This paper examines the relationship between system frequency, reliability and markets. It was prompted by the frequency deviations recently experienced at 2200 hours daily but is more generally concerned with the question of what frequency control is necessary. The paper does not provide new information or document new research. Nor is it intended to educate readers concerning power system engineering. Instead, the purpose is to reexamine well known truths concerning the power system and to freshly explore the basic relationship between frequency, reliability and markets: stepping back, if you will, to see if we are collectively missing something. The concern of this paper is with frequency and reliability. Off-nominal frequency can impact reliability and markets efficiency (as we are using the term here) in four ways. It could damage equipment (generation, transmission, or load). It could degrade the quality of the product being delivered to end users (too low and lights would flicker unacceptably, for example). It could result in the collapse of the power system itself (by triggering protective system actions, for example). Or it could result in overloading transmission lines as various generators try to restore system frequency impacting markets efficiency. Often these causes operate in concert. Generator …

None

Delayed coking evolved steadily over the early to mid 1900s to enable refiners to convert high boiling, residual petroleum fractions to light products such as gasoline. Pound for pound, coking is the most energy intensive of any operation in a modern refinery. Large amounts of energy are required to heat the thick, poor-quality petroleum residuum to the 900 to 950 degrees F required to crack the heavy hydrocarbon molecules into lighter, more valuable products. One common misconception of delayed coking is that the product coke is a disadvantage. Although coke is a low valued (near zero economic value) byproduct, compared to transportation fuels, there is a significant worldwide trade and demand for coke as it is an economical fuel. Coke production has increased steadily over the last ten years, with further increases forecast for the foreseeable future. Current domestic production is near 111,000 tons per day. A major driving force behind this increase is the steady decline in crude quality available to refiners. Crude slates are expected to grow heavier with higher sulfur contents while environmental restrictions are expected to significantly reduce the demand for high-sulfur residual fuel oil. Light sweet crudes will continue to be available and in even …

This report summarizes the work performed from 1 April 2003 to 30 September 2003 and recommends the tasks to be performed during Phase II (Pilot Evaluation). During this period discussions were held with various water agencies regarding use of the treated produced water either directly or indirectly through a water trading arrangement. In particular, several discussions were held with Monterey County Water Resources Agency, that has been charged with the long-term management and preservation of water resources in Monterey County. The Agency is very supportive of the program. However, they would like to see water quality/cost estimate data for the treated produced water from the pilot study prior to evaluating water use/water trade options. The agency sent a letter encouraging the project team to perform the pilot study to evaluate feasibility of the project. In addition, the regulations related to use of the treated water for various applications were updated during this period. Finally, the work plan, health and safety plan and sample analyses plan for performing pilot study to treat the oilfield produced water were developed during this period.

This report summarizes the results of the project entitled, ''Piecewise-Parabolic Methods for Parallel Computation with Applications to Unstable Fluid Flow in 2 and 3 Dimensions'' This project covers a span of many years, beginning in early 1987. It has provided over that considerable period the core funding to my research activities in scientific computation at the University of Minnesota. It has supported numerical algorithm development, application of those algorithms to fundamental fluid dynamics problems in order to demonstrate their effectiveness, and the development of scientific visualization software and systems to extract scientific understanding from those applications.

Can waste be transported safely to Yucca Mountain? Both the Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission have found that spent nuclear fuel can be shipped safely and securely. In fact, over the last 30 years there have been more than 2,700 shipments of spent nuclear fuel traveling more than 1.7 million miles, and there has never been a release of radioactive material harmful to the public or the environment--not one. Spent nuclear fuel is a solid material--it cannot leak, burn, or explode. The shipping containers, called casks, are the most robust in the transportation industry and must be certified by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They are designed to protect public health and safety under normal and severe accident conditions. Typically, every ton of shipped spent fuel is contained within approximately 4 tons of protective shielding and structural materials. How many shipments would be made to Yucca Mountain? DOE would use mainly trains and some legal-weight trucks to move spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste to Yucca Mountain. Once the repository opens, DOE estimates and average of 130 rail shipments and 45 truck shipments per year for 24 years.

