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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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At least 577 records · Page 32

Machine learning-based ethylene and carbon monoxide estimation, real-time optimization, and multivariable feedback control of an experimental electrochemical reactor

Electrochemical reduction of CO 2 gas is a novel CO 2 utilization technique that has the potential to mitigate the global climate crisis caused by anthropogenic CO 2 emissions, and enable the large-scale storage of energy generated from renewable sources in the form of carbon-based chemicals and fuels. However, due to the complexity of the electrochemical reactions, the explicit first-principles models for CO2 reduction are not available yet, and there has been a limited effort to develop process modeling, optimization and control of CO 2 electrochemical reactors. To this end, a rotating cylinder electrode (RCE) reactor has been constructed at UCLA to understand the mass transfer and reaction kinetics effects separately on the productivity. In the RCE reactor, the applied potential strongly influences the reaction energetics and the electrode rotation speed affects the hydrodynamic boundary layer and modifies the film mass transfer coefficient, which involves convective and diffusive transport. Further, the present work aims to develop a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control scheme for the RCE reactor that integrates techniques from artificial and recurrent neural network modeling, nonlinear optimization, and process controller design. Specifically, production rates of two products from the experimental reactor, ethylene and carbon monoxide, are controlled by manipulating two inputs, applied potential and catalyst rotation speed. Process dynamics and controllability are analyzed, a feedback control strategy is designed and the controllers are tuned accordingly. The experimental electrochemical cell is employed to gather data for process modeling and implement the multivariable control system. Finally, the experimental results are presented which demonstrate excellent closed-loop performance by the control system and regulation of the outputs at three different set-points including an economically-optimal set-point.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

Surrogate Modeling for Capacity Planning of Charging Station Equipped with PV and Hydropneumatic Energy Storage

Due to the promising potential for environmental sustainability, there has been a significant increase of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) in the market. To support this increasing demand for EVs and PHEVs, challenges related to capacity planning and investment costs of public charging infrastructure must be addressed. Hence, in this paper, a capacity planning problem for EV charging stations is developed and aims to balance current capital investment costs and future operational revenue. The charging station considered in this work is assumed to be equipped with solar photovoltaic panel (PV) and an energy storage system which could be electric battery or the recently invented hydro-pneumatic energy storage (GLIDES, Ground-Level Integrated Diverse Energy Storage) system. A co-optimization model that minimizes investment and operation cost is established to determine the global optimal solution while combining the capacity and operational decision making. The operational decision making considers EV mobility which is modeled as an Erlang-loss system. Meanwhile, stochastic programming is adopted to capture uncertainties from solar radiation and charging demand of the EV fleet. To provide a more general and computationally efficient model, main configuration parameters are sampled in the design space and then fixed in solving the co-optimization model. The model can be used to provide insights for charging station placement in different practical situations. The sampled parameters include: the total number of EV charging slots, the PV area, the maximum capacity of the energy storage system, and daily mean EV arrival number in the Erlang-loss system. Based on the sampled parameter combinations and its responses, black-box mappings are then constructed using surrogate models (RBF, Kriging etc). The effectiveness of proposed surrogate modeling approach is demonstrated in the numerical experiments.

Chen, Yang↗

THE GAMMA-RAY BURST HUBBLE DIAGRAM AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR COSMOLOGY

In this paper, we continue to build support for the proposal to use gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) as standard candles in constructing the Hubble diagram at redshifts beyond the current reach of Type Ia supernova observations. We confirm that correlations among certain spectral and light-curve features can indeed be used as luminosity indicators, and demonstrate from the most up-to-date GRB sample appropriate for this work that the {Lambda}CDM model optimized with these data is characterized by parameter values consistent with those in the concordance model. Specifically, we find that ({Omega}{sub m},{Omega}{sub {Lambda}}){approx}(0.25{sub -0.06}{sup +0.05}, 0.75{sub -0.05}{sup +0.06}), which are consistent, to within 1{sigma}, with (0.29, 0.71) obtained from the 9 yr Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe data. We also carry out a comparative analysis between {Lambda}CDM and the R{sub h} = ct universe and find that the optimal {Lambda}CDM model fits the GRB Hubble diagram with a reduced {chi}{sup 2}{sub dof}{approx}2.26, whereas the fit using R{sub h} = ct results in a {chi}{sup 2}{sub dof}{approx}2.14. In both cases, about 20% of the events lie at least 2{sigma} away from the best-fit curves, suggesting that either some contamination by non-standard GRB luminosities is unavoidable or that the errors and intrinsic scatter associated with the data are being underestimated. With these optimized fits, we use three statistical tools-the Akaike information criterion, the Kullback information criterion, and the Bayes information criterion-to show that, based on the GRB Hubble diagram, the likelihood of R{sub h} = ct being closer to the correct model is {approx}85%-96%, compared to {approx}4%-15% for {Lambda}CDM.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Improving leaf spring phenology modelling for temperate tree species: An integration of the Farquhar–Medlyn photosynthesis model with the optimality‐based approach

