Information Package Specification version 1.1 describes an XML document format called an information package that can be used to store information in information management systems and other information archives. An information package consists of package information, the context required to understand and use that information, package metadata that describes the information, and XML signatures that protect the information. The information package described in this specification was designed to store Department of Energy (DOE) and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) information and includes the metadata required for that information: a unique package identifier, information marking that conforms to DOE and NNSA requirements, and access control metadata. It is an implementation of the Open Archival Information System (OAIS) Reference Model archival information package tailored to meet NNSA information storage requirements and designed to be used in the computing environments at the Y-12 National Security Complex and at other NNSA sites.

This report summarizes work to develop a high flux, high efficiency LED-based downlight at OSRAM SYLVANIA under US Department of Energy contract DE-FC26-08NT01582. A new high power LED and electronic driver were developed for these downlights. The LED achieved 100 lumens per watt efficacy and 1700 lumen flux output at a correlated color temperature of 3500K. The driver had 90% electrical conversion efficiency while maintaining excellent power quality with power factor >0.99, and total harmonic distortion <10%. Two styles of downlights using the LED and driver were shown to exceed the project targets for steady-state luminous efficacy and flux of 70 lumens per watt and 1300 lumens, respectively. Compared to similar existing downlights using compact fluorescent or LED sources, these downlights had much higher efficacy at nearly the same luminous flux.

Transmission nuclear resonance fluorescence measurements were made on targets consisting of Pb and depleted U with total areal densities near 86 g/cm2. The 238U content n the targets varied from 0 to 8.5percent (atom fraction). The experiment demonstrates the capability of using transmission measurements as a non-destructive technique to identify and quantify the presence of an isotope in samples with thicknesses comparable to he average thickness of a nuclear fuel assembly. The experimental data also appear to demonstrate the process of notch refilling with a predictable intensity. Comparison of measured spectra to previous backscatter 238U measurements indicates general agreement in observed excited states. Two new 238U excited states and possibly a third state have also been observed.

Economic development in the United States depends on a reliable and affordable power supply. The nation will need well educated engineers to design a modern, safe, secure, and reliable power grid for our future needs. An anticipated shortage of qualified engineers has caused considerable concern in many professional circles, and various steps are being taken nationwide to alleviate the potential shortage and ensure the North American power system's reliability, and our world-wide economic competitiveness. To help provide a well-educated and trained workforce which can sustain and modernize the nation's power grid, Gonzaga University's School of Engineering and Applied Science has established a five-course (15-credit hour) Certificate Program in Transmission and Distribution (T&amp;D) Engineering. The program has been specifically designed to provide working utility engineering professionals with on-line access to advanced engineering courses which cover modern design practice with an industry-focused theoretical foundation. A total of twelve courses have been developed to-date and students may select any five in their area of interest for the T&amp;D Certificate. As each course is developed and taught by a team of experienced engineers (from public and private utilities, consultants, and industry suppliers), students are provided a unique opportunity to interact directly with different industry …

The main focus during the period of research at UTK was on developing a mathematically rigorous and at the same time computationally flexible framework for parallelization of Kinetic Monte Carlo methods, and its implementation on multi-core architectures. Another direction of research aimed towards spatial multilevel coarse graining methods for Monte Carlo sampling and molecular simulation. The underlying theme of both of this topics was the development of numerical methods that lead to efficient and reliable simulations supported by error analysis of involved approximation schemes for coarse observables of the simulated molecular system. The work on both of these topics resulted in publications.

The primary project objectives were to understand how the process design of an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant affects the dynamic operability and controllability of the process. Steady-state and dynamic simulation models were developed to predict the process behavior during typical transients that occur in plant operation. Advanced control strategies were developed to improve the ability of the process to follow changes in the power load demand, and to improve performance during transitions between power levels. Another objective of the proposed work was to educate graduate and undergraduate students in the application of process systems and control to coal technology. Educational materials were developed for use in engineering courses to further broaden this exposure to many students. ASPENTECH software was used to perform steady-state and dynamic simulations of an IGCC power plant. Linear systems analysis techniques were used to assess the steady-state and dynamic operability of the power plant under various plant operating conditions. Model predictive control (MPC) strategies were developed to improve the dynamic operation of the power plants. MATLAB and SIMULINK software were used for systems analysis and control system design, and the SIMULINK functionality in ASPEN DYNAMICS was used to test the control strategies on …

