Building 1090 Improvements [Poster]
Failure mode analysis/identification of potential process improvements leading to the development of new engineered controls and facility improvements.
42 ENGINEERING↗
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Results for “engine control”
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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Development of an Optimal Variable-Pitch Controller for Floating Axial-Flow Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines
This article discusses the development of an optimal variable-pitch controller for floating, axial-flow marine turbines. Recently, OpenFAST, an open-source wind turbine modeling tool, has been extended to model marine turbines. A controller is necessary to simulate marine turbines for different load cases using OpenFAST, which greatly impacts the performance of the energy system. Previous studies have designed controllers using a linearized model of the marine turbine, which can be time-consuming and require the expertise of a control engineer. In this study, we use an automated approach that uses generic models of the marine turbine to identify the controller gains, which can expedite the process of designing a controller. Using an optimizer to identify the control system parameters can additionally improve the controller's performance. The optimal controller tuned using such an approach results in a 20% reduction in the tower-base damage equivalent loading and better tracking of the rated generator speed and power.
axial flow↗
Rock-welding materials development for deep borehole nuclear waste disposal
We report that various versions of deep borehole nuclear waste disposal have been proposed in the past in which effective sealing of a borehole after waste emplacement is generally required. In a high temperature disposal mode, the sealing function will be fulfilled by melting the ambient granitic rock with waste decay heat or an external heating source, creating a melt that will encapsulate waste containers or plug a portion of the borehole above a stack of the containers. However, there are certain drawbacks associated with natural materials, such as high melting temperatures, inefficient consolidation, slow crystallization kinetics, the resulting sealing materials generally being porous with low mechanical strength, insufficient adhesion to waste container surface, and lack of flexibility for engineering controls. In this study, we showed that natural granitic materials can be purposefully engineered through chemical modifications to enhance the sealing capability of the materials for deep borehole disposal. The present work systematically explores the effect of chemical modification and crystallinity (amorphous vs. crystalline) on the melting and crystallization processes of a granitic rock system. The approach can be applied to modify granites excavated from different geological sites. Several engineered granitic materials have been explored which possess significantly lower processing and densification temperatures than natural granites. Finally, those new materials consolidate more efficiently by viscous flow and accelerated recrystallization without compromising their mechanical integrity and properties.
12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
Optimization of Driving Styles for Fuel Economy Improvement
Modern vehicles have sophisticated electronic control units, particularly to control engine operation with respect to a balance between fuel economy, emissions, and power. These control units are designed for specific driving conditions and testing. However, each individual driving style is different and rarely meets those driving conditions. In the research reported here we investigate those driving style factors that have a major impact on fuel economy. An optimization framework is proposed with the aim of optimizing driving styles with respect to these driving factors. A set of polynomial metamodels are constructed to reflect the responses produced by changes of the driving factors. Then we compare the optimized driving styles to the original ones and evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the optimization formulation.
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
Information and Collaboration Levels in Vehicular Strings: A Comparative Study
The potential safety, productivity, and energy benefits of automated vehicles have driven a surge of research interest in their algorithms. Even within single-lane driving, control engineers now have a profusion of approaches available to them. Algorithm classes include classical controllers, receding horizon controllers, and constrained eco-driving formulae based on Pontryagin’s Minimum Principle. Differing connectivity architectures and collaboration levels further differentiate algorithms from one another. This study evaluated six controllers in two drive cycle-based scenarios using an electric powertrain model for energy analysis. Individual-vehicle and string performance were examined, including string stability and length. Algorithms with greater access to information generally performed best. Although collaboration affected energy use only slightly, it made a greater impact on string length.
Dollar, R. Austin↗
Development and Implementation of a Bag Degradation Predictive Tool at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Nuclear material packaging involves many complex variables derived from the stored material's properties, the storage environment, and the synergistic interaction of said material and its environment on the containment boundary. In the Plutonium Facility (PF-4) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) the typical containment boundary found, starting from the stored material itself to the outermost containment layer, consists of the material contained within a stainless steel (typically 304) slip-lid (or other equivalent stainless steel packaging layer) wrapped in an sPVC bag-out bag contained within a facility approved outer container stored within the boundaries of an approved facility (i.e., a building designed and approved to store nuclear material). This packaging configuration, though occasionally deviated from in the past, represents the current procedurally enforced, expected containment structure for all interim nuclear material containment outside of an engineered control barrier (e.g., a glovebox). Over the life of containerization research at LANL, packaging engineers have become increasingly concerned with the degradation of the sPVC bag-out bag, which can cause corrosion to the outermost packaging layer as well as possible exposure to alpha contamination if the bag-out bag layer is degraded to the point of containment failure. A bag-out bag degradation predictive tool (BDT) is therefore needed to assess the current and future nuclear material inventory for possible bag degradation in order to continue to ensure safe operations for the facility and its workers to deliver on the vital national security mission of 30 PPY.
