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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
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Bichromatic Wave Selection for Validation of the Difference-Frequency Transfer Function for the OC6 Validation Campaign: Preprint

The focus of the Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration, Continuation, with Correlation and unCertainity (OC6) project, which operates under the International Energy Agency (IEA) Wind Task 30, is to refine the accuracy of engineering tools used to design offshore wind turbines. In support of this work, a new validation campaign is being developed that seeks to better understand the nonlinear wave loading that excites floating wind systems at their low-frequency, rigid-body modes in surge and pitch. The validation data will be used in a three-way validation between simplified engineering tools and higher-fidelity tools, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Irregular wave spectrums, which are traditionally used to examine the nonlinear wave interaction with offshore structures, are too computationally expensive to be simulated in CFD tools, and so bichromatic wave cases will be used instead. This paper reviews the process used to choose the bichromatic wave pairs to be used in the campaign to validate the second-order difference-frequency quadratic and potential loads at the surge and pitch natural frequencies of a floating semisubmersible.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

WEC-SIM Phase 1 Validation Testing -- Numerical Modeling of Experiments: Preprint

The Wave Energy Converter Simulator (WEC-Sim) is an open-source code jointly developed by Sandia National Laboratories and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. It is used to model wave energy converters subjected to operational and extreme waves. In order for the WEC-Sim code to be beneficial to the wave energy community, code verification and physical model validation is necessary. This paper describes numerical modeling of the wave tank testing for the 1:33-scale experimental testing of the floating oscillating surge wave energy converter. The comparison between WEC-Sim and the Phase 1 experimental data set serves as code validation. This paper is a follow-up to the WEC-Sim paper on experimental testing, and describes the WEC-Sim numerical simulations for the floating oscillating surge wave energy converter.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2017

Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations for solvent-based carbon capture. Part 2: Chemical absorption across a wetted wall column: Original Research Article: Hierarchical calibration and validation framework of bench-scale computational fluid dynamics simulations

Part 1 of this paper presents a numerical model for non-reactive physical mass transfer across a wetted wall column (WWC). In Part 2, we improved the existing computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to simulate chemical absorption occurring in a WWC as a bench-scale study of solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture. In this study, to generate data for WWC model validation, CO 2 mass transfer across a monoethanolamine (MEA) solvent was first measured on a WWC experimental apparatus. The numerical model developed in this work can account for both chemical absorption and desorption of CO 2 in MEA. In addition, the overall mass transfer coefficient predicted using traditional/empirical correlations is conducted and compared with CFD prediction results for both steady and wavy falling films. A Bayesian statistical calibration algorithm is adopted to calibrate the reaction rate constants in chemical absorption/desorption of CO 2 across a falling film of MEA. The posterior distributions of the two transport properties, i.e., Henry's constant and gas diffusivity in the non-reacting nitrous oxide (N 2 O)/MEA system obtained from Part 1 of this study, serves as priors for the calibration of CO 2 reaction rate constants after using the N 2 O/CO 2 analogy method. Finally, the calibrated model can be used to predict the CO 2 mass transfer in a WWC for a wider range of operating conditions.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2018

DESCQA: An Automated Validation Framework for Synthetic Sky Catalogs

The use of high-quality simulated sky catalogs is essential for the success of cosmological surveys. The catalogs have diverse applications, such as investigating signatures of fundamental physics in cosmological observables, understanding the effect of systematic uncertainties on measured signals and testing mitigation strategies for reducing these uncertainties, aiding analysis pipeline development and testing, and survey strategy optimization. The list of applications is growing with improvements in the quality of the catalogs and the details that they can provide. Given the importance of simulated catalogs, it is critical to provide rigorous validation protocols that enable both catalog providers and users to assess the quality of the catalogs in a straightforward and comprehensive way. For this purpose, we have developed the DESCQA framework for the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope Dark Energy Science Collaboration as well as for the broader community. The goal of DESCQA is to enable the inspection, validation, and comparison of an inhomogeneous set of synthetic catalogs via the provision of a common interface within an automated framework. Here in this paper, we present the design concept and first implementation of DESCQA. In order to establish and demonstrate its full functionality we use a set of interim catalogs and validation tests. We highlight several important aspects, both technical and scientific, that require thoughtful consideration when designing a validation framework, including validation metrics and how these metrics impose requirements on the synthetic sky catalogs.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Hierarchical calibration and validation for modeling bench-scale solvent-based carbon capture. Part 1: Non-reactive physical mass transfer across the wetted wall column

