None

The oxidation in air of high-purity Al foil was studied as a function of temperature using Thermogravimetric Analysis with Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TGA/DSC). The rate and/or extent of oxidation was found to be a non-linear function of the temperature. Between 650 and 750 %C2%B0C very little oxidation took place; at 850 %C2%B0C oxidation occurred after an induction period, while at 950 %C2%B0C oxidation occurred without an induction period. At oxidation temperatures between 1050 and 1150 %C2%B0C rapid passivation of the surface of the aluminum foil occurred, while at 1250 %C2%B0C and above, an initial rapid mass increase was observed, followed by a more gradual increase in mass. The initial rapid increase was accompanied by a significant exotherm. Cross-sections of oxidized specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM); the observed alumina skin thicknesses correlated qualitatively with the observed mass increases.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been tasked with evaluating the effectiveness of ORNL’s new hybrid transport code, ADVANTG, on scenarios of interest to our NA-22 sponsor, specifically of detection of diversion of special nuclear material (SNM). PNNL staff have determined that acquisition and installation of ADVANTG was relatively straightforward for a code in its phase of development, but probably not yet sufficient for mass distribution to the general user. PNNL staff also determined that with little effort, ADVANTG generated weight windows that typically worked for the problems and generated results consistent with MCNP. With slightly greater effort of choosing a finer mesh around detectors or sample reaction tally regions, the figure of merit (FOM) could be further improved in most cases. This does take some limited knowledge of deterministic transport methods. The FOM could also be increased by limiting the energy range for a tally to the energy region of greatest interest. It was then found that an MCNP run with the full energy range for the tally showed improved statistics in the region used for the ADVANTG run. The specific case of interest chosen by the sponsor is the CIPN project from Las Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), which …

In November 2012, the Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA) released a new report, 'Natural Gas and the Transformation of the U.S. Energy Sector: Electricity.' The study provides a new methodological approach to estimate natural gas related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, tracks trends in regulatory and voluntary industry practices, and explores various electricity futures. The Executive Summary provides key findings, insights, data, and figures from this major study.

None

A solid-state optical system, invented by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), measures solar cell quantum efficiency (QE) in less than a second, enabling a suite of new capabilities for solar cell manufacturers. QE is a measurement of how cells respond to light across the solar spectrum, but traditional methods for measuring QE had been too slow, limiting its application to small samples pulled from the production line and analyzed in laboratories. NREL's technique, commercialized by Tau Science as the FlashQE(TM) system, uses a solid-state light source, synchronized electronics, and advanced mathematical analysis to parallel-process QE data in a tiny fraction of the time required by the current method, allowing its use on every solar cell passing through a production line.

Energy efficiency improvement as a component of comprehensive renovation was investigated under U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding of the Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC). Researchers at the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) worked with affordable housing partners renovating foreclosed homes built from the 1950's through the 2000's in the hot-humid climate (within the Southern census region), primarily in Florida. Researchers targeted a 30% improvement in whole-house energy efficiency along with the health and safety, durability, and comfort guidelines outlined in DOE's Builders Challenge Program (Version 1) Quality Criteria.

The objective of the studies was to elucidate the heterogeneous chemistry of tropospheric aerosols. Experiments were designed to measure both specifically needed parameters, and to obtain systematic data required to build a fundamental understanding of the nature of gas-surface physical and chemical interactions

With assistance from the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) and its Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction (BA-PIRC), Atlantic Housing Partners (AHP) has implemented a high performance, systems engineered package of measures. This report demonstrates how the initiative achieves Building America (BA) goals of 30%-50% energy savings. Specifically, the goals are documented as being achieved in the new construction multifamily housing sector in the hot humid climate. Results from energy modeling of the high performance package are presented. The role of utility allowance calculations, used as part of the low-income housing tax credit process, to value those energy savings is discussed, as is customer satisfaction with heat pump water heaters.

