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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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NASA NTRS2016

Scientific and Technical Assistance for the Deployment of a Flexible Airborne Spectrometer System During C-MAPExp and COMEX: COMEX Version - 1.9T

The COMEX (CO2 and MEthane eXperiment) campaign supports the mission definition of CarbonSat and HyspIRI (Hyperspectral Infrared Imager) by providing representative airborne remote sensing data ‐ MAMAP (Methane Airborne MAPper) for CarbonSat; the Airborne Visual InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (Classic & Next Generation) AVIRIS‐C/AVIRIS‐NG for HyspIRI ‐ as well as ground-based and airborne in‐situ data. The objectives of the COMEX campaign activities are (see Campaign Implementation Plan (RD‐4)): 1. Investigate spatial/spectral resolution trade‐offs for CH4 anomaly detection and flux inversion by comparison of MAMAP‐derived emission estimates with AVIRIS/AVIRIS‐NG derived data. 2. Evaluate sun‐glint observation geometry on CH4 retrievals for marine sources. 3. Characterize the effect of Surface Spectral Reflectance (SSR) heterogeneity on trace gas retrievals of CO2 and CH4 for medium and low‐resolution spectrometry. 4. Identify benefits from joint SWIR/TIR (ShortWave InfraRed/Thermal InfraRed ) data for trace gas detection and retrieval by comparison of MAMAP and AVIRIS/AVIRIS‐NG NIR/SWIR data with MAKO (Aerospace Corp.)TIR data. The ability to derive emission source strength for a range of strong emitting targets by remote sensing will be evaluated from combined AVIRIS‐NG and MAMAP data, adding significant value to the HyspIRI campaign AVIRIS‐NG dataset. The data will be used to quantify anomalies in atmospheric CO2 and CH4 from strong local greenhouse gas sources e.g. localized industrial complexes, landfills, etc. and to derive CO2 and CH4 emissions estimates from atmospheric gradient measurements. The original campaign concept was developed by University of Bremen and BRI. The COMEX campaign is funded bilaterally by NASA and ESA (European Space Agency). Whereas NASA funds the US part of the project via a contract with Dr. Ira Leifer, BRI (Bubbleology Research International), the contribution of MAMAP to the COMEX campaign is funded by ESA within the COMEX‐E project and NASA with respect to a 50 percent contribution to the flight-related costs of flying MAMAP on a US aircraft. The Data Acquisition Report (RD‐9) describes the instrumentation used, the measurements made by the team during the COMEX campaign in May/June 2014 and August/September 2014 in California, and an initial assessment of the data quality.

Point Sources↗
NASA NTRS2019

Aerojet Engineering Corporation: Stimulation and Creation, 1935-1942

There are multiple published accounts of the stimulation and creation of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation that are inconsistent, incomplete, or erroneous in significant details, describing principals involved, timing, and funding of the creation process. This paper corrects the record and offers a well-documented and reliable history of the creation of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. A small group of academic researchers and technicians, joined by an attorney, working at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), accomplished the formation and creation of the corporation. The group of six men incorporated and served as initial officers of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation—Dr. Theodore von Karman; Dr. Frank Malina; Dr. Martin Summerfield; John Parsons; Edward Forman; and a Washington, DC, attorney, Andrew Haley. A government-funded program definition study at Caltech generated a proposal to produce a means of providing superior aircraft performance capabilities using rocketry, often referred to as jet propulsion, due to engineering disrepute of “rocketry" prior to WWII. Caltech successfully conducted flight demonstrations at March Field (Riverside, California) in the summer of 1941, leading Drs. von Karman and Malina to discuss and explore the best method to provide for production of jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) rockets with established industrial leaders, as well as industrial organizational alternatives. Von Karman, Malina, Summerfield, Parsons, and Forman continued these discussions until von Karman decided, in early 1942, to solicit the legal advice of Andrew Haley on how to proceed. After meetings at von Karman's home in Pasadena, on Haley's recommendation and using his volunteered initial corporate funding, it was agreed to incorporate the group. Articles of incorporation were drawn up by Haley and on 19 March 1942 were formally filed with the Delaware Secretary of State, establishing the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. Many accounts previously published have distorted or misreported many of the details of the process followed by the group that created the company. It is intended that this paper will be regarded as a fully researched historical account of the creation of the Aerojet Engineering Corporation. Included are the historical environment, the industrial motivations, descriptions of key players, the role of government, and the ultimate confluence of these factors with the motivation of a champion and the availability of the required resources.

