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300 Area Integrated Field-Scale Subsurface Research Challenge (IFRC) Field Site Management Plan
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has established the 300 Area Integrated Field-Scale Subsurface Research Challenge (300 Area IFRC) on the Hanford Site in southeastern Washington State for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER) within the Office of Science. The project is funded by the Environmental Remediation Sciences Division (ERSD). The purpose of the project is to conduct research at the 300 IFRC to investigate multi-scale mass transfer processes associated with a subsurface uranium plume impacting both the vadose zone and groundwater. The management approach for the 300 Area IFRC requires that a Field Site Management Plan be developed. This is an update of the plan to reflect the installation of the well network and other changes.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Freshley, Mark D.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Hybrid Propulsion and Energy Management System for High Efficiency, Off Highway, 240 Ton Class, Diesel Electric Haul Trucks
The objective of this project is to reduce the fuel consumption of off-highway vehicles, specifically large tonnage mine haul trucks. A hybrid energy storage and management system will be added to a conventional diesel-electric truck that will allow capture of braking energy normally dissipated in grid resistors as heat. The captured energy will be used during acceleration and motoring, reducing the diesel engine load, thus conserving fuel. The project will work towards a system validation of the hybrid system by first selecting an energy storage subsystem and energy management subsystem. Laboratory testing at a subscale level will evaluate these selections and then a full-scale laboratory test will be performed. After the subsystems have been proven at the full-scale lab, equipment will be mounted on a mine haul truck and integrated with the vehicle systems. The integrated hybrid components will be exercised to show functionality, capability, and fuel economy impacts in a mine setting.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Richter, Tim; Slezak, Lee; Johnson, Chris; Young, Henry & Funcannon, Dan
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Microturbine Systems
In July 2000, the United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) was one of five recipients of a US Department of Energy contract under the Advanced Microturbine System (AMS) program managed by the Office of Distributed Energy (DE). The AMS program resulted from several government-industry workshops that recognized that microturbine systems could play an important role in improving customer choice and value for electrical power. That is, the group believed that electrical power could be delivered to customers more efficiently and reliably than the grid if an effective distributed energy strategy was followed. Further, the production of this distributed power would be accomplished with less undesirable pollutants of nitric oxides (NOx) unburned hydrocarbons (UHC), and carbon monoxide (CO). In 2000, the electrical grid delivered energy to US customers at a national average of approximately 32% efficiency. This value reflects a wide range of powerplants, but is dominated by older, coal burning stations that provide approximately 50% of US electrical power. The grid efficiency is also affected by transmission and distribution (T&D) line losses that can be significant during peak power usage. In some locations this loss is estimated to be 15%. Load pockets can also be so constrained that sufficient power cannot …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Rosfjord, T.; Tredway, W.; Chen, A.; Mulugeta, J. & Bhatia, T.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Advanced Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine: Parasitic Loss Control through Surface Modification
This report presents results of our investigation on parasitic loss control through surface modification in reciprocating engine. In order to achieve the objectives several experimental and corresponding analytical models were designed and developed to corroborate our results. Four different test rigs were designed and developed to simulate the contact between the piston ring and cylinder liner (PRCL) contact. The Reciprocating Piston Test Rig (RPTR) is a novel suspended liner test apparatus which can be used to accurately measure the friction force and side load at the piston-cylinder interface. A mixed lubrication model for the complete ring-pack and piston skirt was developed to correlate with the experimental measurements. Comparisons between the experimental and analytical results showed good agreement. The results revealed that in the reciprocating engines higher friction occur near TDC and BDC of the stroke due to the extremely low piston speed resulting in boundary lubrication. A Small Engine Dynamometer Test Rig was also designed and developed to enable testing of cylinder liner under motored and fired conditions. Results of this study provide a baseline from which to measure the effect of surface modifications. The Pin on Disk Test Rig (POD) was used in a flat-on-flat configuration to study the …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Sadeghi, Farshid & Wang, Chin-Pei
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
AFCI Safeguards Enhancement Study: Technology Development Roadmap
