Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “collection development”

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 109 records · Page 6

Feasibility of Operating a Heavy-Duty Battery Electric Truck Fleet for Drayage Applications

Vehicle fleet electrification is regarded as one major pathway toward achieving energy independence and reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Compared to light-duty and medium-duty vehicles, electrification of heavy-duty vehicles, especially Class 8 trucks, is more challenging owing to the battery size required to attain the driving range necessary for their operating goals. As drayage trucks generally have a limited daily mileage, return to a home base every night, and spend a large amount of time creeping and idling, drayage operation has been the first targeted application for Class 8 electric trucks. The feasibility of operating battery electric drayage trucks at the individual vehicle level has recently been demonstrated. However, questions remain as to whether these trucks are capable of meeting the needs of typical drayage operation at the fleet level. Here we present a feasibility analysis of operating an electric truck fleet based on real-world operation data of a diesel drayage operator in Southern California. Second-by-second activity data collected from 20 trucks in the fleet were used to estimate the corresponding electric energy consumption and the state of charge of the battery using a microscopic electric energy consumption model. An algorithm for generating tours of drayage activity from the collected data was developed and implemented. Multiple scenarios with different battery charging and truck scheduling assumptions were analyzed. The results show that 85% of the tours could be served by electric trucks if there is opportunity for charging at the home base during the time gap between consecutive tours.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

A new approach of microbiome monitoring in the built environment: feasibility analysis of condensation capture

Background: Humans emit approximately 30 million microbial cells per hour into their immediate vicinity. However, sampling of aerosolized microbial taxa (aerobiome) remains largely uncharacterized due to the complexity and limitations of sampling techniques, which are highly susceptible to low biomass and rapid sample degradation. Recently, there has been an interest in developing technology that collects naturally occurring water from the atmosphere, even within the built environment. Here, we analyze the feasibility of indoor aerosol condensation collection as a method to capture and analyze the aerobiome. Methods: Aerosols were collected via condensation or active impingement in a laboratory setting over the course of 8 h. Microbial DNA was extracted from collected samples and sequenced (16S rRNA) to analyze microbial diversity and community composition. Dimensional reduction and multivariate statistics were employed to identify significant (p < 0.05) differences in relative abundances of specific microbial taxa observed between the two sampling platforms. Results: Aerosol condensation capture is highly efficient with a yield greater than 95% when compared to expected values. Compared to air impingement, aerosol condensation showed no significant difference (ANOVA, p > 0.05) in microbial diversity. Among identified taxa, Streptophyta and Pseudomonadales comprised approximately 70% of the microbial community composition. Conclusion: The results suggest that condensation of atmospheric humidity is a suitable method for the capture of airborne microbial taxa reflected by microbial community similarity between devices. Future investigation of aerosol condensation may provide insight into the efficacy and viability of this new tool to investigate airborne microorganisms.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

Towards continual machine learning for particle accelerators

This talk covers our work on errant beam prognostics at the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS), focusing on the end-to-end process from data collection to the development and deployment of predictive models in specific. A short overview of AIML work done for accelerators and current trends will be presented. We will walk through key steps involved in creating robust Machine Learning (ML) models, including model training, validation, and deployment in an operational setting. In addition to presenting our technical approach, we will share valuable lessons learned, emphasizing the importance of infrastructure to support the continuous adaptation of models to evolving data and system behaviors. This talk will provide insights into the challenges and solutions involved in applying ML to real-world operational environments, with a particular focus on managing data drift and changes in accelerator setup while ensuring model resilience over time.

Accelerator Physics↗

Fermilab Booster loss modelling and rebalancing using Bayesian methods

To meet PIP-II upgrade requirements, Fermilab Booster losses need to be reduced by 50% compared to present levels. So far, simulations are not good enough to predict loss patterns. Thus, an extensive Booster tune up will be necessary to achieve required performance. In this paper we present an effort to build a data-driven loss model using Bayesian techniques, and subsequently to rebalance losses for higher trip margins. We first created several sets of spatially and temporally isolated orbit and optics knobs, and trained Gaussian process models for each beam loss monitor as well as beam current. Novel techniques of uncertainty constraints and approximate GP fitting were introduced to handle safety and timing requirements. We then performed single and multi-objective tuning using scalarized objectives comprised of critical beam loss locations. We achieved significant rebalancing of losses, increasing margins by 25%, as well as an overall improvement in transmission efficiency of 0.4%. Automated data collection is being developed so that more accurate surrogate models can be trained over time.

