Surendra Sunkari, a high-performance computing (HPC) engineer at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, is investigating Kestrel. Photo credit: Joe DelNero, NREL
Students pursuing careers in energy research will have a unique opportunity this year to use Kestrel, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy’s (EERE) third-generation supercomputer, hosted by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). I was blessed with an opportunity.
This summer, NREL completed a complete build-out of Kestrel, reaching 44 petaflops of computing power focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency research. Students from across the country were invited by EERE to apply for access to this powerful tool to advance their research and expand EERE’s computational efforts for the energy transition. Last fall, more than 25 students from 15 universities across the country applied to use Kestrel for the spring and summer 2024 semesters.
Students like Yifan Hu at Iowa State University used Kestrel to study the effects of solar wind and other space weather phenomena on solar energy infrastructure. Using the supercomputer’s advanced central processing unit nodes, his team used a numerical method called the relativistic Vlasov-Maxwell system to study the solar wind, with the aim of understanding the effect of the solar wind on stability. We tested a new scalable algorithm that provides a robust and accurate way to model. Increase the efficiency of solar power plants and improve the reliability and resilience of the power grid. Access to Kestrel allowed Hu to receive calculation results within a week, leading to the submission of two journal papers currently under review.
Rajat Goel, a chemical engineering student at the University of California, Davis, uses Kestrel’s high-performance graphics processor to simulate uranium and its defects, a very complex problem that requires significant computational power. I did it. Goel researched the development of protective coatings for future nuclear reactors to prevent the formation of highly toxic and highly flammable uranium hydride. Using Kestrel, we significantly reduced the time required for these simulations. Nuclear power serves as a non-carbon energy source by producing electricity with no carbon emissions. Ensuring safe and reliable production is a key element in achieving the Department of Energy’s 2050 net-zero greenhouse gas emissions goal.
Hu and Goel’s research project highlights Kestrel’s ability to address large-scale challenges, particularly in enhancing energy resilience. Meanwhile, across the country, students were using supercomputers to conduct different but equally impactful energy research.
Stanford University student Mark Benjamin uses Kestrel’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning capabilities in a manufacturing research project, including convolutional neural networks to model drag and realistic car shapes. We applied AI models such as convolutional autoencoders. The goal of the project was to set new standards for vehicle design and optimization with the aim of increasing fuel efficiency and reducing carbon emissions.
University of Minnesota students led by Suryanarayan Ramachandran used Kestrel’s computational fluid dynamics code to design a new engine that uses hydrogen for combustion. The project leverages an exascale computing project code called AMRex Combustion PeleC to perform a first-of-its-kind, high-fidelity, three-dimensional simulation of an explosive hydrogen reaction called an oblique detonation wave, which is expected to accelerate future hypersonic propulsion. investigated how hydrogen combustion could be used to We will promote fuel technology research to reduce fossil fuels.
Tackling complex energy challenges requires powerful computational resources and support to ensure that these resources are used productively. Students received assistance with setting up their accounts and running workflows in Kestrel from NREL’s Center for Computational Science User Operations staff. Providing students with access to Kestrel will not only advance current research, but also shape the future of clean energy technology by providing students with advanced skills to lead the field of energy innovation and research. It also becomes.
Students interested in using Kestrel for energy research should keep an eye out for future opportunities at nrel.gov/news.
Read this blog post about installing NREL’s Kestrel high performance computing system.
