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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

Projected Urban Morphology of the Los Angeles Area by the Year 2100

This dataset provides projections of urban building morphologies for the Los Angeles urban area at 30-meter spatial resolution. It contains 192 raster files that detail two primary building attributes: building footprint fractions (ranging from 0 to 1) and average building heights (ranging from 0 to 75 meters). The projections account for a wide range of future pathways, covering two Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP) scenarios (SSP3 and SSP5), two population scenarios, two developed land intensification scenarios, and four distinct levels of intensification. The dataset was created using dual Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) trained on 2015 land cover and building properties from the National Land Cover Database (NLCD) and Model America datasets. Supporting information on the dataset has been described in the LAUrbanAreaMorphologyProjections2100_README.txt file.

Pandey, Bhartendu↗

Comparison of equilibrium climate sensitivity estimates from slab ocean, 150-year, and longer simulations

We compare equilibrium climate sensitivity (ECS) estimates from pairs of long (= 800-year) control and abruptly quadrupled CO2 simulations with shorter (150, 300 year) coupled atmosphere-ocean simulations and Slab Ocean Models (SOM). Consistent with previous work, ECS estimates from shorter coupled simulations based on annual averages for years 1-150 underestimate those from SOM (-8% ± 13%) and long (-14% ± 8%) simulations. Analysis of only years 21-150 improved agreement with SOM (-2% ± 14%) and long (-8% ± 10%) estimates. Use of pentadal averages for years 51-150 results in improved agreement with long simulations (-4% ± 11%). While ECS estimates from current generation US models based on SOM and coupled annual averages of years 1-150 range from 2.6°C to 5.3°C, estimates based longer simulations of the same models range from 3.2°C to 7.0°C. Such variations between methods argues for caution in comparison and interpretation of ECS estimates across models.

Dunne, John P.↗

The Statistical Emulators of GGCMI Phase 2: Responses of Year-to-Year Variation of Crop Yield to CO 2 , Temperature, Water and Nitrogen Perturbations

Understanding the impact of climate change on year-to-year variation of crop yield is critical to global food stability and security. While crop model emulators are believed to be lightweight tools to replace the models, few emulators have been developed to capture such interannual variation of crop yield in response to climate variability. In this study, we developed a statistical emulator with a machine learning algorithm to reproduce the response of year-to-year variation of four crop yields to CO 2 (C), temperature (T), water (W), and nitrogen (N) perturbations defined in the Global Gridded Crop Model Intercomparison Project (GGCMI) phase 2. The emulators were able to explain more than 52 % of the variance of simulated yield and performed well in capturing the year-to-year variation of global average and gridded crop yield over current croplands in the baseline. With the changes in CO 2 –temperature–water–nitrogen (CTWN) perturbations, the emulators could reproduce the year-to-year variation of crop yield well over most current cropland. The variation of R and the mean absolute error was small under the single CTWN perturbations and dual-factor perturbations. These emulators thus provide statistical response surfaces of yield, including both its mean and interannual variability, to climate factors. They could facilitate spatiotemporal downscaling of crop model simulation, projecting the changes in crop yield variability in the future and serving as a lightweight tool for multi-model ensemble simulation. The emulators enhanced the flexibility of crop yield estimates and expanded the application of large-ensemble simulations of crop yield under climate change.

Climate change↗

An update to the Sandia method for creating Typical Meteorological Years from a limited pool of calendar years

Typical Meteorological Years (TMYs) are essential for the efficient evaluation of energy system performance. Ideally, 30 years of weather data are required to generate TMYs, but significantly fewer years are typically available due to practical limitations. To address this issue, an update to the Sandia method was developed, referred to as the Argonne method, to create TMYs from a limited number of years. Furthermore, this method enhances candidate diversity by systematically shifting original candidate months forward or backward by specific days, creating an expanded pool of candidates. The effectiveness of the Argonne method was validated through statistical testing, comparison of monthly average weather parameters, and numerical simulations. The results demonstrate a high probability of identifying at least one shifted month whose cumulative distribution functions of weather parameters closely align with long-term distributions. In 67 % of all comparisons, the monthly average weather parameters in TMYs generated using the Argonne method exhibit better agreement with long-term averages than TMY3. Moreover, in 74 % of the 318 building simulation cases, the Argonne method outperforms TMY3 in estimating long-term average building heating and cooling demands. Therefore, the Argonne method effectively diversifies the candidate pool and produces typical years that provide more accurate estimations of long-term averages compared to TMY3 when only a limited pool of calendar years (10 years or fewer) is available.

