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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 109 records · Page 6
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Machine Learning-Based PV Reserve Determination Strategy for Frequency Control on the WECC System: Preprint

Frequency control from Photovoltaic (PV) plants has great potential to address the frequency response challenge of the power system with high renewable penetration. However, using model-based approaches to determine the optimal PV headroom reserve requires significant online computation and is intractable for an interconnection level system. This paper proposes a machine learning based strategy, that is suitable for real-time operation, to determine the optimal PV reserve for frequency control. The proposed machine learning algorithm is trained and tested on 1,987 offline simulations of a 60% renewable penetration Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system. Furthermore, the proposed reserve determination strategy is applied on a realistic one-day operation profile of the WECC system and demonstrates over 40% PV headroom saving compared to a conservative approach. It is evident that the proposed strategy can efficiently and effectively determine the optimal PV frequency control reserve for realistic interconnection systems.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Parameterization Study of Sew-EZ Materials: Types #6 and #8

Two material types identified by Sew-EZ were tested in various configurations, and under various conditions, by Sandia National Laboratories (SNL). The primary focus of this study was to assess the filtration performance of these two materials and identify if they perform similarly to certified N95 respirators. Testing was conducted on two systems which use distinctly different techniques to characterize the aerosol penetration characteristics of materials: a) R&D Filtration System: A large-scale R&D filtration system was used with testing parameters that mimicked NIOSH guidelines, where possible. Efficiency data as a function of particle size was attained using NaC1 as the test aerosol and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) for measurements. A more detailed system description can be found in Omana et al. 2020. b) Automated Tester: A commercial, automated filter tester (100Xs, Air Techniques International) was used to provide penetration/efficiency data for Sew EZ materials. The 100Xs aerosolizes a polydisperse NaC1 aerosol with a consistent concentration and size profile. The 100Xs manual (Air Techniques International 2018) states, "The aerosol particle size and distribution are designed to meet all requirements as defined in the relevant sections of NIOSH 42 CFR, Part 84 (pg. 32)."

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2020

Reconfigurable Real-Time Power Grid Emulator for Systems With High Penetration of Renewables

Novel power system control and new utility devices need to be tested before their actual deployment to the power grid. To assist with such a testing need, real-time digital emulators such as RTDS and Opal-RT can be used to connect to the physical world and form a hardware in the loop (HIL) emulation. However, due to the limitations of today's computational resources, the accuracy and fidelity suffer from different levels of model reductions in purely digital simulations. CURENT has developed a reconfigurable electric grid hardware testbed (HTB) to overcome the limitations of digital emulators. The HTB has been used to develop measurement, control, modeling, and actuation techniques for a national grid with a high penetration of renewables. The power electronic-based system includes emulators for synchronous generators; photovoltaics with grid-interfacing inverter; wind turbines; induction motor loads, ZIP loads, power electronic loads; batteries; ac and dc transmission lines; short circuit faults and grid relay protection; and a multiterminal HVDC overlay including power electronics interfaces. The system contains real elements of power flow, measurement, communication, protection, and control that mimic what would be seen in an actual electric grid. This paper presents an overview of the HTB and several scenarios that have been run to determine control and actions needed for the future power grid.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

Understanding the limitations and potential of micro tensile testing of tungsten and needs for crystal plasticity modelling

