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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 163 records · Page 9
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2022

Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Planning for Idaho National Laboratory

Idaho National Laboratory’s (INL’s) mission is to discover, demonstrate, and secure innovative nuclear energy solutions, other clean energy options, and critical infrastructure. This INL’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Plan (VARP) was developed to enable and sustain that mission while ensuring the viability of operations considering expected climate change impacts. The VARP was developed according to the narrative requirements from the “Vulnerability Assessment and Resilience Planning Guidance, Version 1.2” document issued in February 2022. A prescribed process was used to identify mission-critical systems and components, determine historical and expected climate impacts, and develop resilient solutions. Experts from across INL, including operations staff, researchers, and climate scientists supplied input to the process. Analyses of climate modeling sources revealed that under scenarios of higher and lower greenhouse gas emissions (Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 and RCP 8.5), INL anticipates an increase in climate hazards, including drought, heat waves, wildfire, and precipitation. Increased frequency and duration of climatic hazards forecasts high impacts on certain mission-critical asset and infrastructure types. Utilizing the VARP Risk Assessment Tool, projected high climate hazard impacts across multiple asset and infrastructure types at the INL include energy generation and distribution systems, Site buildings, specialized or mission-critical equipment, and transportation and fleet infrastructure. Some of these mission-critical asset and infrastructure types maintain high adaptive capacity to climatic changes; however, others may need additional adaptive capacity to withstand increased frequency and duration of climate hazards. INL identified close to 300 resilient solutions that were consolidated into 11 solution categories to be tracked in the Department of Energy Sustainability Dashboard. The identified solutions are a starting point for future project development and analysis. These data are intended to inform decision makers on climate issues and potential solutions across INL and associated communities. The VARP is not intended to be a budget tool or project decision document on its own, but rather one of many tools used by decision makers to establish resilient priorities. This initial document provides the framework and foundation to resilient solutions. In the coming years, each solution needs to be fully developed, costed, and prioritized based on mission-critical risk and funding priorities.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2023

Connecting the Dots: An Assessment of Cyber-risks in Networked Building and Municipal Infrastructure Systems

The buildings and city streets we walk down are changing. Driven by various data-driven use cases, there is increased interest in networking and integrating lighting and other building systems (e.g., heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), security, scheduling) that were previously not internet-facing, and equipping them with sensors that collect information about their environment and the people that inhabit it. These data-enabled systems can potentially deliver improved occupant and resident experiences and help meet the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) national energy and carbon reduction goals. Deploying connected devices new to being networked, however, is not without its challenges. This paper explores tools available to system designers and integrators that facilitate a cybersecurity landscape assessment – or more specifically the identification of threats, vulnerabilities, and adversarial behaviors that could be used against these networked systems. These assessments can help stakeholders shift security prioritization proactively toward the beginning of the development process.

cyber-risk assesment, adversarial behavior, MITRE ↗
NASA NTRS2012

Investigation into Cloud Computing for More Robust Automated Bulk Image Geoprocessing

Geospatial resource assessments frequently require timely geospatial data processing that involves large multivariate remote sensing data sets. In particular, for disasters, response requires rapid access to large data volumes, substantial storage space and high performance processing capability. The processing and distribution of this data into usable information products requires a processing pipeline that can efficiently manage the required storage, computing utilities, and data handling requirements. In recent years, with the availability of cloud computing technology, cloud processing platforms have made available a powerful new computing infrastructure resource that can meet this need. To assess the utility of this resource, this project investigates cloud computing platforms for bulk, automated geoprocessing capabilities with respect to data handling and application development requirements. This presentation is of work being conducted by Applied Sciences Program Office at NASA-Stennis Space Center. A prototypical set of image manipulation and transformation processes that incorporate sample Unmanned Airborne System data were developed to create value-added products and tested for implementation on the "cloud". This project outlines the steps involved in creating and testing of open source software developed process code on a local prototype platform, and then transitioning this code with associated environment requirements into an analogous, but memory and processor enhanced cloud platform. A data processing cloud was used to store both standard digital camera panchromatic and multi-band image data, which were subsequently subjected to standard image processing functions such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), NDMI (Normalized Difference Moisture Index), band stacking, reprojection, and other similar type data processes. Cloud infrastructure service providers were evaluated by taking these locally tested processing functions, and then applying them to a given cloud-enabled infrastructure to assesses and compare environment setup options and enabled technologies. This project reviews findings that were observed when cloud platforms were evaluated for bulk geoprocessing capabilities based on data handling and application development requirements.