42 ENGINEERING↗
C-400 and C-409 Criticality Incredible Road Map
Many guides and standards describe a process for evaluating process operations with known quantities of fissile material. The accepted industry guides and standards for performing criticality evaluations for fissile material operations are not well suited for operating systems that may contain residual fissile material. The Paducah Site deactivation activities includes large process components that have unfavorable geometries for the {sup 235}U enrichment levels present. The fissile material holdup in these components can range from negligible residual quantities to significant deposits weighing several hundred pounds. The purpose of this white paper is to outline a methodology that can be used to declare a facility as criticality incredible (CI). For the purpose of this paper, criticality incredible means that the inventory and its form and distribution within the facility does not need Nuclear Criticality Safety Evaluation (NCSE) type (e.g., administrative or engineered) controls. This assumes of course that certain project assumptions are maintained. For example in the facilities that will be discussed within this paper, wet decontamination is not part of the planned demolition and disposal operations. The proposed methodology for deactivation of a facility to the point that criticality incredible can be declared will be applied to the C-400 Chemical Cleaning Building and to the C-409 Decontamination Facility at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant (PGDP). The purpose and intent of the CI declaration is to release a facility from Nuclear Criticality Safety (NCS) requirements and simplify the demolition of the facility. In practical terms, this means the facility can be re-categorized as < a Hazard Category 3 facility per DOE-STD-1027-92 Hazard Categorization and Accident Analysis Techniques for compliance with DOE Order 5480.23, Nuclear Safety Analysis Reports, NCS controls are not needed, and the Criticality Accident Alarm Systems (CAAS) can be removed from service. The only involvement from the site NCS program following the declaration would be to ensure that the underlying assumptions are not violated through discovered conditions or project changes. This includes the institutional control of preventing new fissile material from being introduced into the facility. (authors)
11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
Optogenetics and biosensors set the stage for metabolic cybergenetics
We report cybergenetic systems use computer interfaces to enable feed-back controls over biological processes in real time. The complex and dynamic nature of cellular metabolism makes cybergenetics attractive for controlling engineered metabolic pathways in microbial fermentations. Cybergenetics would not only create new avenues of research into cellular metabolism, it would also enable unprecedented strategies for pathway optimization and bioreactor operation and automation. Implementation of metabolic cybergenetics, however, will require new capabilities from actuators, biosensors, and control algorithms. The recent application of optogenetics in metabolic engineering, the expanding role of genetically encoded biosensors in strain development, and continued progress in control algorithms for biological processes suggest that this technology will become available in the not so distant future.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
Cyber-Informed Engineering: Incorporating CIE into Engineering Curricula
Cyber-Informed Engineering (CIE) is an engineering approach that mitigates the consequences of cyber risk to critical infrastructure by integrating engineered controls into system design and operation. CIE-focused education is necessary to prepare future engineers and technicians to understand and mitigate digital risk in modern engineered systems. This session explores how universities can incorporate CIE into their curricula, provides examples of how existing universities are already leveraging CIE in their programs, and highlights resources to support adoption.
99 - GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
NEXT Generation Energy Technologies for Connected and Automated On-Road Vehicles (NEXTCAR Phase I & II)
The Ohio State University’s ARPA-E NEXTCAR project was a multi-phase, multi-year research, development, and demonstration program focused on improving the energy efficiency of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs). The team developed and validated advanced vehicle motion and powertrain control algorithms that coordinate propulsion and automation systems to optimize energy use. Key technologies included Dynamic Skip Fire engine control, predictive eco-driving functions such as Eco-Approach and Departure (Eco-AND) and Eco-Adaptive Cruise Control (Eco-ACC), and powertrain-agnostic optimization frameworks for hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and battery electric vehicles. The project successfully demonstrated up to 30% energy-efficiency improvement during real-world testing at the Transportation Research Center and the American Center for Mobility. The outcomes provide a foundation for scalable, cost-effective deployment of energy-optimized CAV technologies across the automotive industry.
