Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Lessons Learned”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 973 records · Page 54
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2016

Off-Gas Adsorption Model Capabilities and Recommendations

Off-gas treatment is required to reduce emissions from aqueous fuel reprocessing. Evaluating the products of innovative gas adsorption research requires increased computational simulation capability to more effectively transition from fundamental research to operational design. Early modeling efforts produced the Off-Gas SeParation and REcoverY (OSPREY) model that, while efficient in terms of computation time, was of limited value for complex systems. However, the computational and programming lessons learned in development of the initial model were used to develop Discontinuous Galerkin OSPREY (DGOSPREY), a more effective model. Initial comparisons between OSPREY and DGOSPREY show that, while OSPREY does reasonably well to capture the initial breakthrough time, it displays far too much numerical dispersion to accurately capture the real shape of the breakthrough curves. DGOSPREY is a much better tool as it utilizes a more stable set of numerical methods. In addition, DGOSPREY has shown the capability to capture complex, multispecies adsorption behavior, while OSPREY currently only works for a single adsorbing species. This capability makes DGOSPREY ultimately a more practical tool for real world simulations involving many different gas species. While DGOSPREY has initially performed very well, there is still need for improvement. The current state of DGOSPREY does not include any micro-scale adsorption kinetics and therefore assumes instantaneous adsorption. This is a major source of error in predicting water vapor breakthrough because the kinetics of that adsorption mechanism is particularly slow. However, this deficiency can be remedied by building kinetic kernels into DGOSPREY. Another source of error in DGOSPREY stems from data gaps in single species, such as Kr and Xe, isotherms. Since isotherm data for each gas is currently available at a single temperature, the model is unable to predict adsorption at temperatures outside of the set of data currently available. Thus, in order to improve the predictive capabilities of the model, there is a need for more single-species adsorption isotherms at different temperatures, in addition to extending the model to include adsorption kinetics. This report provides background information about the modeling process and a path forward for further model improvement in terms of accuracy and user interface.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Drive Electric Vermont Case Study

Currently in the United States, the heavy majority of plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) sales have been in highly conducive, selected, metropolitan areas; opposed to more broad distribution across the country. The U.S. Department of Energy’s EV Everywhere Grand Challenge is looking carefully at the barriers and opportunities that exist to enable small and midsize communities to partake in the PEV market and benefit from the economic and environmental advantages of PEVs. In order to gain insight into these challenges and barriers, DOE selected a success story (i.e., Drive Electric Vermont) as the subject of this case study, as the state of Vermont is tied with Detroit, Michigan in having the highest percentage of 2014 (most recent complete data) PEV registrations for cold weather U.S. cities and has seen more than a sixfold increase in charging stations over the last three years. The overall objective of this case study was to use the lessons learned from Drive Electric Vermont to determine what activities are most effective at encouraging acquisitions of PEVs and deployment of charging infrastructure in small to midsize communities, prioritizing and sequencing their implementation, identifying robust means for extrapolation, and applying this understanding to other small to midsize communities across the nation. The Drive Electric Vermont Program was formed in 2012 with a goal of increasing the use of electrified transportation in Vermont through policy development, education and outreach, and infrastructure development. The Drive Electric Vermont Program can be broadly broken into four components: (1) strategic planning/leadership, (2) stakeholder/partnership development, (3) education and outreach, and (4) incentives. The early phases of the program focused heavily on strategic planning, and stakeholder and partnership development, followed by a transition to education and outreach activities, charging infrastructure development, and grant and incentive programs that support charging infrastructure deployment and PEV purchases. Future plans include an additional round of consumer/dealer PEV incentives, continuation of the marketing campaign, and utilization of consumer surveys to develop new campaign themes and to optimize information distribution channels. In Vermont, the number of PEVs grew from 88 in July 2012 to 1,113 in January 2016, with a high percentage of the PEVs being plug-in hybrids (i.e., 865) versus all electric vehicles (i.e., 248). The most popular PEVs are Toyota’s Prius Plug-in and Ford’s C-Max Energi, which make up a combined 48% of the total PEV ownership in the state. The PEVs are predominantly clustered in four counties: Lamoille, Caledonia, Washington, and Chittenden. There is no evident correlation between community size and PEV penetration; however, over 70% of PEV owners are in communities of 1,000 to 10,000 people. On the other hand, there is a close correlation between where PEVs are registered and where they publically charge. The number of PEV charging stations in Vermont grew from 17 in January 2013 to 111 in January 2016, at a variety of charging venues, including retail, parking (short term and long term), workplace, dealerships, hotels, education, leisure, and hospitals. The vast majority of the charging venues contain Level 2 electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) solely or combined with Level 1 EVSE or direct current fast charging. The average power transferred per charging event for communities across Vermont ranged from 4.8 to 13.8 kWh for direct current fast charging and 1.0 to 11.9 kWh for and Level 2 EVSE. Over half the charging locations offer free charging. For those that do require payment, different pricing models are employed, including monthly memberships, hourly payment (where there is often a higher fee for the first hour followed by a lower hourly fee for the remaining hours), and energy use based on kWh drawn from the EVSE. There is no correlation between pricing models and community size and region, the strongest correlation is by network provider. Charging events across Vermont generally correlate with east-west bands of chargers (Figure ES-1) running from Burlington to Montpelier and in the area of Rutland.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Advancing System Flexibility for High Penetration Renewable Integration (Chinese Translation)

