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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Modeling Distributed Situation Awareness in Resilience-based Design of Complex Systems

Human operators play a major role in the resilience of complex systems–while human error is one of the biggest contributors to hazardous events, operators additionally play a critical role in mitigating hazardous events. A key factor underlying this operator resilience is situation awareness–the ability of operators to understand their environment and each other to achieve desired system functions. In contrast to situation awareness-related accident models in the literature, which are largely conceptual in nature, this work proposes the use of a dynamic simulation framework to concretely model both the effects of situation awareness-related human errors and situation awareness-related hazard-mitigating properties using the distributed situation awareness theory. This work then presents specialized model constructs to enable agents’ individual perceptions of the system state and transactions with other agents (and thus distributed situation awareness) to be represented in simulation. To demonstrate this framework, it is then adapted to an aircraft taxiway case study, where it is used to model aircraft conflicts due to lack of vision and poor communications from the air traffic controller. This demonstration shows the potential of using simulation models to rigorously understand situation awareness-related human errors and thus inform the design of resilience.

Resilience Modeling↗
DOE OSTI2024

Kinetic Plasma Simulation in the MOOSE Framework: Verification of Electrostatic Particle In Cell Capabilities

In magnetic confinement nuclear fusion reactors, the interaction between the plasma edge and plasma facing components is extremely important. At the plasma edge, a kinetic representation such as particle-in-cell (rather than a fluid representation) is required to accurately capture the plasma behavior. General purpose particle-in-cell plasma simulation capabilities have been developed in the Multiphysics Object-Oriented Simulation Environment (MOOSE) framework. This new capability is a part of the development of a new MOOSE-based framework for modeling plasma facing components, the Fusion ENergy Integrated multiphys-X (FENIX) framework. In this work, the verification of foundational particle-in-cell capabilities in FENIX is presented. This new plasma simulation capability has three main components: moving particles in discrete steps on the finite element mesh, mapping charge density from the particle's location to the finite element mesh, and solving for the electrostatic potential based on the charge density mapped from particles to the mesh. In this paper, simple verification problems demonstrating each of these new capabilities are presented, and future work includes electromagnetic capabilities and Monte Carlo collisions with neutral gas particles.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Interactions Between Climate Policy and Technology-influenced Travel Behavior: Mitigating Induced Demand from CACC

Advances in vehicle technology have influenced the development of automated vehicle systems, where vehicles that do not require human intervention are already deployed in the roadway networks. While these advances are proved to increase roadway safety and highway capacity, more research is needed to understand the long-term and regional-level impacts on mobility, land use, energy consumption, and emissions. This study proposes a multi-model approach to analyze the effect of vehicle automation and deep decarbonization policies over a period from 2020 to 2040 in Austin, Texas. We use the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM) to develop internally the scenarios that are then passed to the SMART Mobility modeling workflow, a large-scale simulation framework combining the POLARIS activity-based travel demand model and mesoscopic traffic simulator with the Autonomie vehicle energy consumption model and the UrbanSim land use simulator. Results suggest that the introduction of vehicles with advanced automation could increase fuel consumption when no decarbonization policies are implemented. Also, advances in vehicle technology research and development could lead to a decline in energy use in the long-term. Energy pricing and vehicle electrification incentives could help reduce the impact of vehicle automation. Finally, our analysis indicates the relevance of introducing land use processes in longterm vehicle automation studies.

land use↗
NASA NTRS2006

A Generic Multibody Parachute Simulation Model

Flight simulation of dynamic atmospheric vehicles with parachute systems is a complex task that is not easily modeled in many simulation frameworks. In the past, the performance of vehicles with parachutes was analyzed by simulations dedicated to parachute operations and were generally not used for any other portion of the vehicle flight trajectory. This approach required multiple simulation resources to completely analyze the performance of the vehicle. Recently, improved software engineering practices and increased computational power have allowed a single simulation to model the entire flight profile of a vehicle employing a parachute.

Neuhaus, Jason Richard↗
NASA NTRS2007

A Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulator for Software Development for a Mars Airplane

Draper Laboratory recently developed a Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator (HILSIM) to provide a simulation of the Aerial Regional-scale Environmental Survey (ARES) airplane executing a mission in the Martian environment. The HILSIM was used to support risk mitigation activities under the Planetary Airplane Risk Reduction (PARR) program. PARR supported NASA Langley Research Center's (LaRC) ARES proposal efforts for the Mars Scout 2011 opportunity. The HILSIM software was a successful integration of two simulation frameworks, Draper's CSIM and NASA LaRC's Langley Standard Real-Time Simulation in C++ (LaSRS++).

