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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 OSTI2024

Geometry Optimization of Cable-Based Actuation for Small-Scale Model Testing of a Floating Marine Turbine: Preprint

This research aims to apply combined wave and tidal current loads to a small-scale floating marine current turbine in a wave tank, where an actuation system applies hydrodynamic and mooring forces on the hardware based on results from a simulation. We use a real-time hybrid test setup with physical wave forcing from the wave tank and simulated current and mooring forces implemented through a tensioned cable array. For this paper, we developed an optimization algorithm that adjusts the hardware geometry of the cable array to achieve more efficient tension allocation across the cables for the loads that need to be actuated. By adjusting the points where the cables are attached to the floating platform and the angles between the platform and the winches, an optimal cable geometry can be found to minimize tension variations in the lines, maintain the desired pretension, and prevent excessive tensions. We present the optimization problem formulation, the actuation system evaluation approach, and optimization results that show effective cable actuation setups that are being considered for implementation in the wave tank tests.

cable-based actuation↗
DOE OSTI2026

FY 2026 Midyear Report: Seismic Monitoring of Underground Vibration Sources Using Distributed Acoustic Sensing and Seismometers

Safeguards-relevant temporal changes in underground facilities can be observed using geophysical monitoring techniques. Seismic waves, in particular, provide valuable insights into subsurface activities and can serve as an important tool for detecting anomalous events that may indicate containment breaches at geological repositories. This midyear report summarizes ongoing efforts to automatically and rapidly detect and locate anomalous vibration signals that could be indicative of potential containment breaches. Previous work during FY25 focused on compiling continuous seismic datasets from two underground sites and developing a database of continuous waveforms and ground-truth event data derived from multiple sensing modalities. Building on this foundation, we are adapting anomaly detection and geolocation algorithms to explore methods for monitoring underground activities using two relatively low-maintenance sensing technologies: a dense surface geophone array deployed at the Pleasant Gap mine in Pennsylvania, and a three-dimensional fiber-optic cable array for distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) installed in the subsurface at the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in South Dakota. This report summarizes work conducted during the first two quarters of FY26, during which we refined a dynamic power spectral density (PSD)-based detector, applied it independently to each geophone station, and then combined the per‑station detections with density-based spatial clustering of applications with noise (DBSCAN) to cluster events and produce spatial maps over a nine‑day interval. In addition, we outline plans for a field trial at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico to compare traditional seismic monitoring approaches with DAS techniques and to evaluate the benefits of combined data analysis. Activities during the past two quarters have included the preparation and submission of a Field Test Plan to WIPP for approval, as well as submission to headquarters for review and feedback.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2020

Process-based balance of system cost modeling for offshore wind power plants in the United States

This paper describes the development of a process-based and open-source balance of system cost model that provides the capability to evaluate both existing and novel offshore wind technologies. Individual design and installation steps are represented with bottom-up engineering models that compute times and costs associated with the process; furthermore, operational constraints are assigned to each process so that delays caused by weather and presence of marine mammals may be accounted for in the overall project timeline. The model structure, assumptions, inputs, and results are vetted with industry partners and compared against actual projects for validation. Installation times show reasonable agreement with real data. Project cost sensitivities are investigated to compute the system-level impact of different design choices. First, individual vessel efficiencies are computed for varying numbers of installation vessels and weather time series to show the diminishing returns of more than two feeder barges. Then, array cable capital costs and installation times are determined for a representative project with different turbine sizes. These values quantify the cost-benefit tradeoffs and show a net-cost savings of decreasing numbers of turbines, increased turbine spacing, and fewer turbine terminations. These results demonstrate that the balance of system model features the accuracy, functionality, and accessibility to serve as the foundation for a wide range of analyses to identify cost reduction potentials for offshore wind energy in the United States.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Process-Based Balance-of-System Cost Modeling for Offshore Wind Power Plants in the United States: Preprint