Doyle, Stephen E.↗
NASA NTRS2021

Additive Component Manufacturing

State-of-the-art technology like additive manufacturing has not yet been thoroughly applied to fluid control valves. Many valve manufacturing issues such as flow passage machining, deep hole boring, and bi-metallic joining could successfully be addressed with this new technology. The goal of this project was to apply additive manufacturing technology specifically to the problems that fluid control valves present. In order to properly apply additive manufacturing processes to the design of control valves, the plan was to manufacture samples using metals compatible with low temperature, high pressure oxygen service and then tested. While vetting this project with manufacturers, it was determined that the materials chosen were not ideal for additive manufacturing due to their high reflectivity. Therefore, materials for this project were currently undergoing reevaluation and materials that are better suited for additive manufacturing may be substituted. During FY20, additional alloys were selected that would be both appropriate for high pressure oxygen environments as well appropriate for additive manufacturing processes. However, final bid for manufacturing was six times larger than the available funding for this project. Based on previous additive manufacturing projects, the scope and funding for this project were appropriate, but a suitable manufacturer willing to provide a reasonable proposal, was not found. Therefore, funds were de-obligated for this project, and then re-obligated to augment another FY20 CIF project.

Jonathan Dickey↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Human Specimen Repository: Sample Collection for the Future [#133-000445]

In early 2014, an executive memo was released directing the improvement of the management of and access to scientific collections funded by government resources. In the spirit of this memo, NASA’s Human Research Program (HRP) funded a project to review existing residual samples in long-term storage for viability, identification, and scientific significance. These samples were to be collected in a centralized location and a detailed inventory was to be conducted to create the Human Sample Repository (HSR). HSR would work to review data from over 27,000 samples, from flight research projects dating back to 1998. The samples themselves would be reviewed, re-labeled, and organized into easy to retrieve, long-term storage. In addition to the older residual samples, HSR would expand to include pristine samples from all consenting crew who have flown on International Space Station (ISS) missions. All samples inventoried and managed by HSR are intended for the same purpose; to support future research projects which will utilize advanced technologies or techniques, by providing one-of-a-kind sample collections that can not be replicated. With this mission in mind, HSR will continue to collect residual samples from HRP funded projects and pristine samples from consenting crew, to further build this unique collection and increase the diversity of flight samples available to the scientific community.

Human Specimen Repository↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Overview of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate Small Satellites Programs and Advances in Transformative Science Measurements with Small Satellites

Small satellites have become an accepted platform for enabling high-quality science measurements and observations. NASA missions have leveraged advances in sensor miniaturization, technology innovations, and new small satellite mission architectures to support high spatial and temporal measurements, continuity measurements, and constellations in response to science objectives described in NASA’s Decadal Surveys. Across six divisions of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), over 12 years, SMD has funded 88 CubeSat/ SmallSat Missions and 59 Studies to date. Currently, SMD has 53 small spacecraft science missions (87spacecraft) in implementation or formulation. This paper provides the background of efforts to promote the implementation of small satellites within NASA as a balanced portfolio for the agency’s science, technology, and exploration goals. We include analysis of SmallSat awards and trends funded by SMD through Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES), Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx), and Small Explorer (SMEX) and Medium Explorer (MIDEX) calls over the last 12years. The data source of this assessment is a subset of the NASA SmallSat Coordination Group Database, a collection of all known funded NASA SmallSat and CubeSat missions and studies. This paper also provides an overview of small satellite programs and selected missions from SMD’s divisions: Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Earth Science, and Planetary Science, and describes SMD’s efforts in fostering an incremental and continuous path to achieve high-priority science through transformative science measurements. This paper recognizes the latest observations and trends of the NASA CubeSat / SmallSat Science missions with masses ranging between 1kg to 500kg.