This addendum to the Closure Report for Corrective Action Unit 547: Miscellaneous Contaminated Waste Sites, Nevada National Security Site, Nevada, DOE/NV--1480, dated July 2012, documents repairs of erosion and construction of engineered erosion protection features at Corrective Action Site (CAS) 02-37-02 (MULLET) and CAS 09-99-06 (PLAYER). The final as-built drawings are included in Appendix A, and photographs of field work are included in Appendix B. Field work was completed on March 11, 2013.

None

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in accordance with the RE-Powering America's Land initiative, selected the Brisbane Baylands site in Brisbane, California, for a feasibility study of renewable energy production. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provided technical assistance for this project. The purpose of this report is to assess the site for a possible photovoltaic (PV) system installation and estimate the cost, performance, and site impacts of different PV options. In addition, the report recommends financing options that could assist in the implementation of a PV system at the site.

Under this project, Newport Partners (as part of the BA-PIRC research team) evaluated the installation, measured performance, and cost-effectiveness of efficiency upgrade measures for a tenant-in-place DER at the Bay Ridge multifamily (MF) development in Annapolis, Maryland. The design and construction phase of the Bay Ridge project was completed in August 2012. This report summarizes system commissioning, short-term test results, utility bill data analysis, and analysis of real-time data collected over a one-year period after the retrofit was complete. The Bay Ridge project is comprised of a 'base scope' retrofit which was estimated to achieve a 30%+ savings (relative to pre-retrofit) on 186 apartments, and a 'DER scope' which was estimated to achieve 50% savings (relative to pre-retrofit) on a 12-unit building. The base scope was applied to the entire apartment complex, except for one 12-unit building which underwent the DER scope. A wide range of efficiency measures was applied to pursue this savings target for the DER building, including improvements/replacements of mechanical equipment and distribution systems, appliances, lighting and lighting controls, the building envelope, hot water conservation measures, and resident education. The results of this research build upon the current body of knowledge of multifamily retrofits. Towards this end, …

Plug and process loads (PPLs) in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the design and operation of an energy-efficient building. PPLs are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the occupants. They use an increasingly large fraction of the building energy use pie because the number and variety of electrical devices have increased along with building system efficiency. Reducing PPLs is difficult because energy efficiency opportunities and the equipment needed to address PPL energy use in retail spaces are poorly understood.

Tritium is a radiologically active isotope of hydrogen. It is formed in nuclear reactors by neutron absorption and ternary fission events and can subsequently escape into the environment. To prevent the tritium contamination of proposed reactor buildings and surrounding sites, this study examines the root causes and potential mitigation strategies for permeation of tritium (such as: materials selection, inert gas sparging, etc...). A model is presented that can be used to predict permeation rates of hydrogen through metallic alloys at temperatures from 450–750 degrees C. Results of the diffusion model are presented for a steady production of tritium

Water Cherenkov detectors have been used for many years as inexpensive, effective detectors for neutrino interactions and nucleon decay searches. While many important measurements have been made with these detectors a major drawback has been their inability to detect the absorption of thermal neutrons. We believe an inexpensive, effective technique could be developed to overcome this situation via the addition to water of a solute with a large neutron cross section and energetic gamma daughters which would make neutrons detectable. Gadolinium seems an excellent candidate especially since in recent years it has become very inexpensive, now less than $8 per kilogram in the form of commercially-available gadolinium trichloride, GdCl{sub 3}. This non-toxic, non-reactive substance is highly soluble in water. Neutron capture on gadolinium yields a gamma cascade which would be easily seen in detectors like Super-Kamiokande. We have been investigating the use of GdCl{sub 3} as a possible upgrade for the Super-Kamiokande detector with a view toward improving its performance as a detector for atmospheric neutrinos, supernova neutrinos, wrong-sign solar neutrinos, reactor neutrinos, proton decay, and also as a target for the coming T2K long-baseline neutrino experiment. This focused study of selective water filtration and GdCl{sub 3} extraction techniques, conducted …