This work describes the development of a process based and open source balance of system cost model which provides the capability to evaluate both existing and novel offshore wind technologies. Individual design and installation steps are represented with bottom-up engineering models that compute the times and costs associated with the process; furthermore, operational constraints are assigned to each process so that delays due to weather and presence of marine mammals may be accounted for in the overall project timeline. The model structure, assumptions, inputs, and results are vetted with industry partners and compared against actual projects for validation; installation times are shown to agree with real data with relative errors of less than 35\%. Case studies are presented to demonstrate the functionality of the model. First, individual vessel efficiencies are computed for varying numbers of installation vessels and weather time series to show the diminishing returns of more than two feeder barges. Then, array cable capital costs and installation times are determined for a representative project with different turbine sizes. This quantifies the cost benefit tradeoffs of decreasing number of turbines, increased turbine spacing, and fewer turbine terminations and shows a net cost savings. These results demonstrate that the BOS model features the accuracy, functionality, and accessibility to serve as the foundation for a wide range of analyses to identify cost reduction potentials for offshore wind energy in the United States.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Acoustic MEMS Sensor Array for Quench Detection of CICC Superconducting Cables

Here, a novel quench detection method using micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) sensor technology has been investigated in use for high temperature superconducting (HTS) conductors such REBCO tape cables. The sensor array along a superconducting cable, such as a cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC), is installed in a cooling channel. It will allow sensitive and quick detection for a local quench of a superconducting cable. This work has confirmed that a quench of a single REBCO tape can be detected in liquid nitrogen by a MEMS piezoelectric microphone sensor. The quench detection design utilizing a MEMS sensor array method is discussed for the case of a toroidal field (TF) magnets of a fusion Tokamak device.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Acoustic MEMS Sensor Array for Quench Detection of CICC Superconducting Cables

A novel quench detection method using microelectro- mechanical system (MEMS) sensor technology has been investigated in use for high temperature superconducting (HTS) conductors such REBCO tape cables. The sensor array along a superconducting cable, such as a cable-in-conduit-conductor (CICC), is installed in a cooling channel. It will allow sensitive and quick detection for a local quench of a superconducting cable. This work has confirmed that a quench of a single REBCO tape can be detected in liquid nitrogen by a MEMS piezoelectric microphone sensor. The quench detection design utilizing a MEMS sensor array method is discussed for the case of a toroidal field (TF) magnets of a fusion Tokamak device.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radio Frequency Field Programable Gate Array Implementation of Reflectometry Cable Monitoring

This document describes the development of a field programable gate array (FPGA) radio frequency system on a chip (RF SoC) adaptation and evaluation of the single-board device to perform both Frequency Domain Reflectometry (FDR) and Spread Spectrum Time Domain Reflectometry (SSTDR) for offline and online cable testing. The work builds on and leverages the work of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) in airport millimeter wave technology by using the same development hardware employed in that program. The work is performed under sponsorship from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) program and the task objective is to confirm and demonstrate feasibility to adapt FPGA technology for a cost-effective multiplexed single-board electronic module to perform cable tests that are equivalent to commercial and laboratory test instruments for FDR and SSTDR cable tests. The developed 2-channel (extendable to 7 channels) system was compared to dedicated and proven test instruments and shown to produce equivalent results on a range of cables and with a range of damage types. The FPGA reflectometry test board is one of several technologies that could facilitate implementation of online monitoring of safety critical cable systems.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2020

CORC $^{\circledR}$ cable terminations with integrated Hall arrays for quench detection

ReBCO superconducting cables have the potential to enable compact thermonuclear fusion reactors that operate at magnetic fields exceeding 20 T and allow operation at temperatures far exceeding the boiling point of liquid helium, potentially allowing for demountable magnets. Normal zone detection remains a challenge, and while novel quench detection techniques are an active area of research, few are non-invasive, provide real-time quench detection, and have been demonstrated with current ramp rates relevant for fusion reactors. To address this problem, a CORC$^{\circledR}$ cable termination is developed with integrated Hall sensors to monitor current redistribution as a proxy for quench detection. The methodology exploits the current sharing and layered topology in CORC$^{\circledR}$ cables, and allows quench detection using a localized sensor instead of co-wound voltage wires or optical fibers. Furthermore, experiments are presented where current redistribution is measured from induced quenches, and in a 0.2 meter CORC$^{\circledR}$ sample it is found that the Hall sensors detect normal zone transitions with a similar magnitude and temporal resolution as voltage measurements. To emulate the conditions of dynamic poloidal and central solenoidal fields, experiments are repeated with ramp rates up to 10 kA s -1 that demonstrate the potential to detect normal zone development over a range of experimental parameters.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2023

