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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

U.S. Agrivoltaics Irradiance Database

This is a foundational data set for research and deployment of agrivoltaics, which is the co-location of agriculture and solar power plants on the same land. This irradiance and shading dataset can be utilized to determine the suitability of agrivoltaics configurations for a given region and crop-type. The data is hourly, 4x4 km resolution across the contiguous United States and Hawaii. It is calculated from the National Solar Radiation Database sites, using the System Advisor Model (SAM) to simulate the shading patterns for 10 common agrivoltaics configurations. Sunlight availability data is reported for 10 locations on the ground between adjacent rows of solar panels, as well as averaged across areas of interest such as the average irradiance in the edge-to-edge open area or across 3-6 planting beds. Other available metrics include the input meteorological data from the NSRDB (e.g. global horizontal irradiance, wind speed, etc.) and estimates for comparing energy and agricultural characteristic across the 10 configurations, including power output per acre or per kW installed capacity and farmable land area per acre.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Scheduler Modeling of Distributed Energy Resources for Providing Ancillary Services

Distribution energy resources (DERs) have been integral components of modern power systems, and their capability to provide grid services has been widely studied. To promote the deployment of these resources in providing grid services in real-world utility operations, this paper proposes a day-ahead scheduler model for a distribution system connected DER plant. A certain amount of generation capacity of this DER plant is reserved for frequency services, and some ancillary services for the distribution system-including peak load reduction, voltage regulation, and power factor control-are integrated into the model. The model is tested on a real-world distribution system. From the simulation results, the energy and reserve schedule of the solar photovoltaic (PV) unit and battery energy storage system (BESS) can be determined, and voltage and power factor are well maintained. Additionally, in order to demonstrate the specific characteristics of the co-located and hybrid operation modes for the PV and BESS, these two modes are analyzed both theoretically and through real-time simulation. Simulation results show that most of PV's variability is transferred to the net power in the co-located mode, whereas it is transferred to the BESS in the hybrid mode. This proposed scheduler model and the comparison of co-located and hybrid modes can provide practical guidance for the applications of DER plant in the real-world utility.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Quantum computing approach for building surface sunlit in urban-scale energy modeling

Solar shadow calculations are needed in building energy modeling and performance simulation of PV systems installed on roofs or facades of buildings. We present a quantum computing approach for calculation of building surface sunlit fractions by recasting solar visibility as a binary optimization problem solved by quantum annealing. Each triangulated surface centroid is encoded as a binary qubit indicating sunlit or shaded status. Geometric visibility constraints are derived from the Möller-Trumbore intersection algorithm and converted into a constrained quadratic binary model compatible with contemporary quantum annealers. The coefficients were embedded to D-Wave quantum computer. To demonstrate feasibility, we conducted a case study in San Francisco for a target building with 52 triangles and roughly 2700 nearby triangles within 50 m evaluated at representative winter and summer solar positions. The results demonstrated that quantum annealing can reliably calculate and distinguish sunlit from shaded surfaces. Quantum samples achieved average accuracy exceeding 92.4 %, with the aggregate surface-level agreement approaching 99.9 %. The outputs of quantum computers agreed closely with classical algorithms, indicating practical feasibility and promising scalability. Finally, the hourly sunlit fractions of building surfaces can be obtained for urban energy modelling. This is the first study to apply quantum computing to the solar shadow and building surface sunlit calculation. It introduces a new paradigm that differs fundamentally from traditional approaches.

