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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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DOE OSTI2022

Influence of Hybridization on the Capacity Value of PV and Battery Resources

Utility-scale systems that combine solar photovoltaic and battery (PV+battery) technologies are growing in popularity on the U.S. bulk power system. The business case for PV+battery systems depends on both their ability to reduce costs and their ability to generate value synergies associated with the provision of energy, capacity, and ancillary services. Capacity value can constitute a significant portion of the value PV+battery hybrids provide to the grid (e.g., through avoided or deferred capacity) and receive through revenues. Throughout this report, we define capacity value as the monetary value of a plant's contribution towards the planning reserve margin, which ultimately depends on market rules and structures. PV+battery hybrids do not always fit into current market structures because of the interactions between the PV and battery components. Unique considerations for the capacity value of PV+battery hybrids include the disparate nature of participation models for PV and battery technologies in existing market rules and the potential influence of a shared interconnection capacity; limitations imposed by a shared inverter; limited ability to charge the battery in advance of capacity events if charging must be sourced from the coupled PV; and challenges or uncertainties associated with co-optimizing the operations of the PV and battery components. Grid operators are currently considering how market structures can be modified to optimally determine the capacity value provided by PV+battery systems, and the rules of how they are integrated into markets are still being written. As with any resource, poorly designed rules could increase the cost of energy and reduce system reliability, while well-designed rules could allow markets to receive the full benefits hybrid systems can offer without overcompensating them for the services they provide. Well-designed rules for PV+battery systems must consider the unique aspects listed above, while leveraging the commonalities with existing resource types. In this report, we summarize the technical capability and market rules that influence the capacity value of PV+battery systems. We further discuss the potential tradeoffs between computational complexity and accuracy for the various ways in which grid operators can credit PV+battery systems for capacity. Finally, we describe markets for capacity, survey current wholesale market rules applying to PV+battery systems, and provide a snapshot of the current regulatory landscape for PV+battery systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

INTEGRATE - Inverse Network Transformations for Efficient Generation of Robust Airfoil and Turbine Enhancements

The INTEGRATE (Inverse Network Transformations for Efficient Generation of Robust Airfoil and Turbine Enhancements) project is developing a new inverse-design capability for the aerodynamic design of wind turbine rotors using invertible neural networks. This AI-based design technology can capture complex non-linear aerodynamic effects while being 100 times faster than design approaches based on computational fluid dynamics. This project enables innovation in wind turbine design by accelerating time to market through higher-accuracy early design iterations to reduce the levelized cost of energy. INVERTIBLE NEURAL NETWORKS Researchers are leveraging a specialized invertible neural network (INN) architecture along with the novel dimension-reduction methods and airfoil/blade shape representations developed by collaborators at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) learns complex relationships between airfoil or blade shapes and their associated aerodynamic and structural properties. This INN architecture will accelerate designs by providing a cost-effective alternative to current industrial aerodynamic design processes, including: - Blade element momentum (BEM) theory models: limited effectiveness for design of offshore rotors with large, flexible blades where nonlinear aerodynamic effects dominate - Direct design using computational fluid dynamics (CFD): cost-prohibitive - Inverse-design models based on deep neural networks (DNNs): attractive alternative to CFD for 2D design problems, but quickly overwhelmed by the increased number of design variables in 3D problems AUTOMATED COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS FOR TRAINING DATA GENERATION - MERCURY FRAMEWORK The INN is trained on data obtained using the University of Marylands (UMD) Mercury Framework, which has with robust automated mesh generation capabilities and advanced turbulence and transition models validated for wind energy applications. Mercury is a multi-mesh paradigm, heterogeneous CPU-GPU framework. The framework incorporates three flow solvers at UMD, 1) OverTURNS, a structured solver on CPUs, 2) HAMSTR, a line based unstructured solver on CPUs, and 3) GARFIELD, a structured solver on GPUs. The framework is based on Python, that is often used to wrap C or Fortran codes for interoperability with other solvers. Communication between multiple solvers is accomplished with a Topology Independent Overset Grid Assembler (TIOGA). NOVEL AIRFOIL SHAPE REPRESENTATIONS USING GRASSMAN SPACES We developed a novel representation of shapes which decouples affine-style deformations from a rich set of data-driven deformations over a submanifold of the Grassmannian. The Grassmannian representation as an analytic generative model, informed by a database of physically relevant airfoils, offers (i) a rich set of novel 2D airfoil deformations not previously captured in the data , (ii) improved low-dimensional parameter domain for inferential statistics informing design/manufacturing, and (iii) consistent 3D blade representation and perturbation over a sequence of nominal shapes. TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER DEMONSTRATION - COUPLING WITH NREL WISDEM Researchers have integrated the inverse-design tool for 2D airfoils (INN-Airfoil) into WISDEM (Wind Plant Integrated Systems Design and Engineering Model), a multidisciplinary design and optimization framework for assessing the cost of energy, as part of tech-transfer demonstration. The integration of INN-Airfoil into WISDEM allows for the design of airfoils along with the blades that meet the dynamic design constraints on cost of energy, annual energy production, and the capital costs. Through preliminary studies, researchers have shown that the coupled INN-Airfoil + WISDEM approach reduces the cost of energy by around 1% compared to the conventional design approach. This page will serve as a place to easily access all the publications from this work and the repositories for the software developed and released through this pr...

