Brochure on Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility, featuring the Vehicle Modification Facility, Vehicle Test Pad and ReCharge Integrated Demonstration System. Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) offer the opportunity to shift transportation energy demands from petroleum to electricity, but broad adoption will require integration with other systems. While automotive experts work to reduce the cost of PEVs, fossil fueled cars and trucks continue to burn hundreds of billions of gallons of petroleum each year - not only to get from point A to point B, but also to keep passengers comfortable with air conditioning and heat. At the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), three installations form a research laboratory known as the Vehicle Testing and Integration Facility (VTIF). At the VTIF, engineers are developing strategies to address two separate but equally crucial areas of research: meeting the demands of electric vehicle-grid integration and minimizing fuel consumption related to vehicle climate control. Part of NREL's Center for Transportation Technologies and Systems (CTTS), the VTIF is dedicated to renewable and energy efficient solutions. This facility showcases technology and systems designed to increase the viability of sustainably powered vehicles. NREL researchers instrument every class of on-road vehicle, conduct hardware and software validation for electric vehicle …

This fact sheet describes the performance evaluation of United Parcel Service's second-generation hybrid-electric delivery vans. The Fleet Test and Evaluation Team at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is evaluating the 18-month, in-service performance of 11 of these vans along with 11 comparable conventional diesel vans operating in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As a complement to the field study, the team recently completed fuel economy and emissions testing at NREL's Renewable Fuels and Lubricants (ReFUEL) laboratory.

PETRO Project: NC State will genetically modify the oil-crop plant Camelina sativa to produce high quantities of both modified oils and terpenes. These components are optimized for thermocatalytic conversion into energy-dense drop-in transportation fuels. The genetically engineered Camelina will capture more carbon than current varieties and have higher oil yields. The Camelina will be more tolerant to drought and heat, which makes it suitable for farming in warmer and drier climate zones in the US. The increased productivity of NC State’s-enhanced Camelina and the development of energy-effective harvesting, extraction, and conversion technology could provide an alternative non-petrochemical source of fuel.

In this work, we present results of a large-eddy simulation of the 48 multi-megawatt turbines composing the Lillgrund wind plant. Turbulent inflow wind is created by performing an atmospheric boundary layer precursor simulation and turbines are modeled using a rotating, variable-speed actuator line representation. The motivation for this work is that few others have done wind plant large-eddy simulations with a substantial number of turbines, and the methods for carrying out the simulations are varied. We wish to draw upon the strengths of the existing simulations and our growing atmospheric large-eddy simulation capability to create a sound methodology for performing this type of simulation. We have used the OpenFOAM CFD toolbox to create our solver.

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This Lab-Directed Research and Development (LDRD) sought to develop technology that enhances scenario construction speed, entity behavior robustness, and scalability in Live-Virtual-Constructive (LVC) simulation. We investigated issues in both simulation architecture and behavior modeling. We developed path-planning technology that improves the ability to express intent in the planning task while still permitting an efficient search algorithm. An LVC simulation demonstrated how this enables 'one-click' layout of squad tactical paths, as well as dynamic re-planning for simulated squads and for real and simulated mobile robots. We identified human response latencies that can be exploited in parallel/distributed architectures. We did an experimental study to determine where parallelization would be productive in Umbra-based force-on-force (FOF) simulations. We developed and implemented a data-driven simulation composition approach that solves entity class hierarchy issues and supports assurance of simulation fairness. Finally, we proposed a flexible framework to enable integration of multiple behavior modeling components that model working memory phenomena with different degrees of sophistication.