Spring leaf phenology in temperate tree species is highly sensitive to climate change and significantly affects plant photosynthetic performance, resource utilization, competition and trophic interactions, thereby impacting various ecosystem functions. Although optimality-based (OPT) approaches for modelling spring phenology are increasingly recognized, the optimal representation of the underlying principle (balancing photosynthesis gains with chilling risks) remains controversial. Here, we integrated a coupled Farquhar–Medlyn photosynthesis model into an existing OPT model, and termed the resulting model R-OPT, and evaluated its performance using the PEP725 dataset, which includes 409,144 site-species-year records from across Europe. Our results show that R-OPT outperforms both the default OPT and non-optimality-based models (e.g. the chilling-forcing trade-off and growing degree day models). This improved performance is consistent within and across five focal tree species but varies by region: R-OPT excels in lowland, moist environments but is less effective in high-altitude, cold, and dry areas, possibly due to an incomplete representation of environmental constraints on photosynthetic carbon gain in these regions. Our research advances leaf spring phenology modelling by emphasizing an optimality principle that balances photosynthetic carbon gain with chilling risk, improving the representation of plant photosynthesis processes and enhancing understanding of environmental factors influencing phenology in the context of climate change.

coupled Farquhar–Medlyn photosynthesis model↗

Geometry Modeling and Grid Generation for Design and Optimization

Geometry modeling and grid generation (GMGG) have played and will continue to play an important role in computational aerosciences. During the past two decades, tremendous progress has occurred in GMGG; however, GMGG is still the biggest bottleneck to routine applications for complicated Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Computational Structures Mechanics (CSM) models for analysis, design, and optimization. We are still far from incorporating GMGG tools in a design and optimization environment for complicated configurations. It is still a challenging task to parameterize an existing model in today's Computer-Aided Design (CAD) systems, and the models created are not always good enough for automatic grid generation tools. Designers may believe their models are complete and accurate, but unseen imperfections (e.g., gaps, unwanted wiggles, free edges, slivers, and transition cracks) often cause problems in gridding for CSM and CFD. Despite many advances in grid generation, the process is still the most labor-intensive and time-consuming part of the computational aerosciences for analysis, design, and optimization. In an ideal design environment, a design engineer would use a parametric model to evaluate alternative designs effortlessly and optimize an existing design for a new set of design objectives and constraints. For this ideal environment to be realized, the GMGG tools must have the following characteristics: (1) be automated, (2) provide consistent geometry across all disciplines, (3) be parametric, and (4) provide sensitivity derivatives. This paper will review the status of GMGG for analysis, design, and optimization processes, and it will focus on some emerging ideas that will advance the GMGG toward the ideal design environment.

Samareh, Jamshid A.↗

Multi-operator Production Cost Modeling

As contiguous power systems are often operated by several regional system operators, optimization models have traditionally been designed to generate optimal system-wide scheduling decisions. This report introduces an approach to reflect the existence of multiple system operators making scheduling decisions within an interconnected power system. The approach is explicitly designed to reflect each operator's limited knowledge about other regions when making scheduling decisions. Detailed analysis using a modified IEEE Reliability Test System reveals that the approach mimics real system operations by providing imperfect information to each operator about external operations and external constraints. The approach scales to a 78,000-bus model of the Eastern Interconnection, where a regression analysis provides quantitative insight into which constraints cause inefficiencies when improperly managed in a multi-operator simulation. Because the approach generates distinct regional scheduling problems, unit commitment and economic dispatch simulations can be applied to individual regions and solved in parallel, enabling production cost simulations at a previously intractable scale.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Integration of Experimental Hydroprocessing and FCC Data with Process (Aspen Plus) and Refinery Optimization (Aspen PIMS) Models

NREL's Economic, Sustainability, and Market Analysis (ESMA) team develops process models in Aspen Plus to support techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) of conversion pathways from renewable and circular resources to fuels and chemicals. These tools are being applied to assess probable operational constraints or bottlenecks associated with refinery co-processing and repurposing opportunities. The team also utilizes optimizable refinery models to quantify opportunities for biofuel and bioproduct pathways through integration with existing refining infrastructure. The goals of analysis are to model the transition of refineries to renewable and circular feedstocks and quantify the costs production and CO2 abatement through utilization of existing refineries. At the core of the ESMA team's work is the process data derived from conversion experiments on hydroprocessing and fluid catalytic cracking performed at NREL. The objective of this presentation is to highlight new analysis approaches and capabilities in pathway analysis and refinery optimization modeling with specific emphasis on integration of experimental data.