Deng, Zhipeng↗

In-depth analysis of solar models with high-metallicity abundances and updated opacity tables

Context. As a result of the high-quality constraints available for the Sun, we are able to carry out detailed combined analyses using neutrino, spectroscopic, and helioseismic observations. These studies lay the ground for future improvements of the key physical components of solar and stellar models because ingredients such as the equation of state, the radiative opacities, or the prescriptions for macroscopic transport processes of chemicals are then used to study other stars in the Universe. Aims. We study the existing degeneracies in solar models using the recent high-metallicity spectroscopic abundances by comparing them to helioseismic and neutrino data and discuss the effect on their properties of changes in the micro and macro physical ingredients. Methods. We carried out a detailed study of solar models computed with a high-metallicity composition from the literature based on averaged 3D models that were claimed to resolve the solar modelling problem. We compared these models to helioseismic and neutrino constraints. Results. The properties of the solar models are significantly affected by the use of the recent OPLIB opacity tables and the inclusion of macroscopic transport. The properties of the standard solar models computed using the OPAL opacities are similar to those for which the OP opacities were used. We show that a modification of the temperature gradient just below the base of the convective zone is required to remove the discrepancies in solar models, particularly in the presence of macroscopic mixing. This can be simulated by a localised increase in the opacity of a few percent. Conclusions. We conclude that the existing degeneracies and issues in solar modelling are not removed by using an increase in the solar metallicity, in contradiction to what has been suggested in the recent literature. Therefore, standard solar models cannot be used as an argument for a high-metallicity composition. While further work is required to improve solar models, we note that direct helioseismic inversions indicate a low metallicity in the convective envelope, in agreement with spectroscopic analyses based on full 3D models.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗

Scale Separation Effects on Simulations of Plasma Turbulence

Abstract Understanding plasma turbulence requires a synthesis of experiments, observations, theory, and simulations. In the case of kinetic plasmas such as the solar wind, the lack of collisions renders the fluid closures such as viscosity meaningless and one needs to resort to higher-order fluid models or kinetic models. Typically, the computational expense in such models is managed by simulating artificial values of certain parameters such as the ratio of the Alfvén speed to the speed of light ( v A / c ) or the relative mass ratio of ions and electrons ( m i / m e ). Although, typically care is taken to use values as close as possible to realistic values within the computational constraints, these artificial values could potentially introduce unphysical effects. These unphysical effects could be significant at sub-ion scales, where kinetic effects are the most important. In this paper, we use the 10-moment fluid model in the Gkeyll framework to perform controlled numerical experiments, systematically varying the ion–electron mass ratio from a small value down to the realistic proton–electron mass ratio. We show that the unphysical mass ratio has a significant effect on the kinetic range dynamics as well as the heating of both plasma species. The dissipative process for both ions and electrons becomes more compressive in nature, although the ions remain nearly incompressible in all cases. The electrons move from being dominated by incompressive viscous-like heating/dissipation to very compressive heating/dissipation dominated by compressions/rarefactions. While the heating change is significant for the electrons, a mass ratio of m i / m e ∼ 250 captures the asymptotic behavior of electron heating.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Control Strategies and Validation in the Hybrid Optimization and Performance Platform (HOPP)

The Hybrid Optimization and Performance Platform (HOPP) is a tool that simulates hybrid power plants in various configurations, and also calculates the financial feasibility of these plants. This report outlines an overview of HOPP and the energy storage dispatch strategies available. It then presents three case studies which demonstrate different applications of HOPP. The first case looks at the profitability of hybrid power plants in different locations in the USA. The second case examines the availability of hybrid power plants to provide energy reliability services. The third case presents a plant that produces both hydrogen and electricity, and demonstrates a dispatch strategy that chooses the most profitable energy vector based on price signals. The next section shows the validation of HOPP on operational data, using data from both unit-scale and utility-scale power plants. This validation process demonstrated that HOPP can simulate the power output of both wind and solar PV plants at both scales with comparable fidelity to an existing commercial software tool. Finally, HOPP is applied in a field test which applies an optimal dispatch strategy to a physical battery in a unit-scale hybrid plant at NREL. HOPP's optimal dispatch strategy, applied in a real-world setting, improved this hybrid plant's ability to meet a load signal while minimizing operational costs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

CAD-based Energy & Cost Models Prove Affordable Net Zero Energy Performance for WonderWindows + 24" On-center Framing