Slagowski, Stefan E.↗
NASA NTRS2016

An Introduction to Transient Engine Applications Using the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) and MATLAB

This document outlines methodologies designed to improve the interface between the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation framework and various control and dynamic analyses developed in the Matlab and Simulink environment. Although NPSS is most commonly used for steady-state modeling, this paper is intended to supplement the relatively sparse documentation on it's transient analysis functionality. Matlab has become an extremely popular engineering environment, and better methodologies are necessary to develop tools that leverage the benefits of these disparate frameworks. Transient analysis is not a new feature of the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS), but transient considerations are becoming more pertinent as multidisciplinary trade-offs begin to play a larger role in advanced engine designs. This paper serves to supplement the relatively sparse documentation on transient modeling and cover the budding convergence between NPSS and Matlab based modeling toolsets. The following sections explore various design patterns to rapidly develop transient models. Each approach starts with a base model built with NPSS, and assumes the reader already has a basic understanding of how to construct a steady-state model. The second half of the paper focuses on further enhancements required to subsequently interface NPSS with Matlab codes. The first method being the simplest and most straightforward but performance constrained, and the last being the most abstract. These methods aren't mutually exclusive and the specific implementation details could vary greatly based on the designer's discretion. Basic recommendations are provided to organize model logic in a format most easily amenable to integration with existing Matlab control toolsets.

Matlab↗
NASA NTRS2023

Modeling and Simulation of a Parallel Hybrid-Electric Propulsion System - Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) Program

Electrified aircraft propulsion concepts have been proposed to meet aggressive future performance and environmental goals for the next generation of aircraft. However, electrified aircraft present a unique modeling and simulation challenge as they introduce multiple energy sources to the propulsion system, providing various means to meet thrust requirements, compared to conventional gas turbine propulsion architectures where only fuel is available. Additionally, the introduction of an electric powertrain to the existing system enables multiple electrified flight modes to exist (i.e. eTaxi, climb boost, takeoff boost, etc.), further increasing the complexity of the modeling environment. As part of the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration program, this paper presents a modeling and simulation framework for a parallel hybrid-electric propulsion concept using the Environmental Design Space simulation tool. Electrical components are modeled in NPSS, and an overall sizing methodology is introduced. Finally, various operational modes of the electric powertrain are modeled and tested and their impact on key performance parameters is evaluated.

hybrid electric propulsion↗
DOE OSTI2024

Predictive analytics of selections of russet potatoes

We explore the application of machine learning algorithms specifically to enhance the selection process of Russet potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) clones in breeding trials by predicting their suitability for advancement. This study addresses the challenge of efficiently identifying high-yield, disease-resistant, and climate-resilient potato varieties that meet processing industry standards. Leveraging manually collected data from trials in the state of Oregon, we investigate the potential of a wide variety of state-of-the-art binary classification models. The dataset includes 1086 clones, with data on 38 attributes recorded for each clone, focusing on yield, size, appearance, and frying characteristics, with several control varieties planted consistently across four Oregon regions from 2013 to 2021. We conduct a comprehensive analysis of the dataset that includes preprocessing, feature engineering, and imputation to address missing values. We focus on several key metrics such as accuracy, F1-score, and Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) for model evaluation. The top-performing models, namely a feedforward neural network classifier (Neural Net), a histogram-based gradient boosting classifier (HGBC), and a support vector machine classifier (SVM), demonstrate consistent and significant results. To further validate our findings, we conducted a simulation study using the aims, data-generating mechanisms, estimands, methods, and performance measures (ADEMP) framework, simulating different data-generating scenarios to assess model robustness and performance through true positive, true negative, false positive, and false negative distributions, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC-ROC) and MCC. The simulation results highlight that non-linear models like SVM and HGBC consistently show higher AUC-ROC and MCC than logistic regression, thus outperforming the traditional linear model across various distributions, and emphasizing the importance of model selection and tuning in agricultural trials. Variable selection further enhances model performance and identifies influential features in predicting trial outcomes. The findings emphasize the potential of machine learning in streamlining the selection process for potato varieties, offering benefits such as increased efficiency, substantial cost savings, and judicious resource utilization. Our study contributes insights into precision agriculture and showcases the relevance of advanced technologies for informed decision-making in breeding programs.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Using Open Standards and NASA Open Source Simulation Tools to Model Artemis Base Camp Mission Timelines