Electrical Infrastructure Cost Model for Marine Energy Systems

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Electrical Infrastructure Cost Model is an Excel-based tool designed to estimate the electrical infrastructure costs of marine energy components and subsystems. It incorporates data collected from offshore wind projects, utility projects, and other relevant sources to provide accurate and comprehensive cost projections. With its user-friendly interface, the model allows users to input various parameters related to the system array, electrical cables, and substations. By leveraging industry data, cost trends, and technological advancements, the model generates outputs that include system array sizing, electrical cable specifications and costs, substation specifications and costs, and total electrical infrastructure costs. One of the notable strengths of the model is its flexibility in covering multiple-orders-of-magnitude scaled systems, accommodating projects ranging from proof-of-concept or pilot-scale installations to large-scale offshore systems. By collecting data largely from offshore wind reports and utility projects, the model incorporates real-world conditions and accounts for industry-specific factors. It incorporates cost trends and sizing relationships to deliver cost estimations for electrical infrastructure components, such as electrical cables and substation equipment.

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2025

Radio Frequency Field Programable Gate Array Implementation of Reflectometry Cable Monitoring

PNNL has developed an innovative cable testing system that leverages the Xilinx RF System-on-Chip (RFSoC) technology to create a more flexible and capable measurement tool than traditional approaches. The architecture is designed on the ZCU111 development board and takes advantage of the high-speed digital to analog converters (DAC) and analog to digital converters (ADC) to generate and capture digitally synthesized waveforms. The platform allows engineers to easily adjust power, frequency, duration and modulation on the fly rather than being locked into fixed hardware configurations

Tedeschi, Jonathan [Pacific Northwest National Lab↗
DOE OSTI2026

FAD-Toolset (Floating Array Design Toolset) [SWR-26-056]

The Floating Array Design (FAD) Toolset is a collection of tools for modeling and designing arrays of floating offshore structures. It was originally designed for floating wind systems but has applicability for many offshore applications. A core part of the FAD Toolset is the floating array model, which serves as a high-level library for efficiently modeling a floating array, such as a floating wind array. It combines site condition information and a description of the floating array design, and contains functions for evaluating the array's behavior considering the site conditions. For example, it combines information about site soil conditions, mooring line loads, and an array's anchor characteristics to estimate the holding capacity of each anchor. The library works in conjunction with the tools RAFT, MoorPy, and FLORIS to model floating platforms, wind turbines, mooring systems, power cables, and array wakes respectively. Layered on top of the floating array model is a set of design tools that can be used for algorithmically adjusting or optimizing parts of the a floating array. Specific tools existing for mooring lines, shared mooring systems, dynamic power cables, static power cable routing, and overall array layout. These capabilities work with the design representation and evaluation functions in the floating array model, and they can be applied by users in various combinations to suit different purposes. In addition to standalone uses of the FAD Toolset, a coupling has been made with Ard, (https://github.com/NLRWindSystems/Ard) a sophisticated and flexible wind farm optimization tool. This coupling allows Ard to use certain mooring system capabilities from FAD to perform layout optimization of floating wind farms with Ard's more advanced layout optimization capabilities. The FAD Toolset works with the IEA Wind Task 49 Ontology (https://github.com/IEAWindTask49/Ontology), which provides a standardized format for describing floating wind farm sites and designs. See example use cases in our examples folder (https://github.com/NLRWindSystems/FAD-Toolset/blob/main/examples/README.md) For working with the library, it is important to understand the floating array model structure, which is described more here: https://github.com/NLRWindSystems/FAD-Toolset/blob/main/fad/README.md.