The purpose of the Department of Energy's grant was to transfer to New Mexico and Utah a national award-winning market-based strategy to aggregate demand for wind energy. Their experiences over the past few years in New Mexico and utah have been quite different. In both states they have developed stronger relationships with utilities and policymakers which will increase the effectiveness of the future advocacy efforts.

This report reviews all potentially available Yucca Mountain Project (YMP) data in the Technical Data Management System and compiles all relevant qualified data, including data qualified by this report, on elastic properties, Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus, into a single summary Data Tracking Number (DTN) MO0304DQRIRPPR.002. Since DTN MO0304DQRIRPPR.002 was compiled from both qualified and unqualified sources, this report qualifies the DTN in accordance with AP-SIII.2Q. This report also summarizes the individual test results in MO0304DQRIRPPR.002 and provides summary values using descriptive statistics for Poisson's ratio and Young's modulus in a Reference Information Base Data Item. This report found that test conditions such as temperature, saturation, and sample size could influence test results. The largest influence, however, is the lithologic variation within the tuffs themselves. Even though the summary DTN divided the results by lithostratigrahic units within each formation, there was still substantial variation in elastic properties within individual units. This variation was attributed primarily to the presence or absence of lithophysae, fractures, alteration, pumice fragments, and other lithic clasts within the test specimens as well as changes in porosity within the units. As a secondary cause, substantial variations can also be attributed to test conditions such as the type …

The mission of this alliance is to promote, encourage, and facilitate computational science activities at the member HBCUs and to use collaborative technologies among the alliance partners to create an environment in which students and researchers from a wide variety of applications areas can exchange ideas and share resources.

This report describes batch laboratory experiments performed to determine the relative amounts of uranium incorporated in aluminosilicate structures during synthesis. The findings summarized here are based on laboratory experiments, which involved the synthesis of sodium aluminosilicates (NAS) structures, amorphous, zeolites A and sodalite phases in the presence of depleted uranium and the analytical search for incorporated uranium in NAS internal structures after synthesis. These studies will support the basis for continued operation of evaporators at the Savannah River Site (SRS).

Introduction - This procedure provides instructions for assembling the following CH packaging payload: -Drum payload assembly -Standard Waste Box (SWB) assembly -Ten-Drum Overpack (TDOP).

This report describes the rheological results obtained from samples of the sludge slurry, the Sludge Receipt and Adjustment Tank (SRAT) product, and the Slurry Mix Evaporator (SME) product from the Sludge Batch 2 demonstration. This report also presents the weight percent solids measurements density determinations, and pH results.

OAK B188 The goal of this project is to mimic the energy transduction processes by which photosynthetic organisms harvest sunlight and convert it to forms of energy that are more easily used and stored. The results may lead to new technologies for solar energy harvesting based on the natural photosynthetic process. They may also enrich our understanding and control of photosynthesis in living organisms, and lead to methods for increasing natural biomass production, carbon dioxide removal, and oxygen generation. In our work to date, we have learned how to make synthetic antenna and reaction center molecules that absorb light and undergo photoinduced electron transfer to generate long-lived, energetic charge-separated states. We have assembled a prototype system in which artificial reaction centers are inserted into liposomes (artificial cell-like constructs), where they carry out light-driven transmembrane translocation of hydrogen ions to generate proton motive force. By insertion of natural ATP synthase into the liposomal bilayer, this proton motive force has been used to power the synthesis of ATP. ATP is a natural biological energy currency. We are carrying out a systematic investigation of these artificial photosynthetic energy harvesting constructs in order to understand better how they operate. In addition, we are exploring …