The Advanced Fuel Cycle Initiative (AFCI) Safeguards Campaign aims to develop safeguards technologies and processes that will significantly reduce the risk of proliferation in the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle of tomorrow. The Safeguards Enhancement Study was chartered with identifying promising research and development (R&D) directions over timescales both near-term and long-term, and under safeguards oversight both domestic and international. This technology development roadmap documents recognized gaps and needs in the safeguarding of nuclear fuel cycles, and outlines corresponding performance targets for each of those needs. Drawing on the collective expertise of technologists and user-representatives, a list of over 30 technologies that have the potential to meet those needs was developed, along with brief summaries of each candidate technology. Each summary describes the potential impact of that technology, key research questions to be addressed, and prospective development milestones that could lead to a definitive viability or performance assessment. Important programmatic linkages between U.S. agencies and offices are also described, reflecting the emergence of several safeguards R&D programs in the U.S. and the reinvigoration of nuclear fuel cycles across the globe.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Smith, Leon E.; Dougan, A.; Tobin, Stephen; Cipiti, B.; Ehinger, Michael H.; Bakel, A. J. et al.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Airborne Particulate Threat Assessment
Aerosol threat detection requires the ability to discern between threat agents and ambient background particulate matter (PM) encountered in the environment. To date, Raman imaging technology has been demonstrated as an effective strategy for the assessment of threat agents in the presence of specific, complex backgrounds. Expanding our understanding of the composition of ambient particulate matter background will improve the overall performance of Raman Chemical Imaging (RCI) detection strategies for the autonomous detection of airborne chemical and biological hazards. Improving RCI detection performance is strategic due to its potential to become a widely exploited detection approach by several U.S. government agencies. To improve the understanding of the ambient PM background with subsequent improvement in Raman threat detection capability, ChemImage undertook the Airborne Particulate Threat Assessment (APTA) Project in 2005-2008 through a collaborative effort with the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), under cooperative agreement number DE-FC26-05NT42594. During Phase 1 of the program, a novel PM classification based on molecular composition was developed based on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature. In addition, testing protocols were developed for ambient PM characterization. A signature database was developed based on a variety of microanalytical techniques, including scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR microspectroscopy, optical microscopy, …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Treado, Patrick; Klueva, Oksana & Beckstead, Jeffrey
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
ALUMINUM HYDRIDE: A REVERSIBLE MATERIAL FOR HYDROGEN STORAGE
Hydrogen storage is one of the greatest challenges for implementing the ever sought hydrogen economy. Here we report a novel cycle to reversibly form high density hydrogen storage materials such as aluminium hydride. Aluminium hydride (AlH{sub 3}, alane) has a hydrogen storage capacity of 10.1 wt% H{sub 2}, 149 kg H{sub 2}/m{sup 3} volumetric density and can be discharged at low temperatures (< 100 C). However, alane has been precluded from use in hydrogen storage systems because of the lack of practical regeneration methods; the direct hydrogenation of aluminium to form AlH{sub 3} requires over 10{sup 5} bars of hydrogen pressure at room temperature and there are no cost effective synthetic means. Here we show an unprecedented reversible cycle to form alane electrochemically, using alkali alanates (e.g. NaAlH{sub 4}, LiAlH{sub 4}) in aprotic solvents. To complete the cycle, the starting alanates can be regenerated by direct hydrogenation of the dehydrided alane and the alkali hydride being the other compound formed in the electrochemical cell. The process of forming NaAlH{sub 4} from NaH and Al is well established in both solid state and solution reactions. The use of adducting Lewis bases is an essential part of this cycle, in the isolation …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Fewox, C; Ragaiy Zidan, R & Brenda Garcia-Diaz, B
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Analysis of Actual Operating Conditions of an Off-grid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell
Fuel cells have been proposed as ideal replacements for other technologies in remote locations such as Rural Alaska. A number of suppliers have developed systems that might be applicable in these locations, but there are several requirements that must be met before they can be deployed: they must be able to operate on portable fuels, and be able to operate with little operator assistance for long periods of time. This project was intended to demonstrate the operation of a 5 kW fuel cell on propane at a remote site (defined as one without access to grid power, internet, or cell phone, but on the road system). A fuel cell was purchased by the National Park Service for installation in their newly constructed visitor center at Exit Glacier in the Kenai Fjords National Park. The DOE participation in this project as initially scoped was for independent verification of the operation of this demonstration. This project met with mixed success. The fuel cell has operated over 6 seasons at the facility with varying degrees of success, with one very good run of about 1049 hours late in the summer of 2006, but in general the operation has been below expectations. There have …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Witmer, Dennis; Johnson, Thomas & Schmid, Jack