Kuklev, N. [Fermilab]↗

Electric Vehicle Adoption in Illinois

Over 1.3 million plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) have been sold in the United States since 2010 when the first Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf vehicles came on the market. Currently, electric vehicles account for about 2% of monthly light-duty vehicle (LDV) sales. More than 40 different electric vehicle models are actively being marketed, and most of these are LDVs. Over the last few years, automakers have brought more models, with varying mileage ranges, to the market, including medium-duty and heavy-duty trucks and buses. Government agencies at the federal, regional, and state levels, as well as utilities across the United States, have provided financial and non-financial incentives to promote electric vehicle adoption and charging infrastructure deployment. Argonne National Laboratory, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, has developed tools and collected data to quantify the energy, economic, and environmental benefits of electric vehicles. This project has three objectives. First, we summarize the policies and other actions of the federal government, various states/regions, and utilities to promote PEV adoption, and evaluate their relative effectiveness based on a review of the literature. Second, we identify possible PEV adoption paths or scenarios that would result in PEVs making up 15% of all on-road vehicles in Illinois, and we quantify the resulting impacts on petroleum consumption and electricity demand. We also summarize the possible reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) and criteria pollutant emissions due to PEV adoption. The PEV scenarios include private and public adoption of electric cars, light trucks (e.g., sports utility vehicles [SUVs], vans, pickups), medium-duty vehicles (MDVs), and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs). Third, we estimate hourly charging loads of light-duty PEVs in 2030 associated with these scenarios, incorporating assumptions about vehicle electric range, efficiency, and travel behavior.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Probing Particle Impingement in Boilers Using High-Performance Computing with Parallel CPUs and GPUs

The major goals of the project are to calculate and analyze particle impingement within boilers, quantify effects of particulates in boilers, and predict damage rates of boilers under different cycling modes. Collectively, these initiatives develop insight into existing coal plant challenges using advanced modeling tools, particularly those leveraging high-performance computing resources. High-performance CFD computing forms a central theme in this project that will employ a high degree of coordination and communication between these initiatives to realize a final, rigorously sound, and validated computational capability upon completion. These results will create a holistic, comprehensive, systems-level assessment of damage rates under different cycling modes. Together, these objectives will develop critical insight into damage mechanisms in existing coal plant challenges for accurately and efficiently assessing operating performance in fossil energy power plants.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

Accelerator Physics at NSLS-II: Research Accomplishments in 2022

NSLS-II accelerator physicists are working on scientific support of the NSLS-II operations and start-up of the accelerator systems including Storage Ring, Injector, beam diagnostics, and top-off injection; improvement of beam stability and orbit feedbacks; commissioning of a superconducting wiggler for the HEX beamline; development of a new operation mode for time-resolved experiments. The routine lattice characterization is continued to keep tracking the machine, the storage ring lattice model including strong coupling is developed, and seasonal variations of the ring circumference are studied. The collaboration with the EIC project is ongoing. In the frameworks of three LDRD projects, the physicists are working on the lattice development, studies of collective effects, and specifications of alignment and stability for the NSLS-II accelerator upgrade; novel methods of lattice design and optimization; studies of free-electron laser options; ultrafast electron diffraction and microscopy. Research accomplishments achieved in 2022, are summarized in this report.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Electrical Resistivity Tomography based monitoring of stress perturbations to optimize placement of high-precision strain meters

The Center for Understanding Subsurface Signals and Permeability is a new U.S. Department of Energy Earthshot Center focused on understanding and predicting the long-term evolution of permeability in enhanced geothermal systems. The center will use a highly instrumented testbed within the Sanford Underground Research Facility to conduct field scale experiments that elucidate and test capabilities to simulate geochemical-geomechanical interactions and permeability evolution. Here we demonstrate initial developments using previously collected electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) monitoring data with high-performance multi-physics modelling advancements to inform the optimal location of two new monitoring boreholes. Specifically, ERT monitoring data collected during shear stimulation testing shows marked responses to changes in stress during borehole pressurization. We demonstrate how the same response is being simulated, ultimately to train a machine-learning algorithm to estimate rock properties and enable enhanced prediction of stress and strain responses anticipated during future testing campaigns.