This is a Chinese translation of NREL/TP-6A20-64864. This report summarizes some of the issues discussed during the engagement on power system flexibility. By design, the focus is on flexibility options used in the United States. Exploration of whether and how U.S. experiences can inform Chinese energy planning will be part of the continuing project, and will benefit from the knowledge base provided by this report. We believe the initial stage of collaboration represented in this report has successfully started a process of mutual understanding, helping Chinese researchers to begin evaluating how lessons learned in other countries might translate to China's unique geographic, economic, social, and political contexts.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Case Study for the ARRA-funded Ground Source Heat Pump Demonstration at Denver Museum of Nature & Science

High initial costs and lack of public awareness of ground-source heat pump (GSHP) technology are the two major barriers preventing rapid deployment of this energy-saving technology in the United States. Under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), 26 GSHP projects were competitively selected and carried out to demonstrate the benefits of GSHP systems and innovative technologies for cost reduction and/or performance improvement. This report highlights the findings of a case study of one such GSHP demonstration projects that uses a recycled water heat pump (RWHP) system installed at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science in Denver, Colorado. The RWHP system uses recycled water from the city’s water system as the heat sink and source for a modular water-to-water heat pump (WWHP). This case study was conducted based on the available measured performance data from December 2014 through August 2015, utility bills of the building in 2014 and 2015, construction drawings, maintenance records, personal communications, and construction costs. The annual energy consumption of the RWHP system was calculated based on the available measured data and other related information. It was compared with the performance of a baseline scenario— a conventional VAV system using a water-cooled chiller and a natural gas fired boiler, both of which have the minimum energy efficiencies allowed by ASHRAE 90.1-2010. The comparison was made to determine energy savings, operating cost savings, and CO2 emission reductions achieved by the RWHP system. A cost analysis was performed to evaluate the simple payback of the RWHP system. Summarized below are the results of the performance analysis, the learned lessons, and recommended improvement in the operation of the RWHP system.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

ORNL Interim Progress Report on Static CIRFT Testing Curvature Data Update

Since the CIRFT tests reported in NUREG-7198 were generated, a number of factors that influence the recorded curvature measurement data were identified. In 2016, a data reanalysis task was undertaken to implement the lessons learned. This letter report provides the revised results of previous CIRFT tests, after implementing the following data reanalysis procedures: (A) experimental data smoothing and LVDT reset, (B) LVDT probe contact and sensor spacing correction for curvature data, and (C) LVDT probe dynamic vibration adjustment procedure development.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Report on July 2015 Additional Protocol Coordinators Best Practices Workshop

After 10 years of implementation experience, the Office of Nonproliferation and Arms Control (NPAC) within the Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration (DOE/NNSA) conducted the Additional Protocol (AP) Coordinators Best Practices Workshop at Oak Ridge National Laboratory from July 29-30, 2015. The goal of this workshop was to identify implementation best practices, lessons learned, and compliance challenges from the various Additional Protocol Coordinators (APCs) at each laboratory in the DOE/NNSA complex and associated sites. The workshop provided the opportunity for participants to share their insights and establish networks that APCs can utilize to continue to discuss challenges (new and old), identify best practices, and enhance communication and coordination for reporting multi-lab research projects during review activities. Workshop participants included DOE/NNSA HQ, laboratory and site APCs, seasoned experts, members of the original implementation outreach team, and Field Element and site security representatives.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2016

Distributed Resource Energy Analysis and Management System (DREAMS) Development for Real-time Grid Operations