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory
The Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory was created by the University of Alaska Fairbanks in response to a congressionally mandated funding opportunity through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), specifically to encourage research partnerships between the university, the Alaskan energy industry, and the DOE. The enabling legislation permitted research in a broad variety of topics particularly of interest to Alaska, including providing more efficient and economical electrical power generation in rural villages, as well as research in coal, oil, and gas. The contract was managed as a cooperative research agreement, with active project monitoring and management from the DOE. In the eight years of this partnership, approximately 30 projects were funded and completed. These projects, which were selected using an industry panel of Alaskan energy industry engineers and managers, cover a wide range of topics, such as diesel engine efficiency, fuel cells, coal combustion, methane gas hydrates, heavy oil recovery, and water issues associated with ice road construction in the oil fields of the North Slope. Each project was managed as a separate DOE contract, and the final technical report for each completed project is included with this final report. The intent of this process was to address the energy …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Bandopadhyay, Sukumar; Chamberlin, Charles; Chaney, Robert; Chen, Gang; Chukwu, Godwin; Clough, James et al.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory (Part 2)
Methane (CH{sub 4}) in natural gas is a major energy source in the U.S., and is used extensively on Alaska's North Slope, including the oilfields in Prudhoe Bay, the community of Barrow, and the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska (NPRA). Smaller villages, however, are dependent on imported diesel fuel for both power and heating, resulting in some of the highest energy costs in the U.S. and crippling local economies. Numerous CH{sub 4} gas seeps have been observed on wetlands near Atqasuk, Alaska (in the NPRA), and initial measurements have indicated flow rates of 3,000-5,000 ft{sup 3} day{sup -1} (60-100 kg CH{sub 4} day{sup -1}). Gas samples collected in 1996 indicated biogenic origin, although more recent sampling indicated a mixture of biogenic and thermogenic gas. In this study, we (1) quantified the amount of CH{sub 4} generated by several seeps and evaluated their potential use as an unconventional gas source for the village of Atqasuk; (2) collected gas and analyzed its composition from multiple seeps several miles apart to see if the source is the same, or if gas is being generated locally from isolated biogenic sources; and (3) assessed the potential magnitude of natural CH{sub 4} gas seeps for future use …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
960443, See OSTI ID Number
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory (Part 3)
Various laboratory tests were carried at the R & D facility of BJ Services in Tomball, TX with BJ Services staff to predict and evaluate the performance of the Ceramicrete slurry for its effective use in permafrost cementing operations. Although other standards such as those of the American Standard for Testing Materials (ASTM) and Construction Specification Institute (CSI) exist, all these tests were standardized by the API. A summary of the tests traditionally used in the cement slurry design as well as the API tests reference document are provided in Table 7. All of these tests were performed within the scope of this research to evaluate properties of the Ceramicrete.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
960443, See OSTI ID Number
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Beluga Coal Gasification - ISER
ISER was requested to conduct an economic analysis of a possible 'Cook Inlet Syngas Pipeline'. The economic analysis was incorporated as section 7.4 of the larger report titled: 'Beluga Coal Gasification Feasibility Study, DOE/NETL-2006/1248, Phase 2 Final Report, October 2006, for Subtask 41817.333.01.01'. The pipeline would carry CO{sub 2} and N{sub 2}-H{sub 2} from a synthetic gas plant on the western side of Cook Inlet to Agrium's facility. The economic analysis determined that the net present value of the total capital and operating lifecycle costs for the pipeline ranges from $318 to $588 million. The greatest contributor to this spread is the cost of electricity, which ranges from $0.05 to $0.10/kWh in this analysis. The financial analysis shows that the delivery cost of gas may range from $0.33 to $0.55/Mcf in the first year depending primarily on the price for electricity.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Colt, Steve
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Biennial Report to the 81st Texas Legislature: State Office of Risk Management
Biennial report to the Texas Legislature describing the activities of the State Office of Risk Management (SORM) during fiscal years 2006 and 2007, including information on state agency financing, claims, losses, and expenditures.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Texas. State Office of Risk Management.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The Portal to Texas History
