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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 757 records · Page 42

A satellite investigation of energy flux and inferred potential drop in auroral electron energy spectra

The relationship between auroral electron energy flux and the inferred accelerating potential drop for accelerated Maxwellian distributions is investigated on the basis of Atmospheric Explorer D spectral measurements. An analytical approximation for the total downward energy flux carried by an isotropic Maxwellian electron population accelerated by a field-aligned electrostatic potential drop is derived which is valid for values of the electron energy/characteristic accelerated Maxwellian distribution energy which are less than the difference between the ratio of the magnetic field strengths at the altitude of observation and the altitude of potential drop, and unity. Data from the Low Energy Electron Experiment on board AE D obtained on both the dayside and the nightside during periods of significant inverted-V type electron precipitation shows that the 455 energy spectra considered, 160 of them, obtained between 60 and 85 deg invariant latitude, could be fit to accelerated Maxwellian distributions. The 160 Maxwellian spectra are then shown to be in agreement with the predictions of the accelerated Maxwellian model. Finally, analysis of individual spectra suggests that the altitude of the inferred potential drop is at a maximum near the center of the inverted-V structures.

Menietti, J. D.↗

A Crustal Structure Study of South America

Variations in the average crustal thickness of the South American platform were determined by measuring fundamental mode Rayleigh wave dispersion between nine pairs of South American WWSSN seismograph stations and inverting the measurements to obtain average shear wave velocity-depth models across the platform. Additional models were derived from the Rayleigh wave dispersion data previously measured over eastern South America. Both sets of models were interpreted in terms of average crustal thickness and average crustal shear wave velocity. The results obtained were depicted in a contour map of crustal thickness. Average values for seismic velocities in the crust and upper mantle were calculated and compared with maps of regional gravity models, MAGSAT magnetic anomalies, and major tectonic features. The correlations and relationships discovered are discussed.

Renbarger, K. S.↗

Dimensional Reduction: A Method for Retrieving Lightning Charge

A method is introduced for retrieving the locations and magnitudes of charges deposited by a lightning flash using multiple ground-based electric field change measurements. The method, called Dimensional Reduction, reduces the number of unknowns in a discrete 2-charge model from the standard of eight (x, y, z, Q, x' , y' , z' , Q') to just four (x, y, z, Q). This reduction is accomplished by analyzing "residual measurements" that are formed by subtracting from each ground-based electric field change the contribution due to the source (x, y, z, Q). Using an improved analytic solution to the four-parameter point charge model (or "Q-model") the residual measurements are inverted to find the associated "residual source." For flash charge depositions that look approximately like two arbitrary charges, the residual source will be modeled accurately when (x, y, z, Q) is accurate. Hence, one need only minimize a chi-squared goodness-of-fit that is a function of the four variables (x, y, z, Q), rather than one that is a function of the eight variables (x, y, z, Q, x , y , z , Q ). The accuracy of the method is assessed by inverting computer-simulated electric field changes produced from known charge sources. The method is also applied to analyze real lightning electric field change data derived from the NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and United States Air Force (USAF) Eastern Range (ER) ground-based field mill network It is shown that the charge retrievals compare favorably with associated ancillary ground- and satellite- based lightning measurements.

Koshak, William↗

Recommended Practices in Thrust Measurements

Accurate, direct measurement of thrust or impulse is one of the most critical elements of electric thruster characterization, and one of the most difficult measurements to make. The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics has started an initiative to develop standards for many important measurement processes in electric propulsion, including thrust measurements. This paper summarizes recommended practices for the design, calibration, and operation of pendulum thrust stands, which are widely recognized as the best approach for measuring micro N- to mN-level thrust and micro Ns-level impulse bits. The fundamentals of pendulum thrust stand operation are reviewed, along with its implementation in hanging pendulum, inverted pendulum, and torsional balance configurations. Methods of calibration and recommendations for calibration processes are presented. Sources of error are identified and methods for data processing and uncertainty analysis are discussed. This review is intended to be the first step toward a recommended practices document to help the community produce high quality thrust measurements.