aerodynamics↗
NASA NTRS2020

eVTOL Passenger Acceptance

With the expected introduction of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for urban air mobility (UAM) services, passenger acceptance has become an issue of interest to manufacturers and operators. This study took an initial look at what passengers expect from an eVTOL UAM flight experience – what aspects matter most, what might be acceptable, and where there are gaps in our understanding. The analysis included a literature search and interviews with experts from the aviation community to identify passenger concerns and potential mitigations. Passenger concerns were found to fall into six general categories: perceived safety, noise and vibration, availability and access, passenger well-being, concern for the environment, and vehicle motion. The study used a modified quality function deployment approach to correlate these passenger concerns with design and operational variables, highlighting how design and operational parameters can mitigate the passenger concerns. NASA research can address the passenger concerns by developing simulation capabilities and noise models, characterizing propulsion system performance, taking direct measurem and conducting further studies of market demand and design methods.

Edwards, Thomas↗
DOE OSTI2022

2020 Solar Decathlon Education Partner: Cooperative Research and Development (Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-19-00802)

The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon (DOE/SD) is a collegiate competition, comprising 10 contests, that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners will be those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production. The DOE/SD is comprised of two Challenges--Design Challenge (annual, in April of each year at NREL in Golden, Colo.) and Build Challenge (biennial, held next in June/July 2020 in Washington D.C.). NREL provides competition management for DOE/SD. For over 35 years, EEBA has provided the most trusted resources for building science information and education in the construction industry. EEBA delivers turn-key educational resources and events designed to transform residential construction practices through high performance design, marketing, materials, and technologies. NREL and EEBA establish this CRADA to enable the success of the DOE/SD program in managing sponsorship funds and creating a professional education program. EEBA acted as an Education Partner to DOE/SD, which included: 1) accepting and dispersing sponsorship funds for DOE/SD; and 2) providing professional development content.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1993

VLCT-13: A commercial transport for the 21st Century

The growth of the Pacific Rim market has spurred airframers to begin feasibility studies of a large commercial transport. By the year 2001, 30 million travelers are expected to travel the Transpacific. A transport capable of hauling 800 PAX and 30,000 pounds of cargo, 7,000 nm is of specific interest. Special problems associated with this design are configuration, landing gear, passenger safety, airport compatibility, and engine thrust. A group of students at the California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo developed a very large commercial transport, VLCT-13, conventional looking design which is both comfortable and economical. Passenger comfort includes seat pitches of 34 in and 40 in, width's of 23 in and 25 in, respectfully, and a 27 ft diameter cross section. A direct operating cost of 2.3 cents per passenger per seat-mile is estimated for this airplane design. The airplane market price is estimated to be $195 million 1993 dollars based on an aircraft take off weight of 1.4 million pounds. The problems associated with the VLCT-13 are discussed and possible solutions are presented.

Beal, Pamela↗
NASA NTRS1980

Air cargo market outlook and impact via the NASA CLASS project

An overview is given of the Cargo/Logistics Airlift Systems Study (CLASS) project which was a 10 man-year effort carried out by two contractor teams, aimed at defining factors impacting future system growth and obtaining market requirements and design guidelines for future air freighters. Growth projection was estimated by two approaches: one, an optimal systems approach with a more efficient and cost effective system considered as being available in 1990; and the other, an evolutionary approach with an econometric behavior model used to predict long term evolution from the present system. Both approaches predict significant growth in demand for international air freighter services and less growth for U.S. domestic services. Economic analysis of air freighter fleet options indicate very strong market appeal of derivative widebody transports in 1990 with little incentive to develop all new dedicated air freighters utilizing the 1990's technology until sometime beyond the year 2000. Advanced air freighters would be economically attractive for a wide range of payload sizes (to 500 metric tons), however, if a government would share in the RD and T costs by virtue of its needs for a slightly modified version of a civil air freighter design (a.g. military airlifter).