Tungsten is the leading plasma facing material candidate due to its exceptional properties. Understanding the response to neutron irradiation is crucial for the lifetime evaluation of tungsten. The limited space in nuclear reactors and the high levels of radioactivity of the specimens after irradiation are significant barriers to accurately measuring the mechanical properties after neutron irradiation. Testing of micro tensile specimens is one approach to reduce the total amount of irradiated material needed for a set of mechanical testing experiments. However, micro samples are not necessarily measuring the bulk material properties, as size effects produce higher measured mechanical properties than is observed in engineering size counterparts. Determining the minimal sample size for reliable bulk property measurement, combined with modeling efforts, is essential. We conducted room temperature tensile tests on tungsten micro tensile specimens fabricated with focused ion beam, plasma focused ion beam and femto-second laser ablation system to dimension of 2×2×7?µm³, 7×7×18?µm³, and 80×100×233?µm³ (width×thickness×gauge-length), respectively. Elevated tensile testing was performed up to 475°C on 5×5×18?µm³ specimens fabricated with focused ion beam. The smallest specimens exhibited a high degree of ductility and strength, whereas the largest specimens demonstrated behavior akin to bulk tungsten. To investigate the effects introduced by the micro specimen fabrication processes and to obtain the necessary bulk dislocation density for the crystal plasticity model, we employed X-ray diffraction depth profiling. This measurement was performed using different X-ray sources with varying penetration depths. Finally, the potential and limitations of micro mechanical tests for tungsten will be discussed.

36 - MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Validation of material models for puncture of 7075-T651 aluminum plate

Plate puncture simulations are challenging computational tasks that require advanced material models including high strain rate and thermal-mechanical effects on both deformation and failure, plus finite element techniques capable of representing large deformations and material failure. The focus of this work is on the material issues, which require large sets of experiments, flexible material models and challenging calibration procedures. In this study, we consider the puncture of 12.7 mm thick, 7075-T651 aluminum alloy plates by a cylindrical punch with a hemispherical nose and diameter of 12.7 mm. The plasticity and ductile failure models were isotropic with calibration data obtained from uniaxial tension tests at different temperatures and strain rates plus quasi-static notched tension tests and shear-dominated tests described here. Sixteen puncture experiments were conducted to identify the threshold penetration energy, mode of puncture and punch acceleration during impact, The punch was mounted on a 139 kg mass and dropped on the plates with different impact speeds. Since the mass was the same in all tests, the quantity of interest was the impact speed. The axis and velocity of the punch were perpendicular to the plate surface. The mean threshold punch speed was 3.05 m/s, and the mode of failure was plugging by thermal-mechanical shear banding accompanied by scabbing fragments. Application of the material models in simulations of the tests yielded accurate estimates of the threshold puncture speed and of the mode of failure. Time histories of the punch acceleration compared well between simulation and test. Remarkably, the success of the simulations occurred in spite of even the smallest element used being larger than the width of the shear bands.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2022

Multifamily Air Leakage Evaluation: A Modular Case Study

The purpose of this case study is to compare the air leakage rates of modular and site-built multifamily dwelling units. The methods, materials, and equipment were observed to be very similar in the modular and site-constructed units in this case study. The installation quality of building envelope measures such as insulation and air barrier appeared to be better for modular construction, because they were installed in a controlled, factory setting. Through field observations, we identified cosmetic damage to the envelope of modular units following transport to the building site, but with no resulting significant air leakage pathways. However, we did see air leakage pathways resulting from field modifications to the envelope of modular units to accommodate structural and mechanical connections. We found that the extensive use of through-wall HVAC systems, combined with the transport, placement, and rework of modular units may compromise the high-quality envelope installation and airtightness observed in the factory without careful planning and/or design. Opportunities for improvement identified from the tested modular dwelling units include minimizing and optimally locating penetrations, pre-cutting and detailing penetrations at the factory where possible, properly sealing field modifications, and using split HVAC systems in place of through-wall packaged systems.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Host-Directed, Bioelectronic Immunomodulation for Protection Against Emerging Pathogens