Building energy modeling↗

Long-term particle flux variability indicated by comparison of Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) timed impacts for LDEF's first year in orbit with impact data for the entire 5.75-year orbital lifetime

The electronic sensors of the Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) recorded precise impact times and approximate directions for submicron to approximately 100-micron size particles on all six primary sides of the spacecraft for the first 346 days of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) orbital mission. Previously-reported analyses of the timed impact data have established their spatio-temporal features, including the demonstration that a preponderance of the particles in this regime are orbital debris and that a large fraction of the debris particles are encountered as megameter-size clouds, some of which persist for long times. Short-term fluxes within such clouds can rise several orders of magnitude above the long-term average. These finding are consistent with the results of the first catastrophic hypervelocity laboratory impacts on a real satellite, recently reported in the press. Analysis continues on the geometric and evolutionary characteristics of these clouds, as well as on the isolation and characterization of the natural micrometeoroid component in the IDE data, but the unexpectedly large short-term variations in debris flux raises the question of how representative an indication of the multi-year average flux is given by the nearly one year of timed data. It has, therefore, always been one of the goals of IDE to conduct an optical survey of the craters on the IDE detectors, to obtain full-mission fluxes for comparisons with the timed data. This work is underway, and the results presently in hand are significant. Optical scanning of the ram and wake (East and West) panels is complete, and it is clear that the first year was in some respects not representative of the subsequent years. The 5.75-year average flux on East panel was 90 percent of the value predicted by the average flux recorded during the first year, while it was only 34 percent on West panel. This suggests that western hemisphere spacecraft launches are a major contributor to the long-term flux and that their contribution is primarily in the smaller end of the size distribution. This conclusion follows from the fact that a closely-spaced series of launch failures (Titan, Delta, Ariane, and Challenger) caused a virtual hiatus in launch activity during a large part of the later years of the LDEF mission. We hope to provide a quantification of the particle size distribution function in this case.

Mulholland, J. Derral↗

Impacts of year-to-year weather variability and inter-panel spacing on agrivoltaic crop yields in Massachusetts

Deployment of utility-scale solar power plants could lead to agricultural land-use changes. Agrivoltaics, a dual land use combining solar and agriculture on the same land, can provide multiple environmental benefits, including improving soil quality and water use efficiency. The body of agrivoltaic field data is still growing, and crop responses to different solar configurations under different local climates are highly varied. We investigate the impact of adding spacing between adjacent solar panels in a fixed-tilt system to improve light diffusion to crops. For four crops (broccoli, peppers, kale, Swiss chard) grown across 3 years in an agrivoltaic system in Massachusetts, we found that only kale had a linearly increasing trend as the inter-panel spacing increased from 0.6 m to 1.5 m (2 ft to 5 ft). However, there were significant year-to-year differences in the yield of agrivoltaic versus control fields. Agrivoltaic and full sun fields produced equivalent yields in a hot, dry year, whereas the full-sun control beds produced more salable yield for all four crops in a warm, wet year. This demonstrates variability of agricultural outcomes and the need for more multi-year studies to ensure agrivoltaic impacts are not under- or overestimated.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Photovoltaic Module Imaging for Hail Damage Assessment with Multi-Year Follow Up

Outdoor-aged photovoltaic modules that have experienced golf-ball sized hail are characterized by flash testing and photoluminescence, electroluminescence, thermal, and ultraviolet fluorescence imaging. These measurements were performed immediately after the hailstorm and then again after another two years and four years in the field. The modules originally experienced different ranges of hail damage with some having cracks on approximately half of the cells and some having few to no cracked cells. Flash testing shows that the hail-damaged modules with the most cracked cells have 3 to 4% less power than those with the least damage. After four more years in the outdoor climate of Golden, Colorado since the hailstorm, all of the modules still exhibit similar relative power and amounts of cell cracking, suggesting that the hail damage has only initially reduced power but has not yet increased the degradation rate.

electroluminescence↗

Impacts of Year-to-Year Weather Variability and Inter-Panel Spacing on Crop Yields in a Massachusetts Agrivoltaics System

