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DOE OSTI2024

The Hard Life of Floatovoltaics: Modeling Wind-Driven Oscillations of Floating Solar Panels

Modern, thin photovoltaic (PV) panels for solar power are susceptible to high stress loads in windy conditions. Manufacturers are eager to determine optimal installation practices to reduce these loads, including in the relatively new practice of installing PV on floating structures located on artificial and natural lakes. As part of our effort to develop simulation capabilities for stress on such floating PV systems, we here present our combined model-simulation approach, which simulates the dynamic wind loading and uses modeled elements to capture both the hydrodynamic and mooring-line forces. We discuss the forces important for our model and the challenges inherent in our simulation. Of particular interest is our model of the hysteresis response displayed by the attached mooring lines, which are engineered to damp motion and oscillation of the floating panel system. We validate our approach against the benchmark problem of vortex-induced vibration of a cylinder, which is driven by the same dynamic forces present in floating PV panels.

floating↗

NASA NTRS1938

Tank Tests to Show the Effect Rivet Heads on the Water Performance of a Seaplane-Float

A 1/3.5 full-sized model of a seaplane float constructed from lines supplied by the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department, was tested first with smooth painted bottom surfaces and then with round-head rivets, plate laps, and keel plates fitted to simulate the actual bottom of a metal float. A percentage increase in water resistance caused by the added roughness was found to be from 5 to 20 percent at the hump speed and from 15 to 40 percent at high speeds. The effect of the roughness of the afterbody was found to be negligible except at high trims. The model data were extrapolated to full size by the usual method that assumes the forces to vary according to Froude's law and, in the case of the smooth model, by a method of separation that takes into account the effect of scale on the frictional resistance. It was concluded that the effect of rivet heads on the take-off performance of a relatively high-powered float seaplane is of little consequence, but it may be of greater importance in the case of more moderately powered flying boats.

FLOATS - RESISTANCE EFFECT OF SURFACE ROUGHNESS↗

DOE OSTI2020

Computational modelling and experimental tank testing of the multi float WaveSub under regular wave forcing

A submerged wave device generates energy from the relative motion of floating bodies. In WaveSub, three floats are joined to a reactor; each connected to a spring and generator. Electricity generated damps the orbital movements of the floats. The forces are non-linear and each float interacts with the others. Tuning to the wave climate is achieved by changing the line lengths, so there is a need to understand the performance trade-offs for a large number of configurations. This requires an efficient, large displacement, multidirectional, multi-body numerical scheme. Results from a 1/25 scale wave basin experiment are described. Here, we show that a time domain linear potential flow formulation (Nemoh, WEC-Sim) can match the tank testing provided that suitably tuned drag coefficients are employed. Inviscid linear potential models can match some wave device experiments; however, additional viscous terms generally provide better accuracy. Scale experiments are also prone to mechanical friction, and we estimate friction terms to improve the correlation further. The resulting error in mean power between numerical and physical models is approximately 10%. Predicted device movement shows a good match. Overall, drag terms in time domain wave energy modelling will improve simulation accuracy in wave renewable energy device design. to understand the performance trade-offs for a large number of configurations. This requires an efficient, large displacement, multidirectional, multi-body numerical scheme. Results from a 1/25 scale wave basin experiment are described. Here, we show that a time domain linear potential flow formulation (Nemoh, WEC-Sim) can match the tank testing provided that suitably tuned drag coefficients are employed. Inviscid linear potential models can match some wave device experiments; however, additional viscous terms generally provide better accuracy. Scale experiments are also prone to mechanical friction, and we estimate friction terms to improve the correlation further. The resulting error in mean power between numerical and physical models is approximately 10%. Predicted device movement shows a good match. Overall, drag terms in time domain wave energy modelling will improve simulation accuracy in wave renewable energy device design.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗

DOE OSTI2020

Algorithms for Efficient Reproducible Floating Point Summation

We define “reproducibility” as getting bitwise identical results from multiple runs of the same program, perhaps with different hardware resources or other changes that should not affect the answer. Many users depend on reproducibility for debugging or correctness. However, dynamic scheduling of parallel computing resources, combined with nonassociative floating point addition, makes reproducibility challenging even for summation, or operations like the BLAS. We describe a “reproducible accumulator” data structure (the “binned number”) and associated algorithms to reproducibly sum binary floating point numbers, independent of summation order. We use a subset of the IEEE Floating Point Standard 754-2008 and bitwise operations on the standard representations in memory. Our approach requires only one read-only pass over the data, and one reduction in parallel, using a 6-word reproducible accumulator (more words can be used for higher accuracy), enabling standard tiling optimization techniques. Summing n words with a 6-word reproducible accumulator requires approximately 9 n floating point operations (arithmetic, comparison, and absolute value) and approximately 3 n bitwise operations. The final error bound with a 6-word reproducible accumulator and our default settings can be up to 2 29 times smaller than the error bound for conventional (recursive) summation on ill-conditioned double-precision inputs.

Computer Science↗

DOE OSTI2025

Floating Offshore Wind US Manufacturing and Commercialization: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report)

NREL assessed the supply chain and workforce considerations for the OCG-Wind floater technology, a floating semi-submersible offshore wind substructure, as well sharing vessel needs to inform their installation strategy. This technical assistance was in support of the FLoating Offshore Wind ReadINess (FLOWIN) Prize Phase 2 submission. NREL provided an assessment of domestic supplier capabilities for the main components of their floating offshore wind platform design and analyzed US regional and national supply chain constraints and gaps. Thirteen interviews with companies including steel distributors, forges, foundries, ports, large component fabricators, subcomponent fabricators, and secondary suppliers provided key insights such as 1) assembly ports are the key infrastructure barrier standing in the way of unlocking the domestic assembly and component fabrication for steel-based FOW platforms, 2) domestic steel producers can supply the types and quantities of steel necessary for FOW platforms, and 3) coordination between stakeholders will be a vital part of successfully developing the supply chain and infrastructure needed to domestically produce FOW platforms. In the workforce assessment, NREL documented a step-by-step approach to conduct a place-based assessment of the foundational workforce consideration for recruiting, upskilling, and retaining a workforce, such as supportive local and state policy, nearby education and training programs, and existing relevant industry. This approach was applied to Tacoma, Washington. Tacoma was indicated to have the potential be a successful location for fabrication and assembly of floating offshore wind energy in terms of workforce development. To share data on vessel requirements to install the OCG-Wind floater, NREL compiled resources that help answer the questions related to anchor handling tug vessels, shared a database of cable laying vessels, and answered questions on complying with the Jones Act.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

DOE OSTI2022

A reference open-source controller for fixed and floating offshore wind turbines

Abstract. This paper describes the development of a new reference controller framework for fixed and floating offshore wind turbines that greatly facilitates controller tuning and represents standard industry practices. The reference wind turbine controllers that are most commonly cited in the literature have been developed to work with specific reference wind turbines. Although these controllers have provided standard control functionalities, they are often not easy to modify for use on other turbines, so it has been challenging for researchers to run representative, fully dynamic simulations of other wind turbine designs. The Reference Open-Source Controller (ROSCO) has been developed to provide a modular reference wind turbine controller that represents industry standards and performs comparably to or better than existing reference controllers. The formulation of the ROSCO controller logic and tuning processes is presented in this paper. Control capabilities such as tip speed ratio tracking generator torque control, minimum pitch saturation, wind speed estimation, and a smoothing algorithm at near-rated operation are included to provide modern controller features. A floating offshore wind turbine feedback module is also included to facilitate growing research in the floating offshore arena. All of the standard controller implementations and control modules are automatically tuned such that a non-controls engineer or automated optimization routine can easily improve the controller performance. This article provides the framework and theoretical basis for the ROSCO controller modules and generic tuning processes. Simulations of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 5 MW reference wind turbine and International Energy Agency 15 MW reference turbine on the University of Maine semisubmersible platform are analyzed to demonstrate the controller's performance in both fixed and floating configurations, respectively. The simulation results demonstrate ROSCO's peak shaving routine to reduce maximum rotor thrusts by over 10 % compared to the NREL 5 MW reference wind turbine controller on the land-based turbine and to reduce maximum platform pitch angles by nearly 30 % when using the platform feedback routine instead of a more traditional low-bandwidth controller.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