Stress, EGS, CUSSP, 3D Electrical Imaging↗

Estimating Return on Investment for Energy Technical Assistance Programs

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of State and Community Energy Programs engaged the National Laboratory of the Rockies to assess the return on investment (ROI) of technical assistance (TA) programs that support state, local, and Tribal energy planning. Although TA delivers value through capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and knowledge transfer, these benefits are often intangible and challenging to monetize. This study reviews existing ROI frameworks and synthesizes the most relevant elements into a hybrid approach tailored to energy TA programs. The proposed framework integrates monetary and non-monetary outcomes through early logic model development, baseline data collection, and the use of proxies for intangible benefits. As a case study, this paper applies this approach to the Communities Local Energy Action Program (Communities LEAP), demonstrating how ROI can inform program design, data strategy, and performance assessment. Findings underscore that ROI should be applied selectively and planned from the outset to ensure data alignment and attribution accuracy. The framework offers TA practitioners a structured approach that can be leveraged for future programs to evaluate and communicate the multifaceted value of TA investments.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Sensitivity and Uncertainty Quantification of Transition Scenario Simulations

This report documents the first collective attempt at developing and applying capabilities to quantify uncertainties, assess parametric sensitivities, and optimize multiple parameters and metrics in fuel cycle simulations generated by the SA&I Campaign. To do this, external codes that were designed to perform sensitivity analysis and uncertainty quantification (SA&UQ) needed to be coupled to the SA&I Campaign’s nuclear fuel cycle simulators (NFCS). In FY20, two approaches were pursued: 1) coupling Cyclus to an ORNL-internal code called MOT (Metaheuristic Optimization Tool) and 2) coupling DYMOND to the opensource SA&UQ tool kit Dakota. The primary objective of having these NFCS/SA&UQ coupled capabilities is to better inform DOE-NE and other stakeholders on the results generated from the NFCS. For a given set of fuel cycle strategies, policies, and technology assumptions that make up a fuel cycle scenario, these NFCS have traditionally been used by the SA&I Campaign to provide quantitative answers in terms of year-by-year mass flows, infrastructure requirements, costs, etc. With these newly developed coupled capabilities, the SA&I Campaign can now efficiently simulate hundreds or thousands of these scenarios, sample large ranges of parameters and assumptions, and use the unique features of the SA&UQ tools to process the data. This enables providing answers with known and propagated uncertainties, determining the sensitivity of important metrics to different parameters and assumptions, quantifying how much fuel cycle and technology parameters impact each other, and producing optimized fuel cycle strategies for single and multiple variables. To demonstrate these new capabilities, the Cyclus/MOT was used to model several scenarios ranging from simple fleet retirements to transitions to advanced reactors. Specifically, for a transition scenario from LWRs to SFRs and advanced LWRs, uncertainty quantification, sensitivity analysis, and optimization studies were applied to cases involving single and multiple parameter (input) and single and multiple metric (output) variations. In addition, a similar transition scenario was modeled to demonstrate how to optimize the reprocessing capacity parameter to minimize two performance metrics while taking into account uncertainties from two other parameters. Lastly, a depletion module based on SCALE/ORIGEN was added in Cyclus to simulate the third scenario that was designed to quantify the impact of the modeling assumption that all LWR used nuclear fuel have the same burnup. The newly developed DYMOND/Dakota capability was also applied to a transition scenario from the existing fleet to small modular reactors and fast reactors. This particular scenario involves not only explicit isotopic depletion via ORIGEN-2, but also includes multirecycling and utilizing the criticality search feature to determine the fresh fuel composition of recycled fuel, a feature unique to the DYMOND NFCS. A large database of simulations were run with 4 main parameters that were sampled: start date of reprocessing, reprocessing capacity, energy demand growth rate, and advanced reactor share of the fleet. The 4 main metrics were uranium consumption, enrichment requirements, waste generation, and levelized cost of electricity using data from the Cost Basis Report. The demonstrated SA&UQ results include those that inform on how to choose parameters to avoid “failed” scenarios, Sobol’ indices that inform on the importance of various parameters individually and synergistically, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) studies that decompose parameter ranges into groups and informs on whether variations are statistically significant.