Acute care of patients with severe infections often relies on systemic administration of pharmaceuticals and monitoring of complex physiological symptoms to identify immune system dysfunction, which can lead to increased mortality. Furthermore, determining disease-specific treatment plans often leads to a delay in patient care. To address this, we proposed an immune modulation system that electrically detects and responds to a patient’s immune system status, creating an agnostic means of treating illness and infection. Two pieces of hardware were developed for this task: a minimally-invasive sensor and a vagus nerve stimulator. Stimulation of the vagus nerve is known to modulate the immune system. The sensor is a microfabricated, silicon-based microneedle array capable of interfacing with interstitial fluid to detect small molecules such as inflammatory proteins (cytokines) and pharmaceuticals (vancomycin). Process optimization to manufacture the needles refined the silicon etch process, creating needle patches long enough to penetrate skin and reach interstitial fluid. The needles were tested for mechanical strength and stability, and did not shatter when inserted into skin models. The needles are coated with a thin film metal, turning them into electrodes for electrochemical sensing of our target molecules. We hybridized aptamers to the surface of the electrode to act as the sensing layer and were able to detect changes in the conformation of the aptamer electrochemically in the presence of the target molecule. The stimulator was a cuff electrode that encircled the vagus nerve. Rodent studies were conducted in which rodents were exposed to an inflammatory event and vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) was applied. It was demonstrated that optimized electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve created measurably different levels of cytokines in blood samples, and certain cytokines released during the inflammatory event were either upregulated or downregulated. In sum, this project successfully developed new platforms and technologies that can, with further development, enable better temporal insight into biomarker changes in the body, letting healthcare providers know of possible immune system dysfunction before they are detected physiologically. We also demonstrated the value of VNS and its possible use in treating immune system response to inflammation and illness.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

Evaluation of Machine Learning Models for Automated Data Analysis in In-Service Nuclear Power Plant Inspections

The commercial nuclear power industry is facing a potential shortage of certified nondestructive evaluation (NDE) analysts to meet future in-service inspection demands. Automated data analysis (ADA) currently supports human inspectors in tasks such as eddy current evaluations for steam generator examinations. Machine learning (ML) systems are nearing the capability to pass performance demonstration tests for ultrasonic testing (UT) inspections of reactor pressure vessel upper head penetrations in nuclear power plants (NPPs). Current research and development is focused on assisted analysis (AA) of ADA versus fully automated examinations. This presentation will cover assessment of ML flaw detection on dissimilar metal weld (DMW) piping joints.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Liquid Metal Intrusion Testing Final Report

Los Alamos National Lab (LANL) is concerned about potential interactions between a tin-antimony pewter material used for localized radiation shielding and stainless-steel containers used for storage and movement of radioactive materials when containers are subjected to elevated temperatures. The specific concern is whether pewter constituents can diffuse into grain boundaries and lead to embrittlement of the stainless steel, potentially compromising the ability of stainless steel components to maintain containment. This work will provide a qualitative and quantitative understanding of the depth of penetration of the pewter coating constituents into stainless steel when the test coupons are subjected to a range of thermal environments. The results of the present work will allow LANL to determine conditions for safely using the pewter lined containers.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2021

Preliminary Procedures and Acceptance Criteria for in-situ Structural Materials Surveillance for MSR

This report describes the initial development of the technical basis for a materials surveillance technology that, when fully developed and validated, can be used by stakeholders to develop and implement a materials surveillance program to manage materials degradation during reactor operations. The procedures described in this report aim to bound the detrimental effects of the reactor environment on the creep-fatigue life of the reactor components through materials surveillance. Specifically, the report describes procedures for selecting critical locations within the reactor components for surrogate materials surveillance and the sizing and placements of passively-actuated materials surveillance test articles under development by the US Department of Energy, Advanced Reactor Technologies Program. These test articles apply cyclic thermomechanical load to a surrogate sample of the component structural material passively through thermal expansion mismatch within the articles, without requiring any penetrations in the reactor coolant boundary. The procedures can be used to size materials surveillance test articles so that they will fail before the corresponding structural component. These articles would be exposed to the component operating environment, located to experience a bounding radiation fluence and representative coolant exposure. They can be monitored during reactor operations to ensure that they have not failed under the combination of creep-fatigue damage and environmental degradation. The report describes the key technical decisions and the corresponding rational for using these procedures to provide advanced warning of any impending material failure. An appendix describes the technical basis and the procedure for sizing a family of passively-actuated test articles. Finally, the report describes future work needed to complete the technical basis underlying this materials surveillance technology.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Impact of Testing Method on Safety Assessment of Aged Li-Ion Cells: Part II – Aged Cells Without Li Plating