The higher penetration of intermittent generation resources (including wind and solar generation) in the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) balancing authorities (BAs) raises issue of requiring expensive additional fast grid balancing services in response to additional intermittency and fast up and down power ramps in the electric supply system. The overall goal of the wide-area energy management system (WAEMS) project is to develop the principles, algorithms, market integration rules, a functional design, and a technical specification for an energy storage system to help cope with unexpected rapid changes in renewable generation power output. The resulting system will store excess energy, control dispatchable load and distributed generation, and utilize inter-area exchange of the excess energy between the California ISO and Bonneville Power Administration control areas. A further goal is to provide a cost-benefit analysis and develop a business model for an investment-based practical deployment of such a system. There are two tasks in Phase 2 of the WAEMS project: the flywheel field tests and the battery evaluation. Two final reports, the Wide-area Energy Management System Phase 2 Flywheel Field Tests Final Report and the Wide-area Energy Storage and Management System Battery Storage Evaluation, were written to …

It is estimated that by using better and improved high temperature structural materials, the power generation efficiency of the power plants can be increased by 15% resulting in significant cost savings. One such promising material system for future high-temperature structural applications in power plants is Silicon Carbide-Silicon Nitride (SiC-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4}) nanoceramic matrix composites. The described research work focuses on multiscale simulation-based design of these SiC-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} nanoceramic matrix composites. There were two primary objectives of the research: (1) Development of a multiscale simulation tool and corresponding multiscale analyses of the high-temperature creep and fracture resistance properties of the SiC-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} nanocomposites at nano-, meso- and continuum length- and timescales; and (2) Development of a simulation-based robust design optimization methodology for application to the multiscale simulations to predict the range of the most suitable phase morphologies for the desired high-temperature properties of the SiC-Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} nanocomposites. The multiscale simulation tool is based on a combination of molecular dynamics (MD), cohesive finite element method (CFEM), and continuum level modeling for characterizing time-dependent material deformation behavior. The material simulation tool is incorporated in a variable fidelity model management based design optimization framework. Material modeling includes development of an experimental …

An analysis of improving the power output of small wind turbines by adding a venturi housing was done. Including the effects of back pressure developed at the input to the housing lowers the efficiency gain from a factor of 5 to a factor of 2 for a turbine blade radius of 24 inches. The gain is small enough that only large systems could profit from the application.

This research investigated four techniques that could be applicable for mapping of solids remaining in radioactive waste tanks at the Savannah River Site: stereo vision, LIDAR, flash LIDAR, and Structure from Motion (SfM). Stereo vision is the least appropriate technique for the solids mapping application. Although the equipment cost is low and repackaging would be fairly simple, the algorithms to create a 3D image from stereo vision would require significant further development and may not even be applicable since stereo vision works by finding disparity in feature point locations from the images taken by the cameras. When minimal variation in visual texture exists for an area of interest, it becomes difficult for the software to detect correspondences for that object. SfM appears to be appropriate for solids mapping in waste tanks. However, equipment development would be required for positioning and movement of the camera in the tank space to enable capturing a sequence of images of the scene. Since SfM requires the identification of distinctive features and associates those features to their corresponding instantiations in the other image frames, mockup testing would be required to determine the applicability of SfM technology for mapping of waste in tanks. There may be …

Geological repositories for disposal of high-level nuclear wastes generally rely on a multi-barrier system to isolate radioactive wastes from the biosphere. The multi-barrier system typically consists of a natural barrier system, including repository host rock and its surrounding subsurface environment, and an engineering barrier system (EBS). EBS represents the man-made, engineered materials placed within a repository, including the waste form, waste canisters, buffer materials, backfill and seals (OECD, 2003). EBS plays a significant role in the containment and long-term retardation of radionuclide release. EBS is involved in complex thermal, hydrogeological, mechanical, chemical and biological processes, such as heat release due to radionuclide decay, multiphase flow (including gas release due to canister corrosion), swelling of buffer materials, radionuclide diffusive transport, waste dissolution and chemical reactions. All these processes are related to each other. An in-depth understanding of these coupled processes is critical for the performance assessment (PA) for EBS and the entire repository. Within the EBS group of Used Fuel Disposition (UFD) Campaign, LBNL is currently focused on (1) thermal-hydraulic-mechanical-chemical (THMC) processes in buffer materials (bentonite) and (2) diffusive transport in EBS associated with clay host rock, with a long-term goal to develop a full understanding of (and needed modeling capabilities …

The Cementitious Barriers Partnership Project (CBP) is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institution cross cutting collaborative effort supported by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a reasonable and credible set of tools to improve understanding and prediction of the structural, hydraulic and chemical performance of cementitious barriers used in nuclear applications. The period of performance is &gt;100 years for operating facilities and &gt; 1000 years for waste management. The CBP has defined a set of reference cases to provide the following functions: (i) a common set of system configurations to illustrate the methods and tools developed by the CBP, (ii) a common basis for evaluating methodology for uncertainty characterization, (iii) a common set of cases to develop a complete set of parameter and changes in parameters as a function of time and changing conditions, (iv) a basis for experiments and model validation, and (v) a basis for improving conceptual models and reducing model uncertainties. These reference cases include the following two reference disposal units and a reference storage unit: (i) a cementitious low activity waste form in a reinforced concrete disposal vault, (ii) a concrete vault containing a steel high-level waste tank filled with grout (closed high-level waste tank), and (iii) …

Abstracts and brief summaries are provided for six published articles and seventeen poster and oral presentations at scientific meetings.