Windows are thermally the “weakest link” in the building envelope. Increasing the thermal resistance of windows can make buildings more energy efficient and reduce the cost of electricity needed for conditioning the building. The proper design and placement of framing can also help to reduce the thermal bridging that occurs near the window frame area. This study investigates the energy performance of multi-pane acrylic windows fitting 24" on-center framing. Initial parametric analysis is done for a single zone accessory dwelling unit (ADU). Then, an energy model was developed for three types of wood-framed buildings: townhomes, stacked flats and hotels. A whole building energy simulation is performed for each of these building types in hot-humid Houston, mixed-humid New York, and cold-humid Minneapolis climates. The results show up to a 39% reduction in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) related electricity consumption for the cold climate compared to the Base case which has window and wall properties based on ASHRAE standard 90.1 2019. In the hot climate, a modest increase in electricity consumption was seen due to an increase in cooling electricity demand. The ADU achieved Net Zero Energy performance in all 3 Climate Zones despite having the highest exterior surface area-to-floor area ratio: the ADU also had the highest PV kW to floor area ratio compared to the other multi-story building types. The townhomes, hotel and stacked flats respectively met 73, 52 and 57 % of electrical use in Houston, 71, 48 and 56 % in New York, and 63, 40 and 53 % in Minneapolis from energy produced by rooftop solar. If 400 W solar panels are used instead of 320 W panel used for energy simulation, it is estimated that in the townhomes, hotel and stacked flats rooftop solar can meet 91, 65 and 71 % of electrical use in Houston; 89, 60 and 70% in New York, and 79, 50 and 66 % in Minneapolis. A preliminary evaluation of cost shows that such superior performance can potentially be achieved at less first cost with this 24"on-center solution than conventional construction. All the building types at the three locations used for simulation had net energy use intensity under 20 kBtu/sf/year with 320 W solar panel and under 17 kBtu/sf/year with 400 W solar panel. Further tailoring of building envelope R-values and window solar heat gain to particular Climate Zone locations for each building type shows promise in reducing the HVAC electricity use that comprises almost half of building energy use.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Development of an Optical Library for Coevaporated CdSe x Te 1– x

The conversion efficiency of CdTe solar cells may be improved by bandgap engineering, i.e., changing the bandgap value through the addition of Se in the absorber. The Se alloying enables a short-circuit current density improvement, as it leads to a bandgap energy value decrease. Furthermore, it has been associated with increased minority carrier lifetimes, assuring high open-circuit voltage values. An Se gradient profile control can further optimize the solar cell performance. Thus, an optical model baseline of the CdSe x Te 1–x (CST) compound was developed. Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements were conducted to accurately extract the optical constants of ten CST layers deposited through coevaporation with x varying from 0 to 1. Using the measured dielectric function spectra from the discrete CST layers with varying x, and considering the composition-induced shift in the critical point energies, an energy-shift model was employed to develop the accurate optical library for the CST compound for any x value to provide data for future modeling and optimization. Furthermore, the library accuracy was validated through optical simulations of the quantum efficiency of a graded CST solar cell using the finite-difference time-domain method by replicating the Se profile in the absorber layer measured through secondary ion mass spectrometry.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

High-Efficiency Solar-To-Fuel Photoelectrochemistry in Disordered Photonic Glass Electrodes (Final Technical Report)

This project investigated how photonic glass (PG) photoelectrodes—disordered arrangements of dielectric scatterers—can serve as scalable, tunable platforms for light trapping in photoelectrochemical (PEC) solar-to-fuel systems. By leveraging disorder-driven optical phenomena such as multiple scattering resonances and light localization, PG structures offer an alternative to conventional photonic crystals and inverse opals that require high structural precision. The scientific goals were to twofold: (1) develop approaches to predictive models for high performance PG electrodes based on light absorption simulations, and (2) fabricate, characterize, and optimize PG-based photoelectrodes for solar-to-hydrogen and solar-to-fuel photoelectrochemical applications. To overcome the complexity of ensemble optical simulations for disordered materials, the researchers developed a machine-learning-accelerated emulation of all configurations in the design space. With this approach, PG photoelectrodes based on a TiO2 semiconductor were designed to enhance PEC currents of up to one hundred times higher than the equivalent ultra-thin film photoanodes and several times higher than the equivalent photonic crystal. The research also explored integrated systems for electrochemical hydrogen production based on replacing water oxidation with the specific glycerol oxidation electrocatalysis. Overall, the project outlined an approach to a simple-to-fabricate photoelectrode system to drive photoelectrochemical reactions relevant to solar photochemical energy conversion.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Thermomechanical Modeling and Analysis of a High-Temperature Light Trapping Planar Cavity Receiver