microthrusters↗

Inverted polymer solar cells with enhanced fill factor by inserting the potassium stearate interfacial modification layer

A thin potassium stearate (KSt) film combined with an optimized ZnO film was introduced to improve the fill factor (FF) of highly efficient inverted polymer solar cells (PSCs). Atomic force microscopy and contact angle measurements were used to show that the introduction of KSt did not change the morphology of interlayer. On the contrary, it is beneficial for the spread of the active layer on the interlayer. The origin of enhanced FF was systematically studied by the ideal current-voltage model for a single heterojunction solar cell and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. On the basis of the data analysis, the reduced charge recombination loss was responsible for this improved FF. At last, when KSt was replaced by sodium stearate (NaSt), the similar experiment phenomenon was observed. This indicates that inserting a metallic stearate modified layer is a promising strategy to enhance inverted PSCs performance.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Effects of Optimisation Parameters on Data-Driven Magnetofrictional Modelling of Active Regions

Context . The solar magnetic field plays an essential role in the formation, evolution, and dynamics of large-scale eruptive structures in the corona. The estimation of the coronal magnetic field, the ultimate driver of space weather, particularly in the ‘low’ and ‘middle’ corona, is presently limited due to practical difficulties. Data-driven time-dependent magnetofrictional modelling (TMFM) of active region magnetic fields has been proven to be a useful tool to study the corona. The input to the model is the photospheric electric field that is inverted from a time series of the photospheric magnetic field. Constraining the complete electric field, that is, including the non-inductive component, is critical for capturing the eruption dynamics. We present a detailed study of the effects of optimisation of the non-inductive electric field on the TMFM of AR 12473. Aims . We aim to study the effects of varying the non-inductive electric field on the data-driven coronal simulations, for two alternative parametrisations. By varying parameters controlling the strength of the non-inductive electric field, we wish to explore the changes in flux rope formation and their early evolution and other parameters, for instance, axial flux and magnetic field magnitude. Methods . We used the high temporal and spatial resolution cadence vector magnetograms from the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). The non-inductive electric field component in the photosphere is critical for energising and introducing twist to the coronal magnetic field, thereby allowing unstable configurations to be formed. We estimated this component using an approach based on optimising the injection of magnetic energy. Results . Our data show that flux ropes are formed in all of the simulations except for those with the lower values of these optimised parameters. However, the flux rope formation, evolution and eruption time varies depending on the values of the optimisation parameters. The flux rope is formed and has overall similar evolution and properties with a large range of non-inductive electric fields needed to determine the non-inductive electric field component that is critical for energising and introducing twist to the coronal magnetic field. Conclusions . This study shows that irrespective of non-inductive electric field values, flux ropes are formed and erupted, which indicates that data-driven TMFM can be used to estimate flux rope properties early in their evolution without needing to employ a lengthy optimisation process.

A. Kumari↗

Large-scale inverse model analyses employing fast randomized data reduction: INVERSE MODELING WITH DATA REDUCTION

When the number of observations is large, it is computationally challenging to apply classical inverse modeling techniques. We have developed a new computationally efficient technique for solving inverse problems with a large number of observations (e.g., on the order of 10 7 or greater). Our method, which we call the randomized geostatistical approach (RGA), is built upon the principal component geostatistical approach (PCGA). We employ a data reduction technique combined with the PCGA to improve the computational efficiency and reduce the memory usage. Specifically, we employ a randomized numerical linear algebra technique based on a so-called “sketching” matrix to effectively reduce the dimension of the observations without losing the information content needed for the inverse analysis. In this way, the computational and memory costs for RGA scale with the information content rather than the size of the calibration data. Our algorithm is coded in Julia and implemented in the MADS open-source high-performance computational framework (http://mads.lanl.gov). We apply our new inverse modeling method to invert for a synthetic transmissivity field. Compared to a standard geostatistical approach (GA), our method is more efficient when the number of observations is large. Moreover, our method is capable of solving larger inverse problems than the standard GA and PCGA approaches. Thus, our new model inversion method is a powerful tool for solving large-scale inverse problems. The method can be applied in any field and is not limited to hydrogeological applications such as the characterization of aquifer heterogeneity.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Geostatistical evaluation of satellite radar altimetry for high-resolution mapping of Lambert Glacier, Antarctica