BIOMASS FUELS,ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Model Predictive Control of Discrete-Continuous Energy Systems via Generalized Disjunctive Programming

Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) provides an alternative framework to model optimization problems with both discrete and continuous variables. The key idea behind GDP involves the use of logical disjunctions to represent discrete decisions in the continuous space, and logical propositions to denote algebraic constraints in the discrete space. Compared to traditional mixed-integer programming (MIP), the inherent logic structure in GDP yields tighter relaxations that are exploited by global branch and bound algorithms to improve solution quality. In this paper, we present a general GDP model for optimal control of hybrid systems that exhibit both discrete and continuous dynamics. Specifically, we use GDP to formulate a model predictive control (MPC) model for piecewise-affine systems with implicit switching logic. As an example, the GDP-based MPC approach is used as a supervisory control to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings with binary on/off, relay-based thermostats. A simulation study is used to demonstrate the validity of the proposed approach, and the improved solution quality compared to existing MIPbased control approaches.

Bhattacharya, Arnab↗

Galerkin v. discrete-optimal projection in nonlinear model reduction

Discrete-optimal model-reduction techniques such as the Gauss{Newton with Approximated Tensors (GNAT) method have shown promise, as they have generated stable, accurate solutions for large-scale turbulent, compressible ow problems where standard Galerkin techniques have failed. However, there has been limited comparative analysis of the two approaches. This is due in part to difficulties arising from the fact that Galerkin techniques perform projection at the time-continuous level, while discrete-optimal techniques do so at the time-discrete level. This work provides a detailed theoretical and experimental comparison of the two techniques for two common classes of time integrators: linear multistep schemes and Runge{Kutta schemes. We present a number of new ndings, including conditions under which the discrete-optimal ROM has a time-continuous representation, conditions under which the two techniques are equivalent, and time-discrete error bounds for the two approaches. Perhaps most surprisingly, we demonstrate both theoretically and experimentally that decreasing the time step does not necessarily decrease the error for the discrete-optimal ROM; instead, the time step should be `matched' to the spectral content of the reduced basis. In numerical experiments carried out on a turbulent compressible- ow problem with over one million unknowns, we show that increasing the time step to an intermediate value decreases both the error and the simulation time of the discrete-optimal reduced-order model by an order of magnitude.

CFD↗

Multistage Stochastic optimization for mid-term integrated generation and maintenance scheduling of cascaded hydroelectric system with renewable energy uncertainty

The uncertainties resulting from the escalating penetration of renewable energy resources pose severe challenges to the efficient operation of modern power systems. Hydroelectricity is characterized by its flexibility, controllability, and reliability, and thus becomes one of the most ideal energy resources to hedge against such uncertainties. This paper studies the mid-term integrated generation and maintenance scheduling of a cascaded hydroelectric system (CHS) consisting of multiple cascaded reservoirs and hydroelectric units. To precisely describe the mid-term water regulation policies, the hydraulic coupling relationship and water-energy nexus of CHS are incorporated into the proposed optimization model. The uncertainties of natural water inflow and the power outputs of wind/solar energy generation are taken into consideration and captured via a stochastic process modeled by a scenario tree. A multistage stochastic optimization (MSO) approach is developed to coordinate the complementary operations of multiple energy resources, by optimizing the mid-term water resource management, generation scheduling, and maintenance scheduling of CHS. The proposed MSO model is formulated as a large-scale mixed-integer linear program that presents significant computational intractability. To address this issue, a tailored Benders decomposition algorithm is developed. Two real-world case studies are conducted to demonstrate the capability and characteristics of the proposed model and algorithm. The computational results show that the proposed MSO model can exploit the flexibility of hydroelectricity to efficiently respond to variable wind and solar power, and reserve water resources for the generation in peak months to reduce the consumption of fossil fuel. Furthermore, the proposed solution approach also exhibits promising computational efficiency when handling large-scale models.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Model reduction for the dynamics and control of large structural systems via neutral network processing direct numerical optimization

