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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 19 records

Engineering Technical Review Planning Briefing

The general topics covered in the engineering technical planning briefing are 1) overviews of NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), and Engineering, 2) the NASA Systems Engineering(SE) Engine and its implementation , 3) the NASA Project Life Cycle, 4) MSFC Technical Management Branch Services in relation to the SE Engine and the Project Life Cycle , 5) Technical Reviews, 6) NASA Human Factor Design Guidance , and 7) the MSFC Human Factors Team. The engineering technical review portion of the presentation is the primary focus of the overall presentation and will address the definition of a design review, execution guidance, the essential stages of a technical review, and the overall review planning life cycle. Examples of a technical review plan content, review approaches, review schedules, and the review process will be provided and discussed. The human factors portion of the presentation will focus on the NASA guidance for human factors. Human factors definition, categories, design guidance, and human factor specialist roles will be addressed. In addition, the NASA Systems Engineering Engine description, definition, and application will be reviewed as background leading into the NASA Project Life Cycle Overview and technical review planning discussion.

Gardner, Terrie↗

Autonomous onboard crew operations: A review and developmental approach

A review of the literature generated by an intercenter mission approach and consolidation team and their contractors was performed to obtain background information on the development of autonomous operations concepts for future space shuttle and space platform missions. The Boeing 757/767 flight management system was examined to determine the relevance for transfer of the developmental approach and technology to the performance of the crew operations function. In specific, the engine indications and crew alerting system was studied to determine the relevance of this display for the performance of crew operations onboard the vehicle. It was concluded that the developmental approach and technology utilized in the aeronautics industry would be appropriate for development of an autonomous operations concept for the space platform.

Rogers, J. G.↗

A Review of Approaches for Monitoring the Effectiveness of Regional River Habitat Restoration Programs

Abstract Large regional programs to restore riverine habitat for fish and aquatic organisms have become common throughout North America, Europe, and elsewhere. Evaluating the effectiveness of projects implemented under these programs—sometimes called programmatic monitoring and evaluation—has proven challenging, and little guidance exists on programmatic monitoring and evaluation approaches and their effectiveness. In this paper, we review different approaches for evaluating the effectiveness of river restoration projects implemented across a region. These programmatic monitoring and evaluation approaches include case studies, meta-analyses, multiple before–after control–impact (mBACI), extensive posttreatment (EPT), intensively monitored watersheds (IMWs), and hybrid programmatic approaches that use a combination of different experimental designs. For each approach, we discuss the pros and cons as well as provide examples. The most appropriate approach depends in part on the questions that the programmatic monitoring and evaluation strives to address, the spatial and temporal scale at which detection of a response is expected, and the scale of inference. Case studies and mBACI approaches can answer questions about individual projects but have several limitations in terms of cost, timely results, and feasibility. A meta-analysis, which can provide broadly applicable results, is dependent upon a large number of case studies being completed. The EPT approach can provide relatively quick and easy-to-interpret results, but it requires a large population of completed projects and careful selection of controls. The IMW approach has been broadly applied in western North America but has had limited success and appears to be tractable only in small catchments where restoration and monitoring can be well controlled. Based on results from recent efforts in the USA and Europe, the most feasible programmatic monitoring and evaluation approach in terms of cost, implementability, and production of timely results appears to be a hybrid approach that uses a combination of the EPT and mBACI approaches.

Roni, Philip↗

Simulation of mineral dissolution at the pore scale with evolving fluid-solid interfaces: review of approaches and benchmark problem set

This manuscript presents a benchmark problem for the simulation of single-phase flow, reactive transport, and solid geometry evolution at the pore scale. The problem is organized in three parts that focus on specific aspects: flow and reactive transport (part I), dissolution-driven geometry evolution in two dimensions (part II), and an experimental validation of three-dimensional dissolution-driven geometry evolution (part III). Five codes are used to obtain the solution to this benchmark problem, including Chombo-Crunch, OpenFOAM-DBS, a lattice Boltzman code, Vortex, and dissolFoam. These codes cover a good portion of the wide range of approaches typically employed for solving pore-scale problems in the literature, including discretization methods, characterization of the fluid-solid interfaces, and methods to move these interfaces as a result of fluid-solid reactions. A short review of these approaches is given in relation to selected published studies. Results from the simulations performed by the five codes show remarkable agreement both quantitatively--based on upscaled parameters such as surface area, solid volume, and effective reaction rate--and qualitatively--based on comparisons of shape evolution. This outcome is especially notable given the disparity of approaches used by the codes. Therefore, these results establish a strong benchmark for the validation and testing of pore-scale codes developed for the simulation of flow and reactive transport with evolving geometries. They also underscore the significant advances seen in the last decade in tools and approaches for simulating this type of problem.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Assessing sustainability in agricultural landscapes: a review of approaches

