This report describes Evergreen Solar, Inc., String Ribbon Si PV technology resulting in an advanced generation of crystalline silicon PV module manufacturing technology applied to a virtually continuous, fully integrated manufacturing line. General objectives for this first year (or Phase I) are listed here, followed by the principal accomplishments for each of these objectives: (1) scale-up of a production-worthy method for doping feedstock; (2) development of a multiple-ribbon growth system (Project Gemini); (3) development of wrap-around contacts for making monolithic modules; (4) accelerated testing of small-size (25 W) monolithic modules; (5) development of an in-line production machine to form solar cell contacts using Evergreen's unique contact printing technology.

The goal of the Blade System Design Study (BSDS) was investigation and evaluation of design and manufacturing issues for wind turbine blades in the one to ten megawatt size range. A series of analysis tasks were completed in support of the design effort. We began with a parametric scaling study to assess blade structure using current technology. This was followed by an economic study of the cost to manufacture, transport and install large blades. Subsequently we identified several innovative design approaches that showed potential for overcoming fundamental physical and manufacturing constraints. The final stage of the project was used to develop several preliminary 50m blade designs. The key design impacts identified in this study are: (1) blade cross-sections, (2) alternative materials, (3) IEC design class, and (4) root attachment. The results show that thick blade cross-sections can provide a large reduction in blade weight, while maintaining high aerodynamic performance. Increasing blade thickness for inboard sections is a key method for improving structural efficiency and reducing blade weight. Carbon/glass hybrid blades were found to provide good improvements in blade weight, stiffness, and deflection when used in the main structural elements of the blade. The addition of carbon resulted in modest cost …

Internal inspection of pipelines is an important tool for ensuring safe and reliable delivery of fossil energy products. However, not all pipelines can be inspected with current systems that move inside the pipeline propelled by the product flow. Inspection platforms that crawl slowly inside a pipeline are being developed to maneuver past the physical barriers that limit inspection. Battelle is building innovative electromagnetic sensors for pipeline crawlers. The various sensor types will assess a wide range of pipeline anomalies including corrosion, mechanical damage, cracking and seam weld defects. An implementation of two electromagnetic sensors were designed and tested. A pulsed eddy current system that uses sensors to measure the decay of induced eddy currents to establish the wall thickness has excellent potential. The results of experiments are comparable with magnetic flux leakage detecting 10% metal loss steps following a monotonic increase in signal strength. A rotating permanent remote field eddy current exciter was designed and built to produce strong signal levels at the receiver and reduce power consumption. Midway through the development of each technology, both sensor systems have produced results that warrant further development.

In residential and light commercial construction in the United States, heating and cooling ducts are often located outside the thermal or pressure boundary of the conditioned space. This location is selected for aesthetic and space requirement reasons. Typical duct locations include attics, above dropped ceilings, crawlspaces, and attached garages. A wide body of literature has found that distribution system conduction and air leakage can cause 30-40% energy losses before cooling and heating air reaches the conditioned space. Recent innovative attempts at locating ducts in the conditioned space have had mixed results in terms of improving duct efficiency. Some of these strategies include cathedralizing attics (sealing and insulating at the attic roofline) and locating ducts in interstitial spaces. This paper reviews modeling studies that suggest substantial savings could be realized from these strategies and presents field measurements which reveal that construction planning and execution errors can prevent these strategies from being widely applied or from being effective when they are applied. These types of problems will need to be overcome for effective integration of ducts into the conditioned space.

In this work, we visualize high-dimensional particle simulation data using a suite of scatter plot-based visualizations coupled with interactive selection tools. We use traditional 2D and 3D projection scatter plots as well as a novel oriented disk rendering style to convey various information about the data. Interactive selection tools allow physicists to manually classify ''interesting'' sets of particles that are highlighted across multiple, linked views of the data. The power of our application is the ability to correspond new visual representations of the simulation data with traditional, well understood visualizations. This approach supports the interactive exploration of the high-dimensional space while promoting discovery of new particle behavior.

This report describes the work and the results of Annex XVI, Wind Turbine Round-Robin Test Task, performed under the auspices of the International Energy Agency's (IEA's) Agreement for Cooperation in the Research and Development of Wind Turbine Systems (IEA R&D WTS). The objectives of Annex XVI were to validate wind turbine testing procedures, analyze and resolve sources of discrepancies, and to improve the testing methods and procedures. All participating laboratories tested similar wind turbines at their own facilities, using comparable test instrumentation and data acquisition equipment.

