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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 91 records · Page 5

Comparison of ACHILLES and GENIE observables for DUNE-PRISM and the SBN program, with new 2p2h predictions

Several DUNE ND off axis locations were simulated using GENIE and ACHILLES, and generator differences and FSI contributions were examined for various observables. Predictions were compared with those of existing experiments, and it is shown that the DUNE ND 20m off axis predictions are similar to that of MicroBooNE for various observables. Finally, the 2p2h interaction mode was simulated for ACHILLES for the first time for ICARUS, and a preliminary comparison is made to MicroBooNE data and simulations from different event generators.

Dumont, Daniel [Fermilab]↗

Solid Sorbent Cost Sensitivity Analysis: A Framework for UNF Reprocessing Sorbent Cost Comparison

Solid sorbents have been the subject of research and development across the U.S. Department of Energy national laboratory complex for many years. They are generally accepted as a safer alternative to cryogenic distillation for noble gas capture, and they present an easier pathway in development of long-term waste forms after iodine capture. As more types of sorbents have been proposed for capture of volatile radionuclides, it has become necessary to compare them based on performance and cost criteria. This report details cost and performance information for three promising sorbents and provides a cost sensitivity analysis. The goal of this analysis is to establish a framework which can be utilized to directly compare future sorbents, with differing properties, to the sorbents discussed in this report. Direct comparison is instrumental to making informed decisions to efficiently guide research and minimize laborious detours. In all cases, sorbent capacity is a major cost driver as it influences the mass of sorbent, operational footprint, and disposal cost requirements., However, sorbent price can greatly increase the cost of a capture technology. For sorbents used in krypton capture, the purity of krypton released to storage is the highest cost driver.

11 - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Empirical Comparison of Machine Learning Approaches for Black-Box Modeling of Power Conversion System Dynamics

Inverter-based resources are key components in modern power systems, but accurately modeling their complex behavior can be challenging. Standard, generic converter models often oversimplify inverter dynamics, leading to significant errors in predicting performance. In this work, we compare several data-driven machine learning (ML) approaches for inverter modeling, performing experiments on power conversion systems, systematically varying input conditions, and recording the resulting voltages and currents. The ML models were then trained on this measured data to capture the inverter's dynamic response and to predict the inverter's output current. A performance comparison between the four ML models under study is conducted, laying the foundation for future work on hardware implementation for real-time inference.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

Comparison of Commercial, State-of-the-Art, Fossil-Based Ammonia Production

This NETL report provides a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of current, state-of-the-art, fossil-based ammonia production processes, explicitly utilizing natural gas as the feedstock. The study thoroughly investigates three distinct configurations: conventional Steam Methane Reforming (SMR) without carbon capture, SMR integrated with carbon capture and storage (CCS), and Autothermal Reforming (ATR) also with CCS. The analysis incorporates detailed equipment cost accounting as part of its methodology. The primary objective is to meticulously evaluate the cost and performance of these established and emerging technological pathways, considering factors such as capital expenditures, operational costs, and energy consumption. While the report acknowledges and quantifies environmental impacts, its central focus remains on the economic and technical feasibility of each process design employing these current technologies. The analysis provides a direct comparison of the Levelized Cost of Ammonia (LCOA) for each pathway, revealing how the integration of CCS within these state-of-the-art systems impacts the overall production cost. The ATR+CCS configuration, representing an advanced approach, emerged with a slightly more favorable LCOA compared to SMR+CCS. This benefit was attributed to its inherent process efficiencies, high carbon capture rates, and economy of scale advantages. The report details the energy consumption profiles for each case, including metrics like net energy consumption and thermal efficiency, which are critical for assessing the performance of these contemporary industrial processes. Sensitivity analyses further explore how variables such as natural gas price, capital costs, and capacity factors influence the LCOA across all scenarios, offering critical insights into the economic robustness and scalability of these current ammonia production technologies.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Networked Microgrid Energy Management Considering Ownership and Control Structures: A Comparison

With the growing deployment of microgrids, networked microgrids have emerged for their additional advantages of economy, reliability and resilience by coordinating the operation of multiple microgrids. As microgrids are operated with different ownership, objectives and functionalities, the formed networked microgrids show characteristics of mixed ownership, inconsistent objectives and various functionalities. To enable the coordinated operation of networked microgrids, three control structures, i.e., centralized, distributed and decentralized, have been constructed in the literature. However, the data sharing enabling these different paradigms and the resulted value propositions are not well defined, leading to poor resource management and resilience, etc. To solve this issue, a complete comparison of networked microgrid energy management under centralized, distributed and decentralized structures are performed. As a novel contribution, the required minimum data exchange of networked microgrid energy management under three control structures are identified, respectively. The value propositions are calculated and compared against each other by the results of case studies.

