The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity Program consists of vehicle, battery, and infrastructure testing on advanced technology related to transportation. The activity includes tests on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), including testing the HEV batteries when both the vehicles and batteries are new and at the conclusion of on-road fleet testing. This report documents battery testing performed for the 2010 Honda Civic HEV UltraBattery Conversion (VIN JHMFA3F24AS005577). Battery testing was performed by the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation dba ECOtality North America. The Idaho National Laboratory and ECOtality North America collaborate on the AVTA for the Vehicle Technologies Program of the DOE.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity (AVTA) program consists of vehicle, battery, and infrastructure testing on advanced technology related to transportation. The activity includes tests on plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), including testing the PHEV batteries when both the vehicles and batteries are new and at the conclusion of 12,000 miles of on-road fleet testing. This report documents battery testing performed for the 2011 Chevrolet Volt PHEV (VIN 1G1RD6E48BU100815). The battery testing was performed by the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation (eTec) dba ECOtality North America. The Idaho National Laboratory and ECOtality North America collaborate on the AVTA for the Vehicle Technologies Program of the DOE.

The U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity Program consists of vehicle, battery, and infrastructure testing on advanced technology related to transportation. The activity includes tests on hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), including testing the HEV batteries when both the vehicles and batteries are new and at the conclusion of 160,000 miles of on-road fleet testing. This report documents battery testing performed for the 2011 Hyundai Sonata Hybrid HEV (VIN KMHEC4A43BA004932). Battery testing was performed by the Electric Transportation Engineering Corporation dba ECOtality North America. The Idaho National Laboratory and ECOtality North America collaborate on the AVTA for the Vehicle Technologies Program of the DOE.

Load-bearing brick-masonry multifamily buildings are prevalent in urban areas across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. In most instances, these buildings are uninsulated unless they have been renovated within the past two decades. Affordable housing capital budgets typically limit what can be spent and energy improvements often take a back seat to basic capital improvements such as interior finish upgrades and basic repairs. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings is researching cost-effective solution packages for significant energy efficiency and indoor air-quality improvements in these urban buildings.

This report summarizes the results of an acoustic noise test that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) conducted on the Viryd CS8 wind turbine. This test was conducted in accordance with the International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) standard, Wind Turbine Generator Systems Part 11: Acoustic Noise Measurement Techniques, IEC 61400-11 Ed.2.1, 2006-11. However, because the Viryd CS8 is a small turbine, as defined by IEC, NREL used 10-second averages instead of 60-second averages and binning by wind speed instead of regression analysis.

The U.S. Department of Energy developed the Advanced Energy Retrofit Guides (AERGs) to provide specific methodologies, information, and guidance to help energy managers and other stakeholders successfully plan and execute energy efficiency improvements. Detailed technical discussion is fairly limited in these guides. Instead, we emphasize actionable information, practical methodologies, diverse case studies, and unbiased evaluations of the most promising retrofit measures for each building type. A series of AERGs is under development, addressing key segments of the commercial building stock. Grocery stores were selected as one of the highest priority sectors, because they represent one of the most energy-intensive market segments.

Quarterly update providing information on environmental regulations for small businesses and local governments in Texas.

Fact sheet describes the Alternative Fuels Data Center, which provides information, data, and tools to help fleets and other transportation decision makers find ways to reduce petroleum consumption through the use of alternative and renewable fuels, advanced vehicles, and other fuel-saving measures.

This study presents the material Challenges associated with Advanced Reactor Concept (ARC) such as the Advanced High Temperature Reactor (AHTR). ACR are the next generation concepts focusing on power production and providing thermal energy for industrial applications. The efficient transfer of energy for industrial applications depends on the ability to incorporate cost-effective heat exchangers between the nuclear heat transport system and industrial process heat transport system. The heat exchanger required for AHTR is subjected to a unique set of conditions that bring with them several design challenges not encountered in standard heat exchangers. The corrosive molten salts, especially at higher temperatures, require materials throughout the system to avoid corrosion, and adverse high-temperature effects such as creep. Given the very high steam generator pressure of the supercritical steam cycle, it is anticipated that water tube and molten salt shell steam generators heat exchanger will be used. In this paper, the ASME Section III and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Section VIII requirements (acceptance criteria) are discussed. Also, the ASME material acceptance criteria (ASME Section II, Part D) for high temperature environment are presented. Finally, lack of ASME acceptance criteria for thermal design and analysis are discussed.