This report describes the findings of the effort initiated by the Arab Science and Technology Foundation and the Cooperative Monitoring Center at Sandia National Laboratories to identify, contact, and engage members of the Iraqi science and technology (S&T) community. The initiative is divided into three phases. The first phase, the survey of the Iraqi scientific community, shed light on the most significant current needs in the fields of science and technology in Iraq. Findings from the first phase will lay the groundwork for the second phase that includes the organization of a workshop to bring international support for the initiative, and simultaneously decides on an implementation mechanism. Phase three involves the execution of outcomes of the report as established in the workshop. During Phase 1 the survey team conducted a series of trips to Iraq during which they had contact with nearly 200 scientists from all sections of the country, representing all major Iraqi S&T specialties. As a result of these contacts, the survey team obtained over 450 project ideas from Iraqi researchers. These projects were revised and analyzed to identify priorities and crucial needs. After refinement, the result is approximately 170 project ideas that have been categorized according to …

In this investigation, various aspects of the mechanisms of gettering contaminant impurities away from device active regions in Si have been systematically conducted. Also systematically studied are the modeling of electrical activity of metallic precipitates in Si based on the Schottky effect. With these studies, our knowledge of gettering in Si and on the electrical activity of metallic precipitates in Si has become substantially complete in the sense that interpretations of major experimental results have become self- and mutually consistent. The purpose of conducting the studies supported by this project was to obtain consistent interpretations of existing experimental results, as well as to conduct the needed new experiments, concerning the various phenomena associated with gettering in Si. The investigated gettering method is that by using an Al layer, and the involved works span from studies concerning basic point defect behaviors during gettering to studies of application of the gettering method to improve multicrystalline Si minority-carrier diffusion lengths. A preliminary study of the effect of gettering in affecting the solar cell efficiency has been conducted. Moreover, a study of the electrical behavior of precipitated metallic impurities in Si based on the Schottky property of the precipitates, which is a newly proposed …

An experimental program was conducted to study a proposed approach for oil reintroduction in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). The goal was to assess whether useful oil is rendered unusable through formation of a stable oil-brine emulsion during reintroduction of degassed oil into the brine layer in storage caverns. An earlier report (O'Hern et al., 2003) documented the first stage of the program, in which simulant liquids were used to characterize the buoyant plume that is produced when a jet of crude oil is injected downward into brine. This report documents the final two test series. In the first, the plume hydrodynamics experiments were completed using SPR oil, brine, and sludge. In the second, oil reinjection into brine was run for approximately 6 hours, and sampling of oil, sludge, and brine was performed over the next 3 months so that the long-term effects of oil-sludge mixing could be assessed. For both series, the experiment consisted of a large transparent vessel that is a scale model of the proposed oil-injection process at the SPR. For the plume hydrodynamics experiments, an oil layer was floated on top of a brine layer in the first test series and on top of a sludge …

We report a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) study on containment of airborne hazardous materials in a ventilated room containing a downdraft table. Specifically, we investigate the containment of hazardous airborne material obtainable under a range of ventilation configurations. The desirable ventilation configuration should ensure excellent containment of the hazardous material released from the workspace above the downdraft table. However, increased airflow raises operation costs, so the airflow should be as low as feasible without compromising containment. The airflow is modeled using Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes equations with a high Reynolds number k-epsilon turbulence model. CFD predictions are examined for several ventilation configurations. Based on this study, we find that substantial improvements in containment are possible concurrent with a significant reduction in airflow, compared to the existing design of ventilation configuration.

The expected performance of a proposed ion exchange column using SuperLig{reg_sign} 644 resin for the removal of cesium from Hanford high level radioactive alkaline waste is discussed. This report represents a final report on the ability and knowledge with regard to modeling the Cesium-SuperLig{reg_sign} 644 resin ion exchange system. Only the loading phase of the cycle process is addressed within this report. Pertinent bench-scale column tests and batch equilibrium experiments are addressed. The methodology employed and sensitivity analyses are also included (i.e., existing methodology employed is referenced to prior developmental efforts while updated methodology is discussed). Pilot-scale testing is not assessed since no pilot-scale testing was available at the time of this report. Column performance predictions are made considering three selected feed compositions under nominal operating conditions. The sensitivity analyses provided help to identify key parameters that aid in resin procurement acceptance criteria. The methodology and application presented within this report reflect the expected behavior of SuperLig{reg_sign} 644 resin manufactured at the production-scale (i.e, 250 gallon batch size level). The primary objective of this work was, through modeling and verification based on experimental assessments, to predict the cesium removal performance of SuperLig{reg_sign} 644 resin for application in the RPP pretreatment …