Small Satellites, SMD SmallSat, CubeSat,↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Advances in Transformative Science Measurements with Small Satellites

Small satellites have become an accepted platform for enabling high-quality science measurements and observations. NASA missions have leveraged advances in sensor miniaturization, technology innovations, and new small satellite mission architectures to support high spatial and temporal measurements, continuity measurements, and constellations in response to science objectives described in NASA’s Decadal Surveys. Across six divisions of the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), over 12 years, SMD has funded 88 CubeSat/ SmallSat Missions and 59 Studies to date. Currently, SMD has 53 small spacecraft science missions (87spacecraft) in implementation or formulation. This paper provides the background of efforts to promote the implementation of small satellites within NASA as a balanced portfolio for the agency’s science, technology, and exploration goals. We include analysis of SmallSat awards and trends funded by SMD through Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences (ROSES), Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx), and Small Explorer (SMEX) and Medium Explorer (MIDEX) calls over the last 12years. The data source of this assessment is a subset of the NASA SmallSat Coordination Group Database, a collection of all known funded NASA SmallSat and CubeSat missions and studies. This paper also provides an overview of small satellite programs and selected missions from SMD’s divisions: Astrophysics, Heliophysics, Earth Science, and Planetary Science, and describes SMD’s efforts in fostering an incremental and continuous path to achieve high-priority science through transformative science measurements. This presentation recognizes the latest observations and trends of the NASA CubeSat / SmallSat Science missions with masses ranging between 1kg to 500kg.

Small Satellites, SMD SmallSat, CubeSat↗
NASA NTRS2022

Ideas on the NASA Senior Review and Mission Extension Process

Extended mission budgets fund a significant part of our community, particularly young scientists who in a relatively short time are exposed to a broad range of experiences and opportunities available in space science and other STEM fields. In particular, mission-funded science offers a relatively stable funding stream that enables meaningful mentoring efforts and interactions, including apprenticeships ranging from project management, to mission operations, to data processing and analysis, to hardware and software development, to STEM-related education and outreach. It moreover provides professional contacts that fuel diversity in mission leadership and in the science and technical workforce at-large. Last but not least, it sustains the scientific productivity of NASA’s missions, which constitute major national investments meriting their full exploitation. Budgets cuts, however, are exercising pressure on the science and operations of the extended mission fleet despite being only a small portion of the overall Division budget. The history of Heliophysics has demonstrated that maintaining the operation of missions beyond their prime phase invariably leads to a much deeper knowledge of the original mission science goals, together with new applications often not foreseen during their original design. Their operation as part of the Heliophysics System Observatory (HSO)---a coordinated, 1eliophysics, multipoint observing system of the heliosphere, is a prime example. Some of the first activities undertaken by the Parker Solar Probe and Solar Orbiter missions required recreating the larger context of their new observations by using the diversity of HSO mission capabilities. The marginal cost of maintaining this valuable, working science resource, in the form of both continuing high quality data access and expertise, is small compared to the cost of the original missions or of new missions to achieve similar objectives, making the operation of extended missions, the best “science per dollar” investment in Heliophysics. We argue that reducing both extended mission operations and science budgets will have a ripple effect across the community, including reducing employment and training opportunities for young scientists, to lowering the quality/impact of the Heliophysics Systems Observatory. Instead, we suggest that the proposal process for mission extension should be re-examined. We offer several ideas for reducing costs of extended missions toward maintaining science output and streamlining the management process.

A. Vourlidas↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Status on the Recovery of Voyager Plasma Electron Observations at Jupiter

We give status report on the recovery of Voyager 1 and 2 plasma electron observations during their Jupiter flybys. The plan is to complete this analysis including new results never published before. The original summary data tapes and later datafiles were evidently permanently lost along with our past analysis results of the plasma electron observations except for that shown in previous publications. These summary data tapes included the plasma ion and electron raw datafiles, status words needed to convert data numbers to currents, SEDR data with trajectory and attitude information and magnetic field measurements. In addition to recovering the plasma electron plasma observations (electron intensities and fluid parameters of the thermal and suprathermal electron populations, respectively), the SEDR trajectory information during the out bound passes were lost but fortunately in the past the SEDR files were converted to Spice Kernals, so this unexpected problem was solved. In addition, we had to rewrite our read routines it looked like the previous read routines so the rest of the Fortran code could be used; the Fortran- code had to be modified to work with the latest compilers and computer platforms. We will report on the- status of our work- originally funded under the Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART)program but now being funded by the Internal Scientist Funding Model (ISFM) Exosphere Ionosphere Magnetospheres Modeling (EIMM)program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

