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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
NASA NTRS2023

Hybrid-Electric Aero-Propulsion Controls Testbed Results

NASA is supporting the development of Electrified Aircraft Propulsion (EAP) technology due to its potential to reduce aircraft fuel burn, emissions, and noise as well as improving safety and performance. One focus of this research is the electrification of conventional turbomachinery propulsion systems, which offers ways to improve the performance and operability of turbine-engine powered aircraft through the addition of electro-mechanical systems. These hybrid-electric turbine engines provide additional actuation and energy management control opportunities for improving stability and transient response behavior. This paper summarizes the results of a Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test performed at the NASA Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) during the summer of 2022. The test demonstrates the feasibility and performance of an advanced energy management control strategy by integrating a simulated turbofan engine with scaled electro-mechanical hardware. A full-scale real-time reference model of a geared turbofan was run alongside a scaled electro-mechanical system representing the electrified turbofan components operating at a megawatt-scale power level. The model was interfaced with the hardware through a novel closed-loop control and scaling algorithm that emulated the dynamic speed and torque response of the turbofan shafts. The control strategy was implemented on the electrical machines connected to the emulated turbomachinery shafts. The results from the testbed are compared against simulations that predict the testbed and geared turbofan model operation. The energy management control strategy successfully changed the operating point of the engine model and improved its stability during throttle transients. These results also demonstrate the success of the novel closed loop control and scaling approach for emulating turbomachinery and elevate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the energy management control strategy.

Aeronautics↗
DOE OSTI2023

AI-Based Faster-Than-Real-Time Stability Assessment of Large Power Systems with Applications on WECC System

Achieving clean energy goals will require significant advances in regard to addressing the computational needs for next-generation renewable-dominated power grids. One critical obstacle that lies in the way of transitioning today’s power grid to a renewable-dominated power grid is the lack of a faster-than-real-time stability assessment technology for operating a fast-changing power grid. This paper proposes an artificial intelligence (AI) -based method that predicts the system’s stability margin information (e.g., the frequency nadir in the frequency stability assessment and the critical clearing time (CCT) value in the transient stability assessment) directly from the system operating conditions without performing the conventional time-consuming time-domain simulations over detailed dynamic models. Since the AI method shifts the majority of the computational burden to offline training, the online evaluation is extremely fast. This paper has tested the AI-based stability assessment method using multiple dispatch cases that are converted and tuned from actual dispatch cases of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) system model with more than 20,000 buses. The results show that the AI-based method could accurately predict the stability margin of such a large power system in less than 0.2 milliseconds using the offline-trained AI agent. Therefore, the proposed method has great potential to achieve faster-than-real-time stability assessment for practical large power systems while preserving sufficient accuracy.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1986

Centaur engine gimbal friction characteristics under simulated thrust load

An investigation was performed to determine the friction characteristics of the engine gimbal system of the Centaur upper stage rocket. Because the Centaur requires low-gain autopilots in order to meet all stability requirements for some configurations, control performance (response to transients and limit-cycle amplitudes) depends highly on these friction characteristics. Forces required to rotate the Centaur engine gimbal system were measured under a simulated thrust load of 66,723 N (15,000 lb) and in an altitude/thermal environment. A series of tests was performed at three test conditions; ambient temperature and pressure, ambient temperature and vacuum, and cryogenic temperature and vacuum. Gimbal rotation was controlled, and tests were performed in which rotation amplitude and frequency were varied by using triangular and sinusoidal waveforms. Test data revealed an elastic characteristic of the gimbal, independent of the input signal, which was evident prior to true gimbal sliding. The torque required to initiate gimbal sliding was found to decrease when both pressure and temperature decreased. Results from the low amplitude and low frequency data are currently being used in mathematically modeling the gimbal friction characteristics for Centaur autopilot performance studies.