This presentation summarizes recently published work on agrivoltaic field data and irradiance modeling. The body of agrivoltaic field data is still growing, and crop responses to different solar configurations under different local climates are highly varied. We investigate the impact of adding spacing between adjacent solar panels in a fixed-tilt system to improve light diffusion to crops. For four crops (broccoli, peppers, kale, Swiss chard) grown across 3 years in an agrivoltaic system in Massachusetts, we found that only kale had a linearly increasing trend as the inter-panel spacing increased from 0.6 m to 1.5 m (2 ft to 5 ft). However, there were significant year-to-year differences in the yield of agrivoltaic versus control fields. Agrivoltaic and full sun fields produced equivalent yields in a hot, dry year, whereas the full-sun control beds produced more salable yield for all four crops in a warm, wet year. This demonstrates variability of agricultural outcomes and the need for more multi-year studies to ensure agrivoltaic impacts are not under- or overestimated.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Long-term microparticle flux variability indicated by comparison of Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) timed impacts for LDEF's first year in orbit with impact data for the entire 5.77-year orbital lifetime

The electronic sensors of the Interplanetary Dust Experiment (IDE) recorded precise impact times and approximate directions for submicron to approximately 100 micron size particles on all six primary sides of the spacecraft for the first 346 days of the LDEF orbital mission. Previously-reported analyses of the timed impact data have established their spatio-temporal features, including the demonstration that a preponderance of the particles in this regime are orbital debris and that a large fraction of the debris particles are encountered in megameter-size clouds. Short-term fluxes within such clouds can rise several orders of magnitude above the long-term average. These unexpectedly large short-term variations in debris flux raise the question of how representative an indication of the multi-year average flux is given by the nearly one year of timed data. One of the goals of the IDE was to conduct an optical survey of impact sites on detectors that remained active during the entire LDEF mission, to obtain full-mission fluxes. We present here the comparisons and contrasts among the new IDE optical survey impact data, the IDE first-year timed impact data, and impact data from other LDEF micrometeoroid and debris experiments. The following observations are reported: (1) the 5.77 year long-term integrated microparticle impact fluxes recorded by IDE detectors matched the integrated impact fluxes measured by other LDEF investigators for the same period; (2) IDE integrated microparticle impact fluxes varied by factors from 0.5 to 8.3 for LDEF days 1-346, 347-2106 and 1-2106 (5.77 years) on rows 3 (trailing edge, or West), 6 (South side), 12 (North side), and the Earth and Space ends; and (3) IDE integrated microparticle impact fluxes varied less than 3 percent for LDEF days 1-346, 347-2106 and 1-2106 (5.77 years) on row 9 (leading edge, or East). These results give further evidence of the accuracy and internal consistency of the recorded IDE impact data. This leads to the further conclusion that the utility of long-term ratios for impacts on various sides of a stabilized satellite in low Earth orbit (LEO) is extremely limited. These observations and their consequences highlight the need for continuous, real time monitoring of the dynamic microparticle environment in LEO.

Simon, Charles G.↗

Illustration of year-to-year variation in wheat spectral profile crop growth curves

Data previously compiled on the year to year variability of spectral profile crop growth parameters for spring and winter wheat in Kansas, Oklahoma, and the Dakotas were used with a profile model to develop graphs illustrating spectral profile crop growth curves for a number of years and a number of spring and winter wheat segments. These curves show the apparent variability in spectral profiles for wheat from one year to another within the same segment and from one segment to another within the same year.

Gonzalez, P.↗

The zonal harmonic and the yearly and half-yearly waves on the Southern Hemisphere in FGGE compared with the mean

The dominant component in the mean annual cycle of sea level pressure in the latitudes north of approx. 40 deg S is the yearly wave, whereas to the south of this latitude a half-yearly wave dominantes. In FGGE, however, the usually small yearly wave was large in the Antarctic, owing to the extraordinarily low pressure there in the winter of 1979. The half-yearly wave's amplitude was appreciably above normal in the center of each ocean in middle latitudes, and below normal at high latitudes. The yearly wave in the zonal geostrophic wind was larger than normal over the Antarctic Ocean. Similar results are obtained at 500 mb. The three month mean stationary waves (zonal harmonic waves) were larger than the mean in FGGE. The intra-annual variation of both amplitude and phase of the monthly mean harmonic waves in FGGE was large, which is not surprising as they contain an appreciable transient component, unlike the long term monthly mean waves.