A linear elastic constitutive equation for modeling fiber-reinforced laminated composites via shell elements is specified. The effects of transverse shear are included using first-order shear deformation theory. The proposed model is written in a rate form for numerical evaluation in the Sandia quasi-statics code ADAGIO and explicit dynamics code PRESTO. The equation for the critical time step needed for explicit dynamics is listed assuming that a flat bilinear Mindlin shell element is used in the finite element representation. Details of the finite element implementation and usage are given. Finally, some of the verification examples that have been included in the ADAGIO regression test suite are presented.

A trace explosives detection system typically contains three subsystems: sample collection, preconcentration, and detection. Sample collection of trace explosives (vapor and particulate) through large volumes of airflow helps reduce sampling time while increasing the amount of dilute sample collected. Preconcentration of the collected sample before introduction into the detector improves the sensitivity of the detector because of the increase in sample concentration. By combining large-volume sample collection and preconcentration, an improvement in the detection of explosives is possible. Large-volume sampling and preconcentration is presented using a systems level approach. In addition, the engineering of large-volume sampling and preconcentration for the trace detection of explosives is explained.

Experiments explore guiding of intense laser pulses, optimization using channel formation beams and gas jet targets, and the interplay of channel guiding and relativistic self guiding. Impact on laser wakefield particle acceleration is being assessed.

This report is to formalize the REA/MMS forecast models used in the Gulf Coast. With these models they forecast GOM infrastructure like number of exploratory wells and number of development wells.

This objective of this project is to study the dynamics of the interactions of low energy ions important in combustion with small molecules in the gas phase and with liquid hydrocarbon surfaces. The first of these topics is a long-standing project in our laboratory devoted to probing the key features of potential energy surfaces that control chemical reactivity. The project provides detailed information on the utilization of specific forms of incident energy, the role of preferred reagent geometries, and the disposal of total reaction energy into product degrees of freedom. We employ crossed molecular beam methods under single collision conditions, at collision energies from below one eV to several eV, to probe potential surfaces over a broad range of distances and interaction energies. These studies allow us to test and validate dynamical models describing chemical reactivity. Measurements of energy and angular distributions of the reaction products with vibrational state resolution provide the key data for these studies. We employ the crossed beam low energy mass spectrometry methods that we have developed over the last several years.

Bulk and surface energies are calculated for endmembers of the isostructural rhombohedral carbonate mineral family, including Ca, Cd, Co, Fe, Mg, Mn, Ni, and Zn compositions. The calculations for the bulk agree with the densities, bond distances, bond angles, and lattice enthalpies reported in the literature. The calculated energies also correlate with measured dissolution rates: the lattice energies show a log-linear relationship to the macroscopic dissolution rates at circumneutral pH. Moreover, the energies of ion pairs translated along surface steps are calculated and found to predict experimentally observed microscopic step retreat velocities. Finally, pit formation excess energies decrease with increasing pit size, which is consistent with the nonlinear dissolution kinetics hypothesized for the initial stages of pit formation.

Given a video image source, a statistical pressure snake is able to track a color target in real time. This report presents an algorithm that exploits the one-dimensional nature of the visual snake target outline. If the target resembles a four-sided polygon, then the four polygon sides are identified by mapping all image snake point coordinates into Hough space where lines become points. After establishing that four dominant lines are present in snake contour, the polygon corner points are estimated. The computation burden of this algorithm is of the N logN type. The advantage of this method is that it can provide real-time target corner estimates, even if the corners themselves might be occluded.

This technical report describes the results from Task 1 of the Cooperative Agreement. Powerspan has installed, tested, and validated Hg SCEMS systems for measuring oxidized and elemental mercury at the pilot facility at R.E. Burger Generating Station in Shadyside, Ohio. When operating properly, these systems are capable of providing near real-time monitoring of inlet and outlet gas flow streams and are capable of extracting samples from different locations to characterize mercury removal at these different ECO process stages. This report discusses the final configuration of the Hg CEM systems and the operating protocols that increase the reliability of the HG SCEM measurements. Documentation on the testing done to verify the operating protocols is also provided. In addition the report provides details on the protocols developed and used for measurement of mercury in process liquid streams and in captured ash.