Askew, J. W.↗
DOE OSTI2025

Thermal and electric multidomain dynamic model for integration of power grid distribution with behind-the-meter devices

As renewable energy sources like solar and wind power become more integrated into the grid, coordinated control of behind-the-meter devices is crucial for enhancing grid flexibility and reliability and for meeting cost targets, with standardized models being developed to support this transition. The increasing flexibility and uncertainty of integrated renewable energy grids, along with interactions between various subsystems, make traditional steady-state modeling insufficient to capture transient and dynamic behaviors. Current models (e.g., composite load and battery equivalent models) focus on thermodynamic or electrical characteristics but overlook critical electromechanical interactions. This limits the ability to share performance information for grid services and hampers fast dynamic simulations. In addition, motor stalling is usually triggered by a fault event and attributed to the characteristics of the mechanical torque of the motor, resulting in absorption of a large amount of reactive power during the stalling period. Further, this significant withdrawal of reactive power will deteriorate the dynamic voltage stability of power grids and cause delayed voltage recovery. Therefore, an in-depth modeling of the thermodynamics or mechanical torque is essential to study the impacts of the realistic torque characteristics of those behind-the-meter devices on power system voltage stability. This study developed a dynamic multidomain model for building HVAC systems, such as air-source heat pumps, to simulate their thermal and electrical responses to grid transients. The model can accurately predict power metrics with a mean absolute percentage error of 10%, by validating against with power system computer-aided design performance data. Case studies demonstrate the model capability of capturing the transient response to sudden voltage changes, rapid load fluctuations, and system shutdowns respectively. During a sudden voltage drop (30% for 0.1s), a fully loaded heat pump’s motor speed dropped, continued declining, and shut down after 3.6s, with severe power oscillations and a torque spike. A partially loaded unit experienced temporary oscillations but stabilized. Under higher building loads, compressor speed increased from 64% to 100%, with power and torque rising before stabilizing. In safety-triggered shutdowns, power decreased after minor fluctuations, and torque briefly spiked before dropping to zero.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1980

Static and transient performance of YF-102 engine with up to 14 percent core airbleed for the quiet short-haul research aircraft

An outdoor static test stand was used to measure the steady-state and transient performance of the YF-102 turbofan engine with core airbleed. The test configuration included a bellmouth inlet and a confluent-flow exhaust system similar in size to the quiet short-haul research aircraft (QSRA) exhaust system. For the steady-state tests, the engine operated satisfactorily with core bleed up to 14 percent of the core inlet flow. For the transient tests the engine accelerated and decelerated satisfactorily with no core bleed and with core bleed up to 11 percent of the core inlet flow (maximum tested). For some of the tests the core-bleed flow rate was scheduled to vary with fan discharge pressure, to simulate the QSRA bleed requirements. No stability, surge, stall, overtemperature, combustor flameout, or other operating problems were encountered in any of the tests. Steady-state and transient engine performance data are presented in graphs, and fuel-control trajectories for typical transient tests are shown.

Mcardle, J. G.↗
DOE OSTI2022

Stabilizing Inverter-Based Transmission Systems: Power Hardware-in-the-Loop Experiments with a Megawatt-Scale Grid-Forming Inverter

This article presents what the authors believe to be the first experimental verification of the ability of grid-forming (GFM) inverters to stabilize a transmission electric power system that is otherwise unstable. The experiments described here were performed using power hardware-in-the-loop (PHIL) simulation to connect a megawatt-scale battery inverter to a real-time electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulation of the near-future Maui power system. This allows the dynamic interactions between the inverter and the power system to be observed without putting the real power system at risk. The ability to use the actual inverter hardware removes the need to rely on a computer model approximation of the inverter's behavior.

electromagnetic transient simulations↗
DOE OSTI2023

Comparison of Electromagnetic Transient and Phasor Dynamic Simulations: Implications for Inverter Dominated Systems

The simulation of very high shares of inverter-based resources in power systems has begun to draw into question the validity of phasor domain tools in capturing relevant dynamics. Electromagnetic transient simulators can capture the dynamics of power electronics with substantially smaller time steps, but are computationally expensive. This work contrasts the results of phasor domain and electromagnetic transient tools for simulations on a validated model of the Maui power system operating at very high inverter-based resource shares with near zero voltage forming devices. The results show that the phasor domain tool predicts optimistic stability with fewer voltage forming elements on the network, and loses computational stability before the electromagnetic transient tool. As the electromagnet transient model is of the entire system, and system-wide discrepancies are observed, this case study of a physical power system highlights the potential need for system-wide detailed modeling during periods of very high shares of inverter-based resources and few voltage forming devices.