Vanloon, H.↗

Dynamical component of seasonal and year-to-year changes in Antarctic and global ozone

The dynamics of the ozone concetration components of the Antarctic ozone hole as related to seasonal and year-to-year temperature changes in August, September, October, and November during the 1979-1985 period is studied using a zonally averaged model in which all transport fields are fixed by input temperature data. The results suggest that, prior to 1984, both the seasonal and year-to year variability of the zonal-mean Antarctic ozone minimum and the surrounding maximum can be accounted for by temperature dynamics without invoking changes in chemical composition (e.g., chlorine content) or special chemistry. The same dynamical mechanism also accounts for the good simulation of the observed seasonal and latitudinal structure of column ozone in other parts of the world. However, chemical depletion of ozone may have become more important after 1984. The model also appears to underpredict the September ozone decline in years, leading to an underprediction of the recent minimum values in the Antarctic ozone hole.

Tung, Ka Kit↗

Month-to-month and year-to-year reproducibility of high frequency QRS ECG signals

High frequency electrocardiography analyzing the entire QRS complex in the frequency range of 150 to 250 Hz may prove useful in the detection of coronary artery disease, yet the long-term stability of these waveforms has not been fully characterized. Therefore, we prospectively investigated the reproducibility of the root mean squared voltage, kurtosis, and the presence versus absence of reduced amplitude zones in signal averaged 12-lead high frequency QRS recordings acquired in the supine position one month apart in 16 subjects and one year apart in 27 subjects. Reproducibility of root mean squared voltage and kurtosis was excellent over these time intervals in the limb leads, and acceptable in the precordial leads using both the V-lead and CR-lead derivations. The relative error of root mean squared voltage was 12% month-to-month and 16% year-to-year in the serial recordings when averaged over all 12 leads. Reduced amplitude zones were also reproducible up to a rate of 87% and 81%, respectively, for the month-to-month and year-to-year recordings. We conclude that 12-lead high frequency QRS electrocardiograms are sufficiently reproducible for clinical use.

Coronary Disease/diagnosis↗

Month-to-Month and Year-to-Year Reproducibility of High Frequency QRS ECG signals

High frequency (HF) electrocardiography analyzing the entire QRS complex in the frequency range of 150 to 250 Hz may prove useful in the detection of coronary artery disease, yet the long-term stability of these waveforms has not been fully characterized. We therefore prospectively investigated the reproducibility of the root mean squared (RMS) voltage, kurtosis, and the presence versus absence of reduced amplitude zones (RAzs) in signal averaged 12-lead HF QRS recordings acquired in the supine position one month apart in 16 subjects and one year apart in 27 subjects. Reproducibility of RMS voltage and kurtosis was excellent over these time intervals in the limb leads, and acceptable in the precordial leads using both the V-lead and CR-lead derivations. The relative error of RMS voltage was 12% month-to-month and 16% year-to-year in the serial recordings when averaged over all 12 leads. RAzs were also reproducible at a rate of up to 87% and 8 1 %, respectively, for the month-to-month and year-to-year recordings. We conclude that 12-lead HF QRS electrocardiograms are sufficiently reproducible for clinical use.

Batdorf, Niles↗

A Year in Space: Early Results and Lessons Learned from the First Year-Long Expedition Aboard the International Space Station

Two ISS crewmembers recently completed the first year-long orbital stay in two decades. International cooperation was central to the success of Mikhail Kornienko from Russia and Scott Kelly from the United States. Their expedition leveraged current mission experience and capitalized on recent advances in health monitoring technology. This unique effort began in 2012 when the program managers of the ISS partner nations adopted two separate goals: greater multilateral cooperation to increase efficiency of inflight research and a year-long expedition to gain familiarity with in-flight durations approaching that required for a Mars mission. These goals were unified when a set of bilateral Russian and American human research investigations was assigned to the year-long mission, augmented by additional investigations from Europe and Japan. For example, Kelly was assigned 18 investigations (twice the complement on standard six-month missions) including two joint U.S.-Russian studies, and two Russian and two Japanese studies. The core set of American investigations was a repetition of six studies Kelly had done on his previous six-month ISS mission, to allow a direct comparison of physiological and behavioral responses of the longer and shorter durations in this single individual. The remainder of his assignments plus those of Kornienko were drawn from currently active national investigations documenting human adaptation to long-duration spaceflight factors or effectiveness of countermeasures against known deleterious adaptations. The two joint U.S.-Russian investigations were the flagship biomedical studies of the year-long expedition. The "Fluid Shifts" study collocated American research equipment alongside a Russian operational stressor device to document the pattern and impacts of the headward fluid shift long known to occur in weightlessness, including its role in ocular changes recently observed in some astronauts. The "Field Test" study investigated the ability of the astronaut and cosmonaut to perform rudimentary tasks requiring sensorimotor coordination immediately after landing to define human capabilities soon after landing on Mars after an extended transit. Both investigations were highly successful in large part to the thorough integration of the implementation processes of the two partners. Kelly's assignment as the one-year crewmember also provided a serendipitous opportunity for the "Twins Study" comparing changes in his body at the genetic level with those occurring on Earth in his identical twin brother Mark Kelly. Data analysis from this expedition will commence in earnest after frozen in-flight samples are delivered to Earth in May aboard a commercial cargo spacecraft. Detailed results are expected in early 2017. Preliminary results and implementation improvements will be reviewed in this presentation.