The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced that the Artemis Program will return humans to the Moon, establishing a persistent presence with the Artemis Base Camp (ABC), and extend human exploration to Mars. The NASA Exploration Systems Simulations (NExSyS) team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is using internationally developed simulation interoperability standards and NASA open source simulation tools to support Artemis concept, analysis, designs, development, training, and ultimately operations. The NExSyS team has been tasked to support early ABC architecture and mission analysis using mission time lines developed by the crew operations mission planning team. The NExSyS team is developing a distributed simulation framework with initial Artemis element implementations to model the ABC mission timelines using the international simulation interoperability standard High Level Architecture (HLA), the Simulation Interoperability Standards Organization’s Space Reference Federation Object Model (SpaceFOM), the NASA open source Trick Simulation Environment, and another NASA open source interface package called TrickHLA. The ABC architecture is composed of a number of key surface elements and resources. Some examples of modeled elements (also known as entities) are landers, habitats, rovers, logistics carriers, and astronauts. Some examples of modeled transferable and consumable resources are power, water, oxygen, nitrogen, scientific samples, and food. These entities and resources are modeled in a collection of individual simulations called Federates. A coordinated collection of interoperable federates is called a Federation and when these federates are tied together in a coordinated simulation run, it is referred to as a Federation Execution. The federates communicate through HLA using data exchange formats defined by a collection of machine readable files called Federation Object Models (FOMs). These FOM files are based on extensions to the SpaceFOM. This enables the instantiation and sharing of objects and interactions between federates in the federation. These provide for entity and resource tracking, object transfer, and data collection. Federate interactions are used to trigger events and notify federates of entity or resource transfers. For the initial implementation, the constituent federates are Trick-based simulations that use TrickHLA to provide the required HLA-base interoperability. These Trick-based simulations provide the required modeling for the individual Artemis elements along with the associated element resources. These federates provide a means to explore traverses between surface elements and exploration sites as scheduled in a mission timeline and explore the affects traverse times have on the overall mission timeline. The mission time lines are modeled using a Trick input file event handling capabilities. Each timeline operation is handled as individual simulation events, and triggered based on previous event status, time of operation, and simulated task completions. In addition, the ABC Federation can be used to perform Monte Carlo analysis. The Monte Carlo tool can vary the inputs, timings, and malfunctions to show how various contingencies in the mission can affect the mission timeline.

Keaton Craig Dodd↗
DOE OSTI2026

thornado+FLASH-X: A Hybrid Discontinuous Galerkin–Implicit-explicit and Finite-volume Framework for Neutrino-radiation Hydrodynamics in Core-collapse Supernovae

We present neutrino-transport algorithms implemented in the toolkit for high-order neutrino-radiation hydrodynamics (thornado) and their coupling to self-gravitating hydrodynamics within the adaptive mesh refinement–based multiphysics simulation framework FLASH-X. thornado, developed primarily for simulations of core-collapse supernovae (CCSNe), employs a spectral, six-species two-moment formulation with algebraic closure and special-relativistic observer corrections accurate to $\mathcal{O}(v/c)$, and uses discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods for phase-space discretization combined with implicit-explicit time stepping. A key development is a nonlinear neutrino–matter coupling algorithm based on nested fixed-point iteration with Anderson acceleration, enabling fully implicit treatment of collisional processes, including energy-coupling interactions such as neutrino–electron scattering and pair production. Coupling to finite-volume (FV) hydrodynamics is achieved through a hybrid DG-FV representation of the fluid variables and operator-split evolution within FLASH-X. The implementation is verified using basic transport tests with idealized opacities and relaxation and deleptonization problems with tabulated microphysics. Spherically symmetric CCSN simulations demonstrate accuracy and robustness of the coupled scheme, including close agreement with the CCSN simulation code Chimera. An axisymmetric CCSN simulation further demonstrates the viability of DG-based neutrino transport for multidimensional supernova modeling within FLASH-X. thornado’s neutrino-transport solver is GPU-enabled using OpenMP offloading or OpenACC, and all CCSN applications included in this work use the GPU implementation. Together, these results establish a foundation for future enhancements in physics fidelity, numerical algorithms, and computational performance, for increasingly realistic large-scale CCSN simulations.