NASA NTRS1977

DIFMOS - A floating-gate electrically erasable nonvolatile semiconductor memory technology

Electrically alterable read-only memories (EAROM's) or reprogrammable read-only memories (RPROM's) can be fabricated using a single-level metal-gate p-channel MOS technology with all conventional processing steps. Given the acronym DIFMOS for dual-injector floating-gate MOS, this technology utilizes the floating-gate technique for nonvolatile storage of data. Avalanche injection of hot electrons through gate oxide from a special injector diode in each bit is used to charge the floating gates. A second injector structure included in each bit permits discharge of the floating gate by avalanche injection of holes through gate oxide. The overall design of the DIFMOS bit is dictated by the physical considerations required for each of the avalanche injector types. The end result is a circuit technology which can provide fully decoded bit-erasable EAROM-type circuits using conventional manufacturing techniques.

Gosney, W. M.↗

NASA NTRS1978

Environment parameters and basic functions for floating-point computation

A language-independent proposal for environment parameters and basic functions for floating-point computation is presented. Basic functions are proposed to analyze, synthesize, and scale floating-point numbers. The model provides a small set of parameters and a small set of axioms along with sharp measures of roundoff error. The parameters and functions can be used to write portable and robust codes that deal intimately with the floating-point representation. Subject to underflow and overflow constraints, a number can be scaled by a power of the floating-point radix inexpensively and without loss of precision. A specific representation for FORTRAN is included.

Brown, W. S.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Paranoia.Ada: A diagnostic program to evaluate Ada floating-point arithmetic

Many essential software functions in the mission critical computer resource application domain depend on floating point arithmetic. Numerically intensive functions associated with the Space Station project, such as emphemeris generation or the implementation of Kalman filters, are likely to employ the floating point facilities of Ada. Paranoia.Ada appears to be a valuabe program to insure that Ada environments and their underlying hardware exhibit the precision and correctness required to satisfy mission computational requirements. As a diagnostic tool, Paranoia.Ada reveals many essential characteristics of an Ada floating point implementation. Equipped with such knowledge, programmers need not tremble before the complex task of floating point computation.

Hjermstad, Chris↗

NASA NTRS1990

Verification of floating-point software

Floating point computation presents a number of problems for formal verification. Should one treat the actual details of floating point operations, or accept them as imprecisely defined, or should one ignore round-off error altogether and behave as if floating point operations are perfectly accurate. There is the further problem that a numerical algorithm usually only approximately computes some mathematical function, and we often do not know just how good the approximation is, even in the absence of round-off error. ORA has developed a theory of asymptotic correctness which allows one to verify floating point software with a minimum entanglement in these problems. This theory and its implementation in the Ariel C verification system are described. The theory is illustrated using a simple program which finds a zero of a given function by bisection. This paper is presented in viewgraph form.

Hoover, Doug N.↗

NASA NTRS1927

Characteristics of a twin-float seaplane during take-off

This report presents the results of an investigation of the planing and get-away characteristics of three representative types of seaplanes, namely, single float, boat, and twin float. The experiments carried out on the single float and boat types have been reported on previously. This report covers the investigation conducted on the twin-float seaplane, the DT-2, and includes as an appendix, a brief summary of the results obtained on all three tests. At low-water speeds, 20 to 30 miles per hour, the seaplane trims by the stern and has a high resistance. Above these speeds the longitudinal control becomes increasingly effective until, with corresponding speeds of 56 to 46 miles per hour. It was further determined that an increase in the load caused little if any change in the water speed at which the maximum angle and resistance occurred, but that it did produce an increase in the maximum angle.

Crowley, John W , Jr↗

NASA NTRS1938

The Design of Floats

Following a summary of the multiplicity of domestic and foreign floats and a brief enumeration of the requirements of floats, the essential form parameters and their effect on the qualities of floats are detailed. On this basis a standard float design is developed which in model families with varying length/beam ratio and angle of dead rise is analyzed by an experimental method which permits its best utilization on any airplane.