The potential of satellite radar altimetry for high-resolution mapping of Antarctic ice streams is evaluated, using retracked and slope-corrected data from the Lambert Glacier and Amery Ice Shelf area, East Antarctica, acquired by Geosat during the Exact Repeat Mission (ERM), 1986-89. The map area includes lower Lambert Glacier north of 72.18 deg S, the southern Amery Ice Shelf, and the grounded inland ice sheet on both sides. The Geosat ERM altimetry is found to provide substantially more complete coverage than the 1978 Seasat altimetry, due to improved tracking. Variogram methods are used to estimate the noise levels in the data as a function of position throughout the map area. The spatial structure in the data is quantified by constructing experimental variograms using altimetry from the area of the grounding zone of Lambert Glacier, which is the area chiefly of interest in this topographically complex region. Kriging is employed to invert the along-track height measurements onto a fine-scale 3 km grid. The unsmoothed along-track Geosat ERM altimetry yields spatially continuous maps showing the main topographic features of lower Lambert Glacier, upper Amery Ice Shelf and the adjacent inland ice sheet. The probable position of the grounding line of Lambert Glacier is identified from a break in slope at the grounded ice/floating ice transition. The approximate standard error of the kriged map is inferred from the data noise levels.

Herzfeld, Ute C.↗

Confronting Models with Regional CO 2 Observations

This research addressed an important DOE science area: the role of natural disturbances in carbon cycling. Our project included both (a) modeling and field measurements and (b) strengthened ties between DOE national laboratories and universities which continue after the project was completed. Our focus was on understanding the consequences of drought and emissions (fire and urban) to atmospheric trace gas composition (carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and methane), including both concentration and stable isotope composition. Measurements of these atmospheric gases were used to infer the spatial and temporal patterns of both sources and sinks in the carbon cycle. As part of this effort, we maintained two long-term monitoring networks along a geographic gradient in Utah and Colorado that spans montane forests, urban regions, and oil/gas fields. In this research, we expanded on a well-accepted atmospheric model (STILT-WRF) as a tool to evaluate fluxes in CLM/CESM-related models. We used the STILT model to provide a strong linkage between point atmospheric measurements and the surface parameterizations/emissions that are part of the CLM/CESM models. Overall, this project benefited and supported the DOE Long Term Mission and Goals in four distinct ways: (a) testing of carbon cycle models, (b) testing and evaluating model mechanisms whereby factors in CLM influence trace gas composition in CESM, (c) acquiring high-quality, long-term data on concentrations of carbon dioxide in western USA ecosystems, and (d) by reducing uncertainties associated with the representation of climate-carbon feedbacks in Earth System models through the development of new methods for evaluating model performance. One postdoctoral associate (Henrique Duarte) and one Ph.D. student (Darek Malia) were trained with this support. Nine peer-reviewed publications and 14 poster presentations were produced with support from this project. This proposal addresses a specific science area in the RFP: the role of natural disturbances in carbon cycling. In particular, we will focus on the consequences of drought and fire at landscape to regional scales for atmospheric trace gas concentration and stable isotope composition (CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 ). We seek to expand on the well accepted atmospheric Stochastic Time-Inverted Lagrangian Transport (STILT) model coupled to the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model as a tool to evaluate stable isotope fluxes in CLM/CESM-related models through existing, long-term data sets and field campaigns where high-precision trace gas concentration and isotope measurements can be made along gradients and transects. Given the confounding impacts of anthropogenic trace gas emissions on landscape-to-regional atmospheric observations, we will also measure and parameterize isotopic characteristics of CO 2 , CO, and CH 4 from anthropogenic or forest sources in order to allow us the opportunity to partition atmospheric trace gases into natural and anthropogenic sources.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Regional Real-Time PV Spinning Reserve Estimator