Brown, Richard B.↗
DOE OSTI2020

System Health and Status Reporting is Used to Improve Infrastructure Systems at the Hanford Site - 20449

Reliable physical infrastructure systems are vital to completing the clean-up mission and the start-up and commissioning of new nuclear waste processing facilities at the Hanford Site. Key infrastructure systems at Hanford include water, sewer, and electrical utilities, roads, telecommunications/network systems, and fire systems. All of the infrastructure systems are non-nuclear, General Service systems that are being maintained under formal engineering configuration control and none are specifically credited in any documented safety analysis (DSA). Starting in calendar year 2017, the Hanford Site's infrastructure and services contractor started producing system health and status reports for a total of 15 critical infrastructure systems as means to get a better understanding of each system's health and how it could be improved to ensure better and more reliable service delivery. As the reporting, tracking, and use of the metrics has matured, the number of systems for which reports are being developed has been expanded to a total of 23. Each of the critical infrastructure systems are assigned primary and alternate design authorities that complete qualifications on each assigned system. The design authorities actively manage and maintain configuration control on each of their systems and track metrics associated with availability, maintenance (corrective and preventive), and configuration of the technical baseline. The metrics are based on the principles established in Chapter V of DOE O 420.1C, Facility Safety, [1] and have been tailored as appropriate to each of the key infrastructure systems. An overall assessment of system health is performed and documented on a routine basis (e.g., quarterly). Included in this documentation is a quantitative score for each of the metrics (i.e., availability, maintenance, configuration management) along with results of system walk-downs, description of any permanent design modifications, identification of new or emerging issues and vulnerabilities affecting the system, and an assessment by the design authority of actions necessary to improve the system health score. The overall status scores are calculated using a formula and based on a pre-determined grading scale, a color is assigned for simple presentation. The information gained from developing the reports is being used to (1) assist with making timely and better informed decisions through the use of solid technical bases that are increasing the overall reliability and capabilities of the Site's infrastructure systems as new expense and capital projects in the Reliability Projects Investment Portfolio (RPIP) are prioritized and executed; (2) feed the risk management program, and (3) integrate the technical content of Master Plans that describe the Site's needs for the system and the system's capabilities to meet those future needs. (authors)

12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE AND NON-RADIOACTIVE W↗
DOE OSTI2025

Scalable Truck Charging Demand Simulation for Cost-Optimized Infrastructure Planning

This project developed a scalable, high-resolution model to simulate medium- and heavy-duty (MHD) electric truck charging demand and assess its impact on grid infrastructure. Using generative modeling, simulation, and cost optimization, the project delivered an end-to-end software pipeline and a library of 96 real-world scenarios for the Dallas–Houston megaregion. We demonstrated a modular architecture for transportation and grid modeling, implemented cost-optimized infrastructure planning methods, and quantified grid capital, operational, and environmental costs across a wide range of truck electrification scenarios. The results have been adopted by major utility stakeholders and contributed to regional planning efforts.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2022

Vulnerability and resilience of urban energy ecosystems to extreme climate events: A systematic review and perspectives

We reviewed the present studies on the vulnerability and resilience of the energy ecosystem (most parts of the energy ecosystem), considering extreme climate events. This study revealed that the increased interactions formed during the transformation of the energy landscape into an ecosystem could notably increase the vulnerability of the energy infrastructure. Such complex ecosystem cannot be assessed using the present state of the art models used by the energy system modelers. Therefore, this study introduces a novel analogy known as the COVID analogy to understand the propagation of disruption within and beyond the energy ecosystem and organized the present state of the art based on the COVID analogy. The analogy helps to categorize the vulnerability of the energy infrastructure into three stages. The study revealed that although there are many publications covering the vulnerability and resilience of the energy infrastructure, considering extreme climate events, the majority are focused on the direct impact of extreme climate on the energy ecosystem. In addition, most of the studies do not consider the impact of future climate variations during this assessment. The propagation of disruptions was assessed mainly for wildfires and hurricanes. Further, there is a clear research gap in considering vulnerability assessment for interconnected energy infrastructure. Here, the transformation of energy systems into a complex ecosystem notably increases the complexity, making it difficult to assess vulnerability and resilience. A shift from a centralized to decentralized modeling architecture could be beneficial when considering the complexities brought by that transformation. Hybrid models consisting of both physical and data-driven machine learning techniques could also be beneficial in this context.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Tall Lunar Towers: Systems Analysis of a Lunar-Surface-Assembled Power, Communication, and Navigation Infrastructure