Through the New Mexico Small Business Assistance Program, Sandia National Laboratories worked with Sentient Business Systems, Inc. to develop and test a novel photovoltaic (PV) arc-fault detection system. The system operates by pairing translucent polymeric fiber optic sensors with electrical circuitry so that any external abrasion to the system or internal heating causes the fiber optic connection to fail or detectably degrade. A periodic pulse of light is sent through the optical path using a transmitter-receiver pair. If the receiver does not detect the pulse, an alarm is sounded and the PV system can be de-energized. This technology has the unique ability to prognostically determine impending failures to the electrical system in two ways: (a) the optical connection is severed prior to physical abrasion or cutting of PV DC electrical conductors, and (b) the polymeric fiber optic cable melts via Joule heating before an arc-fault is established through corrosion. Three arc-faults were created in different configurations found in PV systems with the integrated fiber optic system to determine the feasibility of the technology. In each case, the fiber optic cable was broken and the system annunciated the fault.

Samples have been prepared from a 9975 lower fiberboard subassembly fabricated from softwood fiberboard. Physical, mechanical and thermal properties have been measured following varying periods of conditioning in each of several environments. These tests have been conducted in the same manner as previous testing on cane fiberboard samples. Overall, similar aging trends are observed for softwood and cane fiberboard samples, with a few differences. Some softwood fiberboard properties tend to degrade faster in elevated humidity environments, while some cane fiberboard properties degrade faster in the hotter dry environments. As a result, it is premature to assume both materials will age at the same rates, and the preliminary aging models developed for cane fiberboard might not apply to softwood fiberboard. However, it is expected that both cane and softwood fiberboard assemblies will perform satisfactorily in conforming packages stored in a typical KAMS environment for up to 15 years. Aging and testing of softwood fiberboard will continue and additional data will be collected. Post-conditioning data have been measured on samples from a single softwood fiberboard assembly, and baseline data are also available from a limited number of vendor-provided samples. This provides minimal information on the possible sample-to-sample variation exhibited by softwood fiberboard. …

The primary purpose of this project was to combine the ease-of-installation and ease-of-use attributes of industrial induction motors with the low-loss and small size and weight advantages of PM motors to create an ultra-efficient, high power density industrial motor that can be started across-the-line or operated from a standard, Volts/Hertz drive without the need for a rotor position feedback device. PM motor products that are currently available are largely variable speed motors that require a special adjustable speed drive with rotor position feedback. The reduced size and weight helps to offset the magnet cost in order make these motors commercially viable. The scope of this project covers horsepower ratings from 20 ? 500. Prototypes were built and tested at ratings ranging from 30 to 250 HP. Since fans, pumps and compressors make up a large portion of industrial motor applications, the motor characteristics are tailored to those applications. Also, since there is extensive use of adjustable frequency inverters in these applications, there is the opportunity to design for an optimal pole number and operate at other than 60 Hz frequency when inverters are utilized. Designs with four and eight pole configurations were prototyped as part of this work. Four pole …

A low temperature waste form known as Cast Stone is being considered to provide supplemental Low Activity Waste (LAW) immobilization capacity for the Hanford site. Formulation of Cast Stone at high sodium concentrations is of interest since a significant reduction in the necessary volume of Cast Stone and subsequent disposal costs could be achieved if an acceptable waste form can be produced with a high sodium molarity salt solution combined with a high water to premix (or dry blend) ratio. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the factors involved with increasing the sodium concentration in Cast Stone, including production and performance properties and the retention and release of specific components of interest. Three factors were identified for the experimental matrix: the concentration of sodium in the simulated salt solution, the water to premix ratio, and the blast furnace slag portion of the premix. The salt solution simulants used in this study were formulated to represent the overall average waste composition. The cement, blast furnace slag, and fly ash were sourced from a supplier in the Hanford area in order to be representative. The test mixes were prepared in the laboratory and fresh properties were measured. Fresh density increased …