Three neural network processing approaches in a direct numerical optimization model reduction scheme are proposed and investigated. Large structural systems, such as large space structures, offer new challenges to both structural dynamicists and control engineers. One such challenge is that of dimensionality. Indeed these distributed parameter systems can be modeled either by infinite dimensional mathematical models (typically partial differential equations) or by high dimensional discrete models (typically finite element models) often exhibiting thousands of vibrational modes usually closely spaced and with little, if any, damping. Clearly, some form of model reduction is in order, especially for the control engineer who can actively control but a few of the modes using system identification based on a limited number of sensors. Inasmuch as the amount of 'control spillover' (in which the control inputs excite the neglected dynamics) and/or 'observation spillover' (where neglected dynamics affect system identification) is to a large extent determined by the choice of particular reduced model (RM), the way in which this model reduction is carried out is often critical.

Becus, Georges A.↗

Modeling technological change and its impact on energy savings in the U.S. iron and steel sector

We report market penetration of energy-efficient technologies can be estimated using energy optimization models that minimize cost; however, such models typically estimate the minimum cost of optimal pathways under a certain set of non-dynamic assumptions, so technology penetrations determined for the long-term do not fully respond to changing circumstances or costs. Here, investment costs of energy-efficient technologies are modeled dynamically in the Industrial Sector Energy-Efficiency Model (ISEEM) using a technological learning formula. Results from 24 energy-efficient technologies – 14 existing, 10 emerging – selected from the United States (U.S.) iron and steel sector show that when technological learning is incorporated into the model, total energy consumption of this sector is expected to decrease by 13% (180 PJ) in 2050 compared to energy consumption in a non-learning scenario. Average energy intensity of the steel production improves from 12.3 GJ/t in the non-learning scenario to 10.7 GJ/t in the learning scenario in 2050. This decrease represents a cost savings of US $1.6 billion and a carbon dioxide emissions reduction potential of 14.9 billion tonnes. In conclusion, results discussed in this paper focus on the U.S. iron and steel sector, but the proposed framework can be applied to study new technology development in any other industrial processes and regions.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

The effects of multiplicative motor noise on the optimal human operator model

The effects of a multiplicative motor noise model on the optimal-control human operator model were analyzed. A study of the interaction between multiplicative motor noise variance, plant dynamics, and predicted operator response behavior shows that, in general, an increase in motor noise variance produces a decrease in operator gain and a decrease in high-frequency remnant. An increase in multiplicative motor noise variance is also reflected by an increase in the effective motor time constant; in the absence of a cost penalty on commanded control, the motor time constant equals the motor noise variance.

Caglayan, A. K.↗

A modified model parametrization algorithm for solving a special type of heat and mass transfer systems

A new method for solving nonlinear heat and mass transfer design tasks was considered. Systems using the Number of Transfer Units (NTU) method are a special type of mathematical model of heat and mass exchangers. It was observed, that the NTU models in a form of differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) cannot be directly solved with higher values of NTU. The requirements for consistent initial conditions, as well as numerical limitations of DAEs solvers, result, that the solution to the considered design problems that cannot be obtained by a classical direct shooting procedure. To overcome the presented difficulties, the αDAE model optimization algorithm was adjusted for solving NTU-based models. The new approach consists of 3 main steps: 1) task discretization by a multiple-shooting approach, 2) design an appropriate function $f_{NTU}$(α) to effectively influence the variability of the state variables described by dynamical relations, 3) the iterative numerical optimization algorithm for the new parametrized system. Moreover, computations can be performed by a chosen numerical optimization approach, which can be communicated with an available outer procedure for solving differential-algebraic equations. The presented algorithm was implemented and applied to solve the design task with the NTU model of a counter-flow exchanger. Here, the new approach was used to modify the system dynamics to influence the difficulty of the considered problem. Finally, the presented method enabled failure-free numerical computations for the higher values of the NTU parameter.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Engineering Overview of a Multidisciplinary HSCT Design Framework Using Medium-Fidelity Analysis Codes

