Monitoring is an essential component of engineered barrier system design and operation. A composite capacitive cover, including a capillary break and an evapotranspiration (ET) barrier at the Hanford Site, is generating data that can be used to help resolve these issues. The prototype Hanford barrier was constructed over the 216-B-57 Crib in 1994 to evaluate surface-barrier constructability, construction costs, and physical and hydrologic performance at the field scale. The barrier has been routinely monitored between November 1994 and September 1998 as part of a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) treatability test of barrier performance for the 200 BP 1 Operable Unit. Since FY 1998, monitoring has focused on a more limited set of key water balance, stability, and biotic parameters. In FY 2009, data collection was focused on: (1) water-balance monitoring, consisting of precipitation, runoff, soil moisture storage, and drainage measurements with evapotranspiration calculated by difference; (2) stability monitoring, consisting of asphalt-layer-settlement, basalt-side-slope-stability, and surface-elevation measurements; (3) vegetation dynamics; and (4) animal use. September 2009 marked 15 years since the start of monitoring and the collection of performance data. This report describes the results of monitoring activities during the period October 1, 2008, through September …

Navistar and ORNL established this CRADA to develop diesel engine aftertreatment configurations and control strategies that could meet emissions regulations while maintaining or improving vehicle efficiency. The early years of the project focused on reducing the fuel penalty associated with lean NOx trap (LNT, also known as NOx adsorber catalyst) regeneration and desulfation. While Navistar pursued engine-based (in-cylinder) approaches to LNT regeneration, complementary experiments at ORNL focused on in-exhaust fuel injection. ORNL developed a PC-based controller for transient electronic control of EGR valve position, intake throttle position, and actuation of fuel injectors in the exhaust system of a Navistar engine installed at Oak Ridge. Aftertreatment systems consisting of different diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) in conjunction with a diesel particle filter and LNT were evaluated under quasi-steady-state conditions. Hydrocarbon (HC) species were measured at multiple locations in the exhaust system with Gas chromatograph mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy.

This report describes the research that was completed under project title – Advanced Power Batteries for Renewable Energy Applications 3.09, Award Number DE-EE0001112. The report details all tasks described in the Statement of Project Objectives (SOPO). The SOPO includes purchasing of test equipment, designing tooling, building cells and batteries, testing all variables and final evaluation of results. The SOPO is included. There were various types of tests performed during the project, such as; gas collection, float current monitoring, initial capacity, high rate partial state of charge (HRPSoC), hybrid pulse power characterization (HPPC), high rate capacity, corrosion, software modeling and solar life cycle tests. The grant covered a period of two years starting October 1, 2009 and ending September 30, 2011.

This report collects statistics from a variety of sources on casualties sustained during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), which began on October 7, 2001, and is ongoing. OEF actions take place primarily in Afghanistan; however, OEF casualties also includes American casualties in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Guantanamo Bay (Cuba), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, the Philippines, Seychelles, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Yemen.

This report describes provisions in the American Jobs Act that fall into three major categories.

While holistically defining the smart grid is a challenge, one area of interest is demand-response. In 2009, the Department of Energy announced over $4 billion in grant and project funding for the Smart Grid. A significant amount of this funding was allotted to utilities for cost sharing projects to deploy Smart Grid technologies, many of whom have deployed and are deploying advanced metering infrastructure (AMI). AMI is an enabler to increase the efficiency of utilities and the bulk power grid. The bulk electrical system is unique in that it produces electricity as it is consumed. Most other industries have a delay between generation and consumption. This aspect of the power grid means that there must be enough generation capacity to meet the highest demand whereas other industries could over produce during off-peak times. This requires significant investment in generation capacity to cover the few days a year of peak consumption. Since bulk electrical storage doesn't yet exist at scale another way to curb the need for new peak period generation is through demand-response; that is to incentivize consumers (demand) to curtail (respond) electrical usage during peak periods. Of the various methods proposed for enabling demand-response, this paper will focus on …

The 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) contains several major improvements in energy efficiency over the 2006 IECC. The notable changes are: (1) Improved duct sealing verified by testing the duct system; (2) Increased duct insulation; (3) Improvement of window U-factors from 0.40 to 0.35; and (4) Efficient lighting requirements. An analysis of these changes resulted in estimated annual energy cost savings of about $145 a year for an average new house. Construction cost increases are estimated at $655. Home owners will experience an annual cost savings of close to $100 a year because reduction to energy bills will more than compensate for increased mortgage payments and other costs.