This project supports development of the next generation, integrated energy management infrastructure (EMS) able to incorporate advance visualization of behind-the-meter distributed resource information and probabilistic renewable energy generation forecasts to inform real-time operational decisions. The project involves end-users and active feedback from an Utility Advisory Team (UAT) to help inform how information can be used to enhance operational functions (e.g. unit commitment, load forecasting, Automatic Generation Control (AGC) reserve monitoring, ramp alerts) within two major EMS platforms. Objectives include: Engaging utility operations personnel to develop user input on displays, set expectations, test and review; Developing ease of use and timeliness metrics for measuring enhancements; Developing prototype integrated capabilities within two operational EMS environments; Demonstrating an integrated decision analysis platform with real-time wind and solar forecasting information and timely distributed resource information; Seamlessly integrating new 4-dimensional information into operations without increasing workload and complexities; Developing sufficient analytics to inform and confidently transform and adopt new operating practices and procedures; Disseminating project lessons learned through industry sponsored workshops and conferences;Building on collaborative utility-vendor partnership and industry capabilities

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Non-destructive Quantitative Phase Analysis and Microstructural Characterization of Zirconium Coated U-10Mo Fuel Foils via Neutron Diffraction

This report uses neutron diffraction to investigate the crystal phase composition of uranium-molybdenum alloy foils (U-10Mo) for the CONVERT MP-1 Reactor Conversion Project, and determines the effect on alpha-uranium contamination following the deposition of a Zr metal diffusion layer by various methods: plasma spray deposition of Zr powders at LANL and hot co-rolling with Zr foils at BWXT. In summary, there is minimal decomposition of the gamma phase U-10Mo foil to alpha phase contamination following both plasma spraying and hot co-rolling. The average unit cell volume, i.e. lattice spacing, of the Zr layer can be mathematically extracted from the diffraction data; co-rolled Zr matches well with literature values of bulk Zr, while plasma sprayed Zr shows a slight increase in the lattice spacing, indicative of interstitial oxygen in the lattice. Neutron diffraction is a beneficial alternative to conventional methods of phase composition, i.e. x ray diffraction (XRD) and destructive metallography. XRD has minimal penetration depth in high atomic number materials, particularly uranium, and can only probe the first few microns of the fuel plate; neutrons pass completely through the foil, allowing for bulk analysis of the foil composition and no issues with addition of cladding layers, as in the final, aluminum-clad reactor fuel plates. Destructive metallography requires skilled technicians, cutting of the foil into small sections, hazardous etching conditions, long polishing and microscopy times, etc.; the neutron diffraction system has an automated sample loader and can fit larger foils, so there is minimal analysis preparation; the total spectrum acquisition time is ~ 1 hour per sample. The neutron diffraction results are limited by spectra refinement/calculation times and the availability of the neutron beam source. In the case of LANSCE at Los Alamos, the beam operates ~50% of the year. Following the lessons learned from these preliminary results, optimizations to the process and analysis can be made, and neutron diffraction can become a viable and efficient technique for gamma/alpha phase composition determination for nuclear fuels.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2015

A Policymaker's Guide to Scaling Home Energy Upgrades

There has never been a better time to launch initiatives to promote residential energy efficiency savings. Over the past several decades, residential retrofit programs have demonstrated that energy efficiency measures contribute to achieving multiple benefits, including but not limited to reductions in home energy consumption, stabilization improvements for the grid by shaving peak loads, saving consumers millions on utility bills, and significantly reducing carbon emissions. Although a number of barriers to widespread uptake of home energy upgrades persist, the lessons learned as a result of the 2009 stimulus funding1 have resulted in a set of policy approaches that create new strategies for taking residential energy efficiency to scale.2 The identification of these approaches is well timed; energy efficiency is often the least expensive and most cost effective way to comply with a variety of federal, state and local policies. This Guide is designed to help state and local policymakers to take full advantage of new policy developments by providing them with a comprehensive set of tools to support launching or accelerating residential energy efficiency programs. It is written primarily for state and local policymakers, including state and local executives, legislators, public utility commissioners, and the staff who advise them.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy Efficiency Collaboratives

Collaboratives for energy efficiency have a long and successful history and are currently used, in some form, in more than half of the states. Historically, many state utility commissions have used some form of collaborative group process to resolve complex issues that emerge during a rate proceeding. Rather than debate the issues through the formality of a commission proceeding, disagreeing parties are sent to discuss issues in a less-formal setting and bring back resolutions to the commission. Energy efficiency collaboratives take this concept and apply it specifically to energy efficiency programs—often in anticipation of future issues as opposed to reacting to a present disagreement. Energy efficiency collaboratives can operate long term and can address the full suite of issues associated with designing, implementing, and improving energy efficiency programs. Collaboratives can be useful to gather stakeholder input on changing program budgets and program changes in response to performance or market shifts, as well as to provide continuity while regulators come and go, identify additional energy efficiency opportunities and innovations, assess the role of energy efficiency in new regulatory contexts, and draw on lessons learned and best practices from a diverse group. Details about specific collaboratives in the United States are in the appendix to this guide. Collectively, they demonstrate the value of collaborative stakeholder processes in producing successful energy efficiency programs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