Understanding the safety profile of aged Li-ion batteries is essential for developing effective battery management and hazard mitigation strategies. However, most safety assessments have focused on fresh batteries, with just a few calorimetry studies on aged batteries with metal oxide positive electrodes. This study provides a broad assessment of commercial 18650-type Li-ion batteries with NCA, NMC, and LFP positive electrodes, both uncycled and aged under conditions that promoted solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) growth as the dominant degradation mechanism. The cells underwent mechanical (nail penetration, crush), electrical (overcharge, overdischarge), and thermal (accelerating rate calorimetry) abuse tests. Safety was rated on general characteristics such as mass loss, maximum temperature, and EUCAR (European Council for Automotive R&D) hazard level, as well as characteristics specific to individual abuse tests. Generally, aged cells with SEI growth exhibited similar or improved safety compared to uncycled cells, contrasting with our previous findings on NCA cells with Li plating as the dominant aging mechanism (Part I of this series). Yet, some tests and characteristics indicated reduced aged cell safety, such as earlier triggering of mechanical failure. These results emphasize the need to examine aged battery safety across diverse empirical techniques, degradation modes, and chemistries.

Lithium-ion cells↗
DOE OSTI2020

A Test Bed for Evaluating Frequency Estimation Algorithms in Synthetic Inertia Control: User Manual

As penetration of converter interfaced generators (CIGs) increases, the need for CIG frequency control participation increases. Traditionally, research in this area has been performed using positive sequence simulation software, which provides voltage magnitude and phase measurements, but not point-on-wave (POW) measurements. This means that the effect of frequency estimation algorithms cannot be accurately modeled, especially when the voltage waveform is distorted by faults or load connection events. This report serves as a user manual for an electromagnetic transient simulation testbed, which allows for accurate modeling of frequency estimation and control techniques.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2024

Density pedestal prediction model for tokamak plasmas

Abstract A model for the pedestal density prediction based on neutral penetration combined with pedestal transport is presented. The model is tested against a pedestal database of JET-ILW Type I ELMy H-modes showing good agreement over a wide range of parameters both in standalone modelling (using the experimental temperature profile) and in full Europed modelling that predicts both density and temperature pedestals simultaneously. The model is further tested for ASDEX Upgrade and MAST-U Type I ELMy H-modes and both are found to agree with the same model parameters as for JET-ILW. The JET-ILW experiment where the isotope of the main ion is varied in a D/T scan at constant gas rate and constant β N is successfully modelled as long as the separatrix density ( n e,sep ) and pedestal transport coefficient ratio ( D / χ ) are varied in accordance with the experimentally observed variation of n e,sep and the isotope dependence of D / χ found in gyrokinetic simulations. The predictions are found to be sensitive to n e,sep which is why the model is combined with an n e,sep model to predict the pedestal for the STEP fusion reactor.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2021

Topology-Agnostic, Scalable, Self-Healing, and Cost-Aware Protection of Microgrids

Most microgrid protection schemes found in published literature suffer from a lack of generality in that they work well for the assumed topology, including type and placement of sources. Other generic protection schemes tend to be too complicated, too expensive, or both. To overcome these draw- backs, a topology-agnostic, scalable, and cost-aware protection based on fundamental principles that work in the presence of high penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs) is developed and tested in this paper. Here, the protection system also implements stable automatic reconfiguration of the healthy sections of the system after clearance of fault, thus increasing resilience by self- healing. To achieve this ambitious goal, stable inverter models are developed that operate in unbalanced networks in grid-connected and islanded modes, even with 100% IBRs, share power without conflicting controls, and can ride through faults while limiting fault currents. The scheme is tested for primary and backup protection and reconfiguration on the IEEE 123-node feeder in grid-connected and islanded modes with 15 IBRs connected to the system.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Communication—Impact Behaviors of Pouch and Prismatic Battery Modules