Curtailed photovoltaic (PV) generation is a zero-marginal-cost spinning reserve that can be used for a number of active power control services. Unlike traditional spinning reserve providers, however, i.e., fossil-fueled generators, which have well-defined operating characteristics, e.g., available headroom or potential high limit (PHL), PV plants have by nature variable and uncertain operating characteristics. To ensure the effective coordination between PV plants and the system operator during an active power control event, accurate knowledge of the PV PHL is essential. It ensures that enough headroom is reserved by the PV plants to deliver the award services in real time and informs feasible dispatch decisions made by the market operator. To tackle this challenge, a novel reference-control grouping-based PV plant reserve estimation method has been proposed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory under past projects funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office. The estimation method separates inverters within a plant into two groups: a control group and a reference group. While the reference group is reserved to operate at its PHL, the control group can be curtailed to provide the grid services. Real-time outputs from the reference inverters are used to estimate the PHL for the whole plant based on the ratio between capacities of the reference group and of the plant. This work further enhances the methodology by (1) improving the model accuracy through machine learning; (2) automating the reference inverter selection through correlation analysis; (3) considering estimation look-ahead windows; and (4) applying to regional spinning reserve estimation. Significant performance improvement has been observed based on real-world data collected by CAISO, Southern Company, and Terabase Energy. Compared with the original scaling method, the newly proposed machine learning-based approach reduces the estimation errors by 30% and 13% at the plant level and region level, respectively. Results obtained from this project are intended to be used by grid operators, market operators, balancing authorities, and PV plant owners and operators to facilitate PV participation in ancillary service markets. Regulators, policymakers, and system planners can also consider the results of this work in their decision-making processes. In addition to the performance improvement on the existing reference-control based grouping method, we also investigated how the variability of PV generation from a single PV inverter can be used to represent the variability of PV generation at the plant level.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A Data-Driven Approach to Dynamic Var Compensator Placement for Local Voltage Stabilization on Feeders with High PV Penetration

Distribution feeders with a high penetration of distributed photovoltaic (PV) systems can experience voltage variability caused by the changing load flow injections corresponding to the availability of the solar resource. The rapid, uncontrolled voltage range fluctuations can affect the system. Tap-changing voltage regulators, switched capacitors, and smart inverter functions have been used to stabilize voltage. However, in some cases, when these options are insufficient or unavailable, dedicated reactive power control devices such as dynamic var compensators (DVCs) can be used for local voltage stabilization. This paper introduces a statistical framework to characterize voltage variability and stabilization, proposes a data-driven approach to DVC placement, and presents the results of a planning study on a real feeder using real data.

Reiman, Andrew P.↗

Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) algorithm theoretical basis document: Geolocation, calibration, and ERBE-like analyses (subsystems 1-3) - volume 2

The theoretical bases for the Release 1 algorithms that will be used to process satellite data for investigation of the Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) are described. The architecture for software implementation of the methodologies is outlined. Volume 2 details the techniques used to geolocate and calibrate the CERES scanning radiometer measurements of shortwave and longwave radiance to invert the radiances to top-of-the-atmosphere (TOA) and surface fluxes following the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) approach, and to average the fluxes over various time and spatial scales to produce an ERBE-like product. Spacecraft ephemeris and sensor telemetry are used with calibration coefficients to produce a chronologically ordered data product called bidirectional scan (BDS) radiances. A spatially organized instrument Earth scan product is developed for the cloud-processing subsystem. The ERBE-like inversion subsystem converts BDS radiances to unfiltered instantaneous TOA and surface fluxes. The TOA fluxes are determined by using established ERBE techniques. Hourly TOA fluxes are computed from the instantaneous values by using ERBE methods. Hourly surface fluxes are estimated from TOA fluxes by using simple parameterizations based on recent research. The averaging process produces daily, monthly-hourly, and monthly means of TOA and surface fluxes at various scales. This product provides a continuation of the ERBE record.