CyTerra has leveraged our unique, shallow buried plastic target detection technology developed under US Army contracts into deeper buried subsurface facilities and including nonmetallic pipe detection. This Final Report describes a portable, low-cost, real-time, and user-friendly subsurface plastic pipe detector (LULU- Low Cost Utility Location Unit) that relates to the goal of maintaining the integrity and reliability of the nation's natural gas transmission and distribution network by preventing third party damage, by detecting potential infringements. Except for frequency band and antenna size, the LULU unit is almost identical to those developed for the US Army. CyTerra designed, fabricated, and tested two frequency stepped GPR systems, spanning the frequencies of importance (200 to 1600 MHz), one low and one high frequency system. Data collection and testing was done at a variety of locations (selected for soil type variations) on both targets of opportunity and selected buried targets. We developed algorithms and signal processing techniques that provide for the automatic detection of the buried utility lines. The real time output produces a sound as the radar passes over the utility line alerting the operator to the presence of a buried object. Our unique, low noise/high performance RF hardware, combined with our field …

The authors evaluated the usefulness of nanoscale boehmite crystals as a filler for anti-wear and anti-corrosion polyphenylenesulfide (PPS) coatings exposed to a very harsh, 300 C corrosive geothermal environment. The boehmite fillers dispersed uniformly into the PPS coating, conferring two advanced properties: First, they reduced markedly the rate of blasting wear; second, they increased the PPS's glass transition temperature and thermal decomposition temperature. The wear rate of PPS surfaces was reduced three times when 5wt% boehmite was incorporated into the PPS. During exposure for 15 days at 300 C, the PPS underwent hydrothermal oxidation, leading to the substitution of sulfide linkages by the sulfite linkages. However, such molecular alteration did not significantly diminish the ability of the coating to protect carbon steel against corrosion. In fact, PPS coating filled with boehmite of {le} 5wt% adequately mitigated its corrosion in brine at 300 C. One concern in using this filler was that it absorbs brine. Thus, adding an excess amount of boehmite was detrimental to achieving the maximum protection afforded by the coatings.

This document describes an evaluation of the baseline and two alternative disposition paths for the final disposition of the calcine wastes stored at the Idaho Nuclear Technology and Engineering Center at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory. The pathways are evaluated against a prescribed set of criteria and a recommendation is made for the path forward.

The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) has been tasked with developing, designing, constructing, and operating a full-scale prototype of the work package closure system. As a precursor to developing the conceptual design, all commercially available equipment was assessed to identify any existing technology gaps. This report presents the results of that assessment for all major equipment.

Forced-air heating and cooling system ducts are often located outside conditioned space in US houses. For these systems to perform efficiently it is important that these ducts be well insulated. Common practice is to use a glass fiber wrap around the ducts--either field applied or more commonly, integrated into a flexible duct. Most duct insulation has an R-value of 4.2, with R6 and R8 ducts also occasionally used. With glass fiber insulation being about R4 per inch (RSI 0.28/cm), this adds 2 to 4 inches (50 to 100 mm) to the duct diameter. Some building codes are now requiring these higher insulation levels, for example, the EPA requires the use of R6 ducts, and International Energy Conservation Code (BOCA 2003) requires R8 ducts. The difficulty with adding insulation to ducts is the increase in diameter of the ducts that makes them expensive to transport because they take up a large volume and are difficult to install in the confined spaces available for ducts in houses. The objective of this study was to evaluate Gas Filled Plenum (GFP) technology as an alternative duct insulation. GFP ducts have the potential to provide greater insulation levels than existing ducts (for a given thickness …

This report presents the results form the Phase 1 testing. Phase 1 was designed to determine the tetraphenylborate decomposition rate of the 4PB present in Tank 50H if Tank 23H or Inhibited Water is added to the tank.