electromagnetic transient-domain↗
DOE OSTI2016

Parallel Dynamics Simulation Using a Krylov-Schwarz Linear Solution Scheme

Fast dynamics simulation of large-scale power systems is a computational challenge because of the need to solve a large set of stiff, nonlinear differential-algebraic equations at every time step. The main bottleneck in dynamic simulations is the solution of a linear system during each nonlinear iteration of Newton’s method. In this paper, we present a parallel Krylov- Schwarz linear solution scheme that uses the Krylov subspacebased iterative linear solver GMRES with an overlapping restricted additive Schwarz preconditioner. As a result, performance tests of the proposed Krylov-Schwarz scheme for several large test cases ranging from 2,000 to 20,000 buses, including a real utility network, show good scalability on different computing architectures.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Using Energy Storage-Based Grid Forming Inverters for Operational Reserve in Hybrid Diesel Microgrids

In remote arctic communities, where access to a bulk electrical grid interconnection is not available, the implementation of islanded microgrids has been the most viable way to produce and distribute electricity services to their inhabitants. Historically, these islanded grids have relied primarily on diesel generators or hydropower resources to supply the baseload. However, this practice can result in increased expense due to the high costs associated with fuel transportation and the significant amounts of on-site storage necessary when fuel transportation is unavailable during winter months. In order to mitigate this problem, arctic microgrids have started to transition to a hybrid-source operational mode by incorporating renewable energy sources that are inherently variable in nature, such as wind or solar. Due to their highly stochastic behavior, these hybrid-source islanded microgrids can pose potential issues related to power quality due to introduction of rapid net load fluctuations and inability of diesel generators to respond rapidly. In addition, non-firm stochastic sources can require significant idling diesel generator resources to serve as spinning reserves, which is inefficient and wasteful. This work studies the problems that may arise in the transient dynamics of a real-world hybrid diesel microgrid when subjected to a loss of wind generation. Moreover, this work proposes a transition from a diesel spinning reserve to a battery energy-storage system (BESS) operating reserve scheme. The study of the proposed transition is important in establishing the fundamental implication of transient dynamics and the potential benefits of integrating a BESS as a spinning reserve in terms of stability, frequency nadir, and transient voltage deviation. The methods to investigate and validate the transient dynamics relied on both electromagnetic simulation models of GFMIs and a commercially available GFMI in an experimental power hardware-in-the-loop setup. The simulation results showed that the proposed operating reserve scheme improves the power quality of the system in terms of voltage deviation and frequency nadir when the microgrid is subjected to a loss of wind generation scenario. Depending on the simulation cases, adding a GFMI reduced the frequency nadir between 65.3% and 86.7%. Moreover, the reductions in the voltage deviations improved between 3.6% and 23.0%. From these results it can be concluded that the integration of a GFMI can reduce the frequency nadir in a hybrid diesel microgrid, and in turn, reduce diesel consumption, which improves system reliability while reducing fuel expenses. Furthermore, the novelty of this work relies on the fact that the offline simulation results were validated using a power hardware-in-the-loop platform that incorporated a 100 kVA commercially available GFMI as the device under test.

Hernandez-Alvidrez, Javier↗
DOE OSTI2019

Decentralized Voltage and Power Control of Multi-Machine Power Systems With Global Asymptotic Stability

Maintaining power system stability is becoming urgent due to the large-scale interconnection of power grids and the high penetration of uncertain renewable energy sources. The excitation control and governor control of synchronous generators have been considered as two crucial measures for enhancing the power system stability. However, a major challenge is to simultaneously achieve global asymptotic stability (GAS), voltage regulation (VR), and power regulation (PR) in the excitation and governor control. In this paper, a Lyapunov-based decentralized control (LBC) is proposed to address this challenge. The time-derivative of the Lyapunov function is designed by the feedback control of synchronous generators in order to guarantee GAS. VR and PR are ensured by considering voltage and power deviations as the feedback variables. The simulation results on the New-England ten-machine power system validate the effectiveness of the proposed LBC in improving power system transient stability and simultaneously achieving VR and PR. Although the proportional-integral- and power system stabilizer-based control can also perform VR and PR, the proposed control has much better dynamic performance and can more significantly improve the system transient stability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2026

