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The 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) yields positive benefits for Iowa homeowners. Moving to the 2012 IECC from the 2009 IECC is cost effective over a 30-year life cycle. On average, Iowa homeowners will save $7,573 with the 2012 IECC. After accounting for upfront costs and additional costs financed in the mortgage, homeowners should see net positive cash flows (i.e., cumulative savings exceeding cumulative cash outlays) in 1 year for the 2012 IECC. Average annual energy savings are $454 for the 2012 IECC.

Specific Objectives: 1. To identify the gene(s) underlying a major QTL for stem sugar concentration located on chromosome 3. 2. To identify QTL for stem juice volume and stalk sugar concentration and to identify the underlying genes. 3. To classify 60 novel sorghum bmr mutants from the USDA TILLING population in allelic groups based on cell wall chemistry and allelism tests. 4. To select representative bmr mutants from each allelic group and selected NIR spectral mutants for their potential value as feedstock for ethanol production. 5. To clone and characterize those Bmr genes that represent loci other than Bmr12 and Bmr6 using a mapping and a candidate gene approach. Objective 1 The experiments for this objective are largely complete and the data have been analyzed. Data interpretation and follow-up experiments are still in progress. A manuscript is in preparation (Vermerris et al.; see publication list for full details). The main results are: 1) 16 cDNA libraries were prepared and sequenced at Cornell University. The libraries represent internode tissue and flag leaf tissue at booting, internode tissue and peduncle at soft-dough stage, from two plants per sampling time with the Rio allele for the QTL on chromosome 3, and two plants …

This Closure Report (CR) presents information supporting closure of Corrective Action Unit (CAU) 562, Waste Systems, and provides documentation supporting the completed corrective actions and confirmation that closure objectives for CAU 562 were met. This CR complies with the requirements of the Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (FFACO) that was agreed to by the State of Nevada; the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Management; the U.S. Department of Defense; and DOE, Legacy Management (FFACO, 1996 as amended). CAU 562 consists of the following 13 Corrective Action Sites (CASs), located in Areas 2, 23, and 25 of the Nevada National Security Site: · CAS 02-26-11, Lead Shot · CAS 02-44-02, Paint Spills and French Drain · CAS 02-59-01, Septic System · CAS 02-60-01, Concrete Drain · CAS 02-60-02, French Drain · CAS 02-60-03, Steam Cleaning Drain · CAS 02-60-04, French Drain · CAS 02-60-05, French Drain · CAS 02-60-06, French Drain · CAS 02-60-07, French Drain · CAS 23-60-01, Mud Trap Drain and Outfall · CAS 23-99-06, Grease Trap · CAS 25-60-04, Building 3123 Outfalls Closure activities began in October 2011 and were completed in April 2012. Activities were conducted according to the Corrective Action Plan for CAU 562 …

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Oak Ridge National Laboratory and A123 Systems, Inc. collaborated on this project to develop a better understanding, quality control procedures, and safety testing for A123 System’s nanocomposite separator (NCS) technology which is a cell based patented technology and separator. NCS demonstrated excellent performance. x3450 prismatic cells were shown to survive >8000 cycles (1C/2C rate) at room temperature with greater than 80% capacity retention with only NCS present as an alternative to conventional polyolefin. However, for a successful commercialization, the coating conditions required to provide consistent and reliable product had not been optimized and QC techniques for being able to remove defective material before incorporation into a cell had not been developed. The work outlined in this report addresses these latter two points. First, experiments were conducted to understand temperature profiles during the different drying stages of the NCS coating when applied to both anode and cathode. One of the more interesting discoveries of this study was the observation of the large temperature decrease experienced by the wet coating between the end of the infrared (IR) drying stage and the beginning of the exposure to the convection drying oven. This is not a desirable situation as the temperature gradient could have …

