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At least 199 records · Page 11

Advanced General Aviation Turbine Engine (GATE) study

The small engine technology requirements suitable for general aviation service in the 1987 to 1988 time frame were defined. The market analysis showed potential United States engines sales of 31,500 per year providing that the turbine engine sales price approaches current reciprocating engine prices. An optimum engine design was prepared for four categories of fixed wing aircraft and for rotary wing applications. A common core approach was derived from the optimum engines that maximizes engine commonality over the power spectrum with a projected price competitive with reciprocating piston engines. The advanced technology features reduced engine cost, approximately 50 percent compared with current technology.

Smith, R.↗

Performance and operational economics estimates for a coal gasification combined-cycle cogeneration powerplant

A performance and operational economics analysis is presented for an integrated-gasifier, combined-cycle (IGCC) system to meet the steam and baseload electrical requirements. The effect of time variations in steam and electrial requirements is included. The amount and timing of electricity purchases from sales to the electric utility are determined. The resulting expenses for purchased electricity and revenues from electricity sales are estimated by using an assumed utility rate structure model. Cogeneration results for a range of potential IGCC cogeneration system sizes are compared with the fuel consumption and costs of natural gas and electricity to meet requirements without cogeneration. The results indicate that an IGCC cogeneration system could save about 10 percent of the total fuel energy presently required to supply steam and electrical requirements without cogeneration. Also for the assumed future fuel and electricity prices, an annual operating cost savings of 21 percent to 26 percent could be achieved with such a cogeneration system. An analysis of the effects of electricity price, fuel price, and system availability indicates that the IGCC cogeneration system has a good potential for economical operation over a wide range in these assumptions.

Nainiger, J. J.↗

An overview of the value of parabolic dish solar thermal systems in industrial cogeneration applications

The essential elements of the cogeneration system configuration to be captured were the displacement of thermal energy by collection and use of the Brayton exhaust stream, and the sale back to the utility of any electricity production in excess of on-site requirements. In contrast to simply dumping these energy flows, their use or sale obviously serves, by itself, to increase gross value of the solar thermal energy system. Net allowable cost of the parabolic dish modules may or may not be increased, however. A consideration is that the waste heat capture and delivery subsystems are not free. This study does not address the incremental cost of adding waste heat capture, transport, and conversion (to steam, if necessary). It does compute a value for the thermal energy thereby displaced. This value can serve as a first-round input to any detailed economic evaluation of waste heat recovery.

Source record↗

Optical properties of Southern Hemisphere aerosols: Report of the joint CSIRO/NASA study

This study was made in support of the LAWS and GLOBE programs, which aim to design a suitable Doppler lidar system for measuring global winds from a satellite. Observations were taken from 5 deg S to 45 deg S along and off the E and SE Australian coast, thus obtaining representative samples over a large latitude range. Observations were made between 0 and 6 km altitude of aerosol physical and chemical properties in situ from the CSIRO F-27 aircraft; of lidar backscatter coefficients at 10.6 micron wavelength from the F-27 aircraft; of lidar backscatter profiles at 0.694 microns at Sale, SE Australia; and of lidar backscatter profiles at 0.532 microns at Cowley Beach, NE Australia. Both calculations and observations in the free troposphere gave a backscatter coefficient of 1-2 x 10 to the -11/m/sr at 10.6 microns, although the accuracies of the instruments were marginal at this level. Equivalent figures were 2-8 x 10 to the -9/m/sr (aerosol) and 9 x 10 to the -9 to 2 x 10 to the -8/m/sr (lidar) at 0.694 microns wavelength at Sale; and 3.7 x 10 to the -9/m/sr (aerosol) and 10 to the -8 to 10 to the -7/m/sr (lidar) at 0.532 microns wavelength at Cowley Beach. The measured backscatter coefficients at 0.694 and 0.532 microns were consistently higher than the values calculated from aerosol size distributions by factors of typically 2 to 10.

Gras, John L.↗

Sharing out NASA's spoils

The economic benefits of NASA programs are discussed. Emphasis is given to an analysis of indirect economic benefits which estimates the effect of NASA programs on employment, personal income, corporate sales and profits, and government tax revenues in the U.S. and in each state. Data are presented that show that NASA programs have widely varying multipliers by industry and that illustrate the distribution of jobs by industry as well as the distribution of sales.