Feng, B.↗

AUTONOMIE VID

Autonomie Vehicle Information Database (VID) offers a comprehensive list of vehicle specifications since 1990. The database details more than 65,000 vehicles with hundreds of attributes. The database is the result of the development of a general automated data collection framework as well as the development of building blocks for processing, cleaning, integrating and analyzing complex data. The data has undergone several layers of outlier detections processes, machine learning based imputations methods have been used to deal with missing data problems, and new fields have been created according to the rules of feature engineering. Thanks to this streamlined data pipelines, the resulting processed aggregated data should deliver a unique level of information to the user in which the content can be efficiently maintained and updated.

Moswd, Ayman↗

Development of A Microsampler for Aerial Platform on Collection of Aerosol Particles

A microsampler for aerosol particles was designed and evaluated in the laboratory for dry (no condensed water) and wet (foggy, misty, or rainy) air conditions. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) results suggested a design that provided a higher sampling efficiency with minimal inlet loss. The microsampler was experimentally evaluated using fluorescent Polystyrene Latex (PSL) particles at four nominal sizes. The experimental results at the four PSL particle sizes agree reasonably well with the collection efficiencies predicted by CFD. We found no impacts on the collection efficiency of the microsampler at conditions under 80% Relative Humidity (RH). However, when condensed water exists, significant biases on the collection efficiencies were found suggesting this microsampler should not be used in the condition where there was condensed water in the atmosphere, e.g., foggy, misty, and rainy conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Determining Cs-137 Background body burdens for Wild Pigs At Savannah River Site

Savannah River Site (SRS) is a unique U.S. Department of Energy facility in that most of the 310-square miles of land has not be industrialized since operations began in 1953. This has allowed abundant, undisturbed vegetation structure to exists as well as an increase in herd sizes among wildlife populations onsite. Cs-137 is widespread across SRS due to the production of nuclear materials, but is mostly from global atmospheric fallout from nuclear weapons testing. Due to most of SRS being undisturbed land, the concentrations of Cs-137 are higher on site than off site. The SRS began conducting annual deer harvests that were open to the public beginning in 1965. All animals harvested during these hunts are monitored for Cs-137, which is measured using a Sodium Iodide detector. There has been an effective method for calculating the background Cs-137 body burden for the deer population at the SRS, developed by Gaines and Novak using data collected during hunts and gamma overflight data to determine the areas contaminated by site activities. For animals that have a Cs-137 concentration above the established background level, a dose is assigned to the hunter. By applying the same method for wild pigs using data collected from hunts, gamma overflight, and developing a site-specific home range of wild pigs, we were able to calculate the Cs-137 background body burden concentrations of wild pigs on site. Objectives: Develop site-specific home range for wild pigs at SRS; Determine the average concentrations of Cs-137 in wild pigs from background; Use Gaines and Novak method for determining background Cs-137 body burdens wild pigs on SRS. Methods and Materials: Development of site-specific home range of wild pigs was determined to be 2.5 miles using: Four studies conducted between 1969 and 1992 for the SRS wild pig population. (Mayer and Brisbin) The background compartments were determined using: Gamma overflight data showing contaminated areas; Site-specific home range of the wild pigs. Results and Conclusion: All data were generated through the JMP software to provide a histogram and summary statistics. The estimate of an upper tolerance limit for the background contamination with 95% confidence is 1.965 pCi/g for the wild pigs. This means that for wild pigs on SRS from the background compartments are expected to have Cs-137 concentrations of less than 1.965 pCi/g. The current background for the deer is 2.59 pCi/g. For the background compartments Cs-137 concentrations from 2012-2018: Mean: 0.815 pCi/g, Maximum: 2.341 pCi/g, Minimum: -0.704 pCi/g.

07 ISOTOPE AND RADIATION SOURCES↗

Terahertz-field activation of polar skyrons

Unraveling collective modes arising from coupled degrees of freedom is crucial for understanding complex interactions in solids and developing new functionalities. Unique collective behaviors emerge when two degrees of freedom, ordered on distinct length scales, interact. Polar skyrmions, three-dimensional electric polarization textures in ferroelectric superlattices, disrupt the lattice continuity at the nanometer scale with nontrivial topology, leading to previously unexplored collective modes. Here, using terahertz-field excitation and femtosecond x-ray diffraction, we discover subterahertz collective modes, dubbed “skyrons”, which appear as swirling patterns of atomic displacements functioning as atomic-scale gearsets. The key to activating skyrons is the use of the THz field that couples primarily to skyrmion domain walls. Momentum-resolved time-domain measurements of diffuse scattering reveal an avoided crossing in the dispersion relation of skyrons. Atomistic simulations and dynamical phase-field modeling provide microscopic insights into the three-dimensional crystallographic and polarization dynamics. The amplitude and dispersion of skyrons are demonstrated to be controlled by sample temperature and electric-field bias. The discovery of skyrons and their coupling with terahertz fields opens avenues for ultrafast control of topological polar structures.