Charles, J. B.↗

Wind Energy Accomplishments and Year-End Performance Report: Fiscal Year 2023

As the United States' largest source of renewable energy, wind is already playing a vital role in the nation's shift to electricity generated from sustainable resources. Scientists, engineers, and analysts at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) are propelling our country closer to this clean energy future with new efficient, reliable, and cost-competitive wind technologies and deployment strategies. In Fiscal Year 2023 (FY 2023), NREL received national acclaim for recent wind technology breakthroughs, applauded sustained decades of progress in wind energy research, and heralded new initiatives to support the next generation of wind development. This report and NREL's achievements of the last year set the stage for innovative research to come. Two NREL software innovations used to assess wind technology options were recognized with R&D 100 Awards. The Renewable Energy Potential (reV) model helps planners, developers, and researchers calculate wind energy capacity, generation, and cost for specific facilities, fleets and scenarios. NREL's Simulation and Emulation for Advanced Systems validates transmission and distribution solutions to minimize implementation risks. Both of these tools can be applied to a range of renewable solutions to cut costs and improve the reliability of systems in even the most remote locations. The laboratory commemorated landmark anniversaries for wind energy research facilities and programs managed by NREL. The National Wind Technology Center (NWTC) celebrated 30 years as a world-class hub for renewable energy research. An important component of the NWTC on NREL's Flatirons Campus, the one-of-a-kind 7-megawatt (MW) Controllable Grid Interface wind energy research apparatus, turned 10 this year. The Collegiate Wind Competition completed its tenth annual competition in May 2023. Six years after the grand challenges in wind energy science were first compiled, NREL brought together more than 100 wind energy experts from 15 countries to revisit the field's most pressing research needs. Other key new research initiatives examined ways to simultaneously address the needs for skilled wind energy workers and equitable job opportunities. NREL released the first national-level report evaluating offshore wind industry workforce gaps and ways to build a large, diverse pool of job candidates. The lab also co-hosted the International Partnering Forum's Offshore Wind Workforce Summit as part of its ongoing efforts to address the special challenges of that industry sector. NREL research and development (R&D) for the DOE Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) continues to build momentum in its efforts to combat climate change, create clean energy jobs, and promote energy justice. This report provides more detail on these top achievements and other accomplishments made by NREL and its partners during FY 2023 (between Oct. 1, 2022, and Sept. 30, 2023).

accomplishments↗

Development of typical solar years and typical wind years for efficient assessment of renewable energy systems across the U.S.

Weather data plays a critical role in renewable energy analysis. Compared to using multiple Actual Meteorological Years, simulations using a single typical year require significantly fewer computational resources. Previous efforts to create typical weather datasets for renewable energy analysis either lack justified or optimized strategies for selecting and weighting different weather parameters or are limited to a few specific locations. Here, in this study, we developed a dataset comprising Typical Solar Years (TSYs) and Typical Wind Years (TWYs) for over 2000 locations across the U.S., based on data from NASA's POWER project. The strategies for creating TSYs and TWYs were optimized based on the simulated outputs of various PV systems and wind turbines in 16 representative cities. This dataset provides an efficient means for the rapid evaluation and optimization of renewable energy systems throughout the entire U.S. Additionally, the optimal strategies identified in this study can be directly applied to create near-optimal TSYs and TWYs for most locations worldwide. However, readers can also employ the optimization approach presented in this work to develop optimal strategies tailored for particular regions.

NASA POWER↗