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) intends to develop and maintain a human-lunar presence, requiring infrastructure on the Lunar South Pole. To keep pace with the continued growth in cislunar activity, there is national interest in developing a global lunar infrastructure network for power and Communication, Position, Navigation, and Timing (CPNT). Demonstrating autonomous construction capabilities is an infrastructure-enabling objective. This study explores several architecture trade studies to assess the feasibility of alternative lunar infrastructure concepts. 50 m towers, for instance, enable solar power generation up to 99% of a lunar year in addition to acting as wide-range communication and navigation surface relays. The infrastructure network considered in this study consisted of tower platforms, utilities hosted on the towers, and both crewed and robotic end users. High-level trades were analyzed, such as tower height, location, and distributed vs centralized power grids. Results indicated that even with minimal permanent surface assets (darkness survival power loads on the order of 5 kW or greater), at any of the five locations considered, taller towers resulted in lower infrastructure mass than shorter towers; up to 24% system mass savings were realized by reducing battery mass. Simultaneously, taller towers increased the range of communication coverage; a 50 m tower on the Connecting Ridge had 5 kg more structure and 76% more line-of-sight coverage to a two-meter-tall end user than a 10 m tower with the same location and user height. Leveraging a grid of tall towers for nominal power and communication would not only save up to 2,800 kg in battery mass but would be more maintainable and allow users to take advantage of generational upgrades.

lunar infrastructure↗
DOE OSTI2020

Application of Numerical Atmospheric Models

In this study, a numerical modeling framework for simulating extreme storm events was established using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Such a framework is necessary for the derivation of engineering parameters such as probable maximum precipitation that are the cornerstone of large water-management infrastructure design. Here, this framework was built based on a heavy storm that occurred in Nashville, Tennessee (U.S.), in 2010, and verified using two other extreme storms. To achieve the optimal setup, several combinations of model resolutions, initial/boundary conditions (IC/BC), cloud microphysics, and cumulus parameterization schemes were evaluated using multiple metrics of precipitation characteristics. The evaluation suggests that WRF is most sensitive to the IC/BC option. Simulation generally benefits from finer resolutions up to 5 km. At the 15 km level, NCEP2 IC/BC produces better results, whereas NAM IC/BC performs best at the 5 km level. The recommended model configuration from this study is: NAM or NCEP2 IC/BC (depending on data availability), 15 km or 15–5 km nested grids, Morrison microphysics, and Kain-Fritsch cumulus schemes. Validation of the optimal framework suggests that these options are good starting choices for modeling extreme events similar to the test cases. This optimal framework is proposed in response to emerging engineering demands of extreme storm event forecasting and analyses for design, operations, and risk assessment of large water infrastructures.

Chen, Xiaodong↗
DOE OSTI2021

Remote Home Energy Score Assessments (Feasibility Study)

The delivery of Home Energy Scores (HES) has been significantly impacted over the last year by the recent pandemic and ongoing limitations to person-to-person interactions. There are also historic challenges in providing HES to more remote geographies where assessor infrastructure is not in place. Alternative approaches to in-person, on-site home energy assessments could help address these current restrictions, while also potentially providing opportunities for the efficient delivery of HES in certain use cases after COVID-related restrictions are lifted. From the program administrator’s perspective, there needs to be confidence that the remote scores closely match what they would have been if the assessment had been performed on-site. The recommendations shown on a report generated from a remote score should closely match those of an onsite assessment. A remote assessment should be an option for all HES Partners and have direction on how to deliver those scores. From the HES partner’s and assessor’s perspective, there needs to be understanding of what level of experience is needed, what system infrastructure is required, the time expenditure of the remote assessment process, and the limitations of a remote assessment. From the homeowner’s perspective, there needs to be an awareness and comfort with the time commitment, the level of knowledge of the home, the equipment needed, and any physical requirements of the remote assessment process. During this study, Earth Advantage assessed methods for delivering Home Energy Score assessments remotely through web-based technology platforms and resident interaction in a diverse array of home types in different geographic locations. Earth Advantage developed remote assessment test protocols and integrated those testing protocols into existing Home Energy Score programs being overseen by USDOE Home Energy Score partners New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE), and the City of Portland (PDX). Earth Advantage staff acted as the Remote assessor and gathered HES data remotely during the video sessions with participants. Authorized Home Energy Score assessors performed the onsite assessments that were then used to compare with the remote assessment data. This allowed the research to effectively test the efficacy of various remote assessment approaches in a diverse array of home-types. Earth advantage identified the key components of a remote assessment infrastructure which included Remote Home Energy Score Assessments Page vi processes, tools, services, methods and mechanisms that would better enable remote assessments. This report details methods, results, and findings of the HES remote assessment research. In addition, the report provides recommendations and best practices that could be used as guidance for the Home Energy Score administrator and the HES partners seeking to effectively conduct remote assessments.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Hydrogen Sustainable Infrastructure Guidelines (H2SIG)