X-ray scattering is a valuable tool for measuring the structural properties of materialsused in the design and fabrication of energy-relevant nanodevices (e.g., photovoltaic, energy storage, battery, fuel, and carbon capture andsequestration devices) that are key to the reduction of carbon emissions. Although today's ultra-fast X-ray scattering detectors can provide tremendousinformation on the structural properties of materials, a primary challenge remains in the analyses of the resulting data. We are developing novelhigh-performance computing algorithms, codes, and software tools for the analyses of X-ray scattering data. In this paper we describe two such HPCalgorithm advances. Firstly, we have implemented a flexible and highly efficient Grazing Incidence Small Angle Scattering (GISAXS) simulation code based on theDistorted Wave Born Approximation (DWBA) theory with C++/CUDA/MPI on a cluster of GPUs. Our code can compute the scattered light intensity from any givensample in all directions of space; thus allowing full construction of the GISAXS pattern. Preliminary tests on a single GPU show speedups over 125x compared tothe sequential code, and almost linear speedup when executing across a GPU cluster with 42 nodes, resulting in an additional 40x speedup compared to usingone GPU node. Secondly, for the structural fitting problems in inverse modeling, we have implemented a …

The Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) has developed a high-pressure hydrogen production system that reforms a liquid organic feedstock and water at operating pressures up to 800 bar (~12,000 psig). The advantages of this system include the elimination of energy-intensive hydrogen compression, a smaller process footprint, and the elimination of gaseous or liquid hydrogen transport. This system could also potentially enable distributed hydrogen production from centralized coal. Processes have been investigated to gasify coal and then convert the syngas into alcohol or alkanes. These alcohols and alkanes could then be easily transported in bulk to distributed high-pressure water-reforming (HPWR)-based systems to deliver hydrogen economically. The intent of this activity was to utilize the EERC’s existing HPWR hydrogen production process, previously designed and constructed in a prior project phase, as a basis to improve operational and production performance of an existing demonstration unit. Parameters to be pursued included higher hydrogen delivery pressure, higher hydrogen production rates, and the ability to refill within a 5-minute time frame.

This project addressed multiple aspects of the aluminum melting and handling in die casting operations, with the objective of increasing the energy efficiency while improving the quality of the molten metal. The efficiency of melting has always played an important role in the profitability of aluminum die casting operations. Consequently, die casters need to make careful choices in selecting and operating melting equipment and procedures. The capital cost of new melting equipment with higher efficiency can sometimes be recovered relatively fast when it replaces old melting equipment with lower efficiency. Upgrades designed to improve energy efficiency of existing equipment may be well justified. Energy efficiency is however not the only factor in optimizing melting operations. Melt losses and metal quality are also very important. Selection of melting equipment has to take into consideration the specific conditions at the die casting shop such as availability of floor space, average quantity of metal used as well as the ability to supply more metal during peaks in demand. In all these cases, it is essential to make informed decisions based on the best available data.

Abstract. This project was aimed at building the transverse dynamical spin susceptibility with the TD-LDA and the recently-developed Quasparticle Self-Consisent Approximations, which determines an optimum quasiparticle picture in a self-consistent manner within the GW approximation. Our main results were published into two papers, (J. Phys. Cond. Matt. 20, 95214 (2008), and Phys. Rev. B83, 060404(R) (2011). In the first paper we present spin wave dispersions for MnO, NiO, and #11;-MnAs based on quasiparticle self-consistent GW approximation (QSGW). For MnO and NiO, QSGW results are in rather good agreement with experiments, in contrast to the LDA and LDA+U descriptions. For #11;-MnAs, we find a collinear ferromagnetic ground state in QSGW, while this phase is unstable in the LDA. In the second, we apply TD-LDA to the CaFeAs2 — the first attempt the first ab initio calculation of dynamical susceptibililty in a system with complex electronic structure Magnetic excitations in the striped phase of CaFe2As2 are studied as a function of local moment amplitude. We find a new kind of excitation: sharp resonances of Stoner-like (itinerant) excitations at energies comparable to the N´eel temperature, originating largely from a narrow band of Fe d states near the Fermi level, and coexisting with more …