Solar energy harnessed through concentrating solar power (CSP) systems offers a promising path to sustainable energy production, with the efficiency and longevity of these systems relying on key components like solar receivers. This study analyzes the thermomechanical behavior of an innovative enclosed light-trapping solar receiver optimized for particle heating applications. The receiver utilizes sheet metal alloys to form enclosed cavities that reflect and trap incoming solar flux, as well as enclosed channels that contain fluidized particle beds absorbing solar heat. Finite element analysis (FEA) is applied to predict the receiver's thermomechanical performance under extreme solar flux conditions. Temperature distributions from a thermal model simulating a multi-panel assembly at steady state are input into the FEA thermomechanical model for stress analysis. A key aspect of the analysis focuses on evaluating creep-fatigue damage, with a design target of achieving a 30- year service life. Various stress relief techniques are also proposed to extend the receiver's service life. The results highlight the significant impact of the particle-to-wall heat transfer coefficients (HTCs), ranging from 800 W/m2*K to 1400 W/m2*K. The 800 W/m2*K case shows a maximum von Mises stress of 164 MPa, while the 1400 W/m2*K case reduces it to 150 MPa. The creep life increases from 4,000 hrs in the 800 W/m2*K case to over 100,000 hrs in the 1400 W/m2*K case with Inconel 740H used, indicating that higher HTCs reduce stress and extend lifespan. This research advances the design of high-efficiency, low-stress solar receivers for particle-based thermal energy storage in CSP and industrial heating applications.

concentrating solar power↗

Investigation of Solid Particle Reactors for Nonoxidative Dehydrogenation of Ethane: Toward Solar Thermal Ethylene Production

Concentrating solar power plants can generate renewable heat at temperatures well above those of most industrial processes. Ceramic particles irradiated with concentrated sunlight can store high-quality sensible heat and transfer this to power generation systems. These concepts and materials hold great potential to also enable thermal processes in the chemical industry, but effective strategies for transferring heat from thermal energy storage media into chemical reactors are still under development. This present work evaluated the thermal and chemical compatibility of various solid particle media (including quartz, bauxite, and alumina particles) integrated directly into tube reactors and the subsequent effects on reactor performance for the nonoxidative dehydrogenation of ethane reaction. Empty tube reactors without loaded particles (representing conventional ethane cracking coils) showed significant heat transfer limitations as the tube diameter was scaled. The incorporation of media into the reactor significantly aided heat transfer to the gaseous ethane reactant and increased its conversion by as much as 10% at similar space velocities. Despite direct contact with hydrocarbon gases, alumina and quartz media showed negligible coke formation. Even during reaction in 100% ethane feed gas at 825 °C, the average selectivity of the coke product was only 0.57% when using the quartz media. These materials further demonstrated excellent thermal stability during subsequent reoxidation in air at 800 °C, which simulated the reheating of particles in a circulating particle solar receiver. Conversely, high rates of coke formation, with a product selectivity of 27.5%, were observed on sintered bauxite particles during the reaction, likely promoted by transition metal constituents. These particles fractured upon reoxidation due to exotherms generated from coke combustion. In conclusion, while the use of cofed steam could mitigate attrition of redox-active particles, the ability of inert metal oxide particles to efficiently transfer heat to concentrated ethane reactant gas while suppressing side reactions or degradation suggests that these media could effectively couple solar thermal plants to reactors for next-generation production of ethylene and other critical chemicals.