Process heating plays a key role in producing steel, aluminum, and glass and in manufacturing products made from these materials. Faced with regulatory and competitive pressures to control emissions and reduce operating costs, metal and glass manufacturers are considering a variety of options for reducing overall energy consumption. As 38% of the energy used in U.S. industrial plants is consumed for process heating applications, metal and glass manufacturers are discovering that process heating technologies provide significant opportunities for improving industrial productivity, energy efficiency, and global competitiveness. This fact sheet is the first in a series to describe such opportunities that can be realized in industrial systems by conducting plant-wide assessments (PWA).

We report the first complete mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequence from a member of the phylum Chaetognatha (arrow worms). The Paraspadella gotoi mtDNA is highly unusual, missing 23 of the genes commonly found in animal mtDNAs, including atp6, which has otherwise been found universally to be present. Its 14 genes are unusually arranged into two groups, one on each strand. One group is punctuated by numerous non-coding intergenic nucleotides, while the other group is tightly packed, having no non-coding nucleotides, leading to speculation that there are two transcription units with differing modes of expression. The phylogenetic position of the Chaetognatha within the Metazoa has long been uncertain, with conflicting or equivocal results from various morphological analyses and rRNA sequence comparisons. Comparisons here of amino acid sequences from mitochondrially encoded proteins gives a single most parsimonious tree that supports a position of Chaetognatha as sister to the protostomes studied here. From this, one can more clearly interpret the patterns of evolution of various developmental features, especially regarding the embryological fate of the blastopore.

ML is a multigrid preconditioning package intended to solve linear systems of equations Az = b where A is a user supplied n x n sparse matrix, b is a user supplied vector of length n and x is a vector of length n to be computed. ML should be used on large sparse linear systems arising from partial differential equation (PDE) discretizations. While technically any linear system can be considered, ML should be used on linear systems that correspond to things that work well with multigrid methods (e.g. elliptic PDEs). ML can be used as a stand-alone package or to generate preconditioners for a traditional iterative solver package (e.g. Krylov methods). We have supplied support for working with the AZTEC 2.1 and AZTECOO iterative package [15]. However, other solvers can be used by supplying a few functions. This document describes one specific algebraic multigrid approach: smoothed aggregation. This approach is used within several specialized multigrid methods: one for the eddy current formulation for Maxwell's equations, and a multilevel and domain decomposition method for symmetric and non-symmetric systems of equations (like elliptic equations, or compressible and incompressible fluid dynamics problems). Other methods exist within ML but are not described in …

ML development was started in 1997 by Ray Tuminaro and Charles Tong. Currently, there are several full- and part-time developers. The kernel of ML is written in ANSI C, and there is a rich C++ interface for Trilinos users and developers. ML can be customized to run geometric and algebraic multigrid; it can solve a scalar or a vector equation (with constant number of equations per grid node), and it can solve a form of Maxwell's equations. For a general introduction to ML and its applications, we refer to the Users Guide [SHT04], and to the ML web site, http://software.sandia.gov/ml.

A new chemically-oriented mathematical model for the development step of the LIGA process is presented. The key assumption is that the developer can react with the polymeric resist material in order to increase the solubility of the latter, thereby partially overcoming the need to reduce the polymer size. The ease with which this reaction takes place is assumed to be determined by the number of side chain scissions that occur during the x-ray exposure phase of the process. The dynamics of the dissolution process are simulated by solving the reaction-diffusion equations for this three-component, two-phase system, the three species being the unreacted and reacted polymers and the solvent. The mass fluxes are described by the multicomponent diffusion (Stefan-Maxwell) equations, and the chemical potentials are assumed to be given by the Flory-Huggins theory. Sample calculations are used to determine the dependence of the dissolution rate on key system parameters such as the reaction rate constant, polymer size, solid-phase diffusivity, and Flory-Huggins interaction parameters. A simple photochemistry model is used to relate the reaction rate constant and the polymer size to the absorbed x-ray dose. The resulting formula for the dissolution rate as a function of dose and temperature is ?t to …