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The Langevin equations describing the average collisional dynamics of suprathermal particles in nonstationary plasma remarkably admit an exact analytical solution in the case of recombining plasma. The current density produced by arbitrary particle fluxes is derived including the effect of charge recombination. Since recombination has the effect of lowering the charge density of the plasma, thus reducing the charged particle collisional frequencies, the evolution of the current density can be modified substantially compared to plasma with fixed charge density. The current drive efficiency is derived and optimized for discrete and continuous pulses of current, leading to the discovery of a nonzero "residual" current density that persists indefinitely under certain conditions, a feature not present in stationary plasmas.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) jointly hosted a workshop on “CO{sub 2} Geologic Sequestration and Water Resources” in Berkeley, June 1–2, 2011. The focus of the workshop was to evaluate R&D needs related to geological storage of CO{sub 2} and potential impacts on water resources. The objectives were to assess the current status of R&D, to identify key knowledge gaps, and to define specific research areas with relevance to EPA’s mission. About 70 experts from EPA, the DOE National Laboratories, industry, and academia came to Berkeley for two days of intensive discussions. Participants were split into four breakout session groups organized around the following themes: Water Quality and Impact Assessment/Risk Prediction; Modeling and Mapping of Area of Potential Impact; Monitoring and Mitigation; Wells as Leakage Pathways. In each breakout group, participants identified and addressed several key science issues. All groups developed lists of specific research needs; some groups prioritized them, others developed short-term vs. long-term recommendations for research directions. Several crosscutting issues came up. Most participants agreed that the risk of CO{sub 2} leakage from sequestration sites that are properly selected and monitored is expected to be low. However, it also became …

The objective of this project is to demonstrate improved reliability and increased performance made possible by deeply embedding instrumentation and controls (I&C) in nuclear power plant (NPP) components and systems. The project is employing a highly instrumented canned rotor, magnetic bearing, fluoride salt pump as its I&C technology demonstration platform. I&C is intimately part of the basic millisecond-by-millisecond functioning of the system; treating I&C as an integral part of the system design is innovative and will allow significant improvement in capabilities and performance. As systems become more complex and greater performance is required, traditional I&C design techniques become inadequate and more advanced I&C needs to be applied. New I&C techniques enable optimal and reliable performance and tolerance of noise and uncertainties in the system rather than merely monitoring quasistable performance. Traditionally, I&C has been incorporated in NPP components after the design is nearly complete; adequate performance was obtained through over-design. By incorporating I&C at the beginning of the design phase, the control system can provide superior performance and reliability and enable designs that are otherwise impossible. This report describes the progress and status of the project and provides a conceptual design overview for the platform to demonstrate the performance and …

This report was prepared by PNNL for DOE's Building America program and is intended as a guide that energy performance contractors can share with homeowners to describe various insulation options for improving the energy performance and comfort of existing homes. The report provides descriptions of many common insulation types, including their advantages and disadvantages, R-values, characteristics, and typical uses. The report also describes potentially hazardous products such as asbestos and formaldehyde and safety issues when conducting energy-efficient upgrades including radon. The guide is available for download at the DOE Building America website, www.buildingamerica.gov.

The 2012 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) yields positive benefits for Oklahoma homeowners. Moving to the 2012 IECC from Chapter 11 of the 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) is cost effective over a 30-year life cycle. On average, Oklahoma homeowners will save $5,786 with the 2012 IECC. After accounting for upfront costs and additional costs financed in the mortgage, homeowners should see net positive cash flows (i.e., cumulative savings exceeding cumulative cash outlays) in 1 year for the 2012 IECC. Average annual energy savings are $408 for the 2012 IECC.

The 2009 and 2012 International Energy Conservation Codes (IECC) yield positive benefits for Mississippi homeowners. Moving to either the 2009 or 2012 IECC from the 2006 IECC is cost effective over a 30-year life cycle. On average, Mississippi homeowners will save $2,022 over 30 years under the 2009 IECC, with savings still higher at $5,400 with the 2012 IECC. After accounting for upfront costs and additional costs financed in the mortgage, homeowners should see net positive cash flows (i.e., cumulative savings exceeding cumulative cash outlays) in 2 years for both the 2009 and 2012 IECC. Average annual energy savings are $164 for the 2009 IECC and $422 for the 2012 IECC.