Campaign Finance: Potential Legislative and Policy Issues for the 111th Congress
This report discusses selected campaign finance policy issues that may receive attention during the 111th Congress such as the electronic filing of senate campaign finance reports, bundling, hybrid advertising, joint fundraising committees, 527 Organizations and more.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Garret, R. S.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Capture of Heat Energy from Diesel Engine Exhaust
Diesel generators produce waste heat as well as electrical power. About one-third of the fuel energy is released from the exhaust manifolds of the diesel engines and normally is not captured for useful applications. This project studied different waste heat applications that may effectively use the heat released from exhaust of Alaskan village diesel generators, selected the most desirable application, designed and fabricated a prototype for performance measurements, and evaluated the feasibility and economic impact of the selected application. Exhaust flow rate, composition, and temperature may affect the heat recovery system design and the amount of heat that is recoverable. In comparison with the other two parameters, the effect of exhaust composition may be less important due to the large air/fuel ratio for diesel engines. This project also compared heat content and qualities (i.e., temperatures) of exhaust for three types of fuel: conventional diesel, a synthetic diesel, and conventional diesel with a small amount of hydrogen. Another task of this project was the development of a computer-aided design tool for the economic analysis of selected exhaust heat recovery applications to any Alaskan village diesel generator set. The exhaust heat recovery application selected from this study was for heating. An exhaust …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Lin, Chuen-Sen
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Characterization and Alteration of Wettability States of Alaskan Reserviors to Improve Oil Recovery Efficiency (including the within-scope expansion based on Cyclic Water Injection - a pulsed waterflood for Enhanced Oil Recovery)
Numerous early reports on experimental works relating to the role of wettability in various aspects of oil recovery have been published. Early examples of laboratory waterfloods show oil recovery increasing with increasing water-wetness. This result is consistent with the intuitive notion that strong wetting preference of the rock for water and associated strong capillary-imbibition forces gives the most efficient oil displacement. This report examines the effect of wettability on waterflooding and gasflooding processes respectively. Waterflood oil recoveries were examined for the dual cases of uniform and non-uniform wetting conditions. Based on the results of the literature review on effect of wettability and oil recovery, coreflooding experiments were designed to examine the effect of changing water chemistry (salinity) on residual oil saturation. Numerous corefloods were conducted on reservoir rock material from representative formations on the Alaska North Slope (ANS). The corefloods consisted of injecting water (reservoir water and ultra low-salinity ANS lake water) of different salinities in secondary as well as tertiary mode. Additionally, complete reservoir condition corefloods were also conducted using live oil. In all the tests, wettability indices, residual oil saturation, and oil recovery were measured. All results consistently lead to one conclusion; that is, a decrease in injection …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Dandekar, Abhijit; Patil, Shirish & Khataniar, Santanu
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Chemical and Microbial Characterization of North Slope Viscous Oils to Assess Viscosity Reduction and Enhanced Recovery
A large proportion of Alaska North Slope (ANS) oil exists in the form of viscous deposits, which cannot be produced entirely using conventional methods. Microbially enhanced oil recovery (MEOR) is a promising approach for improving oil recovery for viscous deposits. MEOR can be achieved using either ex situ approaches such as flooding with microbial biosurfactants or injection of exogenous surfactant-producing microbes into the reservoir, or by in situ approaches such as biostimulation of indigenous surfactant-producing microbes in the oil. Experimental work was performed to analyze the potential application of MEOR to the ANS oil fields through both ex situ and in situ approaches. A microbial formulation containing a known biosurfactant-producing strain of Bacillus licheniformis was developed in order to simulate MEOR. Coreflooding experiments were performed to simulate MEOR and quantify the incremental oil recovery. Properties like viscosity, density, and chemical composition of oil were monitored to propose a mechanism for oil recovery. The microbial formulation significantly increased incremental oil recovery, and molecular biological analyses indicated that the strain survived during the shut-in period. The indigenous microflora of ANS heavy oils was investigated to characterize the microbial communities and test for surfactant producers that are potentially useful for biostimulation. Bacteria that …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Patil, Shirish; Dandekar, Abhijit & Leigh, Mary Beth
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Cle Elum End of Month Production Summary : 12/31/2008.