Winston, M. M.↗
DOE OSTI2020

EMIS Agent Simulation Model (Electricity Markets Investment Suite) [SWR-19-56]

The Electricity Markets Investment Suite Agent-based Simulation (EMIS-AS) model is an agent-based model developed at NREL for simulating annual investment and retirement decisions of heterogeneous investors in the electricity sector. EMIS-AS is designed to capture the evolution of the electricity generation portfolio resulting from the interactions of heterogeneous investors under different policy and market designs. EMIS-AS not only allows end-users to customize market products and rules, but also to capture investors' heterogeneous financing parameters, technology preferences, beliefs about the future (forecasts), ability to update those forecasts, and risk preferences under uncertainty.

Anwar, Mahammad Bashar↗
DOE OSTI2023

Verification of a Modeling Toolkit for the Design of Building Electrical Distribution Systems

DC electrical distribution systems offer many potential advantages over their AC counterparts. They can facilitate easier integration with distributed energy resources, improve system energy efficiency by eliminating AC/DC converters at end-use devices (e.g., laptop chargers), and reduce installation material, time, and cost. However, DC electrical distribution systems present additional design considerations, largely resulting from potentially greater magnitude and variation in cable losses. Modeling and simulation are rarely used to design such systems. However, the greater dependency of DC system energy efficiency on design choices such as distribution voltages, architecture, and integration of PV and BESS suggests that modeling and simulation may be required. Such system performance analysis is currently not a standard practice, in part due to limited availability and validation of capable software tools. This paper characterizes the accuracy of a Modelica-based Building Electrical Efficiency Analysis Model (BEEAM) toolkit, as a precursor for validating its use to perform system performance analysis and inform design decisions. The study builds upon previous verification research by characterizing complete systems comprised of commercially available equipment, and providing a more detailed analysis of simulation results. Five lighting systems with varying electrical distribution architectures were designed using market-available equipment, installed in a laboratory environment, modeled using BEEAM, and simulated using three Modelica integrated development environments (IDEs). Simulated and measured results were compared to characterize toolkit accuracy. Initial results revealed that simulated performance was mostly within ±5% of measured system-level and device-level performance. While simulation results were not found to be dependent on the IDE, some Modelica compiler interoperability issues were identified. Although the BEEAM toolkit showed promise for the targeted use case, further work is needed to determine whether the demonstrated 5% accuracy is sufficient for making real-world design decisions, and for BEEAM to advance from an interesting research tool to one that can impact real-world building projects.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS2018

A Summary of the NASA Design Environment for Novel Vertical Lift Vehicles (DELIVER) Project

The number of new markets and use cases being developed for vertical take-off and landing vehicles continues to explode, including the highly publicized urban air taxi and package deliver applications. There is an equally exploding variety of novel vehicle configurations and sizes that are being proposed to fill these new market applications. The challenge for vehicle designers is that there is currently no easy and consistent way to go from a compelling mission or use case to a vehicle that is best configured and sized for the particular mission. This is because the availability of accurate and validated conceptual design tools for these novel types and sizes of vehicles have not kept pace with the new markets and vehicles themselves. The Design Environment for Novel Vertical Lift Vehicles (DELIVER) project was formulated to address this vehicle design challenge by demonstrating the use of current conceptual design tools, that have been used for decades to design and size conventional rotorcraft, applied to these novel vehicle types, configurations and sizes. In addition to demonstrating the applicability of current design and sizing tools to novel vehicle configurations and sizes, DELIVER also demonstrated the addition of key transformational technologies of noise, autonomy, and hybrid-electric and all-electric propulsion into the vehicle conceptual design process. Noise is key for community acceptance, autonomy and the need to operate autonomously are key for efficient, reliable and safe operations, and electrification of the propulsion system is a key enabler for these new vehicle types and sizes. This paper provides a summary of the DELIVER project and shows the applicability of current conceptual design and sizing tools novel vehicle configurations and sizes that are being proposed for urban air taxi and package delivery type applications.