The responses of pouch and prismatic battery modules when they are impacted by two types of indenters from three different directions are investigated experimentally. The test results show that the failure mechanism, peak force and penetration that leads to short-circuit in modules strongly depend on the impact direction, indenter shape, cell form factor and module design. It sheds lights on the abuse tolerance of batteries in different scenarios and demonstrates that the cell type, orientation and module structure should be considered simultaneously in order to improve the battery safety in electrical vehicles.

Electrochemistry↗
DOE OSTI2021

RingIR AG-4000 Testing

The AG-4000 detector can identify gas phase species using molecular fingerprinting and has potential application for SARS-CoV-2 detection in near real time. As part of the development process Sandia will utilize the biological aerosol test bed deployed at the Aerosol Complex to evaluate the penetration of MS2 bacteriophage aerosol through the Ring IR system. The objective of this project is to provide experimentally derived measurements of the RingIR AG-4000 penetration efficiency, including external exhaust filter for mitigation of exhaust aerosol and operation using MS2 bacteriophage as a biological surrogate to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Machine Learning-Based PV Reserve Determination Strategy for Frequency Control on the WECC System

This paper proposes a machine learning based strategy, that is suitable for real-time operation, to determine the optimal photovoltaic (PV) power plants reserve for frequency control. The proposed machine learning algorithm is trained and tested on 1,987 offline simulations of a 60% renewable penetration Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system. On a realistic 1-day operation profile of the WECC system, the ML model demonstrates a savings of more than 40% PV headroom compared to a conservative approach.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Dual-Purpose Canister Filling Demonstration Project Progress Report at ORNL, 2023

The US DOE Office of Nuclear Energy is investigating the feasibility of direct disposal of dual-purpose canisters (DPCs) in a hypothetical geological repository to offset the potential requirement to repackage spent nuclear fuel (SNF) from existing DPCs into smaller, disposal-ready canisters. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is currently evaluating the feasibility of filling void space in loaded DPCs with an engineered material to prevent a criticality event caused by groundwater/moderator intrusion. Metal alloys are being investigated as a filler material because of their relatively low viscosities when molten, which may facilitate their injection via an existing drainpipe that runs almost the full length of the DPC. ORNL’s strategy for evaluating filler viability includes simulations and physical demonstrations of filling and casting behavior, as well as evaluations of materials for compatibility in the repository environment. Filling of DPCs in this manner is expected to mitigate the risk associated with a post-closure criticality event during the repository performance assessment time frame (10,000 years or greater). Efforts in this fiscal year focused on (1) destructive analysis of experimental filler castings made in FY 2022, (2) a report outlining a conceptual design of a DPC filling facility (Fortner et al., 2023, M3SF 23OR010305044/ ORNL/SPR-2023/2921, May 31, 2023), (3) a report on affected features, events, and processes (FEPs) due to DPC filling (Price et al., 2023, M3SF-23SN010305093, issuance pending), (4) developing and testing a more practical alloy filler based upon a Sn-Al eutectic, and (5) modeling the heating and cooling dynamics of a DPC subjected to molten metal filling. The preliminary results from each of these tasks support the feasibility of filling DPCs with metal as a strategy against the possibility of criticality in the repository. The FY 2022 casting was found to penetrate even very small orifices in the mold and internal structures. Preliminary testing of the Sn-Al eutectic indicate little interaction of the melt with Zircaloy cladding. Thermal modelling shows that a filled DPC will cool to manageable temperatures within 2-3 days, which is likely manageable in a facility.

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