Hydrocarbons↗

Multivariate degradation modeling using generalized cauchy process and application in life prediction of dye-sensitized solar cells

Recently, the Generalized Cauchy (GC) process has been applied to capture a Long Memory (LM) phenomenon in product degradation modeling and life prediction. Compared with the traditional fractional Brownian motion that captures the LM using a single Hurst parameter, the GC process has two free parameters (Hurst and fractal dimension parameters) that flexibly capture both global LM and local irregularity. However, all existing GC-based degradation models are for a single Degradation Characteristic (DC). In this article, motivated by a real degradation problem of dye-sensitized solar cells that jointly exhibits multiple DCs, global LM, local irregularity and DC-wise cross-correlation, we propose a novel GC-based Multivariate Degradation Model (GC-MDM) to simultaneously capture the aforementioned effects. A maximum likelihood estimation approach is developed to estimate parameters of the GC-MDM. Subsequently, product life prediction based on the GC-MDM is developed. The proposed GC-MDM is validated through a simulation study and a physical experiment of dye-sensitized solar cells. Furthermore, results show that the proposed GC-MDM fundamentally improves the life prediction accuracy in comparison with conventional degradation models which significantly misestimate the uncertainty of product life.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Strategies to mitigate urban heat: Effects on overheating and cloud formation

This study evaluates the effectiveness of various urban heat island (UHI) overheating mitigation strategies and their associated impacts on urban cloud dynamics and thermal processes. This study shows cloud-resolving and urban-resolving modeling results estimating the impact of Houston-Galveston heat mitigation scenarios and other resilient strategies contemplated in the Climate Adaptation Plan and Resilient Houston reports. The simulated scenarios include high intensity green rooftops, rooftop photovoltaic solar panels, enhanced urban irrigation, white/cool roofs and roads, and street trees. We contrast the adaptation scenarios against a present baseline case, a no city scenario and a larger and denser city as projected by the Houston-Galveston Area Council for 2045. During the daytime, cooling strategies such as cool roofs, cool roads, and green roofs exhibit superior performance in mitigating urban overheating. At night, enhanced urban irrigation emerges as the most effective cooling intervention. Cooling strategies significantly reduce sensible heat flux partitioning during the day, a process that reduces the uplift of air, suppressing the formation of urban shallow cumulus clouds. The extent of urban cloud mixing ratio is reduced in proportion to the decrease in sensible heating. Under the BEP-Tree scenario, which includes wind effects and evapotranspiration driven by a stomatal conductance model, urban trees demonstrated negligible environmental cooling effects and minimal urban cloud modifications. In contrast, the scenarios with more urban cooling and higher latent heat fluxes led to suppressed urban clouds. The net cooling effect achieved by the heat mitigation strategies is influenced by a combination of indirect processes, including the reduction of downwelling longwave radiation flux, due to reduced cloud presence, while some warming is attributed to a modest increase in shortwave radiation that offsets the cooling benefit. Additionally, reduced heat dissipation, weakened thermal gradients, and diminished vertical mixing over urban areas further moderate the cooling potential. These findings highlight the pivotal role of clouds and moist atmospheric processes in shaping the UHI effect and offer insights for designing more effective urban cooling strategies.

albedo changes↗

Sea ice pattern effect on Earth’s energy budget is characterized by hemispheric asymmetry

Earth’s energy budget is sensitive to the spatial distribution of sea surface temperature and sea ice concentration (SIC) change, but the global radiative effect of changes in SIC spatial distribution has not been quantified. We show that SIC-induced radiation anomalies at the top of the atmosphere are sensitive to the location of SIC reduction in each season, which qualitatively explains how and why the effect of sea ice loss on Earth’s energy budget is determined by its spatial pattern. Idealized experiments indicate that SIC-induced surface warming is greater in the Arctic regions, resulting in a more negative Planck feedback. Global low-level cloud cover responses to Arctic and Antarctic SIC reduction are also distinct, leading to more negative SIC-cloud feedback in Arctic regions. SIC-induced albedo feedback is sensitive to latitude due to inhomogeneous solar radiation at the surface. As a result, the simulated radiative effect of SIC anomalies during 1980–2019 is dominated by variations in the spatial pattern of SIC.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Dynamic Wind Loading on Compliant, Floating PV Arrays: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report)