Sottorf, W↗

NASA NTRS1994

Free-floating dual-arm robots for space assembly

Freely moving systems in space conserve linear and angular momentum. As moving systems collide, the velocities get altered due to transfer of momentum. The development of strategies for assembly in a free-floating work environment requires a good understanding of primitives such as self motion of the robot, propulsion of the robot due to onboard thrusters, docking of the robot, retrieval of an object from a collection of objects, and release of an object in an object pool. The analytics of such assemblies involve not only kinematics and rigid body dynamics but also collision and impact dynamics of multibody systems. In an effort to understand such assemblies in zero gravity space environment, we are currently developing at Ohio University a free-floating assembly facility with a dual-arm planar robot equipped with thrusters, a free-floating material table, and a free-floating assembly table. The objective is to pick up workpieces from the material table and combine them into prespecified assemblies. This paper presents analytical models of assembly primitives and strategies for overall assembly. A computer simulation of an assembly is developed using the analytical models. The experiment facility will be used to verify the theoretical predictions.

Agrawal, Sunil Kumar↗

NASA NTRS1996

Program Converts VAX Floating-Point Data To UNIX

VAX Floating Point to Host Floating Point Conversion (VAXFC) software converts non-ASCII files to unformatted floating-point representation of UNIX machine. This is done by reading bytes bit by bit, converting them to floating-point numbers, then writing results to another file. Useful when data files created by VAX computer must be used on other machines. Written in C language.

Alves, Marcos↗

NASA NTRS1997

Thermocapillary Convection in Floating Zones under Simulated Reduced-Gravity Conditions

The objective was to study thermocapillary convection in a transparent floating zone. The floating zone process is a unique process for crystal growth in that the melt is free from contamination by a crucible. Microgravity is ideal for the floating zone process because there is no significant gravity to cause the molten zone to collapse as under normal gravity. Since gravity-induced buoyancy convection is suppressed, surface- tension-induced thermocapillary convection dominates in the molten zone. In floating zone crystal growth, thermocapillary convection can be strong enough to cause formation of dopant striations and a convex growth front - both are undesirable in crystal growth.

Kou, Sindo↗

NASA NTRS2000

Role of Vibration-Induced Streaming in Float-Zone Crystal Growth

This presentation will examine in detail the role of vibration-induced streaming flow in the context of float-zone crystal growth. It is very well known that during float-zone materials processing, the naturally occurring temperature gradients along the zone surface impose a thermocapillary flow in the zone. Under certain processing conditions, the thermocapillary flow can also become nonsteady (oscillatory). The presence of thermocapillary flow is detrimental to crystal quality, for it can promote non-uniform dopant distribution and crystal striations. To null this effect we have imposed a counter streaming flow in the zone, via end-wall vibration. This technique has been adapted to float-zone processing of Sodium Nitrate-Barium Nitrate eutectic alloys, under both steady and nonsteady thermocapillary flow conditions. The beneficial effects of counter streaming flow have been clearly brought out through the before and after comparisons of the crystal microstructure. In addition, we are also examining the theoretical underpinnings of the balancing of thermocapillary flows with vibration-driven counter flows in float-zones.

Anilkumar, A. V.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Role of Vibration-Induced Streaming in Float-Zone Crystal Growth

Anikumar, A. V.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Design And Testing of The Floating Potential Probe For ISS

Flight 4A was an especially critical mission for the International Space Station (ISS). For the first time, the high voltage solar arrays generated significant amounts of power and long predicted environmental interactions (high negative floating potential and concomitant dielectric charging) became serious concerns. Furthermore, the same flight saw the Plasma Contacting Unit (PCU) deployed and put into operation to mitigate and control these effects. The ISS program office has recognized the critical need to verify, by direct measurement, that ISS does not charge to unacceptable levels. A Floating Potential Probe (FPP) was therefore deployed on ISS to measure ISS floating potential relative to the surrounding plasma and to measure relevant plasma parameters. The primary objective of FPP is to verify that ISS floating potential does not exceed the specified level of 40 volts with respect to the ambient. Since it is expected that in normal operations the PCU will maintain ISS within this specification, it is equivalent to say that the objective of FPP is to monitor the functionality of the PCU. In this paper, we report on the design and testing of the ISS FPP. In a separate paper, the operations and results obtained so far by the FPP will be presented.

Hillard, G. Barry↗