E C Sittler Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2023

Reports From EXPORTS Modeling and Data-Mining Activities

EXPORTS -EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing is NASA’s large field campaign focusing on development of a predictive understanding of the export, fate and carbon cycle impacts of the global net primary production. This co-funded program (NSF, private funding1, and international participation) was conceived in 2013, with EXPORTS Science plan published in 2016 (Siegel et al 2016, EXPORTS Writing Team 2015) and its implementation plan finalized in 2016 (EXPORTS Science Definition Team 2016). More details are presented in Siegel et al (2021). EXPORTS campaign is structured as a multiyear effort (Figure 1). It started with “Pre-EXPORTS” modeling and data-mining activity followed by a first phase with two major field programs and a second synthesis and modeling phase. The “Pre-EXPORTS” projects, total of 6 of them (Table 1), funded under A.3 Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry 2015 call, helped to plan the field campaign (Resplandy et al 2019, Rousseaux & Gregg 2017), and supporting further global synthesis with datasets mined from the literature (e.g. Bisson et al (2020), Bisson et al (2018), Kramer and Siegel (2019)), directly responding to objectives outlined in Science Plan (see section 6 in Team (2015)) and Implementation team (see Figure 1 in Team (2016)). This document presents a compilation of the final reports of the Pre-EXPORTS funded projects, in hope of synthesizing the outcomes, and insuring the legacy of this program. Each of these reports contains a list of published papers, and reader should refer to them to see results in details.

Brandi J. McCarty↗
NASA NTRS2023

Identifying and Closing Medical Capability Gaps for Human Spaceflight Missions Beyond Low Earth Orbit

BACKGROUND: Features of human space missions beyond low Earth orbit such as increasing distance from Earth, lack of real-time communication, and limited or no evacuation or resupply capability are expected to drive an increase in medical risk and require crews to operate in an increasingly autonomous fashion. A diverse set of stakeholders at NASA are seeking to fund the development of concepts of operations, medical requirements, and medical capabilities for such missions. However, a systematic approach to identification of current medical capability gaps and a strategic framework to gap closure is needed. OVERVIEW: The Exploration Medical Integrated Product Team (XMIPT) has developed a list of nine high-level medical capability gaps and associated activities required for gap closure. The list was derived based on inputs from subject matter experts at NASA including flight surgeons, other clinical providers, as well as operational and research communities regarding medical capabilities required to support human missions to the Moon and the Mars surface. Responses were reviewed and distilled to identify common themes across capabilities. To ensure alignment with established human system risks, the gap list was further refined based on inputs from NASA’s Human System Risk Board. Relevant medical gap closure activities outside of those funded by the XMIPT were identified through solicitation of inputs from Elements of NASA’s Human Research Program (particularly Exploration Medical Capability), the broader medical operations community, and other stakeholders. This medical capability gap list is reviewed and updated regularly as new information becomes available or new stakeholders are identified. DISCUSSION: The medical capability gap list has matured to include a large group of NASA stakeholders and development activities. This has enabled articulation of priorities to funding entities and programmatic stakeholders, while serving as an accessible resource summarizing gap closure activities, relevant programmatic infusion points, and opportunities for collaboration between stakeholders. This presentation will provide an overview of the nine NASA medical capability gaps and their associated gap closure activities.

Moriah Thompson↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Recovery of Voyager Plasma Electron Observations at Jupiter

We will present our recovery of Voyager 1 and 2 plasma electron observations during their Jupiter flybys. The analysis is expected to be completed by the time of the Fall AGU 2023 Meeting and stored in Goddard’s Data Center and we will present new results never published before. The original summary data tapes and later data files at first appeared to be permanently lost but eventually located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while data analysis results done at Goddard Space Flight Center, except for that published in journals, were permanently lost such as electron distribution functions, spacecraft trajectory and spacecraft attitude information. In addition to recovering the electron plasma observations (electron intensities and fluid parameters of the thermal and suprathermal electron populations, respectively), we use Spice Kernels for Voyager 1 and 2 trajectory and spacecraft attitude information, fortunately produced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We will present new results of our work, originally funded under the Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) program but now being funded by the Internal Scientist Funding Model (ISFM) Exosphere Ionosphere Magnetospheres Modeling (EIMM) program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. If time permits, we will also present some of our recovery of the Voyager 2 Uranus plasma electron data and analysis similar to what was done for Jupiter.