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
Surface-Engineered MXenes: Electric Field Control of Magnetism and Enhanced Magnetic Anisotropy
Controlling magnetism in two-dimensional (2D) materials via electric fields and doping enables robust long-range order by providing an external mechanism to modulate magnetic exchange interactions and anisotropy. Here in this report, we predict that transition metal carbide and nitride MXenes are promising candidates for controllable magnetic 2D materials. The surface terminations introduced during synthesis act as chemical dopants that influence the electronic structure, enabling controllable magnetic order. We show ground-state magnetic ordering in Janus M 2 XO x F 2–x (M is an early transition metal, X is carbon or nitrogen, and x = 0.5, 1, or 1.5) with asymmetric surface functionalization, where local structural and chemical disorder induces magnetic ordering in some systems that are nonmagnetic or weakly magnetic in their pristine form. The resulting magnetic states of these noncentrosymmetric structures can be robustly switched and stabilized by tuning the interlayer exchange couplings with small applied electric fields. Furthermore, bond directionality is enhanced by Janus functionalization, resulting in improved magnetic anisotropy, which is essential to stable 2D magnetic ordering. The mixed termination-induced anisotropy leads to robust Ising ferromagnetism with an out-of-plane easy axis over the full range of relevant termination compositions for Janus Mn 2 N. Janus Cr 2 C, V 2 C, and Ti 2 C were found to be robustly antiferromagnetic. Our results provide a strategy for exploiting asymmetric surface functionalization to achieve room-temperature nanoscale magnetism under ambient conditions in MXenes with currently available synthesis techniques.
2D materials↗
DOE Project 18546, AOP Task 1.1, Fuel Effects on Advanced Combustion Engines
Research in 2011 was focused on diesel range fuels and diesel combustion and fuels evaluated in 2011 included a series of oxygenated biofuels fuels from University of Maine, oxygenated fuel compounds representing materials which could be made from sewage, oxygenated marine diesel fuels for low emissions, and a new series of FACE fuel surrogates and FACE fuels with detailed exhaust chemistry and particulate size measurements. Fuels obtained in late 2011, which will be evaluated in 2012, include a series of oil shale derived fuels from PNNL, green diesel fuel (hydrotreated vegetable oil) from UOP, University of Maine cellulosic biofuel (levulene), and pyrolysis derived fuels from UOP pyrolysis oil, upgraded at University of Georgia. We were able to demonstrate, through a project with University of Wisconsin, that a hybrid strategy for fuel surrogates provided both accurate and rapid CFD combustion modeling for diesel HCCI. In this strategy, high molecular weight compounds are used to more accurately represent physical processes and smaller molecular weight compounds are used for chemistry to speed chemical calculations. We conducted a small collaboration with sp3H, a French company developing an on-board fuel quality sensor based on near infrared analysis to determine how to use fuel property and chemistry information for engine control. We were able to show that selected outputs from the sensor correlated to both fuel properties and to engine performance. This collaboration leveraged our past statistical analysis work and further work will be done as opportunity permits. We conducted blending experiments to determine characteristics of ethanol blends based on the gasoline characteristics used for blending. Results indicate that much of the octane benefits gained by high level ethanol blending can be negated by use of low octane gasoline blend stocks, as allowed by ASTM D5798. This may limit ability to optimize engines for improved efficiency with ethanol fuels. Extensive data from current and previous years was leveraged into participation with several large proposal teams, as our fuels database covers a very wide range of conventional and emerging fuels and biofuels.
02 PETROLEUM↗
Development of an Optimal Variable-Pitch Controller for Floating Axial-Flow Marine Hydrokinetic Turbines: Preprint
This article discusses the development of an optimal variable-pitch controller for floating, axial-flow marine turbines. Recently, OpenFAST, an open-source wind turbine modeling tool, has been extended to model marine turbines. A controller is necessary to simulate marine turbines for different load cases using OpenFAST, which greatly impacts the performance of the energy system. Previous studies have designed controllers using a linearized model of the marine turbine, which can be timeconsuming and require the expertise of a control engineer. In this study, we use an automated approach that uses generic models of the marine turbine to identify the controller gains, which can expedite the process of designing a controller. Using an optimizer to identify the control system parameters can additionally improve the controller's performance. The optimal controller tuned using such an approach results in a 20% reduction in the towerbase damage equivalent loading and better tracking of the rated generator speed and power.