control structures↗

The AGORA High-resolution Galaxy Simulations Comparison Project. IV. Halo and Galaxy Mass Assembly in a Cosmological Zoom-in Simulation at z ≤ 2

In this fourth paper from the AGORA Collaboration, we study the evolution down to redshift z = 2 and below of a set of cosmological zoom-in simulations of a Milky Way mass galaxy by eight of the leading hydrodynamic simulation codes. We also compare this CosmoRun suite of simulations with dark matter-only simulations by the same eight codes. We analyze general properties of the halo and galaxy at z = 4 and 3, and before the last major merger, focusing on the formation of well-defined rotationally supported disks, the mass–metallicity relation, the specific star formation rate, the gas metallicity gradients, and the nonaxisymmetric structures in the stellar disks. Codes generally converge well to the stellar-to-halo mass ratios predicted by semianalytic models at z ~ 2. We see that almost all the hydro codes develop rotationally supported structures at low redshifts. Most agree within 0.5 dex with the observed mass–metallicity relation at high and intermediate redshifts, and reproduce the gas metallicity gradients obtained from analytical models and low-redshift observations. We confirm that the intercode differences in the halo assembly history reported in the first paper of the collaboration also exist in CosmoRun, making the code-to-code comparison more difficult. We show that such differences are mainly due to variations in code-dependent parameters that control the time stepping strategy of the gravity solver. We find that variations in the early stellar feedback can also result in differences in the timing of the low-redshift mergers. All the simulation data down to z = 2 and the auxiliary data will be made publicly available.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Measurement report: A comparison of ground-level ice-nucleating-particle abundance and aerosol properties during autumn at contrasting marine and terrestrial locations

Abstract. Ice-nucleating particles (INPs) are an essential class of aerosols found worldwide that have far-reaching but poorly quantified climate feedback mechanisms through interaction with clouds and impacts on precipitation. These particles can have highly variable physicochemical properties in the atmosphere, and it is crucial to continuously monitor their long-term concentration relative to total ambient aerosol populations at a wide variety of sites to comprehensively understand aerosol–cloud interactions in the atmosphere. Hence, our study applied an in situ forced expansion cooling device to measure ambient INP concentrations and test its automated continuous measurements at atmospheric observatories, where complementary aerosol instruments are heavily equipped. Using collocated aerosol size, number, and composition measurements from these sites, we analyzed the correlation between sources and abundance of INPs in different environments. Toward this aim, we have measured ground-level INP concentrations at two contrasting sites, one in the Southern Great Plains (SGP) region of the United States with a substantial terrestrially influenced aerosol population and one in the Eastern North Atlantic Ocean (ENA) region with a primarily marine-influenced aerosol population. These measurements examined INPs mainly formed through immersion freezing and were performed at a ≤ 12 min resolution and with a wide range of heterogeneous freezing temperatures (Ts above −31 °C) for at least 45 d at each site. The associated INP data analysis was conducted in a consistent manner. We also explored the additional offline characterization of ambient aerosol particle samples from both locations in comparison to in situ data. From our ENA data, on average, INP abundance ranges from ≈ 1 to ≈ 20 L−1 (−30 °C ≤ T ≤ −20 °C) during October–November 2020. Backward air mass trajectories reveal a strong marine influence at ENA with 75.7 % of air masses originating over the Atlantic Ocean and 96.6 % of air masses traveling over open water, but analysis of particle chemistry suggests an additional INP source besides maritime aerosols (e.g., sea spray aerosols) at ENA. In contrast, 90.8 % of air masses at the SGP location originated from the North American continent, and 96.1 % of the time, these air masses traveled over land. As a result, organic-rich SGP aerosols from terrestrial sources exhibited notably high INP abundance from ≈ 1 to ≈ 100 L−1 (−30 °C ≤ T ≤ −15 °C) during October–November 2019. The probability density function of aerosol surface area-scaled immersion freezing efficiency (ice nucleation active surface site density; ns) was assessed for selected freezing temperatures. While the INP concentrations measured at SGP are higher than those of ENA, the ns(T) values of SGP (≈ 105 to ≈ 107 m−2 for −30 °C ≤ T ≤ −15 °C) are reciprocally lower than ENA for approximately 2 orders of magnitude (≈ 107 to ≈ 109 m−2 for −30 °C ≤ T ≤ −15 °C). The observed difference in ns(T) mainly stems from varied available aerosol surface areas, Saer, from two sites (Saer,SGP > Saer,ENA). INP parameterizations were developed as a function of examined freezing temperatures from SGP and ENA for our study periods.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Antarctic ice sheet model comparison with uncurated geological constraints shows that higher spatial resolution improves deglacial reconstructions