The Iowa Stored Energy Park was an innovative, 270 Megawatt, $400 million compressed air energy storage (CAES) project proposed for in-service near Des Moines, Iowa, in 2015. After eight years in development the project was terminated because of site geological limitations. However, much was learned in the development process regarding what it takes to do a utility-scale, bulk energy storage facility and coordinate it with regional renewable wind energy resources in an Independent System Operator (ISO) marketplace. Lessons include the costs and long-term economics of a CAES facility compared to conventional natural gas-fired generation alternatives; market, legislative, and contract issues related to enabling energy storage in an ISO market; the importance of due diligence in project management; and community relations and marketing for siting of large energy projects. Although many of the lessons relate to CAES applications in particular, most of the lessons learned are independent of site location or geology, or even the particular energy storage technology involved.

Nuclear power has safely, reliably, and economically contributed almost 20% of electrical generation in the United States over the past two decades. It remains the single largest contributor (more than 70%) of non-greenhouse-gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. Domestic demand for electrical energy is expected to experience a 31% growth from 2009 to 2035. At the same time, most of the currently operating nuclear power plants will begin reaching the end of their initial 20-year extension to their original 40-year operating license for a total of 60 years of operation. Figure E-1 shows projected nuclear energy contribution to the domestic generating capacity. If current operating nuclear power plants do not operate beyond 60 years, the total fraction of generated electrical energy from nuclear power will begin to decline - even with the expected addition of new nuclear generating capacity. The oldest commercial plants in the United States reached their 40th anniversary in 2009. The U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy's Research and Development Roadmap (Nuclear Energy Roadmap) organizes its activities around four objectives that ensure nuclear energy remains a compelling and viable energy option for the United States. The four objectives are as follows: (1) develop …

Ceragenins were used to create biofouling resistant water-treatment membranes. Ceragenins are synthetically produced antimicrobial peptide mimics that display broad-spectrum bactericidal activity. While ceragenins have been used on bio-medical devices, use of ceragenins on water-treatment membranes is novel. Biofouling impacts membrane separation processes for many industrial applications such as desalination, waste-water treatment, oil and gas extraction, and power generation. Biofouling results in a loss of permeate flux and increase in energy use. Creation of biofouling resistant membranes will assist in creation of clean water with lower energy usage and energy with lower water usage. Five methods of attaching three different ceragenin molecules were conducted and tested. Biofouling reduction was observed in the majority of the tests, indicating the ceragenins are a viable solution to biofouling on water treatment membranes. Silane direct attachment appears to be the most promising attachment method if a high concentration of CSA-121a is used. Additional refinement of the attachment methods are needed in order to achieve our goal of several log-reduction in biofilm cell density without impacting the membrane flux. Concurrently, biofilm forming bacteria were isolated from source waters relevant for water treatment: wastewater, agricultural drainage, river water, seawater, and brackish groundwater. These isolates can be used …

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory started collecting wind power data from large commercial wind power plants (WPPs) in southwest Minnesota with dedicated dataloggers and communication links in the spring of 2000. Over the years, additional WPPs in other areas were added to and removed from the data collection effort. The longest data stream of actual wind plant output is more than 10 years. The resulting data have been used to analyze wind power fluctuations, frequency distribution of changes, the effects of spatial diversity, and wind power ancillary services. This report uses the multi-year wind power data to examine long-term wind power variability.

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This presentation describes a National Renewable Energy Laboratory project to collect and analyze commercial fleet deployment data from medium-duty plug-in hybrid electric and all-electric vehicles that were deployed using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This work supports the Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program and its Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity.

We present a measurement of the top quark mass (m{sub t}) in p{bar p} collisions at {radical}s = 1.96 TeV using t{bar t} events with two leptons (ee, e{mu} or {mu}{mu}) in the final state in 4.3 fb{sup -1} of data collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron collider. We analyze the kinematically underconstrained dilepton events by integrating over the neutrino rapidity distributions. We reduce the dominant systematic uncertainties from jet energy calibration using a correction obtained from t{bar t} {yields} {ell} + jets events. We also correct jets in simulated events to replicate the quark flavor dependence of the jet response in data. In combination with our previous analysis, we measure m{sub t} = 174.0 {+-} 2.4(stat) {+-} 1.4(syst) GeV.