Design Environment↗
NASA NTRS1992

A domain-specific design architecture for composite material design and aircraft part redesign

Advanced composites have been targeted as a 'leapfrog' technology that would provide a unique global competitive position for U.S. industry. Composites are unique in the requirements for an integrated approach to designing, manufacturing, and marketing of products developed utilizing the new materials of construction. Numerous studies extending across the entire economic spectrum of the United States from aerospace to military to durable goods have identified composites as a 'key' technology. In general there have been two approaches to composite construction: build models of a given composite materials, then determine characteristics of the material via numerical simulation and empirical testing; and experience-directed construction of fabrication plans for building composites with given properties. The first route sets a goal to capture basic understanding of a device (the composite) by use of a rigorous mathematical model; the second attempts to capture the expertise about the process of fabricating a composite (to date) at a surface level typically expressed in a rule based system. From an AI perspective, these two research lines are attacking distinctly different problems, and both tracks have current limitations. The mathematical modeling approach has yielded a wealth of data but a large number of simplifying assumptions are needed to make numerical simulation tractable. Likewise, although surface level expertise about how to build a particular composite may yield important results, recent trends in the KBS area are towards augmenting surface level problem solving with deeper level knowledge. Many of the relative advantages of composites, e.g., the strength:weight ratio, is most prominent when the entire component is designed as a unitary piece. The bottleneck in undertaking such unitary design lies in the difficulty of the re-design task. Designing the fabrication protocols for a complex-shaped, thick section composite are currently very difficult. It is in fact this difficulty that our research will address.

Punch, W. F., III↗
DOE OSTI2026

Economics of land‐based carbon mitigation

Agricultural land holds tremendous potential to contribute to net zero greenhouse gas emission goals by providing low carbon renewable energy to displace fossil fuels and by serving as a sink for sequestering carbon in the soil with climate‐smart practices. This potential is, however, far from being realized. This paper examines the economic incentives and barriers to implementing land‐based carbon mitigation strategies and discusses the specific features of land‐based carbon mitigation practices on carbon emissions that need to be considered in designing policy incentives to induce adoption. Although a carbon price‐based policy is socially efficient, the more commonly observed policies to promote land‐based carbon mitigation include practice‐based conservation programs, technology mandates, and sector‐specific standards. The paper discusses the rationale for these alternative policy approaches and concludes with a discussion of emerging opportunities for designing policy and market‐based approaches for promoting land‐based carbon‐mitigation and future directions for economics research.

additionality↗
DOE OSTI2021

A Rechargeable Carbon-Oxygen Battery for Efficient, Low-Cost Energy Storage

As part of the Cyclotron Road program, Noon Energy Inc investigated the feasibility of a new class of rechargeable flow battery for long-duration energy storage at the 100+ hour storage capacities needed to make intermittent solar/wind power available 24/7 year-round. Whereas conventional batteries store energy in relatively expensive metals like cobalt, lithium, and vanadium, the new battery stores energy in abundant, ultra-low-cost carbon and oxygen, storage media that cost well below $1 per kWh capacity (less than the cost of their containers). It also can operate with a high roundtrip energy efficiency of ~80% and has 10x higher energy density than conventional aqueous flow batteries, even higher than lithium ion batteries at system level. These properties make it suitable for a variety of potential stationary energy storage applications as well as for electric transportation vehicles (long-haul marine shipping and trucking), so determining the best product-market fit and market entry was a key outcome of Noon’s Cyclotron Road fellowship. Noon had demonstrated initial materials development and proof-of-principle testing before the fellowship. Overall, within the fellowship Noon carried out key initial technology development in market applications, system design, risk assessment and prototyping.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
NASA NTRS1978

System integration of marketable subsystems

These monthly reports, covering the period February 1978 through June 1978, describe the progress made in the major areas of the program. The areas covered are: systems integration of marketable subsystems; development, design, and building of site data acquisition subsystems; development and operation of the central data processing system; operation of the MSFC Solar Test Facility; and systems analysis.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1979

System integration of marketable subsystems

Progress is reported in the following areas: systems integration of marketable subsystems; development, design, and building of site data acquisition subsystems; development and operation of the central data processing system; operation of the MSFC Solar Test Facility; and systems analysis.