Bezdek, Roger H.↗

Impact of the Space Program on the U.S. economy - National and state analyses

The private-sector economic and employment impacts of the U.S. Space Program on the whole nation and on each state were investigated, considering 80 industries and 475 occupations. It is shown that the FY 1987 NASA procurement expenditures of $8.6 billion resulted in 209,000 jobs, $17.8 billion in total industry sales, $2.9 billion in corporate profits, and $5.6 billion in Federal, state, and local government tax revenues. Although the industry and job impacts are concentrated in states that are the largest direct recipients of NASA program funds (California, Texas, and Florida), every state in the nation benefits from the Space Program and the indirect economic benefits for many states are very high. Details are presented of the total sales and jobs created in each state.

Bezdek, Roger H.↗

Solution of mixed convection heat transfer from isothermal in-line fins

Transient and steady state combined natural and forced convective flows over two in-line finite thickness fins (louvers) in a vertical channel are numerically solved using two methods. The first method of solution is based on the 'Simple Arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian' (SALE) technique which incorporates mainly two computational phases: (1) a Lagrangian phase in which the velocity field is updated by the effects of all forces, and (2) an Eulerian phase that executes all advective fluxes of mass, momentum and energy. The second method of solution uses the finite element code entitled FIDAP. In the first part, comparison of the results by FIDAP, SALE, and available experimental work were done and discussed for steady state forced convection over louvered fins. Good agreements were deduced between the three sets of results especially for the flow over a single fin. In the second part and in the absence of experimental literature, the numerical predictions were extended to the transient transports and to the opposing flow where pressure drop is reversed. Results are presented and discussed for heat transfer and pressure drop in assisting and opposing mixed convection flows.

Khalilollahi, Amir↗

Large ejecta fragments from asteroids

The asteroid 4 Vesta, with its unique basaltic crust, remains a key mystery of planetary evolution. A localized olivine feature suggests excavation of subcrustal material in a crater or impact basin comparable in size to the planetary radius (R(sub vesta) is approximately = 280 km). Furthermore, a 'clan' of small asteroids associated with Vesta (by spectral and orbital similarities) may be ejecta from this impact 151 and direct parents of the basaltic achondrites. To escape, these smaller (about 4-7 km) asteroids had to be ejected at speeds greater than the escape velocity, v(sub esc) is approximately = 350 m/s. This evidence that large fragments were ejected at high speed from Vesta has not been reconciled with the present understanding of impact physics. Analytical spallation models predict that an impactor capable of ejecting these 'chips off Vesta' would be almost the size of Vesta! Such an impact would lead to the catastrophic disruption of both bodies. A simpler analysis is outlined, based on comparison with cratering on Mars, and it is shown that Vesta could survive an impact capable of ejecting kilometer-scale fragments at sufficient speed. To what extent does Vesta survive the formation of such a large crater? This is best addressed using a hydrocode such as SALE 2D with centroidal gravity to predict velocities subsequent to impact. The fragmentation outcome and velocity subsequent to the impact described to demonstrate that Vesta survives without large-scale disassembly or overturning of the crust. Vesta and its clan represent a valuable dataset for testing fragmentation hydrocodes such as SALE 2D and SPH 3D at planetary scales. Resolution required to directly model spallation 'chips' on a body 100 times as large is now marginally possible on modern workstations. These boundaries are important in near-surface ejection processes and in large-scale disruption leading to asteroid families and stripped cores.

Asphaug, E.↗

Orthorectified High Resolution Multispectral Imagery for Application to Change Detection and Analysis

The project team has outlined several technical objectives which will allow the companies to improve on their current capabilities. These include modifications to the imaging system, enabling it to operate more cost effectively and with greater ease of use, automation of the post-processing software to mosaic and orthorectify the image scenes collected, and the addition of radiometric calibration to greatly aid in the ability to perform accurate change detection. Business objectives include fine tuning of the market plan plus specification of future product requirements, expansion of sales activities (including identification of necessary additional resources required to meet stated revenue objectives), development of a product distribution plan, and implementation of a world wide sales effort.

