This report summarizes the seismic deployment of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Geotech GS-13 short-period seismometers at the Newberry Enhanced Geothermal System (EGS) Demonstration site located in Central Oregon. This Department of Energy (DOE) demonstration project is managed by AltaRock Energy Inc. AltaRock Energy had previously deployed Geospace GS-11D geophones at the Newberry EGS Demonstration site, however the quality of the seismic data was somewhat low. The purpose of the LLNL deployment was to install more sensitive sensors which would record higher quality seismic data for use in future seismic studies, such as ambient noise correlation, matched field processing earthquake detection studies, and general EGS microearthquake studies. For the LLNL deployment, seven three-component seismic stations were installed around the proposed AltaRock Energy stimulation well. The LLNL seismic sensors were connected to AltaRock Energy Gueralp CMG-DM24 digitizers, which are powered by AltaRock Energy solar panels and batteries. The deployment took four days in two phases. In phase I, the sites were identified, a cavity approximately 3 feet deep was dug and a flat concrete pad oriented to true North was made for each site. In phase II, we installed three single component GS-13 seismometers at each site, quality controlled the data …

This project investigated solar variability, power conversion and electric power grid response aspects of high penetration solar PV. These are the primary determining factors for acceptable penetration levels. Therefore, the study not only focused on the power system interactions, but also on the design of advanced power conditioners to explore more efficient design options and to look into advanced control impacts to the higher penetration PV deployment systems. Through extensive laboratory and field testing, the team gathered the essential information to better understand grid characteristics, PV systems configuration and power conditioning systems.

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This report summarizes progress made during Phase I and Phase II of the project: "Pre-Combustion Carbon Capture by a Nanoporous, Superhydrophobic Membrane Contactor Process," under contract DE-FE-0000646. The objective of this project is to develop a practical and cost effective technology for CO{sub 2} separation and capture for pre-combustion coal-based gasification plants using a membrane contactor/solvent absorption process. The goals of this technology development project are to separate and capture at least 90% of the CO{sub 2} from Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants with less than 10% increase in the cost of energy services. Unlike conventional gas separation membranes, the membrane contactor is a novel gas separation process based on the gas/liquid membrane concept. The membrane contactor is an advanced mass transfer device that operates with liquid on one side of the membrane and gas on the other. The membrane contactor can operate with pressures that are almost the same on both sides of the membrane, whereas the gas separation membranes use the differential pressure across the membrane as driving force for separation. The driving force for separation for the membrane contactor process is the chemical potential difference of CO{sub 2} in the gas phase and in the …

The primary objectives of this project are to (1) demonstrate the performance and fabrication of a technically and economically viable pre-combustion-based CO{sub 2} capture system based on the high temperature stability and permeance of PBI membranes, (2) optimize a plan for integration of PBI capture system into an IGCC plant and (3) develop a commercialization plan that addresses technical issues and business issues to outline a clear path for technology transfer of the PBI membrane technology. This report describes research conducted from April 1, 2007 to March 30, 2012 and focused on achieving the above objectives. PBI-based hollow fibers have been fabricated at kilometer lengths and bundled as modules at a bench-scale level for the separation of CO{sub 2} from H{sub 2} at high temperatures and pressures. Long term stability of these fibers has been demonstrated with a relatively high H{sub 2}/CO{sub 2} selectivity (35 to 50) and H{sub 2} permeance (80 GPU) at temperatures exceeding 225°C. Membrane performance simulations and systems analysis of an IGCC system incorporating a PBI hollow fiber membrane modules have demonstrated that the cost of electricity for CO{sub 2} capture (<10%) using such a high temperature separator. When the cost of transporting, storing, and monitoring …

Every mission launched by NASA to the outer planets has produced unexpected results. The Voyager I and II, Galileo, and Cassini missions produced images and collected scientific data that totally revolutionized our understanding of the solar system and the formation of the planetary systems. These missions were enabled by the use of nuclear power. Because of the distances from the Sun, electrical power was produced using the radioactive decay of a plutonium isotope. Radioisotopic Thermoelectric Generators (RTGs) used in the past and currently used Multi-Mission RTGs (MMRTGs) provide power for space missions. Unfortunately, RTGs rely on thermocouples to convert heat to electricity and are inherently inefficient ({approx} 3-7% thermal to electric efficiency). A Radioisotope Thermal Photovoltaic (RTPV) power source has the potential to reduce the specific mass of the onboard power supply by increasing the efficiency of thermal to electric conversion. In an RTPV, a radioisotope heats an emitter, which emits light to a photovoltaic (PV) cell, which converts the light into electricity. Developing an emitter tuned to the desired wavelength of the photovoltaic is a key part in increasing overall performance. Researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) have built a Thermal Photovoltaic (TPV) system, that utilizes a …