An interconnected network of silver nanowires has been used as transparent anode in OLED devices. This layer was deposited by spin-coating and slot-die coating from an aqueous nanowire suspension. The sheet resistance of the film was 10ohms/sq with a transmission (including the glass substrate) of higher than 85%. The first phase of the project focused on the implementation of this nanowire layer with a hole-injection-layer (HIL) which has been developed at Plextronics and has been shown to provide good stability and efficiency in conventional OLED devices. We modified the HIL solution such that it coated reasonably well with suitable surface morphology so that actual devices can be manufactured. During the second phase we investigated the hole-injection and stability of hole-onlydevices. We determined that the use of the nanowire network as anode does not introduce an additional degradation mechanism since the observed device characteristics did not differ from those made with ITO anode. We then proceeded to make actual OLED devices with this nanowire / HIL stack and achieved device characteristics similar state-of-the-art OLED devices with a single junction. In order to gain traction with potential OLED manufacturers, we decided to contract Novaled to prepare large-area demonstrators for us. For these …

Through an inter-disciplinary effort, DOE is addressing a need to advance monitoring approaches from sole reliance on cost- and labor-intensive point-source monitoring to integrated systems-based approaches such as flux-based approaches and the use of early indicator parameters. Key objectives include identifying current scientific, technical and implementation opportunities and challenges, prioritizing science and technology strategies to meet current needs within the DOE complex for the most challenging environments, and developing an integrated and risk-informed monitoring framework.

This four-year research project has advanced the fundamental knowledge of grain boundary (GB) complexions (i.e., "two-dimensional interfacial phases") and associated GB "phase" transitions in several grounds. First, a bilayer interfacial phase, which had been directly observed by microscopy only in complex ceramic systems in prior studies, has been identified in simpler systems such as Au-doped Si and Bi-doped Ni in this study, where the interpretations of the their formation mechanisms and microscopic images are less equivocal. Second, convincing evidence for the existence of a first-order GB transition from a nominally "clean" GB to a bilayer adsorption interfacial phase has been revealed for Au-doped Si; the confirmation of the first-order nature of interfacial transitions at GBs, which was rare in prior studies, is scientifically significant and technologically important. Third, the bilayer interfacial phase discovered in Bi-doped Ni has been found to be the cause of the mysterious liquid metal embrittlement phenomenon in this system; the exact atomic level mechanism of this phenomenon has puzzled the materials and physics communities for over a century. Finally, significant advancements have been made to establish phenomenological thermodynamic models for GB complexions and transitions. Since GB complexions can control the transport, mechanical and physical properties of …

Au-YSZ, Au-TiO{sub 2} and Au-CeO{sub 2} nanocomposite films have been investigated as a potential sensing element for high-temperature plasmonic sensing of H{sub 2}, CO, and NO{sub 2} in an oxygen containing environment. The Au-YSZ and Au-TiO{sub 2} films were deposited using PVD methods, while the CeO{sub 2} thin film was deposited by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and Au was implanted into the as-grown film at an elevated temperature followed by high temperature annealing to form well-defined Au nanoclusters. Each of the films were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). For the gas sensing experiments, separate exposures to varying concentrations of H{sub 2}, CO, and NO{sub 2} were performed at a temperature of 500°C in oxygen backgrounds of 5.0, 10, and ~21% O{sub 2}. Changes in the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) absorption peak were monitored during gas exposures and are believed to be the result of oxidation-reduction processes that fill or create oxygen vacancies in the respective metal oxides. This process affects the LSPR peak position either by charge exchange with the Au nanoparticles or by changes in the dielectric constant surrounding the particles. Hyperspectral multivariate analysis was used to gauge the inherent selectivity of the …

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Semi-solid metal (SSM) processing has emerged as an attractive method for near-net-shape manufacturing due to the distinct advantages it holds over conventional near-net-shape forming technologies. These advantages include lower cycle time, increased die life, reduced porosity, reduced solidification shrinkage, improved mechanical properties, etc. SSM processing techniques can not only produce the complex dimensional details (e.g. thin-walled sections) associated with conventional high-pressure die castings, but also can produce high integrity castings currently attainable only with squeeze and low-pressure permanent mold casting processes. There are two primary semi-solid processing routes, (a) thixocasting and (b) rheocasting. In the thixocasting route, one starts from a non-dendritic solid precursor material that is specially prepared by a primary aluminum manufacturer, using continuous casting methods. Upon reheating this material into the mushy (a.k.a. "two-phase") zone, a thixotropic slurry is formed, which becomes the feed for the casting operation. In the rheocasting route (a.k.a. "slurry-on-demand" or "SoD"), one starts from the liquid state, and the thixotropic slurry is formed directly from the melt via careful thermal management of the system; the slurry is subsequently fed into the die cavity. Of these two routes, rheocasting is favored in that there is no premium added to the billet cost, and …