A hierarchical model calibration and validation are proposed here for quantifying the confidence level of mass transfer prediction using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, where the solvent-based carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) capture is simulated and the predicted results are compared to the corresponding bench-scale experimental data. Two unit problems with an increasing level of complexity are proposed to break down the complex physical/chemical processes of solvent-based CO 2 capture into relatively simpler problems to separate the effects of physical transport and chemical reaction. This paper focuses on the calibration and validation of the first unit problem, i.e., the CO 2 mass transfer across a falling ethanolamine (MEA) film in the absence of chemical reaction. This problem is investigated both experimentally and numerically using non-reactive nitrous oxide (N 2 O) as a surrogate for CO 2 . To capture motion of the gas-liquid interface, a volume of fluid method is employed with a one-fluid formulation to compute the mass transfer between the two phases. Parallel bench-scale experiments are designed and conducted to validate and calibrate the CFD models using a general Bayesian calibration approach. Two important transport parameters, Henry's constant and gas diffusivity, are calibrated to produce the posterior distributions, which will be used as input for the second unit problem to address the chemical absorption of CO 2 across the MEA falling film, where both mass transfer and chemical reaction are involved. Finally, mass transfer coefficients predicted by CFD are also compared with those predicted by the traditional/empirical correlations under both steady and wavy falling film conditions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Global parameterization and validation of a two-leaf light use efficiency model for predicting gross primary production across FLUXNET sites: TL-LUE Parameterization and Validation

We present the first extended validation of satellitemicrowave (MW) liquidwater path (LWP) for low nonprecipitating clouds, from four operational sensors, against ship-borne observations from a three-channel MW radiometer collected along ship transects over the northeast Pacific during May–August 2013. Satellite MW retrievals have an overall correlation of 0.84 with ship observations and a bias of 9.3 g/m2. The bias for broken cloud scenes increases linearly with water vapor path and remains below 17.7 g/m2. In contrast, satelliteMWLWP is unbiased in overcast scenes with correlations up to 0.91, demonstrating that the retrievals are accurate and reliable under these conditions. Satellite MW retrievals produce a diurnal cycle amplitude consistent with ship-based observations (33 g/m2). Observations taken aboard extended ship cruises to evaluate not only satellite MW LWP but also LWP derived from visible/infrared sensors offer a new way to validate this important property over vast oceanic regions.

Zhou, Yanlian↗
DOE OSTI2024

WE-Validate: An Open-Source Framework For Wind Power Validation

Grid operators rely on historical weather time series at existing and planned wind power plants to make informed decisions when planning for a future power grid with very high penetration of renewable power. While synthetic wind power time series have been developed based on historical weather models, their validation with actual power production data remains complex due to variations in modeling practices and methodologies. This paper introduces the WE-Validate framework, originally designed for wind speed validation and now enhanced for wind power validation with a graphical user interface to support users with minimal programming experience. Validation of wind power with WE-Validate is based on robust metrics consisting of RMSE, centered RMSE, average bias, average percent bias, mean absolute error, mean absolute percent error, cross correlation, and calculation of ramping magnitude, rate, and duration. This paper showcases WE-Validate with validation of synthetically derived power for a wind plant in Washington state for one month in 2018. Validation of the synthetic power from two comparison data sets compared with observations shows both comparison series have strong correlation with observed across weekly and monthly aggregations while suffering from persistent negative bias. The suite of metrics within WE-Validate facilitates immediate insight into the utility of the comparison data sets through compression across multiple axes. This user-friendly, open-source tool can be extended beyond wind power, making it a valuable resource for system planners and operators in different domains.

Moncheur de Rieudotte, Malcolm P.↗
DOE OSTI2016

Using Measured Plane-of-Array Data Directly in Photovoltaic Modeling: Methodology and Validation

Measured plane-of-array (POA) irradiance may provide a lower-cost alternative to standard irradiance component data for photovoltaic (PV) system performance modeling without loss of accuracy. Previous work has shown that transposition models typically used by PV models to calculate POA irradiance from horizontal data introduce error into the POA irradiance estimates, and that measured POA data can correlate better to measured performance data. However, popular PV modeling tools historically have not directly used input POA data. This paper introduces a new capability in NREL's System Advisor Model (SAM) to directly use POA data in PV modeling, and compares SAM results from both POA irradiance and irradiance components inputs against measured performance data for eight operating PV systems.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1989

Design for validation: An approach to systems validation

Every complex system built is validated in some manner. Computer validation begins with review of the system design. As systems became too complicated for one person to review, validation began to rely on the application of adhoc methods by many individuals. As the cost of the changes mounted and the expense of failure increased, more organized procedures became essential. Attempts at devising and carrying out those procedures showed that validation is indeed a difficult technical problem. The successful transformation of the validation process into a systematic series of formally sound, integrated steps is necessary if the liability inherent in the future digita-system-based avionic and space systems is to be minimized. A suggested framework and timetable for the transformtion are presented. Basic working definitions of two pivotal ideas (validation and system life-cyle) are provided and show how the two concepts interact. Many examples are given of past and present validation activities by NASA and others. A conceptual framework is presented for the validation process. Finally, important areas are listed for ongoing development of the validation process at NASA Langley Research Center.