Source record↗
NASA NTRS1994

Qualification test results for blue-red reflecting solar covers

Recent market forces and design innovations have spurred the development of solar cell covers that significantly reduce the solar absorptance for a cell array. GaAs cells, using Ge as the substrate host material, can have a significantly higher output if the solar absorptance of the cell array is reduced. New optical coating design techniques have allowed the construction of covers that reflect the ultraviolet energy (below 350 nm) and the near infrared energy (above 900 nm) resulting in the beneficial reduction in absorptance. Recent modeling suggests three or more present output increase due to the lowered temperature with such a device. Within the last several months we have completed the testing of production samples of these new covers in a qualification series that included the usual environmental effects associated with the routine testing of solar cell covers and the combined effects of protons, electrons and solar UV as would be encountered in space. For the combined effects testing the samples were exposed to 300 sun days equivalent UV, 5 x 10(exp 14)/sq cm of 0.5 MeV protons and 10(exp 15)/sq cm of 1.0 MeV electrons. Measurements of the reflectance, transmission, emittance and other appropriate parameters were made before and after the testing. As measured by the averaged transmission over the cell operating band, the change in transmission for the samples was less than or about equal to 1 percent. The details of the testing and the results in terms of transmission, reflectance and emittance are discussed in the paper.

Beauchamp, W. T.↗
NASA NTRS2003

Glenn's Strategic Partnerships With HBCUs and OMUs

NASA senior management has identified the need to develop a strategy for increased contracting with the historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority universities (OMUs). The benefits to the institutions, by partnering with NASA, include developing their industrial base via NASA-industry partnerships, strong competitive advantage in technology-based research opportunities, and improved research capabilities. NASA gains increased contributed value to the Agency missions and programs as well as potential future recruits from technology-trained students who also constitute a pool for the nation s workforce. This report documents synergistic links between Glenn Research Center research and technology programs and faculty expertise at HBCUs and OMUs. The links are derived, based on Glenn technologies in the various directorates, program offices, and project offices. Such links readily identify universities with faculty members who are knowledgeable or have backgrounds in the listed technologies for possible collaboration. Recommendations are made to use the links as opportunities for Glenn and NASA, as well as industry collaborators, to cultivate stronger partnerships with the universities. It is concluded that Glenn and its partners and collaborators can expect to mutually benefit from leveraging NASA s cutting-edge and challenging research and technologies; industry's high technology development, research and development facilities, system design capabilities and market awareness; and academia s expertise in basic research and relatively low overhead cost. Reduced cost, accelerated technology development, technology transfer, and infrastructure development constitute some of the derived benefits.

Kankam, M. David↗
NASA NTRS1999

Experiments on Evolving Software Models of Analog Circuits

Analog circuits are of great importance in electronic system design since the world is fundamentally analog in nature. While the amount of digital design activity far outpaces that of analog design, most digital systems require analog modules for interfacing with the external world. It was recently estimated that approximately 60% of digital application- specific integrated circuit designs incorporated analog circuits. With challenging analog circuit design problems and few analog design engineers, there are economic reasons for automating the analog design process, especially time-to-market considerations. Techniques for analog circuit design automation began appearing about two decades ago. These methods incorporated heuristics [6], knowledge bases [1], simulated annealing [5], and other algorithms. Efforts using techniques from evolutionary computation began appearing over the last few years. These include the use of genetic algorithms to select electronic component values (for example, the resistance value of a resistor), to select circuit topologies, and to design amplifiers using a limited set of canned topologies [4]. A genetic programming-based analog circuit design system has been demonstrated in which the circuit sizes, component values, and the circuit topologies are determined automatically [3]. The genetic-algorithm systems typically represent circuit structures as vectors of parameters encoded in binary strings, while the genetic programming system manipulates tree data structures.

Lohn, Jason D.↗
NASA NTRS2020

Investigation of a Tandem Tilt-wing VTOL Aircraft in the NASA Langley 12-Foot Low-Speed Tunnel

The emerging Urban Air Mobility market imposes new design requirements on aircraft, including the ability to have vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities with the ability to transition into fast and efficient forward flight. Industry has proposed many different vehicle configurations, which have many different challenges. A primary challenge facing many of these concepts is flight through the transition corridor from vertical to horizontal flight and back. In an effort to better understand and help improve vehicle safety in the complex transition corridors, NASA Langley Research Center has proposed to characterize the transition corridor with wind tunnel and flight tests for a variety of unmanned aircraft system sized VTOL configurations. The first vehicle of this series is the Langley Aerodrome 8 (LA-8). LA-8 is a high-risk/high-reward tandem tilt-wing vehicle with distributed electric propulsion and a partially deflected slipstream aircraft. The LA-8 vehicle has gone through a preliminary wind tunnel test in NASA Langley's 12-Foot Low-Speed Wind Tunnel. The results of the aerodynamic data collected, including the longitudinal, lateral, and directional force and moment aerodynamic coefficients, from these tests during different phases of flight are presented.

VTOL↗