Quantifying System Strength From Grid-Forming Resources Using Frequency Scan Approach: Preprint

Current industry practices for quantifying the system strength contribution from grid-forming (GFM) resources to ensure stability of power systems dominated by inverter-based resources (IBRs) are primarily based on iterative electromagnetic transient (EMT) time-domain simulation studies. While feasible, these approaches are resource-intensive, lack scalability and intuition, and might not evaluate the system strength contribution over the entire frequency range of interest. This paper introduces a novel, frequency-domain approach to quantify system strength support provided by a GFM resource using frequency scans. The proposed method uses transfer functions from the grid voltage magnitude (V) and phase (?), respectively, to the reactive (Q) and active power (P) output of a GFM resource for quantifying its contribution to system strength. These transfer functions provide a direct measure of the ability of a GFM resource to behave as a stiff voltage source behind a reactance over a specified frequency range, enabling robust quantification of its system strength contribution. The key innovation of this work is the development of a frequency domain system strength metric called the dynamic short-circuit ratio (dSCR) that is suitable for IBR-dominated power systems and is directly related with the familiar short circuit ratio (SCR) metric. The new metric, dSCR, enables the assessment of system strength contributions from both synchronous machines and converter-based GFM resources using a unified benchmark, which is not possible with the traditional SCR metric. The paper also demonstrates how impedance scans could identify if an unstable condition observed during weak grid conditions is a result of the lack active or reactive power support or both. By leveraging the proposed frequency-domain dSCR metric for quantifying system strength contribution from GFM IBRs, the paper demonstrates targeted mitigation strategies for weak grid instabilities without resorting to repeated, time-consuming time-domain simulations. The result is a scalable and efficient approach to remediate stability challenges in power systems with high shares of IBRs and accelerating the integration of GFM technologies for system strength support in power systems.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1975

Turbofan compressor dynamics during afterburner transients

The effects of afterburner light-off and shut-down transients on compressor stability were investigated. Experimental results are based on detailed high-response pressure and temperature measurements on the Tf30-p-3 turbofan engine. The tests were performed in an altitude test chamber simulating high-altitude engine operation. It is shown that during both types of transients, flow breaks down in the forward part of the fan-bypass duct. At a sufficiently low engine inlet pressure this resulted in a compressor stall. Complete flow breakdown within the compressor was preceded by a rotating stall. At some locations in the compressor, rotating stall cells initially extended only through part of the blade span. For the shutdown transient, the time between first and last detected occurrence of rotating stall is related to the flow Reynolds number. An attempt was made to deduce the number and speed of propagation of rotating stall cells.

Kurkov, A. P.↗
DOE OSTI2020

Renewable Integration in Hybrid ac-dc Systems using Multi-port Autonomous Reconfigurable Solar power plant (MARS)

To increase inertia and improve primary frequency response of future grids, grid-forming inverters connecting PV to grid and energy storage systems (ESSs) are likely to play an important role. Moreover, high-voltage direct current (HVdc) links will also be an enabler to transfer remote PV generation and for improved grid stability. That is, with increased penetration of PV, discrete development of PV and ESS connecting to transmission ac grid and HVdc links is one of the solutions for stable operation of grid. Here, an integrated concept for integration of PV and ESS to transmission ac grid and HVdc links is proposed that is named as multi-port autonomous reconfigurable solar power plant (MARS). The proposed integrated development reduces the cost associated with respect to discrete development of PV-ESS systems connecting to transmission ac grid and HVdc links. The integrated development incorporates advanced control methods to provide inertial and primary frequency response, reactive power support, and transient stability to manage PV and ESS resources. In this paper, high-fidelity switched system model of the integrated system and grids are developed and detailed simulation results are provided to showcase the stable operation of the integrated system and provision of grid support functions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1980