Carter, William C.↗
DOE OSTI2024

Validation Assessment of Turbulent Reacting Flow Model Using The Area-Validation Metric on Medium-Scale Methanol Pool Fire Results

Accident analysis and ensuring power plant safety are pivotal in the nuclear energy sector. Significant strides have been achieved over the past few decades regarding fire protection and safety, primarily centered on design and regulatory compliance. Yet, after the Fukushima accident a decade ago, the imperative to enhance measures against fire, internal flooding, and power loss has intensified. Hence, a comprehensive, multilayered protection strategy against severe accidents is needed. Consequently, gaining a deeper insight into pool fires and their behavior through extensive validated data can greatly aid in improving these measures using advanced validation techniques. A model validation study was performed at Sandia National Laboratories in which a 30-cm diameter methanol pool fire was modeled using the SIERRA/Fuego turbulent reacting flow code. This validation study used a standard validation experiment to compare model results against, and conclusions have been published. The fire was modeled with a Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model with subgrid turbulent kinetic energy closure. Combustion was modeled using a strained laminar flamelet library approach. Radiative heat transfer was accounted for with a model utilizing the gray-gas approximation. In the present study, additional validation analysis is performed using the area validation metric (AVM). These activities are done on multiple datasets involving different variables and temporal/spatial ranges and intervals. In conclusion, the results provide insight into the use of the area validation metric on such temporally varying datasets and the importance of physics-aware use of the metric for proper analysis.

98 NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT, SAFEGUARDS, AND PHYSICAL P↗
DOE OSTI2018

Advanced Validation Risk-Informed Approach for the Flooding Tool Based Upon Smooth Particle Hydrodynamics: Validation and Development Status of NEUTRINO

Risk-Informed validation is to focus advanced validation on high-priority and critical elements of the RISMC methods and tools that can best be addressed by this targeted approach to validation. Initial validation focus will be on the RISMC flooding analysis computer software based upon Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH), NEUTRINO. The NEUTRINO code is a SPH-based CFD software adopted as one of the RISMC modeling tools for external hazards analysis. This document discusses the validation and development activities of NEUTRINO, especially in relation to its simulation capability for flooding hazards analysis. In order to draw meaningful conclusions from the discussion, we first analyzed the potential risks to nuclear power plants in flooding scenarios (e.g., hazard modes, industry/regulatory concerns, etc.). Then, an initial high-level PIRT was proposed to define the key phenomena relevant to the analysis of flooding hazards. Finally, based on the framework of this PIRT analysis, the validation and development efforts that have been conducted to date for NEUTRINO were discussed. This analysis helped to determine the sufficiency, efficiency, and adequacy of the current code development and validation efforts for NEUTRINO.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Validation metrics for turbulent plasma transport

Developing accurate models of plasma dynamics is essential for confident predictive modeling of current and future fusion devices. In modern computer science and engineering, formal verification and validation processes are used to assess model accuracy and establish confidence in the predictive capabilities of a given model. This paper provides an overview of the key guiding principles and best practices for the development of validation metrics, illustrated using examples from investigations of turbulent transport in magnetically confined plasmas. Particular emphasis is given to the importance of uncertainty quantification and its inclusion within the metrics, and the need for utilizing synthetic diagnostics to enable quantitatively meaningful comparisons between simulation and experiment. As a starting point, the structure of commonly used global transport model metrics and their limitations is reviewed. An alternate approach is then presented, which focuses upon comparisons of predicted local fluxes, fluctuations, and equilibrium gradients against observation. The utility of metrics based upon these comparisons is demonstrated by applying them to gyrokinetic predictions of turbulent transport in a variety of discharges performed on the DIII-D tokamak [J. L. Luxon, Nucl. Fusion 42, 614 (2002)], as part of a multi-year transport model validation activity.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Testing and validation of multi‐lidar scanning strategies for wind energy applications

Abstract Several factors cause lidars to measure different values of turbulence than an anemometer on a tower, including volume averaging, instrument noise and the use of a scanning circle to estimate the wind field. One way to avoid the use of a scanning circle is to deploy multiple scanning lidars and point them toward the same volume in space to collect velocity measurements and extract high‐resolution turbulence information. This paper explores the use of two multi‐lidar scanning strategies, the tri‐Doppler technique and the virtual tower technique, for measuring 3‐D turbulence. In summer 2013, a vertically profiling Leosphere WindCube lidar and three Halo Photonics Streamline lidars were operated at the Southern Great Plains Atmospheric Radiation Measurement site to test these multi‐lidar scanning strategies. During the first half of the field campaign, all three scanning lidars were pointed at approximately the same point in space and a tri‐Doppler analysis was completed to calculate the three‐dimensional wind vector every second. Next, all three scanning lidars were used to build a ‘virtual tower’ above the WindCube lidar. Results indicate that the tri‐Doppler technique measures higher values of horizontal turbulence than the WindCube lidar under stable atmospheric conditions, reduces variance contamination under unstable conditions and can measure high‐resolution profiles of mean wind speed and direction. The virtual tower technique provides adequate turbulence information under stable conditions but cannot capture the full temporal variability of turbulence experienced under unstable conditions because of the time needed to readjust the scans. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Newman, Jennifer F.↗
DOE OSTI2017