Research and development agencies, as well as policy makers and agri-food enterprises, need reliable data to support informed decisions that can improve the sustainability of agricultural landscapes. We present a review of agricultural sustainability assessment frameworks (ASAF) that identifies the features most relevant to monitoring progress towards sustainability goals for agricultural landscapes. This qualitative review considers a variety of approaches for defining goals and for selecting stakeholders, spatial and temporal boundaries, indicators, and analytical approaches. We focused on assessment frameworks that ( i ) include environmental, social, and economic implications of agriculture; ( ii ) are applicable to multiple, non-specified farm system types; ( iii ) are described in an English language, peer-reviewed publication; ( iv ) have been developed for use at a farm system to regional spatial scale; ( v ) engage stakeholders; ( vi ) provide case studies; and ( vii ) could be used in a variety of contexts across the globe. Based on the review, we provide recommendations for further development and use of assessment frameworks to better address the needs of agricultural research, extension, and development organizations. We recommend an agro-ecosystem approach to help stakeholders identify appropriate indicators for their situation. Assessment methods need to be flexible enough for adaptation to a spectrum of agricultural landscapes and changing environmental conditions, and remain relevant as farmers and other stakeholders acquire new information, resources, and different management techniques. We find that to address information gaps across different scales from farm to region will require creativity and some reliance on local knowledge systems to support adaptive management. Assessment results should communicate relationships among ecosystem services and socio-economic activities affected by agricultural landscapes. Furthermore visualization tools can facilitate understanding of trade-offs and synergies among sustainability goals as reflected by individual indicators.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Occupancy sensing in buildings: A review of data analytics approaches

A review of the literature pertaining to building occupancy detection, counting, and tracking - three areas under the umbrella of building occupancy estimation - is presented with a focus on mathematical approaches and corresponding metrics. The idea is to provide the reader with a background on the hardware and techniques used for occupancy inference, subsequent to data collection, with emphasis placed on the algorithmic characterization of occupancy estimation. The various approaches employed by researchers to tackle the problem are surveyed and summarized, including: data collection, cleaning processes, algorithm utilization and categorization, as well as data structuring and organization. The scope of prediction and performance metrics are used to establish a benchmarking system through a comprehensive summary of (indoor) occupancy estimation, presented in the context of the mathematical tools utilized.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Modeling urban building energy use: A review of modeling approaches and procedures

With rapid urbanization and economic development, the world has been experiencing an unprecedented increase in energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. While reducing energy consumption and GHG emissions is a common interest shared by major developed and developing countries, actions to enable these global reductions are generally implemented at the city scale. This is because baseline information from individual cities plays an important role in identifying economical options for improving building energy efficiency and reducing GHG emissions. Numerous approaches have been proposed for modeling urban building energy use in the past decades. This paper aims to provide an up-to-date review of the broad categories of energy models for urban buildings and describes the basic workflow of physics-based, bottom-up models and their applications in simulating urban-scale building energy use. Because there are significant differences across models with varied potential for application, strengths and weaknesses of the reviewed models are also presented. This is followed by a discussion of challenging issues associated with model preparation and calibration.

Bottom-up approaches↗

Solution of electromagnetic scattering and radiation problems using a spectral domain approach - A review

This paper presents a brief review of some recent developments on the use of the spectral-domain approach for deriving high-frequency solutions to electromagnetics scattering and radiation problems. The spectral approach is not only useful for interpreting the well-known Keller formulas based on the geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD), it can also be employed for verifying the accuracy of GTD and other asymptotic solutions and systematically improving the results when such improvements are needed. The problem of plane wave diffraction by a finite screen or a strip is presented as an example of the application of the spectral-domain approach.

Mittra, R.↗

Urban heat island impacts on building energy consumption: A review of approaches and findings

Urban heat island (UHI) could have significant impact on building energy consumption by increasing space cooling demand and decreasing space heating demand. However, the impact of UHI on building energy use was understudied due to challenges associated with defining UHI-induced temperature change and evaluating building energy use. In this paper, we reviewed the existing literature to understand the quantitative impact of UHI on building energy, which is represented by the difference in energy consumption of a representative building in urban and rural areas. The previous studies found that UHI could result in a median increase of 19.0% in cooling energy consumption and a median decrease of 18.7% in heating energy consumption. Moreover, the reported UHI impact showed strong spatial variation within and among cities; the impact on cooling energy use ranges between 10% and 120% while the impact on heating ranges between 3% and 45%. Building on the previous studies, the future research could extend the study of UHI impact in four ways: 1) exploring the spatial pattern of the UHI impact within a city by considering the intra-city variation of UHI intensity and building characteristics; 2) investigating the inter-city variation of the UHI impact and the influence of different characteristics such as geographical location, city size, and development stage; 3) expanding studies in developing countries where rapid urbanization is expected in the next few decades; and 4) projecting UHI impact with future patterns of urbanization and climate change.

urbanization, urban heat island, building energy c↗

Blunt Chest Trauma: A Radiologic Approach and Review

Blunt chest trauma, a frequent component of trauma admissions, is the second leading cause of death in motor-vehicle accidents. Additionally, it may be associated with significant morbidity in those who survive. Radiography, ultrasonography, and computed tomography (CT) have a widespread role in evaluating blunt chest trauma, importantly aiding in the diagnosis and management of injury. Herein, we discuss the most common salient injuries, imaging protocol considerations and imaging findings associated with acute blunt chest trauma.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗

Review of approaches to the investigation of the scattering properties of material media

An attempt is made to identify gaps in the current understanding of the backscattering properties of natural media, with attention both to fundamental questions which relate to the physics of scattering from such media, and applications-related considerations of the extraction of data of interest to the user from a given sensor image output. It is suggested that experiments be conducted, and models developed, for the areas of canopy constituents' dielectric and attenuation properties, volume geometry, and emission characteristics, as well as backscattering properties.