Infrastructure interacts with major global challenges inclusive of climate change, resilience, equity and social justice, environmental protection and biodiversity, public health, and economic recovery. This effort directly addresses how to apply sustainability assessments to the unique aspects of hydrogen (H2) infrastructure projects using the Envision® sustainability framework developed by the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI). Envision is a flexible system of criteria and performance objectives to aid decision makers and help project teams identify sustainable approaches during planning, design and construction of infrastructure projects that will continue throughout the project’s operations, maintenance, and end-of-life phases. The goal of this work is to support those interested in conducting sustainability assessments for hydrogen infrastructure projects. Through this work the team has developed hydrogen-specific guidelines and best practices to assist project developers, investors and regulators in straightforward application of the Envision framework to systematically enhance clarity and increase objectivity across hydrogen projects. Subject matter experts from 20 different organizations (industry, non-profits, municipalities, emissions regulators, national labs) were engaged through 7 focus groups to discuss the H2-prioritized Envision requirements and elements to be included in the guidelines. In addition to these guidelines, the team conducted case studies as a way of demonstrating and informing the guidelines and providing examples or ideas for implementing sustainability in future projects. Through this study, the authors found that hydrogen infrastructure projects can incorporate many sustainable practices including reducing GHG emissions affecting climate change, reducing air pollutant emissions affecting the health of communities, synergistically handling waste byproducts, integrating into existing infrastructure, incorporating renewable energy, and addressing equity and environmental justice. Additionally, hydrogen infrastructure projects could benefit from 2-way communication engagement and collaborative planning with stakeholders, educational awareness of hydrogen technology, tracking and reporting on water use and water quality, and including monetized environmental and social benefits in life-cycle cost estimates. This document is the final technical report for the Hydrogen Sustainability Assessment Methods for Project Development project. While the main focus of the report is to provide guidelines for applying sustainability to hydrogen infrastructure, there are sections within the appendix providing completed project tasks and methodology.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2024

Insights on seasonal solifluction processes in warm permafrost Arctic landscape using a dense monitoring approach across adjacent hillslopes

Solifluction processes in the Arctic are highly complex, introducing uncertainties in estimating current and future soil carbon storage and fluxes, and assessment of hillslope and infrastructure stability. This study aims to enhance our understanding of triggers and drivers of soil movement of permafrost-affected hillslopes in the Arctic. To achieve this, we established an extensive soil deformation and temperature sensor network, covering 48 locations across multiple hillslopes within a 1 km² watershed on the Seward Peninsula, AK. We report depth-resolved measurements down to 1.8 m depth for May to September 2022, a period conducive to soil movement due to deepening thaw layers and frequent rain events. Over this period, surface movements of up to 334 mm were recorded. In general, these movements occur close to the thawing front, and are initiated as thawing reaches depths of 0.4 to 0.75 m. The largest movements were observed at the top of the south-east facing slope, where soil temperatures are cold (mean annual soil temperatures averaging -1.13°C) and slopes are steeper than 15°. Our analysis highlights three primary factors influencing movements: slope angle, soil thermal conditions, and thaw depth. The latter two significantly impact the generation of pore water pressures at the thaw–freeze interface. Specifically, soil thermal conditions govern the liquid water content, while thaw depth influences both the height of the water column and, consequently, the pressure at the thawing front. These factors affect soil properties, such as cohesion and internal friction angle, which are crucial determinants of slope stability. This underscores the significance of a precise understanding of subsurface thermal conditions, including spatial and temporal variability in soil temperature and thaw depth, when assessing and predicting slope instabilities. Based on our observations, we developed a Factor of Safety proxy that consistently falls below the triggering threshold for all probes exhibiting displacements exceeding 50 mm. This study offers novel insights into patterns and triggers of hillslope movements in the Arctic and provides a venue to evaluate their impact on soil redistribution.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2026