The Future of Nonproliferation in a Changed and Changing Environment: A Workshop Summary

The Center for Global Security Research and Global Security Principal Directorate at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory convened a workshop in July 2016 to consider “The Future of Nonproliferation in a Changed and Changing Security Environment.” We took a broad view of nonproliferation, encompassing not just the treaty regime but also arms control, threat reduction, counter-­proliferation, and countering nuclear terrorism. We gathered a group of approximately 60 experts from the technical, academic, political, defense and think tank communities and asked them what—and how much—can reasonably be accomplished in each of these areas in the 5 to 10 years ahead. Discussion was on a not-­for-­attribution basis. This document provides a summary of key insights and lessons learned, and is provided to help stimulate broader public discussion of these issues. It is a collection of ideas as informally discussed and debated among a group of experts. The ideas reported here are the personal views of individual experts and should not be attributed to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2016

Comparison of State-Funded Technology Maturation Programs.

This study examines the structure and impact of state-funded technology maturation programs that leverage research institutions for economic development throughout the United States. The lessons learned and practices identified from previous experiences will inform Sandia National Laboratories' Government Relations and Technology Partnerships teams as they participate in near-term discussions about the proposed Technology Readiness Gross Receipts Tax Credit and Program, and continue to shape longer-term program and partnership opportunities. This Page Intentionally Left Blank

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2016

California Power-to-Gas and Power-to-Hydrogen Near-Term Business Case Evaluation

Flexible operation of electrolysis systems represents an opportunity to reduce the cost of hydrogen for a variety of end-uses while also supporting grid operations and thereby enabling greater renewable penetration. California is an ideal location to realize that value on account of growing renewable capacity and markets for hydrogen as a fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV) fuel, refineries, and other end-uses. Shifting the production of hydrogen to avoid high cost electricity and participation in utility and system operator markets along with installing renewable generation to avoid utility charges and increase revenue from the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) program can result in around $2.5/kg (21%) reduction in the production and delivery cost of hydrogen from electrolysis. This reduction can be achieved without impacting the consumers of hydrogen. Additionally, future strategies for reducing hydrogen cost were explored and include lower cost of capital, participation in the Renewable Fuel Standard program, capital cost reduction, and increased LCFS value. Each must be achieved independently and could each contribute to further reductions. Using the assumptions in this study found a 29% reduction in cost if all future strategies are realized. Flexible hydrogen production can simultaneously improve the performance and decarbonize multiple energy sectors. The lessons learned from this study should be used to understand near-term cost drivers and to support longer-term research activities to further improve cost effectiveness of grid integrated electrolysis systems.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Case Study for the ARRA-Funded Ground Source Heat Pump Demonstration at Ball State University

With funding provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), 26 ground-source heat pump (GSHP) projects were competitively selected in 2009 to demonstrate the benefits of GSHP systems and innovative technologies for cost reduction and/or performance improvement. One of the selected demonstration projects is a district central GSHP system installed at Ball State University (BSU) in Muncie, IN. Prior to implementing the district GSHP system, 47 major buildings in BSU were served by a central steam plant with four coal-fired and three natural-gas-fired steam boilers. Cooling was provided by five water-cooled centrifugal chillers at the District Energy Station South (DESS). The new district GSHP system replaced the existing coal-fired steam boilers and conventional water-cooled chillers. It uses ground-coupled heat recovery (HR) chillers to meet the simultaneous heating and cooling demands of the campus. The actual performance of the GSHP system was analyzed based on available measured data from August 2015 through July 2016, construction drawings, maintenance records, personal communications, and construction costs. Since Phase 1 was funded in part by the ARRA grant, it is the focus of this case study. The annual energy consumption of the GSHP system was calculated based on the available measured data and other related information. It was compared with the performance of a baseline scenario— a conventional water-cooled chiller and natural-gas-fired boiler system, both of which meet the minimum energy efficiencies allowed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE 90.1-2013). The comparison was made to determine source energy savings, energy cost savings, and CO2 emission reductions achieved by the GSHP system. A cost analysis was performed to evaluate the simple payback of the GSHP system. The following sections summarize the results of the analysis, the lessons learned, and recommendations for improvement in the operation of this district GSHP system.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2016