On the dynamics of large orbiting flexible beams and platforms oriented along the local horizontal

The dynamics and stability of large orbiting flexible beams and platforms oriented along the local horizontal are treated both analytically and numerically. It is assumed that such structures could be gravitationally stabilized by attaching a rigid lightweight dumbbell at the center of mass by a spring loaded hinge which also could provide viscous damping. For the beam it is seen that the small amplitude inplane pitch motion, dumbbell librational motion, and the anti-symmetric elastic modes are all coupled. The three dimensional equations of motion for a circular flat plate in orbit with a two-degree-of-freedom gimballed dumbbell are also developed and show that only those elastic modes described by a single nodal diameter line are influenced by the dumbbell motion. Stability criteria are developed for both examples and a parametric study of the least damped mode characteristics together with numerically simulated transient responses are carried out.

Bainum, P. M.↗
DOE OSTI2021

An RTDS-Based Testbed for Investigating the Impacts of Transmission-Level Disturbances on Solar PV Operation

The increasing penetration of renewable energy resources such as solar and wind via power electronic inverters is challenging grid dynamics, as well as grid planning, operation, and protection. Recently, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has reported a series of similar events of the unintended loss of solar generation in Southern California over a large geographic area following the transmission-level disturbances. These events highlight the importance of understanding the characteristics of the transmission-side disturbances propagating into the distribution systems and their impacts on the operation of inverter-based resources. In this paper, a real-time electromagnetic simulation testbed is constructed for real-time electromagnetic simulations to generate realistic transmission-level disturbances and investigate their impacts on the solar PV operation under different fault types and locations, solar penetration levels, and loading levels. Through the simulation analysis and grid strength assessment, it is found that the grid strength at points of integration (POIs) of solar PVs significantly affects the transient stability of solar generators. Particularly, undesirable transient stability events are more likely to occur at the weak POIs following the transmission-level disturbances. Moreover, undesirable transient stability events become severer when the transmission-level disturbance is closer to the weak POIs or the disturbances become more serious. Additionally, the impact of the transmission-level disturbances on the solar PVs at the weak POIs exacerbate with the increasing solar penetration levels and loading levels. Thus, it is important to study and develop new technologies for grid planning, operation, and protection in weak grid conditions to address the emerging issues of integrating the high penetration of solar PVs and other IBRs.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

EMT Simulation of Large PV Plant & Power Grid for Disturbance Analysis

One of the challenges faced during the analysis of various disturbances with inverter-based resources is the ability to replicate the same disturbance in simulations. The main issue arises from lack of electromagnetic transient (EMT) models and adequate fidelity of models. To overcome this problem, in this paper, EMT simulation of power grid and one of the affected photovoltaic (PV) plants is performed to replicate the observations during the Angeles Forest disturbance in 2018. The processes to (i) develop the EMT model of the power grid from traditional transient stability (TS) data, and (ii) develop high-fidelity EMT model of PV plant from data collected on a PV plant are described in the paper. The requirements in the high-fidelity EMT model of the PV plant are also described. Finally, simulation of the Angeles Forest disturbance is performed and similar simulation results (as compared to the observed disturbances) are observed.

Debnath, Suman↗
NASA NTRS1976

Turbofan compressor dynamics during afterburner transients

The effects of afterburner light-off and shut-down transients on the compressor stability are investigated. The reported experimental results are based on detailed high response pressure and temperature measurements on the TF30-P-3 turbofan engine. The tests were performed in an altitude test chamber simulating high altitude engine operation. It is shown that during both types of transients, flow breaks down in the forward part of the fan bypass duct. At a sufficiently low engine inlet pressure this resulted in a compressor stall. Complete flow breakdown within the compressor was preceded by a rotating stall. At some locations in the compressor, rotating stall cells initially extended only through part of the blade span. For the shutdown transient the time between first and last detected occurrence of rotating stall is related to the flow Reynolds number. An attempt was made to deduce the number and speed of propagation of rotating stall cells.

Kurkov, A. P.↗