Wielicki, B. A.↗

Comparisons of the v11.1 Orbiting Carbon Observatory‐2 (OCO‐2) X CO2 Measurements With GGG2020 TCCON

The Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) is NASA's first Earth observation satellite mission dedicated to studying the sources and sinks of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) on a global scale. The observations of reflected sunlight are inverted in a retrieval algorithm to produce estimates of the dry air mole-fractions of CO 2 (X CO2 ). The OCO-2 Level 2 data release, version 11.1 (v11.1) retrievals from the Atmospheric Carbon Observations from Space (ACOS) algorithm, includes significant improvements in the X CO2 data product compared to older OCO-2 data versions. This work compares the v11.1 X CO2 from OCO-2 against X CO2 estimates collected from a global ground-based network known as the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON), OCO-2's primary validation source. The OCO-2 project provides a version of the Level 2 data product, called “lite” files that include calibrated and bias-corrected XCO2 values, accessible together with all OCO-2 data products through the NASA Goddard Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). This work shows that OCO-2 X CO2 observations made between September 2014 and December 2023, after quality filtering and the application of an averaging kernel correction, agree well with coincident TCCON data for all OCO-2 observational modes of land (nadir, glint, target) and ocean (glint). The aggregated, bias-corrected, and quality-filtered absolute average bias values are less than or equal to 0.20 parts per million (ppm) globally for all OCO-2 observation modes, where the biases do not indicate a statistically significant time dependence. The land nadir/glint mode has the lowest bias value of −0.03 ± 0.85 ppm.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Cosmological evidence for leptonic asymmetry after Planck

Recently, the PLANCK satellite found a larger and most precise value of the matter energy density, that impacts on the present values of other cosmological parameters such as the Hubble constant H{sub 0}, the present cluster abundances S{sub 8}, and the age of the Universe t{sub U}. The existing tension between PLANCK determination of these parameters in the frame of the base ΛCDM model and their determination from other measurements generated lively discussions, one possible interpretation being that some sources of systematic errors in cosmological measurements are not completely understood. An alternative interpretation is related to the fact that the CMB observations, that probe the high redshift Universe are interpreted in terms of cosmological parameters at present time by extrapolation within the base ΛCDM model that can be inadequate or incomplete. In this paper we quantify this tension by exploring several extensions of the base ΛCDM model that include the leptonic asymmetry. We set bounds on the radiation content of the Universe and neutrino properties by using the latest cosmological measurements, imposing also self-consistent BBN constraints on the primordial helium abundance. For all asymmetric cosmological models we find the preference of cosmological data for smaller values of active and sterile neutrino masses. This increases the tension between cosmological and short baseline neutrino oscillation data that favors a sterile neutrino with the mass of around 1 eV. For the case of degenerate massive neutrinos, we find that the discrepancies with the local determinations of H{sub 0}, and t{sub U} are alleviated at ∼ 1.3σ level while S{sub 8} is in agreement with its determination from CFHTLenS survey data at ∼ 1σ and with the prediction of cluster mass-observation relation at ∼ 0.5σ. We also find 2σ statistical preference of the cosmological data for the leptonic asymmetric models involving three massive neutrino species and neutrino direct mass hierarchy. We conclude that the current cosmological data favor the leptonic asymmetric extension of the base ΛCDM model and normal neutrino mass hierarchy over the models with additional sterile neutrino species and/or inverted neutrino mass hierarchy.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Ubiquitous Power Electronics in Future Power Systems: Recommendations to fully utilize fast control capabilities