Ulaby, F. T.↗

Including operational aspects in the planning of power systems with large amounts of variable generation: A review of modeling approaches

In the past, power system planning was based on meeting the load duration curve at minimum cost. The increasing share of variable generation (VG) makes operational constraints more important in the planning problem, and there is more and more interest in considering aspects such as sufficient ramping capability, sufficient reserve procurement, power system stability, storage behavior, and the integration of other energy sectors often through demand response assets. In VG integration studies, several methods have been applied to combine the planning and operational timescales. We present a four-level categorization for the modeling methods, in order of increasing complexity: (1a) investment model only, (1b) operational model only, (2) unidirectionally soft-linked investment and operational models, (3a) bidirectionally soft-linked investment and operational models, (3b) operational model with an investment update algorithm, and (4) co-optimization of investments and operation. The review shows that using a low temporal resolution or only few representative days will not suffice in order to determine the optimal generation portfolio. In addition, considering operational effects proves to be important in order to get a more optimal generation portfolio and more realistic estimations of system costs. However, operational details appear to be less significant than the temporal representation. Furthermore, the benefits and impacts of more advanced modeling techniques on the resulting generation capacity mix significantly depend on the system properties. Thus, the choice of the model should depend on the purpose of the study as well as on system characteristics.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Scaling Techniques for Combustion Device Random Vibration Predictions

This work presents compares scaling techniques that can be used for prediction of combustion device component random vibration levels with excitation due to the internal combustion dynamics. Acceleration and unsteady dynamic pressure data from multiple component test programs are compared and normalized per the two scaling approaches reviewed. Two scaling technique are reviewed and compared against the collected component test data. The first technique is an existing approach developed by Barrett, and the second technique is an updated approach new to this work. Results from utilizing both techniques are presented and recommendations about future component random vibration prediction approaches are given.

Kenny, R. J.↗

Literature Reviews on Modeling Internal Geometry of Textile Composites and Rate-Independent Continuum Damage

Textile composite materials have good potential for constructing composite structures where the effects of three-dimensional stresses are critical or geometric complexity is a manufacturing concern. There is a recent interest in advancing competence within Langley Research Center for modeling the degradation of mechanical properties of textile composites. In an initial effort, two critical areas are identified to pursue: (1) Construction of internal geometry of textile composites, and (2) Rate-independent continuum damage mechanics. This report documents reviews on the two subjects. Various reviewed approaches are categorized, their assumptions, methods, and progress are briefed, and then critiques are presented. Each review ends with recommended research.

Su-Yuen, Hsu↗

Exploring Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Urban Mobility Strategies: An Initial Framework to Curate Data/Models, Measure Performance, and Diffuse Innovation: Preprint

Many cities across the United States seek to understand the maturity of data and models that are available to help manage challenges, opportunities, and uncertainties associated with the shifts in technologies, human behaviors and sustainable urban mobility strategies. One key question identified for smart city action planning includes how to best shape continuous improvements for urban populations at the intersection of mobility, energy, and quality of life? With the emerging megatrends of urbanization (more than 70% of world population in cities by 2050), on-demand shared mobility, vehicle electrification, and automated vehicles, initial 'urban science' studies to date have demonstrated the potential and need for maturing the related data and model ecosystems and on-going performance measurement across multiple urban system goals: e.g., from more mobility, clean and efficient energy use, accessibility and safety to less air pollution, traffic, and resource-intensive urban sprawl. To build on emerging literature and understand city responses to disruptive change, this initial study engages researchers and practitioners across four smart city finalists (Columbus, Denver, Austin and Portland) that competed in the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Smart City Challenge. The initial results emphasize the need for a suite of datasets and diverse analytical approaches that support U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) relevant research with cities. Considering desirable energy and mobility outcomes as a first step to advancing smart city solutions strategies, we systematically review approaches of and shortcomings in four U.S. cities, and suggest improvements in three areas: measurement, modeling effectiveness of new mobility technologies, and data-driven governance.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Measuring Irradiance for Bifacial PV Systems

The advent of bifacial PV systems drives new requirements for irradiance measurement at PV projects for monitoring and assessment purposes. While there are several approaches, there is still no uniform guidance for what irradiance parameters to measure and for the optimal selection and placement of irradiance sensors at bifacial arrays. Standards are emerging to address these topics but are not yet available. In this paper we review approaches to bifacial irradiance monitoring which are being discussed in the research literature and pursued in early systems, to provide a preliminary guide and framework for developers planning bifacial projects.

bifacial↗