As part of the spent fuel treatment program at Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), a ceramic waste form is being developed for disposition of the salt waste stream generated during the treatment process. Ceramic waste form (CWF) degradation and radionuclide release modeling is being carried out for the purpose of estimating the impact of the CWF on the performance of the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. The CWF is composed of approximately 75 wt% salt-loaded sodalite encapsulated in 25 wt% glass binder. Most radionuclides are present as small inclusion phases in the glass. Since the release of radionuclides can only occur as the glass and sodalite phases dissolve, the dissolution rates of the glass and sodalite phases are modeled to provide an upper bound to radionuclide release rates from the CWF. Transition-state theory for the dissolution of aluminosilicate minerals provides a mechanistic basis for the CWF degradation model, while model parameters are obtained by experimental measurements. Performance assessment calculations are carried out using the engineered barrier system model from the Total System Performance Assessment--Viability Assessment (TSPA-VA) for the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain. The analysis presented herein suggests that the CWF will perform in the repository environment in a manner that …

OAK-B135

Long-pulse, high-beta scenarios have been established on the National Spherical Torus Experiment (NSTX). Beta(sub)t(always equal to 2{mu}(sub)0{center_dot}<P>/B{sup 2}(sub)t0) {approx} 35% has been achieved during transient discharges. The machine improvements that lead to these results, including error field reduction and high-temperature bakeout of plasma-facing components are described. The highest Beta(sub)t plasmas have high triangularity (delta = 0.8) and elongation (k = 2.0) at low-aspect ratio A always equal to R/a = 1.4. The strong shaping permits large values of normalized current, I(sub)N(always equal to I(sub)p /(aB(sub)t0)) approximately equal to 6 while maintaining moderate values of q(sub)95 = 4. Long-pulse discharges up to 1 sec in duration have been achieved with substantial bootstrap current. The total noninductive current drive can be as high as 60%, comprised of 50% bootstrap current and {approx}10% neutral-beam current drive. The confinement enhancement factor H89P is in excess of 2.7. Beta(sub)N * H(sub)89P approximately or greater than 15 has been maintained for 8 * tau(sub)E {approx} 1.6 * tau(sub)CR, where tau(sub)CR is the relaxation time of the first radial moment of the toroidal current density. The ion temperature for these plasmas is significantly higher than that predicted by neoclassical theory.

The primary objective of this research is to identify the age strengthening mechanism in gray and ductile cast iron, and to quantify the parameters that control it. It is also to contribute to a new predictive model for gray and ductile iron strength and hardness. This work shows that age strengthening occurs on a sigmoidal-logarithmic scale in gray and ductile cast irons, to a statistically significant extent. This is similar to Avrami-Johnson-Mehl kinetics for phase transformations in metals. It occurs in both cupola-melted iron and induction melted iron. However, it does not happen in all compositions. We have developed some understanding of the process. Data suggests that nitrogen and nitride-forming trace elements have a significant role in the process, but that is yet not fully characterized. Also, the time dependence of the bulk hardness and strength increase, the nano-scale precipitation evidence from neutron scattering, differential scanning calorimetry results and matrix micro-hardness increase in ferrite all indicate that age strengthening occurs by a precipitation or pre-precipitate cluster formation mechanism.

The Pennsylvania State University, utilizing funds furnished by the U.S. Department of Energy's Biomass Power Program, investigated the installation of a state-of-the-art circulating fluidized bed boiler at Penn State's University Park campus for cofiring multiple biofuels and other wastes with coal, and developing a test program to evaluate cofiring biofuels and coal-based feedstocks. The study was performed using a team that included personnel from Penn State's Energy Institute, Office of Physical Plant, and College of Agricultural Sciences; Foster Wheeler Energy Services, Inc.; Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation; Parsons Energy and Chemicals Group, Inc.; and Cofiring Alternatives. The activities included assessing potential feedstocks at the University Park campus and surrounding region with an emphasis on biomass materials, collecting and analyzing potential feedstocks, assessing agglomeration, deposition, and corrosion tendencies, identifying the optimum location for the boiler system through an internal site selection process, performing a three circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler design and a 15-year boiler plant transition plan, determining the costs associated with installing the boiler system, developing a preliminary test program, determining the associated costs for the test program, and exploring potential emissions credits when using the biomass CFB boiler.