With the push towards siting wind turbines farther offshore due to higher wind quality and less visibility, floating offshore wind turbines, which can be located in deep water, are becoming an economically attractive option. The International Electrotechnical Commission's (IEC) 61400-3 design standard covers fixed-bottom offshore wind turbines, but there are a number of new research questions that need to be answered to modify these standards so that they are applicable to floating wind turbines. One issue is the appropriate simulation length needed for floating turbines. This paper will discuss the results from a study assessing the impact of simulation length on the ultimate and fatigue loads of the structure, and will address uncertainties associated with changing the simulation length for the analyzed floating platform. Recommendations of required simulation length based on load uncertainty will be made and compared to current simulation length requirements.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to Texas State University-San Marcos' controls over its financial and operational processes, and to opportunities for improvement in areas such as financial reporting, capital and controlled asset processes, contract management, procurement card purchases, and information technology.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Department of Licensing and Regulation has designed and implemented effective processes and related controls to help ensure that it conducts inspection activities of selected regulated businesses and equipment in accordance with applicable statutes, administrative rules, and Department policies and procedures.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the Department of Transportation's (Department) ability to plan, procure, form, and monitor contracts and authorizations related to the design and reconstruction of an interchange on State Highway 352 in the Department's Dallas District according to applicable statutes and rules and its policies and procedures.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to the Texas Education Agency's (Agency) ability to procure, manage, and monitor selected contracts for goods and services in accordance with applicable statutes, rules, Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts (Comptroller) requirements, and state entity policies and procedures to help ensure that the State's interests were protected.

Report of the Texas State Auditor's Office related to determining whether the Railroad Commission has established and adheres to a risk assessment process to prioritize the plugging of wells with state funds; and whether the Commission has designed and implemented effective processes and related controls to help ensure that regulated entities establish and maintain the financial assurance required by Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 91, in amounts consistent with state law, administrative rules, and Commission policy, and the Commission collects funds from those sources in accordance with Commission policies and procedures, the administrative rules, and the terms of agreements related to that financial assurance.

This poster presents initial estimates of the net energy impacts of automated vehicles (AVs). Automated vehicle technologies are increasingly recognized as having potential to decrease carbon dioxide emissions and petroleum consumption through mechanisms such as improved efficiency, better routing, lower traffic congestion, and by enabling advanced technologies. However, some effects of AVs could conceivably increase fuel consumption through possible effects such as longer distances traveled, increased use of transportation by underserved groups, and increased travel speeds. The net effect on petroleum use and climate change is still uncertain. To make an aggregate system estimate, we first collect best estimates for the energy impacts of approximately ten effects of AVs. We then use a modified Kaya Identity approach to estimate the range of aggregate effects and avoid double counting. We find that depending on numerous factors, there is a wide range of potential energy impacts. Adoption of automated personal or shared vehicles can lead to significant fuel savings but has potential for backfire.

Study intended to evaluate the potential effects of changes in water management resulting from new recommended environmental regimes.

This document provides information on becoming a Texas game warden.

There is growing interest in the United States and abroad to increase the use of biomass as an energy source due to environmental and energy security benefits. In the United States, the biofuel and biopower industries are regulated by different policies and different agencies and have different drivers, which impact the maximum price the industries are willing to pay for biomass. This article describes a dynamic computer simulation model that analyzes future behavior of bioenergy feedstock markets based on varying policy and technical options. The model simulates the long-term dynamics of these markets by treating advanced biomass feedstocks as a commodity and projecting the total demand of each industry, as well as the market price over time. The model is used for an analysis of the United States bioenergy feedstock market that projects supply, demand, and market price given three independent buyers: domestic biopower, domestic biofuels, and foreign exports. With base-case assumptions, the biofuels industry is able to dominate the market and meet the federal Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) targets for advanced biofuels. Further analyses suggest that United States bioenergy studies should include estimates of export demand for biomass in their projections, and that GHG-limiting policy would partially shield both …

Spanish-language pamphlet providing information about hunting in public areas from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

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T to compute the radiography properties of various materials, the flux profiles of X-ray sources must be characterized. This report describes the characterization of X-ray beam profiles from a Kimtron industrial 450 kVp radiography system with a Comet MXC-45 HP/11 bipolar oil-cooled X-ray tube. The empirical method described here uses a detector response function to derive photon flux profiles based on data collected with a small cadmium telluride detector. The flux profiles are then reduced to a simple parametric form that enables computation of beam profiles for arbitrary accelerator energies.

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Newsletter from the Texas Department of State Health Services providing information on health care for children with special needs, including resources for medical help and community services.