In accordance to the Assistance Agreement DE-EE0001036, the objective of this project was to develop an advanced high voltage lithium-ion battery for use in an all-electric HVAC system for Class-7-8 heavy duty trucks. This system will help heavy duty truck drivers meet the tough new anti-idling laws being implemented by over 23 states. Quallion will be partnering with a major OEM supplier of HVAC systems to develop this system. The major OEM supplier will provide Quallion the necessary interface requirements and HVAC hardware to ensure successful testing of the all-electric system. At the end of the program, Quallion will deliver test data on three (3) batteries as well as test data for the prototype HVAC system. The objectives of the program are: (1) Battery Development - Objective 1 - Define battery and electronics specifications in preparation for building the prototype module. (Completed - summary included in report) and Objective 2 - Establish a functional prototype battery and characterize three batteries in-house. (Completed - photos and data included in report); (2) HVAC Development - Objective 1 - Collaborate with manufacturers to define HVAC components, layout, and electronics in preparation for establishing the prototype system. (Completed - photos and data included in …

This final technical report details the results of total work efforts and progress made from October 2007 – September 2011 under the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) cooperative agreement DE-FC26-07NT43264, Building Stronger State Energy Partnerships with the U.S. Department of Energy. Major topical project areas in this final report include work efforts in the following areas: Energy Assurance and Critical Infrastructure, State and Regional Technical Assistance, Regional Initiative, Regional Coordination and Technical Assistance, and International Activities in China. All required deliverables have been provided to the National Energy Technology Laboratory and DOE program officials.

From 2007 until 2011, the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) engaged in a partnership with the National Energy Technology Lab (NETL) to improve State-Federal coordination on electricity policy and energy assurance issues. This project allowed State Public Utility Commissioners and their staffs to engage on the most cutting-edge level in the arenas of energy assurance and electricity policy. Four tasks were outlined in the Statement of Performance Objectives: Task 1 - Training for Commissions on Critical Infrastructure Topics; Task 2 - Analyze and Implement Recommendations on Energy Assurance Issues; Task 3 - Ongoing liaison activities & outreach to build stronger networks between federal agencies and state regulators; and Task 4 - Additional Activities. Although four tasks were prescribed, in practice these tasks were carried out under two major activity areas: the critical infrastructure and energy assurance partnership with the US Department of Energy's Infrastructure Security and Emergency Response office, and the National Council on Electricity Policy, a collaborative which since 1994 has brought together State and Federal policymakers to address the most pressing issues facing the grid from restructuring to smart grid implementation. On Critical Infrastructure protection, this cooperative agreement helped State officials yield several important advances. The …

A plan is being developed for the conversion of the NIST research reactor (NBSR) from high-enriched uranium (HEU) fuel to low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel. Previously, the design of the LEU fuel had been determined in order to provide the users of the NBSR with the same cycle length as exists for the current HEU fueled reactor. The fuel composition at different points within an equilibrium fuel cycle had also been determined. In the present study, neutronics parameters have been calculated for these times in the fuel cycle for both the existing HEU and the proposed LEU equilibrium cores. The results showed differences between the HEU and LEU cores that would not lead to any significant changes in the safety analysis for the converted core. In general the changes were reasonable except that the figure-of-merit for neutrons that can be used by experimentalists shows there will be a 10% reduction in performance. The calculations included kinetics parameters, reactivity coefficients, reactivity worths of control elements and abnormal configurations, and power distributions.

Annual financial report of the Capital Area Council of Governments including summaries and statements for relevant funds, as well as supplementary information.