Sirkis, Leah [National Laboratory of the Rockies (↗
DOE OSTI2026

Reference floating wind array designs for three representative regions

This work presents the systematic development of three open-source reference floating wind array designs. The designs are tailored to representative site conditions for three regions of the United States: Humboldt Bay off the coast of California, the Gulf of Maine, and the Gulf of America. We adopted existing reference designs for the individual 15 MW turbines, semisubmersible floating platforms, substations, mooring systems, and power cables – integrating and adapting them as needed for each location. We adapted existing dynamic cable designs to use larger conductor sizes to meet the arrays' power transmission requirements, and we set up redundant mooring systems for each substation. The layout of each array is a uniform-grid design optimized to approximately minimize the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) within a square lease area while satisfying spatial constraints. These constraints ensure adequate clearances between adjacent turbines and between underwater components during the layout optimization to prevent clashing and ensure that all components reside within the lease boundaries. Substations are included to allow accounting for intra-array cable costs. They are placed within the uniform grid to maintain the navigability of the arrays. For each feasible layout considered, annual energy production and cable routing costs are calculated and updated in the LCOE objective function. After the optimization, we refined the cable routing with a mix of algorithmic and manual methods to ensure that the cables avoid mooring system components and approach the substation with adequate clearances. We confirmed the suitability of each reference array's layout by comparing the wake losses at each wind heading angle to the wind rose, observing that the optimized layouts largely avoid wake losses in the predominant wind directions. These reference arrays provide open-source baseline designs to enable future research and innovation of floating wind technology at the array scale.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Coolant Pressure Evaluations for a MEMS Sensor-Array Quench Detection in REBCO CICC Superconducting Cables

Here, the initial quench pressure developments for a CICC cable of REBCO tapes have been investigated by numerical analyzing the first law of thermodynamics. The temperature and pressure rise due to the quench has been evaluated for a REBCO CICC conductor operated in helium gas coolant at 26 K. Additionally, a MEMS sensor-in-tube array method has been proposed and discussed for quench detection.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2025

Distributed Acoustic Sensing for Whale Vocalization Monitoring: A Vertical Deployment Field Test

Abstract There is growing interest in floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT) technology, where turbines are installed on floating structures anchored to the seabed, allowing wind energy development in areas unsuitable for traditional fixed-platform turbines. Responsible development requires monitoring the impact of FOWTs on marine wildlife, such as whales, throughout the operational lifecycle of the turbines. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS)—a technology that transforms fiber-optic cables into vibration sensor arrays—has been demonstrated for acoustic monitoring of whales using seafloor telecommunications cables. However, no studies have yet evaluated DAS performance in dynamic, engineered environments, such as floating platforms or moving vessels with complex, dynamic strain loads, despite their relevance to FOWT settings. This study addresses that gap by deploying DAS aboard a boat in Monterey Bay, California, where a fiber-optic cable was lowered using a weighted and suspended mooring line, enabling vertical deployment. Humpback whale vocalizations were captured and identified in the DAS data, noise sources were identified, and DAS data were compared to audio captured by a standalone hydrophone attached to the mooring line and a nearby hydrophone on a cabled observatory. This study is unique in: (1) deploying DAS in a vertical deployment mode, where noise from turbulence, cable vibrations, and other sources posed additional challenges compared to seafloor DAS applications; (2) demonstrating DAS in a dynamic, nonstationary setup, which is uncommon for DAS interrogators typically used in more stable environments; and (3) leveraging looped sections of the cable to reduce the noise floor and mitigate the effects of excessive cable vibrations and strain. This research demonstrates DAS’s ability to capture whale vocalizations in challenging environments, highlighting its potential to enhance underwater acoustic monitoring, particularly in the context of renewable energy development in offshore environments.

Saw, Jaewon↗
DOE OSTI2022

Current distribution monitoring enables quench and damage detection in superconducting fusion magnets

Abstract Fusion magnets made from high temperature superconducting ReBCO CORC ® cables are typically protected with quench detection systems that use voltage or temperature measurements to trigger current extraction processes. Although small coils with low inductances have been demonstrated, magnet protection remains a challenge and magnets are typically operated with little knowledge of the intrinsic performance parameters. We propose a protection framework based on current distribution monitoring in fusion cables with limited inter-cable current sharing. By employing inverse Biot-Savart techniques to distributed Hall probe arrays around CORC ® Cable-In-Conduit-Conductor (CICC) terminations, individual cable currents are recreated and used to extract the parameters of a predictive model. These parameters are shown to be of value for detecting conductor damage and defining safe magnet operating limits. The trained model is then used to predict cable current distributions in real-time, and departures between predictions and inverse Biot-Savart recreated current distributions are used to generate quench triggers. The methodology shows promise for quality control, operational planning and real-time quench detection in bundled CORC ® cables for compact fusion reactors.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗
DOE OSTI2020