Endeve, Eirik [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL↗
DOE OSTI2025

Benefits of Dual Fuel Heat Pump Grid-responsive Control: A Model-based Control Optimization Approach Using Building and Equipment Co-simulation

Conventional dual fuel heat pumps lack the intelligent control mechanisms to efficiently manage the switch between heat pump and furnace, leading to sub-optimal energy usage and, in some cases, increased operating costs. To resolve this gap, this study applies optimized control on hybrid heat pumps. With a focus on equipment control strategies, we compare the performances of five spacing heating equipment, including a conventional heat pump (HP), a conventional furnace, a dual fuel heat pump (DFHP) with conventional control, a dual fuel heat pump with smart control, and a novel seamlessly fuel flexible heat pump (SFFHP). While DFHP runs on either gas or electricity at any given moment, SFFHP concurrently consumes gas and electricity by continuously optimizing the proportion of each. In this research, a co-simulation framework is developed by integrating a building envelope model with a physics-based heat pump simulation model to analyze the benefits of grid-responsive controls of DFHP and SFFHP. The model-based optimal controls adjust the operation of the heat pump and gas furnace based on utility price signals and marginal grid emission to minimize utility cost and CO 2 emissions for multiple climate zones, different utility tariffs, and marginal grid emission scenarios. Case studies in Chicago and Los Angeles demonstrate that SFFHP and DFHP, with model-based optimal control, can deliver significant reductions in peak demand, utility cost, and CO 2 emission. In Chicago, SFFHP and smart controlled DFHP yield up to 64.7% and 61.7% utility cost reduction and up to 15.7% and 8.5% CO 2 emission reduction compared to the gas furnace. In Los Angeles, SFFHP and smart controlled DFHP achieve up to 43.6% and 40.1% utility cost reduction and up to 13.8% and 14.1% CO2 emission reduction compared to conventional heat pumps. In conclusion, by leveraging the fuel flexibility nature of dual fuel heat pumps, the model-based control optimization approach makes dual fuel heat pump an attractive option for demand response programs.

Control↗
DOE OSTI2025

Advancing Neutrino Simulation Modeling with MARLEY: Insights from the NNSA-MSIIP Internship

Core-collapse supernovae are intense sources of tens-of-MeV neutrinos. However, there is no experimental data to validate the current event generator MARLEY (Model of Argon Reaction Low Energy Yields) that can model supernova neutrinos. To validate the model, I developed a new muon capture feature within the MARLEY simulation framework by coding key functions in C++, Python, and ROOT. I generated and analyzed one million simulated muon capture events and comparing the results to experimental data. To improve the model, I worked on optimizing the model’s parameters to improve its precision using statistical methods.

Wong, Baker [Fermilab]↗
NASA NTRS2008

Modeling Bird Migration in Changing Habitats: Space-based Ornithology using Satellites and GIS

Understanding bird migration and avian biodiversity is one of the most compelling and challenging problems of modern biology with major implications for human health and conservation biology. Migration and conservation efforts cross national boundaries and are subject to numerous international agreements and treaties presenting challenges in both geographic space and time. Space based technology, coupled with geographic information systems, yields new opportunities to shed light on the distribution and movement of organisms on the planet and their sensitivity to human disturbances and environmental changes. At NASA, we are creating ecological forecasting tools for science and application users to address the consequences of loss of wetlands, flooding, drought or other natural disasters such as hurricanes on avian biodiversity and bird migration. In our work, we use individual organism biophysical models and drive these models with satellite observations and numerical weather predictions of the spatio-temporal gradients in climate and habitat. Geographic information system technology comprises one component of our overall simulation framework, especially for characterizing the changing habitats and conditions encountered by en-route migratory birds. Simulation provides a tool for studying bird migration across multiple scales and can be linked to mechanistic processes describing the time and energy budget states of migrating birds. Such models yield an understanding of how a migratory flyway and its component habitats function as a whole and link stop-over ecology with biological conservation and management. We present examples of our simulation of shorebirds, principally, pectoral sandpipers, along the central flyways of the United States and Canada from the Gulf of Mexico to Alaska.