This project involves the use of an innovative new invention � Particle Stabilized Emulsions (PSEs) of Carbon Dioxide-in-Water and Water-in-Carbon Dioxide for Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) and Permanent Sequestration of Carbon Dioxide. The EOR emulsion would be injected into a semi-depleted oil reservoir such as Dover 33 in Otsego County, Michigan. It is expected that the emulsion would dislocate the stranded heavy crude oil from the rock granule surfaces, reduce its viscosity, and increase its mobility. The advancing emulsion front should provide viscosity control which drives the reduced-viscosity oil toward the production wells. The make-up of the emulsion would be subsequently changed so it interacts with the surrounding rock minerals in order to enhance mineralization, thereby providing permanent sequestration of the injected CO{sub 2}. In Phase 1 of the project, the following tasks were accomplished: 1. Perform laboratory scale (mL/min) refinements on existing procedures for producing liquid carbon dioxide-in-water (C/W) and water-in-liquid carbon dioxide (W/C) emulsion stabilized by hydrophilic and hydrophobic fine particles, respectively, using a Kenics-type static mixer. 2. Design and cost evaluate scaled up (gal/min) C/W and W/C emulsification systems to be deployed in Phase 2 at the Otsego County semi-depleted oil field. 3. Design the modifications necessary …

The goal of the Cementitious Barriers Partnership (CBP) is to develop a reasonable and credible set of software tools to predict the structural, hydraulic, and chemical performance of cement barriers used in nuclear applications over extended time frames (greater than 100 years for operating facilities and greater than 1000 years for waste management). The simulation tools will be used to evaluate and predict the behavior of cementitious barriers used in near surface engineered waste disposal systems including waste forms, containment structures, entombments, and environmental remediation. These cementitious materials are exposed to dynamic environmental conditions that cause changes in material properties via (i) aging, (ii) chloride attack, (iii) sulfate attack, (iv) carbonation, (v) oxidation, and (vi) primary constituent leaching. A set of state-of-the-art software tools has been selected as a starting point to capture these important aging and degradation phenomena. Integration of existing software developed by the CBP partner organizations was determined to be the quickest method of meeting the CBP goal of providing a computational tool that improves the prediction of the long-term behavior of cementitious materials. These partner codes were selected based on their maturity and ability to address the problems outlined above. The GoldSim Monte Carlo simulation program …

This white paper describes the results of new research to develop an uncertainty characterization process to help address the challenges of regional climate change mitigation and adaptation decisions.

From Summary: This report provides an overview of U.S.-China relations. It describes the trends in commercial ties, identifies major trade issues, and lists major legislation in the 112th Congress.

The primary objective of this project was to develop a hydrogen production technology for gasification applications based on a circulating fluid-bed reactor and an attrition resistant iron catalyst. The work towards achieving this objective consisted of three key activities: • Development of an iron-based catalyst suitable for a circulating fluid-bed reactor • Design, construction, and operation of a bench-scale circulating fluid-bed reactor system for hydrogen production • Techno-economic analysis of the steam-iron and the pressure swing adsorption hydrogen production processes. This report describes the work completed in each of these activities during this project. The catalyst development and testing program prepared and iron-based catalysts using different support and promoters to identify catalysts that had sufficient activity for cyclic reduction with syngas and steam oxidation and attrition resistance to enable use in a circulating fluid-bed reactor system. The best performing catalyst from this catalyst development program was produced by a commercial catalyst toll manufacturer to support the bench-scale testing activities. The reactor testing systems used during material development evaluated catalysts in a single fluid-bed reactor by cycling between reduction with syngas and oxidation with steam. The prototype SIP reactor system (PSRS) consisted of two circulating fluid-bed reactors with the iron catalyst …

Because the fleet of coal-fired power plants is of such importance to the nation’s energy production while also being the single largest emitter of CO{sub 2}, the development of retrofit, post-combustion CO{sub 2} capture technologies for existing and new, upcoming coal power plants will allow coal to remain a major component of the U.S. energy mix while mitigating global warming. Post-combustion carbon capture technologies are an attractive option for coal-fired power plants as they do not require modification of major power-plant infrastructures, such as fuel processing, boiler, and steam-turbine subsystems. In this project, the overall objective was to develop an advanced, hollow-fiber, polymeric membrane process that could be cost-effectively retrofitted into current pulverized coal-fired power plants to capture at least 90% of the CO{sub 2} from plant flue gas with 95% captured CO{sub 2} purity. The approach for this project tackled the technology development on three different fronts in parallel: membrane materials R&D, hollow-fiber membrane module development, and process development and engineering. The project team consisted of RTI (prime) and two industrial partners, Arkema, Inc. and Generon IGS, Inc. Two CO{sub 2}-selective membrane polymer platforms were targeted for development in this project. For the near term, a next-generation, high-flux polycarbonate …

This report provides information about the Compensated Work Sharing Arrangements (Short-Time Compensation) as an Alternative to Layoffs. STC is a program within the federal-state unemployment compensation system.

