The mathematical and physical foundations and domain of applicability of Sandia's GeoModel are presented along with descriptions of the source code and user instructions. The model is designed to be used in conventional finite element architectures, and (to date) it has been installed in five host codes without requiring customizing the model subroutines for any of these different installations. Although developed for application to geological materials, the GeoModel actually applies to a much broader class of materials, including rock-like engineered materials (such as concretes and ceramics) and even to metals when simplified parameters are used. Nonlinear elasticity is supported through an empirically fitted function that has been found to be well-suited to a wide variety of materials. Fundamentally, the GeoModel is a generalized plasticity model. As such, it includes a yield surface, but the term 'yield' is generalized to include any form of inelastic material response including microcrack growth and pore collapse. The geomodel supports deformation-induced anisotropy in a limited capacity through kinematic hardening (in which the initially isotropic yield surface is permitted to translate in deviatoric stress space to model Bauschinger effects). Aside from kinematic hardening, however, the governing equations are otherwise isotropic. The GeoModel is a genuine unification …

This report presents a classification scheme for risk assessment methods. This scheme, like all classification schemes, provides meaning by imposing a structure that identifies relationships. Our scheme is based on two orthogonal aspects--level of detail, and approach. The resulting structure is shown in Table 1 and is explained in the body of the report. Each cell in the Table represent a different arrangement of strengths and weaknesses. Those arrangements shift gradually as one moves through the table, each cell optimal for a particular situation. The intention of this report is to enable informed use of the methods so that a method chosen is optimal for a situation given. This report imposes structure on the set of risk assessment methods in order to reveal their relationships and thus optimize their usage.We present a two-dimensional structure in the form of a matrix, using three abstraction levels for the rows and three approaches for the columns. For each of the nine cells in the matrix we identify the method type by name and example. The matrix helps the user understand: (1) what to expect from a given method, (2) how it relates to other methods, and (3) how best to use it. Each …

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing preventive maintenance strategies for compressed air systems.

Small Wind Electric Systems: An Idaho Consumer's Guide provides consumers with information to help them determine whether a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include how to make a home more energy efficient, how to choose the correct turbine size, the parts of a wind electric system, how to determine whether enough wind resource exists, how to choose the best site for a turbine, how to connect a system to the utility grid, and whether it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a regional wind resource map and a list of incentives and contacts for more information.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing compressed air system control strategies.

Fact sheet details work by Cummins and Westport Innovations to develop a heavy-duty, low-NOx, high-pressure direct-injection natural gas engine for the Next Generation Natural Gas Vehicle activity.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing analysis of compressed air systems.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing engineer end uses for maximum efficiency.

BestPractices Program tip sheet discussing how to stabilize systems pressure.

Small Wind Electric Systems: A Montana Consumer's Guide provides consumers with information to help them determine whether a small wind electric system can provide all or a portion of the energy they need for their home or business based on their wind resource, energy needs, and their economics. Topics discussed in the guide include how to make a home more energy efficient, how to choose the correct turbine size, the parts of a wind electric system, how to determine whether enough wind resource exists, how to choose the best site for a turbine, how to connect a system to the utility grid, and whether it's possible to become independent of the utility grid using wind energy. In addition, the cover of the guide contains a regional wind resource map and a list of incentives and contacts for more information.

NREL's International & Environmental programs work to bring renewable energy technologies to developing nations, and to improve health, local economies, community development, and the environment. These programs provide expertise throughout the world in rural energy, integrated resource assessment, technology options analysis, training on renewable energy topics, renewable energy policy assistance, greenhouse gas mitigation, clean energy technology transfer, rural electrification, and air quality protection.

An assessment team conducted a pinch analysis on major production processes at a Rohm and Haas chemical plant. Several potential projects were identified, which could yield annual savings totaling 2.2 million MMBtu and almost$7.7 million.

This paper reviews the current status of the commercial PV Industry. It assesses the current status of commercially available modules, most of which use silicon wafers or ribbons. My analysis will show that the choice of Si wafers or substrates, once deemed to be the most important aspect, ended up making only negligible differences for commercial products, as long as cells are prepared by diffusion and screen printing. I will also address the prospects and requirements for both next generation thin-film modules and super-high (>20%) efficient commercial crystalline Si cells. It is shown that traditional recombination loss analyses provide a poor tool for understanding limitations of cell and module performance, because those analytical schemes ignore dominating interactions between different loss mechanisms (e.g., of surface and bulk recombination).

Summary of AMCAST Industrial Corporation's plant-wide assessment to identify energy and cost saving opportunities at the corporation's facility in Wapakoneta, Ohio.

The primary focus of this work is a new adaptive controller that is designed to resemble the standard non-adaptive controller used by the wind industry for variable speed wind turbines below rated power. This adaptive controller uses a simple, highly intuitive gain adaptation law designed to seek out the optimal gain for maximizing the turbine's energy capture. It is designed to work even in real, time-varying winds.

Future solar photovoltaics-hydrogen systems are discussed in terms of the evolving hydrogen economy. The focus is on distributed hydrogen, relying on the same distributed-energy strengths of solar-photovoltaic electricity in the built environment. Solar-hydrogen residences/buildings, as well as solar parks, are presented. The economics, feasibility, and potential of these approaches are evaluated in terms of roadmap predictions on photovoltaic and hydrogen pathways-and whether solar-hydrogen fit in these strategies and timeframes. Issues with the ''hydrogen future'' are considered, and alternatives to this hydrogen future are examined.