2020 State of the Science Report, Chapter 8: Encounters of Marine Animals with Marine Renewable Energy Device Mooring Systems and Subsea Cables

Many marine renewable energy (MRE) technologies, including floating or midwater wave and tidal devices, require mooring systems (i.e., mooring lines and anchors) to maintain their position within the water column or on the sea surface. In the case of some devices such as tidal kites, these lines and cables can be highly dynamic. An array of non-bottom-mounted devices may also include transmission cables within the water column interconnecting devices to one another, or to offshore substations or hubs on the seabed. The potential for these lines and cables to present hazards for marine animals that may become entangled or entrapped in them, or confused by their presence remains an issue of uncertainty. The degree to which mitigation to avoid or reduce entanglement risk might be required for future MRE installations is yet to be determined, pending greater understanding of the actual nature of the risk. In this chapter, the entanglement or entrapment of a marine animal is defined as the cause to become caught in a system without possibility of escaping. https://tethys.pnnl.gov/publications/state-of-the-science-2020-chapter-8-moorings

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
DOE OSTI2022

Comparisons Between Array Derived Dynamic Strain Rate (ADDS) and Fiber‐Optic Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) Strain Rate

Abstract Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) strain rate and particle velocity can be compared through approximate scaling with medium velocity. We instead performed a direct comparison between array derived dynamic strain (ADDS) rate and DAS strain rate for six frequency bands. The PoroTomo project at Brady's Hot Springs, Nevada, deployed a 240‐geophone 3C array co‐located with fiber‐optic DAS system and 8.7 km of buried cable. We selected subsets of the geophone array to create four smaller arrays and computed ADDS. The horizontal components of the ADDS were rotated into the direction of the fiber‐optic cable and then compared with the observed DAS strain rates. From three example regional earthquakes of local magnitudes 2.9, 4.1, and 4.3, the ADDS are found to be coherent with DAS for frequencies ≤1 Hz. For frequencies >1‐Hz, this correlation decays quickly. Small differences between linear and areal dynamic strains at 1‐Hz suggest poor signal‐to‐noise or localized strain that is perturbed by shallow heterogeneities compare to the average strain propagating across the geophone array. The implication is that around 1‐Hz, straight fiber DAS is measuring axial strain along the fiber and can provide good approximations to translational particle motions. However, above 1‐Hz, DAS becomes more sensitive to shallow velocity gradients that can be beneficial for geophysical imaging yet becomes a limitation for traditional seismic analysis methods depending on absolute amplitude and phase from translational particle motions.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2022

Damage Detection and Electrical Performance Impact of Flat-Flexible Circuits

Flat-flexible circuits or ‘flex circuits’ have varied applications in electronics and in explosive detonation systems. They pose advantages over conventional coaxial cables in their ability to fit into small mechanical envelopes and routings. A typical flex circuit is composed of a laminated assembly of multiple layers of conductor and dielectric materials. Copper, because of its high electrical conductivity, is one of the primary materials used in flex circuit conductors. The conductor must maintain structural integrity and electrical continuity when the flexible circuit is bent during processing or to fit an application envelope. Under some strain conditions a cable may have degraded electrical performance even though visible damage may not be evident. Dislocation density can increase by mechanisms such as dislocation forest hardening, where gliding dislocations in primary slip planes get pinned at obstacles and form Frank-Read sources. Dislocation density increases within the conductor layers may impact electrical resistivity but would not necessarily result in visible mechanical failure. In some detonation applications, such as for building implosion for demolition, the time for signal transmission and voltage used for firing detonators can be critical. If the resistance in a single flex cable within a building demolition array is too high, the resultant demolition shape may be asymmetric, leading to unplanned damage to nearby structures and potential hazards to public safety. This study will apply non-destructive evaluation techniques to evaluate the detectability of damage accumulation in flat, flexible copper-conductor cables and discuss potential implications to their practical use.

42 ENGINEERING↗