The overall goal is to provide valuable insight in to the mechanisms and processes that could lead to better engineering the widely used boron carbide which could play an important role in current plight towards greener energy. Carbon distribution in boron carbide, which has been difficult to retrieve from experimental methods, is critical to our understanding of its structure-properties relation. For modeling disorders in boron carbide, we implemented a first principles method based on supercell approach within our G(P,T) package. The supercell approach was applied to boron carbide to determine its carbon distribution. Our results reveal that carbon prefers to occupy the end sites of the 3-atom chain in boron carbide and further carbon atoms will distribute mainly on the equatorial sites with a small percentage on the 3-atom chains and the apex sites. Supercell approach was also applied to study mechanical properties of boron carbide under uniaxial load. We found that uniaxial load can lead to amorphization. Other physical properties of boron carbide were calculated using the G(P,T) package.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The Census Bureau (Bureau) and U.S. Postal Service (USPS) collaborated on aspects of the 2010 Census and prior decennials, and those efforts generally went well in such areas as address list development. But both agencies face challenges: the Bureau needs to control the escalating cost of the decennial census and maintain its accuracy, while USPS must improve its financial condition. As requested, GAO examined opportunities to enhance collaboration in such areas as technology, personnel, and facilities that could improve the cost-effectiveness of the 2020 Census and generate revenue for USPS. GAO analyzed Bureau and USPS data and documents, compared the agencies' existing collaborative efforts with prior GAO work, and interviewed agency officials."

Dueco, a final stage manufacture of utility trucks, was awarded a congressionally directed cost shared contract to develop, test, validate, and deploy several PHEV utility trucks. Odyne will be the primary subcontractor responsible for all aspects of the hybrid system including its design and installation on a truck chassis. Key objectives in this program include developing a better understanding of the storage device and system capability; improve aspects of the existing design, optimization of system and power train components, and prototype evaluation. This two year project will culminate in the delivery of at least five vehicles for field evaluation.

We identified hard-burned magnesium oxide (MgO) as a suitable expansive additive for improving the plugging performance of self-degradable, temporary sodium silicate-activated slag/Class C fly ash (SSASC) blend cement sealers into rock fractures in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGSs). MgO extended the volumetric expansion of sealers during their exposure to a hydrothermal environment at 200 C under pressures, ranging from 300 to 1500 psi. A great expansion ratc of 19.3% was observed by adding 3.0 wt% MgO under 300 psi pressure, thus promising to plug thoroughly inner fracture. When the pressure was increased from 300 psi to 1500 psi, the expansion rate of cement markedly reduced, corresponding to the formaLion of crack-free specimens and the improvement of compressive strength. However, with 3.0 wt% MgO, the specimens still engendered the generation of numerous visual cracks, although they were prepared under a high pressure of 1500 psi. The effective content of MgO in minimizing and eliminating the generation of cracks was 2.0 wt%, which provided a moderate expansion of {ge} 0.5%. The compressive strength of 2.0 wt% MgO specimens made under a pressure of 300 psi rose {approx} 1.7-fold to 4816 psi with an increasing pressure to 1500 psi. The in-situ growth of brucite …

Snohomish Public Utility District No.1 plans to deploy two 6 meter OpenHydro tidal turbines in Admiralty Inlet in Puget Sound, under a FERC pilot permitting process. Regulators and stakeholders have raised questions about the potential effect of noise from the turbines on marine life. Noise in the aquatic environment is known to be a stressor to many types of aquatic life, including marine mammals, fish and birds. Marine mammals and birds are exceptionally difficult to work with for technical and regulatory reasons. Fish have been used as surrogates for other aquatic organisms as they have similar auditory structures. This project was funded under the FY09 Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to Snohomish PUD, in partnership with the University of Washington - Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, the Sea Mammal Research Unit, and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The results of this study will inform the larger research project outcomes. Proposed tidal turbine deployments in coastal waters are likely to propagate noise into nearby waters, potentially causing stress to native organisms. For this set of experiments, juvenile Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) were used as the experimental model. Plans exist for prototype tidal turbines to be deployed into their habitat. Noise is known …