here, by carefully analyzing the spatial and temporal properties of compressible MHD turbulence, we derive a new spectral power density function that is supported by simulations. This new function reveals that the low-frequency fluctuations are dominated by modes with small parallel wavenumbers with respect to the mean background magnetic field. Furthermore, for fluctuations with dynamically significant parallel wavenumbers, broadening around their eigenfrequencies is described by this function, which is in close agreement with simulations. We use this formalism to present the scaling properties of individual MHD modes. Such broadening is a direct consequence of nonlinear processes and is different for the three fundamental MHD modes. Our results provide a new window to investigate the temporal properties of turbulence and will enable further studies on the interaction between compressible MHD turbulence and energetic plasmas.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Role of phonons in the metal-insulator phase transition.

Review, for the transition series oxides, of the Mattis and Lander model, which is one of electrons interacting with lattice vibrations (electron and phonon interaction). The model displays superconducting, insulating, and metallic phases. Its basic properties evolve from a finite crystallographic distortion associated with a dominant phonon mode and the splitting of the Brillouin zone into two subzones, a property of simple cubic and body centered cubic lattices. The order of the metal-insulator phase transition is examined. The basic model has a second-order phase transition and the effects of additional mechanisms on the model are calculated. The way in which these mechanisms affect the magnetically ordered transition series oxides as described by the Hubbard model is discussed.

Langer, W. D.↗

Nonlinear resonances in a class of multi-degree-of-freedom systems

An analysis is presented of the superharmonic, subharmonic, and combination resonances in a multi-degree-of-freedom system which has cubic nonlinearity and modal viscous damping and is subject to harmonic excitation. It is shown that, in the absence of internal resonances, the steady-state response contains only the modes which are directly excited. It is shown that, in the presence of internal resonances, modes other than those that are directly excited can appear in the response. The strong influence of internal resonances is exhibited in numerical examples involving hinged-clamped beams. It is shown that when a multimode solution exists the lowest mode can dominate the response, even when it is not directly excited.

Sridhar, S.↗

A temperature dependent fatigue failure criterion for graphite/epoxy laminates

A fatigue failure criterion applicable to composite materials is developed and applied to predict the fatigue behavior of graphite/epoxy laminates with particular emphasis on the influence of temperature. Tensile stress-strain curves and tension-tension fatigue curves for various unidirectional, angle-ply and symmetrically balanced laminates were developed at test temperatures of 25 C, 74 C, and 114 C. For most laminates a reduction in both static strength and fatigue strength is observed with increasing temperature. This reduction appeared more severe in fatigue loading than in static tensile loading and most severe where the shear stress in the lamina is the dominate failure mode. Through an analytical formulation of shifting functions for the influences of temperature, all fatigue data are shown to be capable of being reduced to a single reference curve at some temperature. Examples are given which demonstrate the capability of the fatigue failure criterion to predict failure of complex symmetrically balanced laminates from relevant parameters obtained from the observed behavior of unidirectional and angle-ply laminates.

Rotem, A.↗

Human comfort response to dominant random motions in longitudinal modes of aircraft motion

The effects of random vertical and longitudinal accelerations and pitching velocity passenger ride comfort responses were examined on the NASA Langley Visual Motion Simulator. Effects of power spectral density shape were studied for motions where the peak was between 0 and 2 Hz. The subjective rating data and the physical motion data obtained are presented without interpretation or detailed analysis. There existed motions in all other degrees of freedom as well as the particular pair of longitudinal airplane motions studied. These unwanted motions, caused by the characteristics of the simulator may have introduced some interactive effects on passenger responses.

Stone, R. W., Jr.↗

A temperature dependent fatigue failure criterion for graphite/epoxy laminates

A fatigue failure criterion applicable to composite materials is developed and applied to predict the fatigue behavior of graphite/epoxy laminates with particular emphasis on the influence of temperature. Tensile stress-strain curves and tension-tension fatigue curves for various unidirectional, angle-ply and symmetrically balanced laminates were developed at test temperatures of 25 C, 74 C and 114 C. In general for most laminates a reduction in both static strength and fatigue strength is observed with increasing temperature. This reduction appeared more severe in fatigue loading than in static tensile loading and most severe where the shear stress in the lamina is the dominant failure mode. Through an analytical formulation of shifting functions for the influences of temperature, all fatigue data are shown to be capable of being reduced to a single reference curve at some temperature. Additionally, examples are given which demonstrate the capability of the fatigue failure criterion to predict failure of complex symmetrically balanced laminates from relevant parameters obtained from the observed behavior of unidirectional and angle-ply laminates.

Rotem, A.↗

Failure mechanics in low-velocity impacts on thin composite plates

Eight-ply quasi-isotropic composite plates of Thornel 300 graphite in Narmco 5208 epoxy resin (T300/5208) were tested to establish the degree of equivalence between low-velocity impact and static testing. Both the deformation and failure mechanics under impact were representable by static indentation tests. Under low-velocity impacts such as tool drops, the dominant deformation mode of the plates was the first, or static, mode. Higher modes are excited on contact, but they decay significantly by the time the first-mode load reaches a maximum. The delamination patterns were observed by X-ray analysis. The areas of maximum delamination patterns were observed by X-ray analysis. The areas of maximum delamination coincided with the areas of highest peel stresses. The extent of delamination was similar for static and impact tests. Fiber failure damage was established by tensile tests on small fiber bundles obtained by deplying test specimens. The onset of fiber damage was in internal plies near the lower surface of the plates. The distribution and amount of fiber damage was similar fo impact and static tests.

Elber, W.↗