We study the processes p{bar p} {yields} WZ {yields} {ell}{nu}{ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -} and p{bar p} {yields} ZZ {yields} {ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -}{nu}{bar {nu}}, where {ell} = e or {mu}. Using 8.6 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected by the D0 experiment at the Fermilab Tevatron collider, we measure the WZ production cross section to be 4.50{sub -0.66}{sup +0.63} pb which is consistent with, but slightly above a prediction of the standard model. The ZZ cross section is measured to be 1.64 {+-} 0.46 pb, in agreement with a prediction of the standard model. Combination with an earlier analysis of the ZZ {yields} {ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -}{ell}{sup +}{ell}{sup -} channel yields a ZZ cross section of 1.44{sub -0.34}{sup +0.35} pb.

Unprecedented growth of required telecommunications services and telecommunications applications change the way the INL does business today. High speed connectivity compiled with a high demand for telephony and network services requires a robust communications infrastructure. The current state of the MFC communication infrastructure limits growth opportunities of current and future communication infrastructure services. This limitation is largely due to equipment capacity issues, aging cabling infrastructure (external/internal fiber and copper cable) and inadequate space for telecommunication equipment. While some communication infrastructure improvements have been implemented over time projects, it has been completed without a clear overall plan and technology standard. This document identifies critical deficiencies with the current state of the communication infrastructure in operation at the MFC facilities and provides an analysis to identify needs and deficiencies to be addressed in order to achieve target architectural standards as defined in STD-170. The intent of STD-170 is to provide a robust, flexible, long-term solution to make communications capabilities align with the INL mission and fit the various programmatic growth and expansion needs.

The MiniBooNE neutrino oscillation search experiment at Fermilab has recently updated results from a search for {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} {yields} {bar {nu}}{sub e} oscillations, using a data sample corresponding to 8.58 x 10{sup 20} protons on target in anti-neutrino mode. This high statistics result represent an increase in statistics of 52% compared to result published in 2010. An excess of 57.7 {+-} 28.5 events is observed in the energy range 200 MeV < E{sub {nu}} < 3000 MeV. The data favor LSND-like {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}} {yields} {bar {nu}}{sub e} oscillations over a background only hypothesis at 91.1% confidence level in the energy range 475 < E{sub {nu}} < 3000 MeV.

We use a particle-tracking method to simulate several one-dimensional bimolecular reactive transport experiments. In this numerical method, the reactants are represented by particles: advection and dispersion dominate the flow, and molecular diffusion dictates, in large part, the reactions. The particle/particle reactions are determined by a combination of two probabilities dictated by the physics of transport and energetics of reaction. The first is that reactant particles occupy the same volume over a short time interval. The second is the conditional probability that two collocated particles favorably transform into a reaction. The first probability is a direct physical representation of the degree of mixing in an advancing displacement front, and as such lacks empirical parameters except for the user-defined number of particles. This number can be determined analytically from concentration autocovariance, if this type of data is available. The simulations compare favorably to two physical experiments. In one, the concentration of product, 1,2-naphthoquinoe-4-aminobenzene (NQAB) from reaction between 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonic acid (NQS) and aniline (AN), was measured at the outflow of a column filled with glass beads at different times. In the other, the concentration distribution of reactants (CuSO_4 and EDTA^{4-}) and products (CuEDTA^{4-}) were quantified by snapshots of transmitted light through a column …

This report gives an overview of the work done as part of an Early Career LDRD aimed at modeling flow induced damage of materials involving chemical reactions, deformation of the porous matrix, and complex flow phenomena. The numerical formulation is motivated by a mixture theory or theory of interacting continua type approach to coupling the behavior of the fluid and the porous matrix. Results for the proposed method are presented for several engineering problems of interest including carbon dioxide sequestration, hydraulic fracturing, and energetic materials applications. This work is intended to create a general framework for flow induced damage that can be further developed in each of the particular areas addressed below. The results show both convincing proof of the methodologies potential and the need for further validation of the models developed.