This subcontract report describes how Energy Conversion Devices, Inc., has developed and built 7 generations of roll-to-roll amorphous silicon PV production equipment. In the ECD/United Solar production process, we deposit about a 1-mm-thick, 12-layer coating consisting of a metal/oxide backreflector, a 9-layer a-Si/a-SiGe alloy triple-junction solar cell, and top transparent conductive oxide coating onto 125-mm-thick, 35.5-cm-wide stainless-steel webs in a series of three roll-to-roll deposition machines. In the PV Manufacturing R&D 6 program, ECD is building upon these accomplishments to enhance the operation of the present production machine, and lay the foundation for improvements in the next-generation machine. ECD has completed the Phase I work for the first two Tasks, and will complete the Phase I work for the second two tasks within the next two months. In the following report, we summarize the Phase I work in each of these tasks. We have involved United Solar production personnel in each of these Tasks. This is important for two reasons: First, the collaboration of ECD and United Solar personnel keeps the projects responsive to the developing needs at United Solar; and most of the tasks affect operations and consequently need the support of United Solar production and QA/QC managers. In …

Due to the development of the solar energy industry, a significant increase of polysilicon feedstock (PSF) production will be required in near future. The creation of special technology of solar grade polysilicon feedstock production is an important problem. Today, semiconductor-grade polysilicon is mainly manufactured using the trichlorosilane (SiHCl3) distillation and reduction. The feed-stock for trichlorosilane is metallurgical-grade silicon, the product of reduction of natural quartzite (silica). This polysilicon production method is characterized by high energy consumption and large amounts of wastes, containing environmentally harmful chlorine based compounds. In the former USSR the principles of industrial method for production of monosilane and polycrystalline silicon by thermal decomposition of monosilane were founded. This technology was proved in industrial scale at production of gaseous monosilane and PSF. We offered new chlorine free technology (CFT). Originality and novelty of the process were confirmed by Russian and US patents.

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The purpose of this CR is to document that closure activities have met the approved closure standards detailed in the NDEP-approved CAP for CAU 271. The purpose of the Errata Sheet is as follows: In Appendix G, Use Restriction (UR) Documentation, the UR form and drawing of the UR area do not reflect the correct coordinates. Since the original UR was put into place, the UR Form has been updated to include additional information that was not on the original form. This Errata Sheet replaces the original UR Form and drawing. In place of the drawing of the UR area, an aerial photograph is included which reflects the UR area and the correct coordinates for the UR area.

Salinas provides a massively parallel implementation of structural dynamics finite element analysis. This capability is required for high fidelity, validated models used in modal, vibration, static and shock analysis of weapons systems. General capabilities for modal, statics and transient dynamics are provided. Salinas is similar to commercial codes like Nastran or Abaqus. It has some nonlinear capability, but excels in linear computation. It is different than the above commercial codes in that it is designed to operate efficiently in a massively parallel environment. Even for an experienced analyst, running a new finite element package can be a challenge. This little primer is intended to make part of this task easier by presenting the basic steps in a simple way. The analyst is referred to the theory manual for details of the mathematics behind the work. The User's Notes should be used for more complex inputs, and will have more details about the process (as well as many more examples). More information can be found on our web pages, 3 or 4. Finite element analysis can be deceptive. Any software can give the wrong answers if used improperly, and occasionally even when used properly. Certainly a solid background in structural mechanics …

This report presents the findings of the human and ecological risk assessment for the NTS mud pits. The risk assessment utilizes data from 52 of the 270 NTS mud pits in conjunction with corroborative data from 87 other DOE mud pits associated with nuclear testing (at locations on the NTS, in the western United States, and Alaska) as well as relevant process knowledge. Based on the risk assessment findings, the report provides a strategy for further evaluation, characterization, and closure of all 270 NTS mud pit CASs using the Streamlined Approach for Environmental Restoration (SAFER).

This document is a compilation of the characterization data produced by ORNL for coated UCO fuel particles (350 {micro}m kernel diameter) fabricated by GA for the HRB-21 irradiation test capsule. The archived fuel particles form the batch used in HRB-21 were obtained by the Advanced Gas Reactor Fuel Development and Qualification (AGR) program for use as a reference material. The GA characterization data for this batch of fuel particles is presented in document GT-HTGR-88357, Rev. C, 'Capsule HRB-21 Preirradiation Report'. The archived fuel particles obtained by the AGR Program are from batch 8876-70, which was the parent batch for batch 8876-70-O, which was actually irradiated in HRB-21. The difference between batches 8876-70 and 8876-70-L is that the particles in batch 8876-70 do not have the seal coat and protective pyrocarbon coating (PPyC) that were deposited over the OPyC layer in batch 8876-70-O. The ORNL designation for the material characterized is AGR-10. This document summarizes characterization of the HRB-21 fuel for size, shape, coating thickness, and density. Fracture behavior and microstructural analysis of the layers and interfaces is compared to previous analyses of the German proof test particles (EU 2358-2365) published in ORNL/CF-04/06. Further detailed comparative study of the microstructure of …