E.C. Sittler Jr.↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Recovery of Voyager Plasma Electron Observations at Jupiter

We will present our recovery of Voyager 1 and 2 plasma electron observations during their Jupiter flybys. The analysis is expected to be completed by the time of the Fall AGU 2023 Meeting and stored in Goddard’s Data Center and we will present new results never published before. The original summary data tapes and later data files at first appeared to be permanently lost but eventually located at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while data analysis results done at Goddard Space Flight Center, except for that published in journals, were permanently lost such as electron distribution functions, spacecraft trajectory and spacecraft attitude information. In addition to recovering the electron plasma observations (electron intensities and fluid parameters of the thermal and suprathermal electron populations, respectively), we use Spice Kernels for Voyager 1 and 2 trajectory and spacecraft attitude information, fortunately produced by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We will present new results of our work, originally funded under the Planetary Data Archiving, Restoration, and Tools (PDART) program but now being funded by the Internal Scientist Funding Model (ISFM) Exosphere Ionosphere Magnetospheres Modeling (EIMM) program at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. If time permits, we will also present some of our recovery of the Voyager 2 Uranus plasma electron data and analysis similar to what was done for Jupiter.

E.C. Sittler Jr.↗
NASA NTRS2024

Conclusions of a Mini Technical Interchange Meeting on New Cross Risk Integration Projects Managed by the NASA Space Radiation Element

To enable deep space exploration and sustained human presence in space, the NASA Human Research Program’s (HRP) Space Radiation Element (SRE) funds research to characterize and mitigate adverse health outcomes from exposure to space radiation that include risks of carcinogenesis, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system decrements. Recently, the SRE was tasked with supporting multiple HRP Elements with innovative and enabling projects to inform risk characterization, facilitate mitigation activities, and support crew health and performance. These projects, such as precision health initiative, NASA Omics Archive (NOA) and human sample repositories, are agnostic to any HRP Element, hence the name, Cross-Risk Integration Projects (CRIP). CRIP serves 3 broad purposes: - Services: Generate samples and data and manage the receipt, inventory, archive, and ultimate redistribution of biospecimens created in HRP-funded spaceflight and analog research activities—includes NASA Omics Archive project and various human and animal sample repositories. - Method Development: Identify and evaluate new-to-NASA research or analysis methods or techniques that could fundamentally improve existing or planned research efforts—includes the Translational Radiation Research and Countermeasures Project. - Enabling Capabilities: Demonstrate real-world application by adapting, adopting, and/or developing capabilities to benefit crew health and performance and improve risk mitigation—includes Precision Health Initiative (Pharmacogenomics) and advanced biological systems and engineered tissue microsystems initiative (tissue chips, organ-on-a-chip). To identify new technologies, future work, and solicitations, the SRE organizes themed sessions at annual HRP Investigators’ Workshops (IWS). These technical interchange meetings (TIMs) provide a venue for the scientific community to present ongoing work and engage in open discussion of results, limitations of current approaches, and incorporation of novel experimental strategies, model systems, and other innovative techniques. Here, a summary of the studies presented at the SRE-sponsored mini-TIM at the HRP IWS along with the goals and objectives of the CRIP projects is communicated. The 90-min TIM had 6 speakers who presented impressive novel ideas and work, some of which are funded under CRIP by the Space Radiation Element.