PV panels are subjected to wind loads during normal outdoor operation, where th wind speed, wind direction, panel angle, and array layout play a large role in the overall loading magnitude. For floating PV systems, where panels are installed on floating rafts, these forces can lead to a dynamic displacement of the raft and mounted PV hardware. The Contractor and Participant will perform fluid-structure interaction simulations of this phenomenon for a variety of wind speeds, directions, and panel angles to characterize these forces and help design mooring/tethering lines to resist and anchor raft movement.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Extreme Heating of Minor Ions in Imbalanced Solar-wind Turbulence

Minor ions in the solar corona are heated to extreme temperatures, far in excess of those of the electrons and protons that comprise the bulk of the plasma. These highly nonthermal distributions make minor ions sensitive probes of the collisionless processes that heat the corona and power the solar wind. The recent discovery of the "helicity barrier" offers a mechanism in which imbalanced Alfvénic turbulence in low-β plasmas preferentially heats protons over electrons, generating high-frequency, proton-cyclotron-resonant fluctuations. We use the hybrid-kinetic particle-in-cell code Pegasus++ to drive imbalanced Alfvénic turbulence in a 3D low-β plasma with additional passive ion species, He 2+ and O 5+ . A helicity barrier naturally develops, followed by clear phase-space signatures of oblique proton-cyclotron-wave heating and Landau-resonant heating from the imbalanced Alfvénic fluctuations. The former results in characteristically arced ion velocity distribution functions, whose non-bi-Maxwellian features are shown by linear ALPS calculations to be critical to the heating process. Additional features include a steep transition-range electromagnetic spectrum, proton-cyclotron waves propagating in the direction of the imbalance, significantly enhanced proton-to-electron heating ratios, ion temperatures that are considerably more perpendicular with respect to magnetic field, and extreme heating of heavier species in a manner consistent with mass scalings inferred from spacecraft measurements. None of these features are realized in an otherwise equivalent simulation of balanced turbulence. If seen simultaneously in the fast solar wind, these signatures of the helicity barrier would testify to the necessity of incorporating turbulence imbalance in a complete theory for the evolution of the solar wind.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

Estimating value of information for heliostat washing operations at solar thermal plants

Concentrating solar power (CSP) plants depend on thousands of heliostats whose reflectance declines as dust accumulates. Operators routinely measure reflectance to estimate soiling and, in turn, inform cleaning schedules, but the value of collecting more frequent or more accurate data has not been formally quantified. This study introduces a Monte Carlo discrete event simulation framework that integrates stochastic models of soiling, weather, and measurement error with a dynamic cleaning dispatch policy to estimate annual energy production and operations costs. Applied to two representative central-receiver field configurations, the results show that both the frequency and accuracy of reflectance measurements can meaningfully impact plant performance. In both case studies, reducing measurement intervals yields significant returns, with the energy gains greatly exceeding the cost of more frequent data collection. The simulation framework serves as a decision-support tool for CSP operators, allowing them to input site-specific soiling conditions, measurement accuracy, and survey frequency to evaluate the tradeoffs between data collection cost and energy recovery, and to identify measurement strategies that maximize plant profit.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

OCHRE

OCHRE™ uses a variety of input data sources to run time-series simulations. Building models can be taken from the ResStock™ database or generated using the Building Energy Optimization Tool (BEopt™) or other OpenStudio-HPXML workflows. EV charging profiles can be taken from datasets used in NLR's 2030 National Charging Network project. Weather data can be taken from the National Solar Radiation Database or EnergyPlus® weather files. There are no public datasets with OCHRE outputs at this time. However, a recent project dataset on water heater and EV demand flexibility can be requested. OCHRE is a Python-based energy modeling tool designed to model flexible loads in residential buildings. OCHRE includes detailed models and controls for flexible devices including HVAC equipment, water heaters, EVs, solar PV, and batteries. It is designed to run in co-simulation with custom controllers, aggregators, and grid models.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