ferroelectrics↗

Enabling off-highway diesel engine downsizing and performance improvement using electrically assisted turbocharging

Internal combustion engine (ICE) downsizing through various turbocharging configurations is generally known by the powertrain design community as an effective means to reduce frictional losses, increase waste heat recovery, and improve fuel efficiency while increasing engine power density. However, often is the case that turbocharging strategies, including variable geometry turbochargers, and regulated two-stage turbochargers, incur the performance tradeoff between transient response and fuel economy (pumping losses) at high engine speeds. For off-highway vehicles having particularly transient and high-powered duty cycles, efforts to improve this tradeoff and increase operational flexibility have turned to evaluating various electrified air system architectures. In this study, a 4.5 L diesel-ICE configured with an electrically driven compressor (eBooster ® ) is placed in series with a conventional turbocharger and integrated into a 48 V mild-hybrid powertrain architecture. The objective of this powertrain configuration is to enable engine downsizing by 34%, replacing the current 6.8 L ICE platform with the hybridized 4.5 L ICE concept. The commercial 1-D simulation software GT-SUITE is used for powertrain system development and system optimization. Development and validation of the GT-SUITE model and air system controls is concurrently supported through experimental data collection. The simulation model development includes using machine learning methods for optimizing exhaust gas dilution, injection timing, and eBooster ® power to improve steady-state and transient brake-specific fuel consumption while minimizing criteria pollutant emissions. It was found that total specific fluid consumption over the standardized non-road transient engine duty cycle could be reduced by 18% over the current 6.8 L engine by using an optimized eBoosted 4.5 L engine. The hybridized 4.5 L engine concept concurrently showed sufficient transient response capability and nearly an order of magnitude reduction in duty cycle total soot production.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Montage electron tomography of vitrified specimens

Cryo-electron tomography provides detailed views of macromolecules in situ. However, imaging a large field of view to provide more cellular context requires reducing magnification during data collection, which in turn restricts the resolution. To circumvent this trade-off between field of view and resolution, we have developed a montage data collection scheme that uniformly distributes the dose throughout the specimen. In this approach, sets of slightly overlapping circular tiles are collected at high magnification and stitched to form a composite projection image at each tilt angle. These montage tilt-series are then reconstructed into massive tomograms with a small pixel size but a large field of view. For proof-of-principle, we applied this method to the thin edge of HeLa cells. Thon rings to better than 10 Å were detected in the montaged tilt-series, and diverse cellular features were observed in the resulting tomograms. These results indicate that the additional dose required by this technique is not prohibitive to performing structural analysis to intermediate resolution across a large field of view. We anticipate that montage tomography will prove particularly useful for lamellae, increase the likelihood of imaging rare cellular events, and facilitate visual proteomics.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

High Performance Computing Innovation Center Open Source Developer Tools

The High Performance Computing Innovation Center (HPCIC) aims to ease the transition for developers to use open source software provided by the lab. HPCIC Developer Tools is a collection of software, containers, cloud configurations, and associated documentation that make it easy to deploy tutorials or small apps to demonstrate lab-developed software. For example, building a tutorial container that includes lab software and interactive interfaces; a command line or web-based tool that accepts user preferences for the tutorial; supporting tools and software development kits (SDKs) for developer interactions or productivity in different languages embraced by the larger developer community such as Go, Rust, and Python; and automation in version control to support continued update of software and associated resources. These tools are best developed in an open source environment such as GitHub, not only to champion the lab's open source software, but for purposes of branding and demonstrating the lab's leadership in open source. Such an effort that brings in more developers to use and contribute to lab software can further improve the quality of the software, and developer experience at the lab.

Beckingsale, DavidA↗

Transient Data Library of Solar Grid Integrated Distributed System

This submission contains an open-source library of transient events in distributed system with high solar PV. The library includes the collected data, related documents and scripts for loading the data. The data library is built for transient event detection and machine learning based analysis algorithm development. The data was collected via both field test and software simulation. The units for the data are included in the data file headers for each data series. A text editor or spreadsheet software, such as Excel, and Matlab is required to view the data.

algorithms↗