This project, funded by New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA), investigated the potential for an oil-fired combined heat and power system (micro-CHP system) for potential use in residences that use oil to heat their homes. Obviously, this requires the power source to be one that uses heating oil (diesel). The work consisted of an experimental study using a diesel engine and an analytical study that examined potential energy savings and benefits of micro-CHP systems for 'typical' locations in New York State. A search for a small diesel engine disclosed that no such engines were manufactured in the U.S. A single cylinder engine manufactured in Germany driving an electric generator was purchased for the experimental work. The engine was tested using on-road diesel fuel (15 ppm sulfur), and biodiesel blends. One of the main objectives was to demonstrate the possibility of operation in the so-called HCCI (Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition) mode. The HCCI mode of operation of engines is being explored as a way to reduce the emission of smoke, and NOx significantly without exhaust treatment. This is being done primarily in the context of engines used in transportation applications. However, it is felt that in a micro-CHP …

The Thermal Cycling Absorption Process (TCAP) was further studied with a new configuration. Previous configuration used a palladium packed column and a plug flow reverser (PFR). This new configuration uses an inverse column to replace the PFR. The goal was to further improve performance. Both configurations were experimentally tested. The results showed that the new configuration increased the throughput by a factor of more than 2.

As a result of the termination of the Yucca Mountain Project, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) has started to explore various alternative avenues for the disposition of used nuclear fuel and nuclear waste. The overall scope of the investigation includes temporary storage, transportation issues, permanent disposal, various nuclear fuel types, processing alternatives, and resulting waste streams. Although geologic disposal is not the only alternative, it is still the leading candidate for permanent disposal. The realm of geologic disposal also offers a range of geologic environments that may be considered, among those clay shale formations. Figure 1-1 presents the distribution of clay/shale formations within the USA. Clay rock/shale has been considered as potential host rock for geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste throughout the world, because of its low permeability, low diffusion coefficient, high retention capacity for radionuclides, and capability to self-seal fractures induced by tunnel excavation. For example, Callovo-Oxfordian argillites at the Bure site, France (Fouche et al., 2004), Toarcian argillites at the Tournemire site, France (Patriarche et al., 2004), Opalinus clay at the Mont Terri site, Switzerland (Meier et al., 2000), and Boom clay at Mol site, Belgium (Barnichon et al., 2005) have all been under intensive …

Relativistic pair-plasmas and jets are believed to exist in many astrophysical objects and are often invoked to explain energetic phenomena related to Gamma Ray Bursts and Black Holes. On earth, positrons from radioactive isotopes or accelerators are used extensively at low energies (sub-MeV) in areas related to surface science positron emission tomography and basic antimatter science. Experimental platforms capable of producing the high-temperature pair-plasma and high-flux jets required to simulate astrophysical positron conditions have so far been absent. In the last few years, we performed extensive experiments generating positrons with intense lasers where we found that relativistic electron and positron jets are produced by irradiating a solid gold target with an intense picosecond laser pulse. The positron temperatures in directions parallel and transverse to the beam both exceeded 0.5 MeV, and the density of electrons and positrons in these jets are of order 10{sup 16} cm{sup -3} and 10{sup 13} cm{sup -3}, respectively. With the advent of high-energy ultra-short laser pulses, we expect that a charge-neutral, relativistic pair-plasma is achievable, a novel regime of laboratory-produced hot dense matter. This talk will present some details of the laser-produced pair-plasma experiments.

Documentation of work performed by Ramgen and subcontractors in pursuit of design and construction of a 10 MW supersonic CO{sub 2} compressor and supporting facility. The compressor will demonstrate application of Ramgen's supersonic compression technology at an industrial scale using CO{sub 2} in a closed-loop. The report includes details of early feasibility studies, CFD validation and comparison to experimental data, static test experimental results, compressor and facility design and analyses, and development of aero tools.