Smith, James A.↗
NASA NTRS2015

Check-Cases for Verification of 6-Degree-of-Freedom Flight Vehicle Simulations: Appendices - Volume 2

This NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) assessment was established to develop a set of time histories for the flight behavior of increasingly complex example aerospacecraft that could be used to partially validate various simulation frameworks. The assessment was conducted by representatives from several NASA Centers and an open-source simulation project. This document contains details on models, implementation, and results.

Murri, Daniel G.↗
DOE OSTI2025

A Simple, Scalable Large Deformation Solid Mechanics Implementation in the MOOSE Framework

This article describes a large deformation solid mechanics solver implemented as part of the freely available and open source MOOSE finite element simulation framework. The article documents the choices made in developing the solid mechanics framework and describes novel formulations for the gradient operator and constitutive modeling framework made to simplify implementations of different coordinate systems, stabilized gradient operators, and different constitutive model inputs and outputs. In the process, the article describes a new formulation that casts objective integration of the Cauchy stress as a linear transformation of the small stress rate. Finally, the article presents key implementation details and examines the parallel efficiency of the solid mechanics solver implemented in MOOSE. The implementation retains a good weak scaling efficiency beyond 1,000 parallel processes. The article includes a discussion of the factors limiting the parallel efficiency of implicit, large deformation solid mechanics codes on current high-performance computers, with the main current limitation being the scalability of the algebraic multigrid methods used to solve the linearized equilibrium equations.

Applied computing → Computer-aided design↗
DOE OSTI2025

Programmable simulations of molecules and materials with reconfigurable quantum processors

Simulations of quantum chemistry and quantum materials are believed to be among the most important applications of quantum information processors. However, realizing practical quantum advantage for such problems is challenging because of the prohibitive computational cost of programming typical problems into quantum hardware. Here we introduce a simulation framework for strongly correlated quantum systems represented by model spin Hamiltonians that uses reconfigurable qubit architectures to simulate real-time dynamics in a programmable way. Our approach also introduces an algorithm for extracting chemically relevant spectral properties via classical co-processing of quantum measurement results. We develop a digital–analogue simulation toolbox for efficient Hamiltonian time evolution using digital Floquet engineering and hardware-optimized multi-qubit operations to accurately realize complex spin–spin interactions. As an example, we propose an implementation based on Rydberg atom arrays. In addition, we show how detailed spectral information can be extracted from the dynamics through snapshot measurements and single-ancilla control, enabling the evaluation of excitation energies and finite-temperature susceptibilities from a single dataset. To illustrate the approach, we show how to use the method to compute key properties of a polynuclear transition-metal catalyst and two-dimensional magnetic materials.

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2024

Whole device modeling of the fuze sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch

Abstract The FuZE sheared-flow-stabilized Z pinch at Zap Energy is simulated using whole-device modeling employing an axisymmetric resistive magnetohydrodynamic formulation implemented within the discontinuous Galerkin WARPXM framework. Simulations show formation of Z pinches with densities of approximately 10 22 m −3 and total DD fusion neutron rate of 10 7 per µ s for approximately 2 µ s. Simulation-derived synthetic diagnostics show peak currents and voltages within 10% and total yield within approximately 30% of experiment for similar plasma mass. The simulations provide insight into the plasma dynamics in the experiment and enable a predictive capability for exploring design changes on devices built at Zap Energy.

Physics↗
DOE OSTI2025

High-Resolution Simulations of Geological CO 2 Injection: Application to the SPE11 Benchmark

Geological carbon sequestration (GCS) will play a critical role in decarbonization and in facilitating the transition to clean energy systems. Because CO 2 is highly mobile, ensuring its safe and permanent injection into subsurface geological formations involves monitoring over larger spatial domains and longer time periods than is typical for hydrocarbon reservoirs. This can benefit from simulation tools capable of modeling key CO 2 trapping mechanisms, particularly those optimized for speed and scalability on high-performance computing systems. Using isothermal versions of the SPE11B and SPE11C benchmark cases, we conduct a mesh refinement study simulating CO 2 injection into kilometer-scale rock formations at centimeter resolution with the GEOS open-source simulation framework. We focus on how mesh refinement improves the accuracy of convective mixing in both 2D and 3D simulations. The computational costs associated with achieving a converged solution highlight the need for predictive upscaling techniques. A systematic performance scaling analysis—including both central processing unit (CPU) and graphics processing unit (GPU) architectures—complements the “Results” section.

Geosciences↗