Conversion and Validation of Distribution System Model from a QSTS-Based Tool to a Real-Time Dynamic Phasor Simulator

A software process is developed to convert distribution network models from a quasi-static time-series tool (OpenDSS) to a real-time dynamic phasor simulator (ePHASORSIM). The description of this process in this paper would be helpful for researchers who intend to perform similar conversions. The converter could be utilized directly by users of real-time simulators who intend to perform software-in-the-loop or hardware-in-the-loop tests on large distribution test feeders for a range of use cases, including testing functions of advanced distribution management systems against a simulated distribution system. In the future, the developers intend to release the conversion tool as open source to enable use by others.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2018

Validation of MCNPX-PoliMi code for simulations of radioxenon beta-gamma coincidence detection

Radioxenon detection is an important component of the verification regime for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We developed and validated a new model in MCNPX-PoliMi to simulate the decay of various radioxenon isotopes and the detector response of a variety of detector types. The model was validated using calibration data from a plastic and NaI(Tl) beta-gamma coincidence detector and the results are presented. The results of this validation show that this model can also be used as a tool to produce training spectra and as a method to calibrate radioxenon detection systems.

Radioxenon analysis, MCNP, beta-gamma coincidence↗
DOE OSTI2021

Scalable Programming Workflows for Validation of Quantum Computers

Hybrid quantum-classical workflows have become standard methods for executing variational algorithms and other quantum simulation techniques, which are key applications for noisy intermediate scale quantum (NISQ) computers. Validating these simulations is an important task which helps gauge the progress of quantum computer development, and classical simulation can serve as a tool to this end. Both exact and more scalable approximate methods with quantifiable error bounds can be used in validation tasks where the applicable metrics include the distance from a calculable ground truth, the quality of an error model fit to data, etc. Here we present a library extension that includes methods for validation of quantum simulations based on scalable hybrid workflows executable on high performance computers. We provide examples that use approximate methods based on tensor networks and stabilizer simulators to bound the error of quantum simulations on NISQ hardware.

Nguyen, Thien↗
DOE OSTI2016

Introduction: The 2014 Sandia Verification and Validation Challenge Workshop [The 2014 Sandia Verification and Validation Challenge Workshop]

The 2014 Sandia Verification & Validation Challenge Workshop was held at the 3rd ASME Verification & Validation Symposium in Las Vegas, on May 5-8, 2014. The workshop was built around a challenge problem, formulated as an engineering investigation that required integration of experimental data, modeling and simulation, and verification and validation. The challenge problem served as a common basis for the ASME Journal of Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification participants to both demonstrate methodology and explore a critical aspect of the field: the role of verification and validation in establishing credibility and supporting decision making. Ten groups presented responses to the challenge problem at the workshop, and the follow-on efforts are documented in this special edition of the ASME Journal of Verification, Validation, and Uncertainty Quantification.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2020

Lab-Scale, Closed-Loop Experimental Characterization, Model Refinement, and Validation of a Hydrokinetic Energy-Harvesting Ocean Kite

This paper presents a study wherein we experimentally characterize the dynamics and control system of a lab-scale ocean kite, and then refine, validate, and extrapolate this model for use in a full-scale system. Ocean kite systems, which harvest tidal and ocean current resources through high-efficiency cross-current motion, enable energy extraction with an order of magnitude less material (and cost) than stationary systems with the same rated power output. However, an ocean kite represents a nascent technology that is characterized by relatively complex dynamics and requires sophisticated control algorithms. In order to characterize the dynamics and control of ocean kite systems rapidly, at a relatively low cost, the authors have developed a lab-scale, closed-loop prototyping environment for characterizing tethered systems, whereby 3D printed systems are tethered and flown in a water channel environment. While this system has been shown to be capable of yielding similar dynamic characteristics to some full-scale systems, there are also fundamental limitations to the geometric scales and flow speeds within the water channel environment, making many other real-world scenarios impossible to replicate from the standpoint of dynamic similarity. Here, to address these scenarios, we show how the lab-scale framework is used to refine and validate a scalable dynamic model of a tethered system, which can then be extrapolated to full-scale operation. In this work, we present an extensive case study of this model refinement, validation, and extrapolation on an ocean kite system intended for operation in the Gulf Stream or similar current environments.

42 ENGINEERING↗