An objective of the HPCC Program at NASA Langley has been to promote the use of advanced computing techniques to more rapidly solve the problem of multidisciplinary optimization of a supersonic transport configuration. As a result, a software system has been designed and is being implemented to integrate a set of existing discipline analysis codes, some of them CPU-intensive, into a distributed computational framework for the design of a High Speed Civil Transport (HSCT) configuration. The proposed paper will describe the engineering aspects of integrating these analysis codes and additional interface codes into an automated design system. The objective of the design problem is to optimize the aircraft weight for given mission conditions, range, and payload requirements, subject to aerodynamic, structural, and performance constraints. The design variables include both thicknesses of structural elements and geometric parameters that define the external aircraft shape. An optimization model has been adopted that uses the multidisciplinary analysis results and the derivatives of the solution with respect to the design variables to formulate a linearized model that provides input to the CONMIN optimization code, which outputs new values for the design variables. The analysis process begins by deriving the updated geometries and grids from the baseline geometries and grids using the new values for the design variables. This free-form deformation approach provides internal FEM (finite element method) grids that are consistent with aerodynamic surface grids. The next step involves using the derived FEM and section properties in a weights process to calculate detailed weights and the center of gravity location for specified flight conditions. The weights process computes the as-built weight, weight distribution, and weight sensitivities for given aircraft configurations at various mass cases. Currently, two mass cases are considered: cruise and gross take-off weight (GTOW). Weights information is obtained from correlations of data from three sources: 1) as-built initial structural and non-structural weights from an existing database, 2) theoretical FEM structural weights and sensitivities from Genesis, and 3) empirical as-built weight increments, non-structural weights, and weight sensitivities from FLOPS. For the aeroelastic analysis, a variable-fidelity aerodynamic analysis has been adopted. This approach uses infrequent CPU-intensive non-linear CFD to calculate a non-linear correction relative to a linear aero calculation for the same aerodynamic surface at an angle of attack that results in the same configuration lift. For efficiency, this nonlinear correction is applied after each subsequent linear aero solution during the iterations between the aerodynamic and structural analyses. Convergence is achieved when the vehicle shape being used for the aerodynamic calculations is consistent with the structural deformations caused by the aerodynamic loads. To make the structural analyses more efficient, a linearized structural deformation model has been adopted, in which a single stiffness matrix can be used to solve for the deformations under all the load conditions. Using the converged aerodynamic loads, a final set of structural analyses are performed to determine the stress distributions and the buckling conditions for constraint calculation. Performance constraints are obtained by running FLOPS using drag polars that are computed using results from non-linear corrections to the linear aero code plus several codes to provide drag increments due to skin friction, wave drag, and other miscellaneous drag contributions. The status of the integration effort will be presented in the proposed paper, and results will be provided that illustrate the degree of accuracy in the linearizations that have been employed.

Weston, R. P.↗

Machine Learning Based Parallel I/O Predictive Modeling: A Case Study on Lustre File Systems

Parallel I/O hardware and software infrastructure is a key contributor to performance variability for applications running on large-scale HPC systems. This variability confounds efforts to predict application performance for characterization, modeling, optimization, and job scheduling. We propose a modeling approach that improves predictive ability by explicitly treating the variability and by leveraging the sensitivity of application parameters on performance to group applications with similar characteristics. We develop a Gaussian process-based machine learning algorithm to model I/O performance and its variability as a function of application and file system characteristics. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach using data collected from the Edison system at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center. The results show that the proposed sensitivity-based models are better at prediction when compared with application-partitioned or unpartitioned models. We highlight modeling techniques that are robust to the outliers that can occur in production parallel file systems. Using the developed metrics and modeling approach, we provide insights into the file system metrics that have a significant impact on I/O performance.

I/O performance variability↗

Exponential concentration in quantum kernel methods

Kernel methods in Quantum Machine Learning (QML) have recently gained significant attention as a potential candidate for achieving a quantum advantage in data analysis. Among other attractive properties, when training a kernel-based model one is guaranteed to find the optimal model’s parameters due to the convexity of the training landscape. However, this is based on the assumption that the quantum kernel can be efficiently obtained from quantum hardware. In this work we study the performance of quantum kernel models from the perspective of the resources needed to accurately estimate kernel values. We show that, under certain conditions, values of quantum kernels over different input data can be exponentially concentrated (in the number of qubits) towards some fixed value. Thus on training with a polynomial number of measurements, one ends up with a trivial model where the predictions on unseen inputs are independent of the input data. We identify four sources that can lead to concentration including expressivity of data embedding, global measurements, entanglement and noise. For each source, an associated concentration bound of quantum kernels is analytically derived. Lastly, we show that when dealing with classical data, training a parametrized data embedding with a kernel alignment method is also susceptible to exponential concentration. Our results are verified through numerical simulations for several QML tasks. Altogether, we provide guidelines indicating that certain features should be avoided to ensure the efficient evaluation of quantum kernels and so the performance of quantum kernel methods.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