Accurately reconstructing past changes to the shape and volume of the Antarctic ice sheet relies on the use of physically based and thus internally consistent ice sheet modeling, benchmarked against spatially limited geologic data. The challenge in model benchmarking against geologic data is diagnosing whether model-data misfits are the result of an inadequate model, inherently noisy or biased geologic data, and/or incorrect association between modeled quantities and geologic observations. In this work we address this challenge by (i) the development and use of a new model-data evaluation framework applied to an uncurated data set of geologic constraints, and (ii) nested high-spatial-resolution modeling designed to test the hypothesis that model resolution is an important limitation in matching geologic data. While previous approaches to model benchmarking employed highly curated datasets, our approach applies an automated screening and quality control algorithm to an uncurated public dataset of geochronological observations (specifically, cosmogenic-nuclide exposure-age measurements from glacial deposits in ice-free areas). This optimizes data utilization by including more geological constraints, reduces potential interpretive bias, and allows unsupervised assimilation of new data as they are collected. We also incorporate a nested model framework in which high-resolution domains are downscaled from a continent-wide ice sheet model. We highlight the application of this framework by applying these methods to a small ensemble of deglacial ice-sheet model simulations, and demonstrate that the nested approach improves the ability of model simulations to match exposure age data collected from areas of complex topography and ice flow. We develop a range of diagnostic model-data comparison metrics to provide more insight into model performance than possible from a single-valued misfit statistic, showing that different metrics capture different aspects of ice sheet deflation.

Geosciences↗

Comparison of Geochemical Reactivity of Marcellus and Caney Shale Based on Effluent Analysis

ABSTRACT: In this comparative study, we analyzed the changes in elemental concentrations of hydraulic fracturing fluids after interaction with the Marcellus and Caney Shale formations. The focus was on assessing the inherent risks and environmental implications associated with flowback waters, including their impact on soil, ground, and drinking water quality, and human health safety. The chemical compositions of effluents were determined through Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-OES) and Mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The Marcellus Shale, showed concentrations of Cd, averaging 0.380 ppm far exceeding safe water thresholds. Significant levels of As, Se, B, and Pb were detected in both shales, raising concerns about soil and water contamination. Analyzing the effluents from representative samples of sections of the Marcellus (S2 and S7) and Caney (R1 and R2) indicates different geochemical responses over 4 weeks of experiments. This comparison underscores the chemical changes and environmental considerations linked to hydraulic fracturing across shale formations, suggesting the value of tailored monitoring and regulatory measures for each type. 1. INTRODUCTION The Caney and Marcellus shales, differing in geology and geochemistry, represent distinct unconventional reservoirs. The Caney shale, is more ductile, with higher produced water volumes, (Smith et al., 2022) contrasts with the brittle Marcellus shale known for lower brine production but significant data availability. This study aims to elucidate the possible environmental health and safety issues that may arise from the hydraulic fracturing processes. The interaction between fracturing fluids and clays presents a significant challenge. The primary base of these fluids is water, which, when introduced to clay, can induce swelling and constrict flow pathways. This phenomenon is attributed to water molecules infiltrating the layers of clay, particularly in 2:1-type clays, leading to an increased distance between layers. To counteract this, clay stabilizers are employed (Awejori et al., 2021). Despite their effectiveness, these stabilizers are considered temporary solutions. Upon completion of the fracturing process, a concomitant amount of contaminated waters (flow back), with varied content is collected at the surface. From these, we can infer the geochemical reactions and the environmental challenges associated with these waters. Flowback waters can be reinjected or used for other purposes such as irrigation. This requires adequate screening and treatment for safe use.

Dje, L. B.↗

Subhourly Clipping Correction Model Comparison

This work will compare the Allen method and Walker method of accounting for subhourly inverter clipping power losses in hourly PV performance models. The Allen method uses a matrix lookup based on DNI clearness and clipping potential to assign a clipping correction loss at each simulation timestep. The Walker method models the PV DC power input to the inverter as a distribution over the hourly timestep and uses integration over the timestep to determine the amount of clipping that occurs within the timestep. Both these models have been recently implemented in the System Advisor Model's (SAM) open-source code, and will be applied to hourly SURFRAD datasets to analyze the subhourly clipping loss predicted by each model for different system designs and inverter loading conditions. Both models will be compared to "true" 1-minute SURFRAD data simulations to see their accuracy against more accurate 1-minute clipping correction loss predictions. This model comparisons will be investigated in more detail at the PVSC conference in Seattle, Washington June 2024.

ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY,MATHEMATICS A↗

TRISO PARTICLE FUEL POLISHING PROCESS COMPARISON

The investigation of the TRISO coated particles is important in terms of verification the quality of the nuclear fuel samples before placing them in the reactor core. To determine the degree of damage to the coated particles, the samples must be properly polished in order to uncover the inner layers. The poster presents a comparison of two polishing methods. Mechanical polishing method, which is used frequently for sample preparations generates additional mechanical damages in the studied fuel particle, thus directly affecting the experimental results. Due to that, a novel way to polish the samples is presented - an ionic polishing method. Based on the obtained results, it was concluded that the ion polishing method is better because the level of interference with the structures of the individual layers of the tested samples is much lower than with the mechanical method.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗

Comparison of Results between the Legacy and Refined RELAP5-3D Models of the High Temperature Test Facility in Exercises 1 and 2 of the HTTF Benchmark

Work conducted in FY23 identified that RELAP5-3D was capable of reproducing trends in HTTF data during experiment PG-27 but was incapable of reproducing measured values. The primary cause of this discrepancy between RELAP5-3D results and experimental data was hypothesized to be a distortion in power density that was introduced by the radial nodalization of the model. We further hypothesized that a new model would provide better results when compared to the experiments PG-27 and PG-29. Work this FY developed a new model that is better capable of capturing local heat generation rates and contains a representation of each 1/6 azimuthal sector of the core. We used this model to develop a new set of solutions to Exercises 1 and 2 of Problems 2 and 3 in the benchmark. In this report, we present the first comprehensive comparison of the results between the two models. We see that in Exercise 1A, which is common between problems 2 and 3, the results are similar, though the results from the new model show greater detail than those from the legacy model. In Problem 2 Exercise 1B and Problem 3 Exercise 1B, we see that heat removal is slower in the new model than the legacy model. Problem 3 Exercise 1C shows temperatures that are lower in most places in the new model than the legacy model, but the area with active heat generation has higher block temperatures in the new model than the legacy model. Problem 3 Exercise 1D further shows that long-term heat removal is lower in the new model. Problem 2 Exercise 1C demonstrated that the new model observes higher temperatures in the core regions than the legacy model, justifying the need to preserve the power density in HTTF. The validation of PG-27 and PG-29 also demonstrated the improved temperature agreement in the core regions, particularly with a calibrated model that implements an effective thermal conductivity for the core material. Overall, PG-27 models show reasonable to excellent agreement for steady-state temperatures and minimal to reasonable agreement for transients. PG-29 models showed minimal to insufficient agreement with the data.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

Comparison of Loads and Aeroacoustics Between Upwind and Downwind Wind Turbine Rotors

This presentation discusses the motivation, preparation, risk mitigation, execution, and results of a full-scale experiment where the rotor of a 1.5 megawatt wind turbine was operated in a downwind configuration. The experiment took place at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Flatirons Campus in Colorado, USA, and collected conventional loads and power together with acoustic measurements from an array of four microphones. Results from load simulations complement the experiment. Fatigue loads and performance are compared between 410 minutes of downwind operation with 960 minutes of conventional upwind operations. Downwind operations cause an increase in damage equivalent loads in a few load channels. Damage equivalent load of blade root flapwise and edgewise moment and the damage equivalent load of tower base fore aft moment increase between 2% and 20% depending on the wind speed. The comparison in active power is less conclusive, but experimental results show more power in downwind than predicted by simulations. In terms of acoustics, the overall sound pressure levels are similar between upwind and downwind, but downwind worsens the metrics describing amplitude modulation.

aeroacoustics↗

A comparison of plastic and visco-plastic constitutive models for accurate predictions in PM-HIP

Powder metallurgy hot isostatic pressing (PM-HIP) is an advanced manufacturing process that can efficiently produce near net shape parts with high material utilization and uniform microstructures. While the PM-HIP process is used frequently to produce small-scale components, its application to large-scale components is still limited due to inadequate understanding of its complex processes that cause unpredictable post-HIP shape distortions. A computational model can be a cost-effective alternative to exhaustive experimentation required to understand the PM-HIP process fully. Therefore, we present a comparison of plastic and visco-plastic models that are frequently used to model the PM-HIP process. We show that the predictions of powder densification behavior and shape distortions obtained from both the models are similar under most conditions and agree well with experimental observations.

Sarkar, Subrato [ORNL]↗

Comparison of ACHILLES and GENIE Observables for DUNE-PRISM and the SBN Program, with New 2p2h Predictions

The DUNE near detector LAr-TPC can be moved to different off-axis positions to sample different neutrino fluxes, which in turn will yield different cross section distributions for observables. Several DUNE ND off axis locations were simulated using GENIE and ACHILLES, and generator differences and FSI contributions were examined for various observables. Additionally, the predictions were compared with those of existing experiments, and it is shown that the DUNE ND 20m off axis predictions are similar to that of MicroBooNE for various observables. Finally, the 2p2h interaction mode was simulated for ACHILLES for the first time for ICARUS, and a preliminary comparison is made to MicroBooNE data and simulations from different event generators.

Dumont, Daniel [Fermilab]↗