A consortium of research partners led by the Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration and industry partners, including CAP CO2 LLC, Blue Source LLC, Coffeyville Resources, Nitrogen Fertilizers LLC, Ash Grove Cement Company, Kansas Ethanol LLC, Headwaters Clean Carbon Services, Black & Veatch, and Schlumberger Carbon Services, conducted a feasibility study of a large-scale CCS commercialization project that included large-scale CO{sub 2} sources. The overall objective of this project, entitled the 'Integrated Mid-Continent Carbon Capture, Sequestration and Enhanced Oil Recovery Project' was to design an integrated system of US mid-continent industrial CO{sub 2} sources with CO{sub 2} capture, and geologic sequestration in deep saline formations and in oil field reservoirs with concomitant EOR. Findings of this project suggest that deep saline sequestration in the mid-continent region is not feasible without major financial incentives, such as tax credits or otherwise, that do not exist at this time. However, results of the analysis suggest that enhanced oil recovery with carbon sequestration is indeed feasible and practical for specific types of geologic settings in the Midwestern U.S.

The phase-space dynamics of runaway electrons is studied, including the influence of loop voltage, radiation damping, and collisions. A theoretical model and a numerical algorithm for the runaway dynamics in phase space are developed. Instead of standard integrators, such as the Runge-Kutta method, a variational symplectic integrator is applied to simulate the long-term dynamics of a runaway electron. The variational symplectic integrator is able to globally bound the numerical error for arbitrary number of time-steps, and thus accurately track the runaway trajectory in phase space. Simulation results show that the circulating orbits of runaway electrons drift outward toward the wall, which is consistent with experimental observations. The physics of the outward drift is analyzed. It is found that the outward drift is caused by the imbalance between the increase of mechanical angular momentum and the input of toroidal angular momentum due to the parallel acceleration. An analytical expression of the outward drift velocity is derived. The knowledge of trajectory of runaway electrons in configuration space sheds light on how the electrons hit the first wall, and thus provides clues for possible remedies.

On March 10, 2010 the workshop titled Social Networking for Emergency Management and Public Safety was held in Seattle, WA. The objective of this workshop was to showcase ways social media networking technologies can be used to support emergency management and public safety operations. The workshop highlighted the current state of social networking and where this dynamic engagement is heading, demonstrated some of the more commonly used technologies, highlighted case studies on how these tools have been used in a variety of jurisdictions and engaged the private sector on how these tools might serve as a conduit for two way communication between with the public sector to address regional recovery issues and decision making.

This research was conducted by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operated for the U.S. department of Energy (DOE) by Battelle Memorial Institute for Bonneville Power Administration (BPA), California Institute for Energy and Environment (CIEE) and California Energy Commission (CEC). A wide-area energy management system (WAEMS) is a centralized control system that operates energy storage devices (ESDs) located in different places to provide energy and ancillary services that can be shared among balancing authorities (BAs). The goal of this research is to conduct flywheel field tests, investigate the technical characteristics and economics of combined hydro-flywheel regulation services that can be shared between Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and California Independent System Operator (CAISO) controlled areas. This report is the second interim technical report for Phase II of the WAEMS project. This report presents: 1) the methodology of sharing regulation service between balancing authorities, 2) the algorithm to allocate the regulation signal between the flywheel and hydro power plant to minimize the wear-and-tear of the hydro power plants, 3) field results of the hydro-flywheel regulation service (conducted by the Beacon Power), and 4) the performance metrics and economic analysis of the combined hydro-flywheel regulation service.

Verenium operated a demonstration plant with a capacity to produce 1.4 million gallons of cellulosic ethanol from agricultural resiues for about two years. During this time, the plant was able to evaluate the technical issues in producing ethanol from three different cellulosic feedstocks, sugar cane bagasse, energy cane, and sorghum. The project was intended to develop a better understanding of the operating parameters that would inform a commercial sized operation. Issues related to feedstock variability, use of hydrolytic enzymes, and the viability of fermentative organisms were evaluated. Considerable success was achieved with pretreatment processes and use of enzymes but challenges were encountered with feedstock variability and fermentation systems. Limited amounts of cellulosic ethanol were produced.

Coal will likely continue to be a dominant component of power generation in the foreseeable future. This project addresses the issue of environmental compliance for two important pollutants: NO{sub x} and mercury. Integration of emission control units is in principle possible through a Low Temperature Selective Catalytic and Adsorptive Reactor (LTSCAR) in which NO{sub x} removal is achieved in a traditional SCR mode but at low temperature, and, uniquely, using carbon monoxide as a reductant. The capture of mercury is integrated into the same process unit. Such an arrangement would reduce mercury removal costs significantly, and provide improved control for the ultimate disposal of mercury. The work completed in this project demonstrates that the use of CO as a reductant in LTSCR is technically feasible using supported manganese oxide catalysts, that the simultaneous warm-gas capture of elemental and oxidized mercury is technically feasible using both nanostructured chelating adsorbents and ceria-titania-based materials, and that integrated removal of mercury and NO{sub x} is technically feasible using ceria-titania-based materials.