Solid-state thermal neutron detectors are desired to replace {sup 3}He tube based technology for the detection of special nuclear materials. {sup 3}He tubes have some issues with stability, sensitivity to microphonics and very recently, a shortage of {sup 3}He. There are numerous solid-state approaches being investigated that utilize various architectures and material combinations. By using the combination of high-aspect-ratio silicon PIN pillars, which are 2 {micro}m wide with a 2 {micro}m separation, arranged in a square matrix, and surrounded by {sup 10}B, the neutron converter material, a high efficiency thermal neutron detector is possible. Besides intrinsic neutron detection efficiency, neutron to gamma discrimination is an important figure of merit for unambiguous signal identification. In this work, theoretical calculations and experimental measurements are conducted to determine the effect of structure design of pillar structured thermal neutron detectors including: intrinsic layer thickness, pillar height, substrate doping and incident gamma energy on neutron to gamma discrimination.

This paper describes the integrated energy optimization process for buildings and building clusters and demonstrates this process for new construction projects and building retrofits. An explanation is given of how mission critical building loads affect possible site and source energy use reduction in Army buildings.

The authors present the detection of volatile organic compounds directly in their vapor phase by surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates based on lithographically-defined two-dimensional rectangular array of nanopillars. The type of nanopillars is known as the tapered pillars. For the tapered pillars, SERS enhancement arises from the nanofocusing effect due to the sharp tip on top. SERS experiments were carried out on these substrates using various concentrations of toluene vapor. The results show that SERS signal from a toluene vapor concentration of ppm level can be achieved, and the toluene vapor can be detected within minutes of exposing the SERS substrate to the vapor. A simple adsorption model is developed which gives results matching the experimental data. The results also show promising potential for the use of these substrates in environmental monitoring of gases and vapors.

This report provides the technical detail for analytic solutions for the inner and outer profiles of the unclassified CMM Test Artifact (LANL Part Number 157Y-700373, 5/03/2001) in terms of radius and polar angle. Furthermore, analytic solutions are derived for the legacy Sheffield measurement hardware, also in terms of radius and polar angle, using part coordinates, i.e., relative to the analytic profile solutions obtained. The purpose of this work is to determine the exact solution for the “cosine correction” term inherent to measurement with the Sheffield hardware. The cosine correction is required in order to interpret the actual measurements taken by the hardware in terms of an actual part definition, or “knot-point spline definition,” that typically accompanies a component drawing. Specifically, there are two portions of the problem: first an analytic solution must be obtained for any point on the part, e.g., given the radii and the straight lines that define the part, it is required to find an exact solution for the inner and outer profile for any arbitrary polar angle. Next, the problem of the inspection of this part must be solved, i.e., given an arbitrary sphere (representing the inspection hardware) that comes in contact with the part (inner …

In spite of the importance of gas hydrate as a low-carbon fuel, a possible contributor to rapid climate change, and a significant natural hazard, our current understanding about the amount and distribution of submarine gas hydrate is somewhat poor; estimates of total volume vary by at least an order of magnitude, and commercially useful concentrations of hydrate have remained an elusive target. This is largely because conventional geophysical tools have intrinsic limitations in their ability to quantitatively image hydrate. It has long been known from well logs that gas hydrate is resistive compared to the host sediments, and electrical and electromagnetic methods have been proposed and occasionally used to image hydrates. This project seeks to expand our capabilities to use electromagnetic methods to explore for gas hydrate in the marine environment. An important basic science aspect of our work was to quantify the resistivity of pure gas hydrate as a function of temperature at seafloor pressures. We designed, constructed, and tested a highpressure cell in which hydrate could be synthesized and then subjected to electrical conductivity measurements. Impedance spectroscopy at frequencies between 20 Hz and 2 MHz was used to separate the effect of the blocking electrodes from the intrinsic …

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This research evaluated a rotary kiln gasification system utilizing agricultural wastes to generate syn gas. The goal of the project was to develop an efficient methodology for harnessing energy from agricultural waste. Objectives included: installation and cold testing of the gasification system; hot testing the gasification system with two agricultural wastes; development of an operations plan, including a data procurement and analysis plan; development of a predictive model and validation of the model; developing process improvement recommendations; and construction of two deployment pathway models (e.g., institutional and farm).