Toward a standardization of cryostructure and cryogenic soil structure terminology for the field description of permafrost‐affected soils

This paper establishes standardized terminology and field documentation protocols for cryostructures and cryogenic soil structures in permafrost‐affected soils and provides brief guidance on descriptions of ground ice morphology and ice volume estimates. We consolidate permafrost terminology from Russian and North American literature, clarify long‐standing ambiguities, and provide explicit guidelines that align with US Department of Agriculture‐Natural Resources Conservation Service soil description standards. Our scheme makes critical distinctions between cryostructure, the distribution of ice within soil, and cryogenic soil structure, the morphological structure of soil resulting from ice formation. The scheme organizes cryostructures into three main categories: non‐segregated ice, visible segregated ice, and ice matrices. We introduce standardized codes and parameters for field descriptions of ice and soil that enable machine‐readable data collection compatible with existing soil information systems. This standardization will significantly enhance the integration of field observations into landscape‐scale assessments of permafrost stability, infrastructure vulnerability, and ecosystem response to permafrost thaw, addressing an urgent need for quantitative data to inform modeling and decision‐making in rapidly changing Arctic and subarctic environments.

Andersen, Megan L. [University of Minnesota, Saint↗
DOE OSTI2023

Supply and Demand Drivers of Global Hydrogen Deployment in the Transition toward a Decarbonized Energy System

The role of hydrogen in energy system decarbonization is being actively examined by the research and policy communities. We evaluate the potential ‘hydrogen economy’ in global climate change mitigation scenarios using the Global Change Analysis Model (GCAM). We consider major hydrogen production methods in conjunction with delivery options to understand how hydrogen infrastructure affects its deployment. We also consider a rich set of hydrogen end-use technologies and vary their costs to understand how demand technologies affect deployment. We find that the availability of hydrogen transmission and distribution infrastructure primarily affects the hydrogen production mix, particularly the share produced centrally versus onsite, whereas assumptions about end-use technology primarily affect the scale of hydrogen deployment. In effect, hydrogen can be a distributed energy vector, enabled by onsite renewable electrolysis and, to a lesser extent, by onsite industrial production using natural gas with carbon capture and storage (CCS). While the share of hydrogen in final energy is small relative to the share of other major energy carriers in our scenarios, hydrogen enables decarbonization in difficult-to-electrify end uses such as industrial high-temperature heat. Its contribution to greenhouse gas mitigation increases as the climate objective is tightened.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Assessing the exposure of three diving bird species to offshore wind areas on the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf using satellite telemetry

Abstract Aim The United States Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) has considerable offshore wind energy potential. Capturing that resource is part of a broader effort to reduce CO 2 emissions. While few turbines have been constructed in U.S. waters, over a dozen currently planned offshore wind projects have the potential to displace marine birds, potentially leading to effective habitat loss. We focused on three diving birds identified in Europe to be vulnerable to displacement. Our research aimed to determine their potential exposure to areas designated or proposed for offshore wind development along the Atlantic OCS. Methods Satellite tracking technology was used to determine the spatial and temporal use and movement patterns of Surf Scoters ( Melanitta perspicillata ), Red‐throated Loons ( Gavia stellata ) and Northern Gannets ( Morus bassanus ), and calculate their exposure to each offshore wind area. We tagged 236 adults in 2012–2015 on the Atlantic OCS from New Jersey to North Carolina; an additional 147 birds tagged in previous tracking studies were integrated into our analyses. Tracking data were analysed in two‐week intervals using dynamic Brownian bridge movement models to develop composite spatial utilization distributions. For each species, these distributions were then used to calculate the spatio‐temporal exposure to each offshore wind area. Results Surf Scoters and Red‐throated Loons were exposed to offshore wind areas almost exclusively during migration because these species were distributed among coastal and inshore waters during winter months. In contrast, Northern Gannets ranged over a much larger area, reaching farther offshore and south in winter, thus exhibited the greatest exposure to extant offshore wind areas. Conclusions Results of this study provide better understanding of how diving birds use current and potential future offshore wind areas on the Atlantic OCS, and can inform permitting, risk assessment and pre‐ and post‐construction impact assessments of offshore energy infrastructure.

Stenhouse, Iain J.↗