HEATS Project: Halotechnics is developing a high-temperature thermal energy storage system using a new thermal-storage and heat-transfer material: earth-abundant and low-melting-point molten glass. Heat storage materials are critical to the energy storage process. In solar thermal storage systems, heat can be stored in these materials during the day and released at night—when the sun is not out—to drive a turbine and produce electricity. In nuclear storage systems, heat can be stored in these materials at night and released to produce electricity during daytime peak-demand hours. Halotechnics new thermal storage material targets a price that is potentially cheaper than the molten salt used in most commercial solar thermal storage systems today. It is also extremely stable at temperatures up to 1200°C—hundreds of degrees hotter than the highest temperature molten salt can handle. Being able to function at high temperatures will significantly increase the efficiency of turning heat into electricity. Halotechnics is developing a scalable system to pump, heat, store, and discharge the molten glass. The company is leveraging technology used in the modern glass industry, which has decades of experience handling molten glass.

Provides an overview of Clean Cities National Clean Fleets Partnership (NCFP). The NCFP is open to large private-sector companies that have fleet operations in multiple states. Companies that join the partnership receive customized assistance to reduce petroleum use through increased efficiency and use of alternative fuels. This initiative provides fleets with specialized resources, expertise, and support to successfully incorporate alternative fuels and fuel-saving measures into their operations. The National Clean Fleets Partnership builds on the established success of DOE's Clean Cities program, which reduces petroleum consumption at the community level through a nationwide network of coalitions that work with local stakeholders. Developed with input from fleet managers, industry representatives, and Clean Cities coordinators, the National Clean Fleets Partnership goes one step further by working with large private-sector fleets.

This presentation from the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory includes the composite data products produced in Winter 2011 as part of the National Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV) Learning Demonstration.

This technical highlight describes NREL research to develop a publicly available database of energy retrofit measures containing performance characteristics and cost estimates for nearly 3,000 measures. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have developed the National Residential Efficiency Measures Database, a public database that characterizes the performance and costs of common residential energy efficiency measures. The data are available for use in software programs that evaluate cost-effective retrofit measures to improve the energy efficiency of residential buildings. The database provides a single, consistent source of current data for DOE and private-sector energy audit and simulation software tools and the retrofit industry. The database will reduce risk for residential retrofit industry stakeholders by providing a central, publicly vetted source of up-to-date information.

Pursuant to the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced in 2009 its intent to issue rules for controlling emissions from Navajo Generating Station that could affect visibility at the Grand Canyon and at several other national parks and wilderness areas. The final rule will conform to what EPA determines is the best available retrofit technology (BART) for the control of haze-causing air pollutants, especially nitrogen oxides. While EPA is ultimately responsible for setting Navajo Generating Station's BART standards in its final rule, it will be the U.S. Department of the Interior's responsibility to manage compliance and the related impacts. This study aims to assist both Interior and EPA by providing an objective assessment of issues relating to the power sector.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) based Equation of State (EOS) construction is a prominent part of Sandia's capabilities to support engineering sciences. This capability is based on amending experimental data with information gained from computational investigations, in parts of the phase space where experimental data is hard, dangerous, or expensive to obtain. A prominent materials area where such computational investigations are hard to perform today because of limited accuracy is actinide and lanthanide materials. The Science of Extreme Environment Lab Directed Research and Development project described in this Report has had the aim to cure this accuracy problem. We have focused on the two major factors which would allow for accurate computational investigations of actinide and lanthanide materials: (1) The fully relativistic treatment needed for materials containing heavy atoms, and (2) the needed improved performance of DFT exchange-correlation functionals. We have implemented a fully relativistic treatment based on the Dirac Equation into the LANL code RSPt and we have shown that such a treatment is imperative when calculating properties of materials containing actinides and/or lanthanides. The present standard treatment that only includes some of the relativistic terms is not accurate enough and can even give misleading results. Compared to calculations previously …