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ASC legacy software must be ported to emerging hardware architectures. This paper notes that many programming models used by DOE applications are similar, and suggests that constructing a common terminology across these models could reveal a performance portable programming model. The paper then highlights how the LULESH mini-app is used to explore new programming models with outside solution providers. Finally, we suggest better tools to identify parallelism in software, and give suggestions for enhancing the co-design process with vendors.

This Final Technical Report describes progress made on the sub-projects awarded in the Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-05NT42457: Continuation of Crosscutting Technology Development at Center for Advanced Separation Technologies (CAST). The final reports for each sub-project are attached in the appendix. Much of the research to be conducted with Cooperative Agreement funds will be longer-term, high-risk, basic research and will be carried out in five broad areas: a) Solid-solid separation b) Solid-liquid separation c) Chemical/Biological Extraction d) Modeling and Control, and e) Environmental Control.

This Final Technical Report describes progress made on the sub-projects awarded in the Cooperative Agreement DE-FC26-05NT42457: Continuation of Crosscutting Technology Development at Center for Advanced Separation Technologies (CAST). The final reports for each sub-project are attached in the appendix. Much of the research to be conducted with Cooperative Agreement funds will be longer-term, high-risk, basic research and will be carried out in five broad areas: a) Solid-solid separation b) Solid-liquid separation c) Chemical/Biological Extraction d) Modeling and Control, and e) Environmental Control.

The sessions will focus on:  Attosecond science;  Strong-field processes in molecules and solids;  Generation of harmonics and attosecond pulses;  Free-electron laser experiments and theory;  Ultrafast imaging;  Applications of very high intensity lasers;  Propagation of intense laser fields.

The objective of this project was to create an internet-based Water Treatment Technology Catalog and Decision Tool that will increase production, decrease costs and enhance environmental protection. This is to be accomplished by pairing an operator's water treatment cost and capacity needs to specific water treatments. This project cataloged existing and emerging produced water treatment technologies and allows operators to identify the most cost-effective approaches for managing their produced water. The tool captures the cost and capabilities of each technology and the disposal and beneficial use options for each region. The tool then takes location, chemical composition, and volumetric data for the operator's water and identifies the most cost effective treatment options for that water. Regulatory requirements or limitations for each location are also addressed. The Produced Water Treatment Catalog and Decision Tool efficiently matches industry decision makers in unconventional natural gas basins with: 1) appropriate and applicable water treatment technologies for their project, 2) relevant information on regulatory and legal issues that may impact the success of their project, and 3) potential beneficial use demands specific to their project area. To ensure the success of this project, it was segmented into seven tasks conducted in three phases over a …

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One of the crucial questions of all actinide electronic structure determinations is the issue of 5f versus 6d character and the distribution of these components across the density of states. Here, a break-though experiment is discussed, which has allowed the direct determination of the U5f and U6d contributions to the unoccupied density of states (UDOS) in Uranium Dioxide. A novel Resonant Inverse Photoelectron (RIPES) and X-ray Emission Spectroscopy (XES) investigation of UO{sub 2} is presented. It is shown that the U5f and U6d components are isolated and identified unambiguously.

Gasification of coal when associated with carbon dioxide capture and sequestration has the potential to provide low-cost as well as low-carbon hydrogen for electric power, fuels or chemicals production. The key element to the success of this concept is inexpensive, effective separation of hydrogen from carbon dioxide in synthesis gas. Many studies indicate that membrane technology is one of the most, if not the most, economical means of accomplishing separation; however, the advancement of hydrogen separation membrane technology is hampered by the absence of experience or demonstration that the technology is effective economically and environmentally at larger scales. While encouraging performance has been observed at bench scale (less than 12 lb/d hydrogen), it would be imprudent to pursue a largescale demonstration without testing at least one intermediate scale, such as 100 lb/d hydrogen. Among its many gasifiers, the Energy & Environmental Research Center is home to the transport reactor demonstration unit (TRDU), a unit capable of firing 200—500 lb/hr of coal to produce 400 scfm of synthesis gas containing more than 200 lb/d of hydrogen. The TRDU and associated downstream processing equipment has demonstrated the capability of producing a syngas over a wide range of temperatures and contaminant levels — …