None
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
unknown
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Combined Borehole Seismic and Electromagnetic Inversion For High-Resolution Petrophysical Assessment Of Hydocarbon Reservoirs
This report summarizes the work performed between January 2005 and December 2007, under DOE research contract DE-FC26-04NT15507. The project is was performed by the Center for Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering of The University of Texas at Austin and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under the auspices of the National Energy Technology Office (NETL) and the Strategic Center for Natural Gas and Oil (SCNGO). During the three-year project, we developed new methods to combine borehole sonic and electromagnetic (EM) measurements for the improved assessment of elastic and petrophysical properties of rock formations penetrated by a well. Sonic measurements consisted of full waveform acoustic amplitudes acquired with monopole and dipole sources, whereas EM measurements consisted of frequency-domain voltages acquired with multi-coil induction systems. The combination of sonic and EM measurements permitted the joint estimation of elastic and petrophysical properties in the presence of mud-filtrate invasion. It was conclusively shown that the combined interpretation of sonic and EM measurements reduced non-uniqueness in the estimation of elastic and petrophysical properties and improved the spatial resolution of the estimations compared to estimations yielded separately from the two types of measurements. Moreover, this approach enabled the assessment of dynamic petrophysical properties such as permeability, as it incorporated …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Torres-Verdin, Carlos; Hoversten, G. Michael; Lee, Ki Ha; Newman, Gregory & Nihei, Kurt
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
A Compilation and Review of Alaska Energy Projects
There have been many energy projects proposed in Alaska over the past several decades, from large scale hydro projects that have never been built to small scale village power projects to use local alternative energy sources, many of which have also not been built. This project was initially intended to review these rejected projects to evaluate the economic feasibility of these ideas in the light of current economics. This review included contacting the agencies responsible for reviewing and funding these projects in Alaska, including the Alaska Energy Authority, the Denali Commission, and the Arctic Energy Technology Development Laboratory, obtaining available information about these projects, and analyzing the economic data. Unfortunately, the most apparent result of this effort was that the data associated with these projects was not collected in a systematic way that allowed this information to be analyzed.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Tussing, Arlon & Colt, Steve
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Concept Study: Exploration and Production in Environmentally Sensitive Arctic Areas
The Alaska North Slope offers one of the best prospects for increasing U.S. domestic oil and gas production. However, this region faces some of the greatest environmental and logistical challenges to oil and gas production in the world. A number of studies have shown that weather patterns in this region are warming, and the number of days the tundra surface is adequately frozen for tundra travel each year has declined. Operators are not allowed to explore in undeveloped areas until the tundra is sufficiently frozen and adequate snow cover is present. Spring breakup then forces rapid evacuation of the area prior to snowmelt. Using the best available methods, exploration in remote arctic areas can take up to three years to identify a commercial discovery, and then years to build the infrastructure to develop and produce. This makes new exploration costly. It also increases the costs of maintaining field infrastructure, pipeline inspections, and environmental restoration efforts. New technologies are needed, or oil and gas resources may never be developed outside limited exploration stepouts from existing infrastructure. Industry has identified certain low-impact technologies suitable for operations, and has made improvements to reduce the footprint and impact on the environment. Additional improvements are …
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Patil, Shirish; Haut, Rich; Williams, Tom; Shur, Yuri; Kanevskiy, Mikhail; Hanks, Cathy et al.
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
The Conforming Loan Limit
This report analyzes the implications of raising the conforming loan limit in high-cost areas.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Weiss, N. Eric & Jickling, Mark
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Curved mesh generation and mesh refinement using Lagrangian solid mechanics
We propose a method for generating well-shaped curved unstructured meshes using a nonlinear elasticity analogy. The geometry of the domain to be meshed is represented as an elastic solid. The undeformed geometry is the initial mesh of linear triangular or tetrahedral elements. The external loading results from prescribing a boundary displacement to be that of the curved geometry, and the final configuration is determined by solving for the equilibrium configuration. The deformations are represented using piecewise polynomials within each element of the original mesh. When the mesh is sufficiently fine to resolve the solid deformation, this method guarantees non-intersecting elements even for highly distorted or anisotropic initial meshes. We describe the method and the solution procedures, and we show a number of examples of two and three dimensional simplex meshes with curved boundaries. We also demonstrate how to use the technique for local refinement of non-curved meshes in the presence of curved boundaries.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Persson, P.-O. & Peraire, J.
Object Type:
Article
System:
The UNT Digital Library
Department of Defense Facilities Energy Conservation Policies and Spending
This report reviews energy conservation legislation and Executive Ordrs that apply to the Department of Defense, directives and instructions to the military departments and agencies on implementing the legislation and orders, Defense spending on facility energy over the last decade, annual Defense appropriations that fund energy-conservation improvements, and Defense energy conservation investments.
Date:
December 31, 2008
Creator:
Andrews, Anthony
Object Type:
Report
System:
The UNT Digital Library