Janapriya Saha↗
NASA NTRS2024

2024 Software for NASA Science Mission Directorate Workshop Report

The 2024 Software for the NASA Science Mission Directorate Workshop was the first workshop of its kind in over 10 years. The numerous attendees and high level of interaction in this hybrid workshop portrayed the untapped interest and energy in the NASA SMD community about software. Over 100 takeaways were collected from the hosted discussions in four key areas - Communication, Communities, Funding and Clarity - as summarized in this report. One takeaway was representative of all four categories: “Software is not hardware; it is organic and needs a different model. You often don't know which components will be Open-Source reusable until later in the development cycle.” For the communication category, this takeaway motivates the reduction of silos by shifting towards a model that better supports community collaboration on common challenges and a more streamlined and improved software release process. For the communities category, the same statement points to forming communities of practice with varying scopes and a new approach to recognition and incentives for open-source software contributions. Concerning funding, this statement motivates a more sustained and flexible funding model that better supports the software foundation needed for NASA’s long-term success, including the collaboration and infrastructure a good foundation requires. The new approach to clarity motivated by this statement calls for significant changes to the software release process and related policies to streamline compliance, align those policies with the open-source science culture NASA is promoting and with each other, and simplify use of the cloud. It is time to recognize software as a foundational component of NASA with an organic nature not properly supported by current approaches. Different models are needed in all four areas to shift the NASA SMD software community and governance structures into a more efficient, open, and collaborative ecosystem - one that enables ground-breaking science and daring exploration into the coming decades

science↗
NASA NTRS2026

The Trajectory of Recent Solid State Fusion Results

Both NASA and Google have explored and funded Low Energy Nuclear Reaction (LENR) aka Solid-State Fusion or Lattice Confinement Fusion (LCF) research. NASA has funded efforts since 1989, and Google Research began in 2014. Google, and researchers initially-funded by Google, published significant scientific papers in Nature, Nature Communications and the Journal of Applied Physics. NASA began a significant set of LENR-triggering programs in 2012 resulting in papers in Physical Review C, the Journal of Electroanalytical Chemistry and the Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science. Both NASA and Google engaged researchers across fields of nuclear physics, chemistry, electrochemistry, material science and more. NASA built upon early novel gas pumping experiments then followed the patented work of the US Navy SPAWAR (US8,419,919, “System and Method to Generate Particles”) and experiments with the Naval Surface Warfare Centers. Google supported researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the University of British Columbia (UBC), MIT and others. This resulted in patent applications and two granted patents (US10264661B2, “Target structure for enhanced electron screening” and US10566094B2 “Enhanced electron screening through plasmon oscillations”). These separate efforts, unknown to the researchers at the time, provided the impetus for the DoE ARPA-E LENR program followed by the DARPA DSO “Mechanisms for Amplification of Fusion Reaction Rates in Solids” (MARRS) program. This document briefly describes the overlapping NASA and Google Research efforts in plasma loading and electron screening emphasizing the results of the latest paper in Nature Communications. The papers and patents cited are listed.

electron screening↗
DOE OSTI2023

Wind Energy Accomplishments and Year-End Performance Report: Fiscal Year 2022

Four decades ago, construction was just beginning on experimental turbines at the National Wind Technology Center (NWTC). Today, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) facility is the centerpiece of the laboratory's Flatirons Campus, a world-class hub for renewable energy research. The nation's shift to 100% clean electricity by 2035 will require a mix of renewable energy sources and strategies - and together, wind and solar energy could account for 60% to 80% of that clean energy resource. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, NREL scientists, engineers, and analysts contributed to these visionary goals through their wind energy research. As wind innovations push into new areas, NREL continues to play a vital role in advancing technology and addressing deployment barriers in pursuit of more efficient, reliable, and predictable wind energy systems. FY 2022 wind research and development explored the potential for dramatic growth in land-based systems, the launch of the nation's first commercial-scale offshore installations, and transmission infrastructure buildout. Land-based wind energy is one of the most cost-effective electricity supply options - but utility-scale deployment will require up to 10 times the current number of turbines. An NREL plan addressed this need to accelerate U.S. wind technology rollout at distributed and utility scales. Another project conducted by NREL and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) helps position the nation's first major offshore wind corridor for success. The WETO-funded Atlantic Offshore Wind Transmission Study is evaluating options for balancing electricity supply and demand, while supporting resilience of the grid and marine industries. WETO, NREL, and other partners are working to enable the enormous supply chain and workforce changes the U.S. wind energy industry will need to meet net-zero-carbon-emissions targets. As part of a seminal series of DOE-funded supply chain studies, NREL analysts reported on the trade-offs involved in manufacturing large volumes of wind technologies, while addressing cost, workforce, and logistics issues. All of this research is supported by NREL's outstanding research teams, tools, data, and facilities. A WETO-funded international wind energy field campaign, the American WAKE experimeNt (AWAKEN), has brought together experts from NREL, PNNL, and Sandia National Laboratories to create the world's most comprehensive set of high-resolution data on wind energy atmospheric phenomenon. This study could lead to more accurate predictions of losses from turbine-to-turbine wake interactions, eventually helping wind plants capture more energy and operators save millions of dollars. In addition, NREL researchers developed testing, modeling, and analysis tools to improve the security of power grids by identifying wind power plant dynamic stability problems. A new Stochastic Soaring Raptor Simulator (SSRS) protects golden eagles from turbine encounters by predicting flight paths. This report provides more detail on these top achievements and other accomplishments made by NREL and its partners during FY 2022 (between October 1, 2021, and September 30, 2022).