closed-loop control↗
Poster for intern poster presentation
Inside the hot cells of HFEF (Hot Fuel Examination Facility) and FCF (Fuel Conditioning Facility) reside several large, purpose built 6500-pound cranes. Each crane holds several DC motors that must all be actuated without error for years on end. However, when a component becomes inoperable inside one of these crane carriages, it must be taken out of cell, fixed, and reevaluated. In order to test these cranes and EMMs, two test boxes were built. However, the test cabinets were designed with few engineering controls, zero released documentation, and they were both at some level of disrepair. This poster goes over some of the particulars that go into a control box redesign, mostly focusing on the drawing and DCR process.
42 - ENGINEERING↗
The contribution of lubricant to the formation of particulate matter with reactivity controlled compression ignition in light-duty diesel engines
Reactivity controlled compression ignition (RCCI) has been shown in single- and multi-cylinder engine research to achieve high thermal efficiencies with ultra-low NO X and soot emissions. The nature of the particulate matter (PM) produced by RCCI operation has been shown in recent research to be different than that of conventional diesel combustion and even diesel low-temperature combustion. Previous research has shown that the PM from RCCI operation contains a large amount of organic material that is volatile and semi-volatile. However, it is unclear if the organic compounds are stemming from fuel or lubricant oil. The PM emissions from dual-fuel RCCI were investigated in this study using two engine platforms, with an emphasis on the potential contribution of lubricant. Both engine platforms used the same base General Motors (GM) 1.9-L diesel engine geometry. The first study was conducted on a single-cylinder research engine with primary reference fuels (PRFs), n-heptane, and iso-octane. The second study was conducted on a four-cylinder GM 1.9-L ZDTH engine which was modified with a port fuel injection (PFI) system while maintaining the stock direct injection fuel system. Multi-cylinder RCCI experiments were run with PFI gasoline and direct injection of 2-ethylhexyl nitrate (EHN) mixed with gasoline at 5 % EHN by volume. In addition, comparison cases of conventional diesel combustion (CDC) were performed. Particulate size distributions were measured, and PM filter samples were collected for analysis of lube oil components. Triplicate PM filter samples (i.e., three individual filter samples) for both gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS; organic) analysis and X-ray fluorescence (XRF; metals) were obtained at each operating point and queued for analysis of both organic species and lubricant metals. Here, the results give a clear indication that lubricants do not contribute significantly to the formation of RCCI PM.
33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
RCT: 2.05 Contamination Control, Course #8770
This report focuses on the detection and control of radioactive contamination, which are an integral part of an aggressive ALARA program and provide an indication of the effectiveness of engineering controls and proper work practices in preventing the release of radioactive material. Radioactive contamination, if undetected or not properly controlled, can be spread and contaminate areas, equipment, personnel, and the environment.
61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗
Application of step-response lambda tuning to proportional-integral controllers in water resource recovery facilities
Proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controllers in water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) feedback control loops are commonplace. While simple to implement, such control loops are rarely tuned optimally or systematically. Heuristic tuning approaches are commonly applied with varying degrees of success using trial-and-error, ad hoc tuning rules, or duplication of tuning values from a similar system. However, there are effective methods, such as lambda tuning, produce acceptable tuning with limited effort. These are based on the step-response method, where a manual process perturbation is used to define the relationship between the manipulated and controlled variables. Based on such an experiment, a simple process model is constructed and used to determine the controller tuning values. In this work, we used the step-response method and lambda tuning for two control systems in full-scale WRRFs. This led to responsive and stable behavior of the controlled system as defined by the absolute average error of the controlled variable to setpoint and standard deviation of the manipulated variable. Tuning of feedback control loops can be completed successfully through a systematic approach, and this work suggests that tuning tools, like lambda, should be part of all wastewater treatment control engineers' toolbox.
32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
Exhaust gas bypass valve control for thermoelectric generator
A method of controlling engine exhaust flow through at least one of an exhaust bypass and a thermoelectric device via a bypass valve is provided. The method includes: determining a mass flow of exhaust exiting an engine; determining a desired exhaust pressure based on the mass flow of exhaust; comparing the desired exhaust pressure to a determined exhaust pressure; and determining a bypass valve control value based on the comparing, wherein the bypass valve control value is used to control the bypass valve.
42 ENGINEERING↗