Project OASIS (Operation of Advanced Structures, Interfaces and Sub-components for MEAs) was a 12 month project that ran from 1st September 2008 to 31st August 2009, and was managed by the Department of Energy Office of Science, Chicago Office, as Award No DE-FG02-08ER64658, with Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells Inc. as the sole contractor. The project was completed on schedule, with technical successes (details below) and payment of the full grant award made by DOE. The aim of the project was the development of membrane electrode assemblies (MEAs) for H2/air polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells that would give higher performance under hot/dry and dry operating conditions, ideally with no loss of performance under wet conditions. Reducing or eliminating the need for humidifying the incoming gases will allow significant system cost and size reduction for many fuel cell applications including automotive, stationary and back-up power, and portable systems. Portable systems are also of particular interest in military markets. In previous work Johnson Matthey Fuel Cells had developed very stable, corrosion-resistant catalysts suitable for resisting degradation by carbon corrosion in particular. These materials were applied within the OASIS project as they are considered necessary for systems such as automotive where multiple start-stop …

The neutron radiography (NRAD) reactor is a 250 kW TRIGA® (Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics) Mark II , tank-type research reactor currently located in the basement, below the main hot cell, of the Hot Fuel Examination Facility (HFEF) at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). It is equipped with two beam tubes with separate radiography stations for the performance of neutron radiography irradiation on small test components. The initial critical configuration developed during the fuel loading process, which contains only 56 fuel elements, has been evaluated as an acceptable benchmark experiment. The 60-fuel-element operational core configuration of the NRAD LEU TRIGA reactor has also been evaluated as an acceptable benchmark experiment. Calculated eigenvalues differ significantly (~±1%) from the benchmark eigenvalue and have demonstrated sensitivity to the thermal scattering treatment of hydrogen in the U-Er-Zr-H fuel.

Guiding center simulations are routinely used for the discovery of mode-particle resonances in tokamaks, for both resistive and ideal instabilities and to find modifications of particle distributions caused by a given spectrum of modes, including large scale avalanches during events with a number of large amplitude modes. One of the most fundamental properties of ideal magnetohydrodynamics is the condition that plasma motion cannot change magnetic topology. The conventional representation of ideal magnetohydrodynamic modes by perturbing a toroidal equilibrium field through δ~B = ∇ X (ξ X B) however perturbs the magnetic topology, introducing extraneous magnetic islands in the field. A proper treatment of an ideal perturbation involves a full Lagrangian displacement of the field due to the perturbation and conserves magnetic topology as it should. In order to examine the effect of ideal magnetohydrodynamic modes on particle trajectories the guiding center equations should include a correct Lagrangian treatment. Guiding center equations for an ideal displacement ξ are derived which perserve the magnetic topology and are used to examine mode particle resonances in toroidal confinement devices. These simulations are compared to others which are identical in all respects except that they use the linear representation for the field. Unlike the case …

The purpose of this Process Development Plan is to summarize the objectives and plans for the technology development activities for an alternative path for disposition of the recycle stream that will be generated in the Hanford Waste Treatment Plant Low Activity Waste (LAW) vitrification facility (LAW Recycle). This plan covers the first phase of the development activities. The baseline plan for disposition of this stream is to recycle it to the WTP Pretreatment Facility, where it will be concentrated by evaporation and returned to the LAW vitrification facility. Because this stream contains components that are volatile at melter temperatures and are also problematic for the glass waste form, they accumulate in the Recycle stream, exacerbating their impact on the number of LAW glass containers. Approximately 32% of the sodium in Supplemental LAW comes from glass formers used to make the extra glass to dilute the halides to acceptable concentrations in the LAW glass, and reducing the halides in the Recycle is a key component of this work. Additionally, under possible scenarios where the LAW vitrification facility commences operation prior to the WTP Pretreatment facility, this stream does not have a proven disposition path, and resolving this gap becomes vitally important. …