accomplishments↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a Data Platform for High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) Thermal-Fluid Experiments

Since the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) initiated the Nuclear Energy University Program (NEUP) in 2009, a total of 30 NEUP projects focused on High-Temperature Gas-cooled Reactor (HTGR) thermal-fluid experiments were funded up to fiscal year (FY) 2021. This represents a total DOE investment of approximately $23M over the 12-year period, covering thermal fluid phenomena important to both pebble bed and prismatic HTGR designs. The NEUP projects have produced a large amount of high-quality experimental and computational data that were published in final project reports, journal articles, dissertations, and conference proceedings, but in most cases the actual data sets and supporting information such as facility and instrumentation descriptions were not publicly disseminated to the HTGR community. To the authors’ best knowledge, a data platform that organizes and summarizes these NEUP-funded projects for HTGR research does not currently exist. To improve access to this HTGR validation data and optimize the return on the significant investment made by DOE, the Advanced Reactor Technologies (ART) Gas-Cooled Reactor (GCR) program started a survey of completed and ongoing HTGR NEUP projects with the aim of developing a public-access data platform that can be used to retrieve computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and system code validation data and guide future NEUP investments. This paper summarizes the status of the current ART-GCR database, provides an overview of the NEUP-funded HTGR-related research projects from FY2009 to FY2021 and identify validation knowledge gaps still existing in HTGR thermal-fluid research.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage and Radioactive Waste Disposal in the United States: A Law and Policy Analysis - 20302

While Congress plays political football, spent nuclear fuel continues to sit in de facto interim nuclear waste storage sites throughout the country. This ad hoc approach - if it can even be called an approach - to nuclear waste management is in no one's best interests, because of financial, safety, environmental, and national security concerns with the status quo. Senate leadership had asserted that an up-or-down vote on the Yucca Mountain Project would take place in September or October 2019, but that did not occur. Rather, a conference bill was agreed to, and it provided that, although the nuclear program should receive some funding, funding was not made available for centralized interim storage ('CIS') or the Yucca Mountain Project. The President's FY2021 Budget Request does not contain any proposed funding for the Yucca Mountain Project ('the Project'). This paper will discuss the implications of that process, both for the Project itself and for the U.S. nuclear waste program more generally. In order to provide context for the current situation, this paper will begin by chronicling the history of U.S. nuclear waste management, from the passage of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 and to the present day. It will discuss the roles of the U.S. Department of Energy, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, federal and state political delegations, and the nuclear energy industry. The paper will then identify key themes that can be expected to affect the future of nuclear waste management in the United States. For example, it will consider whether development of additional CIS facilities is a viable short- to medium-term solution. CIS facilities may relieve immediate pressure at decommissioned or soon-to-be-decommissioned nuclear power plants; but with that pressure partially alleviated, support for building a long-term repository may be reduced. It will also discuss opposition by the State of New Mexico and others to the proposed New Mexico CIS project, based not only on siting concerns but also whether it might become a de facto repository, and whether the State of Texas and others may also be opposed, for similar reasons, to the proposed CIS facility in Texas. Additionally, the paper will examine consent-based siting and its implications for Nevada and other states that are potential hosts for spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal facilities. Further, if the Project is not a politically viable solution, the paper will examine whether it is now time for serious consideration of an alternate location for a permanent repository, as well as consideration of other options entirely, such as deep geologic disposal. The paper will conclude by looking ahead to the 2020 elections. It will describe the positions of candidates (particularly Presidential candidates) on spent nuclear fuel storage and disposal options, without advocating for any particular candidate or political party. Perhaps in 2020, we will at least see a start to a solution to the seemingly intractable problem of nuclear waste management in the United States. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