Molecular and Material Approaches to Overcome Kinetic and Energetic Constraints in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) have attracted a lot of interest as they proffer the possibility of extremely inexpensive and efficient solar energy conversion. The excellent performance of the most efficient DSSCs relies on two main features: 1) a high surface area nanoparticle semiconductor photoanode to allow for excellent light absorption with moderate extinction molecular dyes and 2) slow recombination rates from the photoanode to I 3 - allowing good charge collection. The I 3 - /I - couple, however, has some disadvantages, notably the redox potential limits the maximum open-circuit voltage, and the dye regeneration requires a large driving force which constrains the light harvesting ability. Thus, the design features that allow DSSCs to perform as well as they do also prevent further significant improvements in performance. As a consequence, the most efficient device configuration, and the maximum efficiency, has remained essentially unchanged over the last 16 years. Significant gains in performance are possible; however it will likely require a substantial paradigm shift. The general goal of this project is to understand the fundamental role of dye-sensitized solar cell, DSSC, components (sensitizer, redox shuttle, and photoanode) involved in key processes in order to overcome the kinetic and energetic constraints of current generation DSSCs. For example, the key to achieving high energy conversion efficiency DSSCs is the realization of a redox shuttle which fulfills the dual requirements of 1) efficient dye regeneration with a minimal driving force and 2) efficient charge collection. In current generation DSSCs, however, only one or the other of these requirements is met. We are currently primarily interested in understanding the physical underpinnings of the regeneration and recombination reactions. Our approach is to systematically vary the components involved in reactions and interrogate them with a series of photoelectrochemical (PEC) measurements. The lessons learned will ultimately be used to develop design rules for next generation DSSCs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Consequence-driven cyber-informed engineering (CCE)

The Idaho National Lab (INL) is leading a high-impact, national security-level initiative to reprioritize the way the nation looks at high-consequence risk within the industrial control systems (ICS) environment of the country’s most critical infrastructure and other national assets. The Consequence-driven Cyber-informed Engineering (CCE) effort provides both private and public organizations with the steps required to examine their own environments for high-impact events/risks; identify implementation of key devices and components that facilitate that risk; illuminate specific, plausible cyber attack paths to manipulate these devices; and develop concrete mitigations, protections, and tripwires to address the high-consequence risk. The ultimate goal of the CCE effort is to help organizations take the steps necessary to thwart cyber attacks from even top-tier, highly resourced adversaries that would result in a catastrophic physical effect. CCE participants are encouraged to work collaboratively with each other and with key U.S. Government (USG) contributors to establish a coalition, maximizing the positive effect of lessons-learned and further contributing to the protection of critical infrastructure and other national assets.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2017

Virginia Offshore Wind Technology Advancement Project (VOWTAP) DOE EE0005985 Final Technical Report Rev 1a

The primary purpose of the VOWTAP was to advance the offshore wind industry in the United States (U.S.) by demonstrating innovative technologies and process solutions that would establish offshore wind as a cost-effective renewable energy resource. The VOWTAP Team proposed to design, construct, and operate a 12 megawatt (MW) offshore wind facility located approximately 27 statute miles (mi) (24 nautical miles [nm], 43 kilometers [km]) off the coast of Virginia. The proposed Project would consist of two Alstom Haliade™ 150-6 MW turbines mounted on inward battered guide structures (IBGS), a 34.5-kilovolt (kV) alternating current (AC) submarine cable interconnecting the WTGs (inter-array cable), a 34.5-kV AC submarine transmission cable (export cable), and a 34.5 kV underground cable (onshore interconnection cable) that would connect the Project with existing Dominion infrastructure located in Virginia Beach, Virginia (Figure 1). Interconnection with the existing Dominion infrastructure would also require an onshore switch cabinet, a fiber optic cable, and new interconnection station to be located entirely within the boundaries of the Camp Pendleton State Military Reservation (Camp Pendleton). The VOWTAP balanced technology innovation with commercial readiness such that turbine operations were anticipated to commence by 2018. Dominion, as the leaseholder of the Virginia Wind Energy Area (WEA), anticipated leveraging lessons learned through the VOWTAP, and applying them to future commercial-scale offshore wind development.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2017

Procurement Specifications Templates for On-Site Solar Photovoltaic: For Use in Developing Federal Solicitations

With the increasing adaption of on-site renewable energy systems designed to feed site loads, there is a critical need to develop tools that allow the federal sector to become a mature and sophisticated consumer. This document is intended to reduce project development and operational risks while increasing the speed at which projects are completed; two necessary components to reach the scale required to meet mandates and achieve cost savings for taxpayers. This guide is intended to act as a living document where lessons learned from the increasing number of projects can be incorporated and provide guidance for efforts. While additional guides will be developed to cover other renewable technologies, this guide covers on-site solar photovoltaic systems with an emphasis on third-party designed, financed, owned, and operated systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