Power electronics is becoming ubiquitous in power systems because the rapid growth of variable renewable generation such as wind and solar, responsive load, electric vehicles, energy storage, as well as DC transmission. As a result, a high percentage of electricity will be generated, transmitted or consumed by power electronics in the future power system. Such a high penetration of power electronics is changing power system operation landscapes and dynamic characteristics. Two major kinds of impact are reduced system mechanical inertia by inverter-based resources displacing conventional generation and active participation of many distributed energy resources through inverters. This has caused significant reliability challenges for power system operation. The mitigation approach so far has mostly focused on accommodating power electronics inverters as passive devices or creating synthetic inertias to make inverter-based generation behaving as conventional generators. However, the high-speed control capabilities of power electronics present new opportunities for achieving an optimal performance beyond conventional power systems. A lower-inertia system can be more responsive for improving reliability, and distributed small resources can be more adaptive and scalable for better flexibility and resilience. Power electronic inverters are capable of multiple fast control functions. To fully utilized the ubiquitous power electronics in power systems requires technology advancements in the following areas: data and communications to capture the new dynamic behaviors introduced by power electronics; modeling and simulation to understand the behaviors of power electronics and its interactions with other components in the context of power systems; control and optimization methods for fully utilizing the capabilities of power electronics for a new paradigm of performance beyond the traditional inertia-heavy system; and significant upgrades in power electronics hardware to cater to the new control capabilities. If properly controlled and optimized, power electronics can help transform the power system to be responsive, adaptive, and scalable.

Huang, Zhenyu↗

Design of a three-phase, 15-kilovolt-ampere static inverter for motor-starting a Brayton space power system

The design of a three-phase, 400-Hz, 15-kVA static inverter for motor-starting the 2- to 15-kWe Brayton electrical space power system is described. The inverter operates from a nominal 56-V dc source to provide a 28-V, rms, quasi-square-wave output. The inverter is capable of supplying a 200-A peak current. Integrated circuitry is used to generate the three-phase, 400-Hz reference signals. Performance data for a drive stage that improves switching speed and provides efficient operation over a range of output current and drive supply voltage are presented. A transformerless, transistor output stage is used.

Frye, R. J.↗

Inversion problem for ion-atom differential elastic scattering.

The paper describes a practical application of Remler's (1971) method by which one constructs a set of phase shifts from high resolution measurements of the differential elastic scattering of protons by rare-gas atoms. These JWKB phase shifts are then formally inverted to determine the corresponding intermolecular potentials. The validity of the method is demonstrated by comparing an intermolecular potential obtained by direct inversion of experimental data with a fairly accurate calculation by Wolniewicz (1965).

Rich, W. G.↗

Determination of the complex refractive index and size distribution of atmospheric particulates from bistatic-monostatic lidar and solar radiometer measurements

A method is presented for inferring both the size distribution and the complex refractive index of atmospheric particulates from combined bistatic-monostatic lidar and solar radiometer observations. The basic input measurements are spectral optical depths at several visible and near-infrared wavelengths as obtained with a solar radiometer and backscatter and angular scatter coefficients as obtained from a biostatic-monostatic lidar. The spectral optical depth measurements obtained from the radiometer are mathematically inverted to infer a columnar particulate size distribution. Advantage is taken of the fact that the shape of the size distribution obtained by inverting the particulate optical depth is relatively insensitive to the particle refractive index assumed in the inversion. Bistatic-monostatic angular scatter and backscatter lidar data are then processed to extract an optimum value for the particle refractive index subject to the constraint that the shape of the particulate size distribution be the same as that inferred from the solar radiometer data. Specifically, the scattering parameters obtained from the bistatic-monostatic lidar data are compared with corresponding theoretical computations made for various assumed refractive index values. That value which yields best agreement, in a weighted least squares sense, is selected as the optimal refractive index estimate. The results of this procedure applied to a set of simulated measurements as well as to measurements collected on two separate days are presented and discussed.

Reagan, J. A.↗