Benkelman, Cody A.↗

Scholarly Electronic Full-Text Publications via the Internet: Issues and Impacts

On-line access to complete texts of scholarly journal articles, conference papers, and books is facilitated by rapidly developing World-wide Web Internet access and capabilities. Meanwhile, print publications continue to be produced and read in spite of the proliferation of many networked electronic publications. The purpose of this presentation is to highlight fundamental issues impacting stakeholder groups, as the trend continues towards migration from paper to affordable ubiquitous networked full-text publications. Librarians, publishers, authors and end-users have various viewpoints, interests, and concerns. There are many issues challenging all stakeholder groups. For instance, all share concerns about administering copyright compliance and enforcing fair use. Uncontrollable electronic downstreaming could result in infringed copyright, while limiting a publisher's entitled revenue stream. Moreover, metered fee-based access may hamper scholarly information research. And, self-authoring on the Internet without peer filtering could lead to information clutter. Many related issues challenge librarians in particular. Among these are rising journal subscription prices, regardless if offered in print or electronic. Some electronic offerings are independent of print, others supplement or duplicate print; several publishers presently require subscribing to print in order to access electronic. Furthermore, numbers of publications are n'ow being marketed via the Internet directly to end-users, which can be viewed as encouraging users to bypass the traditional library. A key issue challenging publishers today is the rapidly expanding electronic user base that is demanding delivery of added-value full-text to desktop computers. Also of growing concern appears to be the decline in print sales to libraries, thereby reducing traditional revenue stream potential. Nowadays, publishers are more hesitant about investing in the production of publications geared toward small niche subjects, since these tend to require higher pricing and carry limited sales potential. Both electronic and print publications necessitate similar editorial, production, operating, and marketing dollars. Tradeoffs owing to delivery format difference do not necessarily mean less dollars need to be spent. Authors wishing to publish books are facing a decline in the role of scholarly monographs in electronic media. However, they are witnessing increased roles of electronic preprints and electronic journal articles. Moreover, the Internet fosters self-publishing without peer monitoring or formal review. Issues challenging end-users include electronic barriers to peer-reviewed formal published works (i.e., fee-based subscriptions to journal literature vs. traditional free-library concept). This often means password only access or IP address controlled site-licensed access. Also, in an uncontrolled Internet environment, sometimes there is a blurring of publication authorship/ownership, as various pieces of publications are cut/pasted into/re-posted on various, disconnected Web searchable home pages.

Kosmin, Linda J.↗

Best Buy: Planning for Disaster

When a 1981 tornado in Minnesota revolutionized the retail approach of Sound of Music, which later changed its name to the now very familiar Best Buy, those who founded the company never imagined that a series of hurricanes twenty years later would also help give it a cutting-edge lead in customer service and disaster planning. That original "Tornado Sale'' introduced low prices in a "no-frills" environment that gave the company higher sales than the industry average and paved the way to a new business model. But before Best Buy could find the silver lining of these new storm clouds., it needed to survive them by planning for the destructive weather that plagued Florida during the summer of 2004. Having seen the power of listening to its employees and customers, Best Buy now seeks to capture their thoughts and feedback about other elements of the business.

Sachs, Adam↗

Use of a Geothermal-Solar Hybrid Power Plant to Mitigate Declines in Geothermal Resource Productivity

Many, if not all, geothermal resources are subject to decreasing productivity manifested in the form of decreasing brine temperature, flow rate, or both during the life span of the associated power generation project. The impacts of resource productivity decline on power plant performance can be significant; a reduction in heat input to a power plant not only decreases the thermal energy available for conversion to electrical power, but also adversely impacts the power plant conversion efficiency. The reduction in power generation is directly correlated to a reduction in revenues from power sales. Further, projects with Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) contracts in place may be subject to significant economic penalties if power generation falls below the default level specified. A potential solution to restoring the performance of a power plant operating from a declining productivity geothermal resource involves the use of solar thermal energy to restore the thermal input to the geothermal power plant. There are numerous technical merits associated with a renewable geothermal-solar hybrid plant in which the two heat sources share a common power block. The geo-solar hybrid plant could provide a better match to typical electrical power demand profiles than a stand-alone geothermal plant. The hybrid plant could also eliminate the stand-alone concentrated solar power plant thermal storage requirement for operation during times of low or no solar insolation. This paper identifies hybrid plant configurations and economic conditions for which solar thermal retrofit of a geothermal power plant could improve project economics. The net present value of the concentrated solar thermal retrofit of an air-cooled binary geothermal plant is presented as functions of both solar collector array cost and electricity sales price.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Wind turbines, amenities and disamenities: A study of home value impacts in densely populated Massachusetts

In this study, we investigate the effect of planned or operating wind turbines on urban home values. Previous studies, which largely produced non-significant findings, focused on rural settings. We analyzed more than 122,000 home sales, between 1998 and 2012, that occurred near 41 turbines in densely populated Massachusetts communities. Although we found the effects from various negative features (such as electricity transmission lines) and positive features (such as open space) generally accorded with previous studies, we found no net effects due to turbines in these communities. Lastly, we also found no unique impact on the rate of home sales near wind turbines.

17 WIND ENERGY↗

Implications of Successes and Failures of BEV-Focused Incentive Support for PEVs in the U.S., Canada and Europe

An international comparative analysis of causes of variation of PEV sales rates per capita in selected U.S. states, Canadian provinces, and European Nations is conducted. 2014-15 light-duty PEV registrations/sales by make and model are examined, drawing heavily on 2014 data for aggregate comparisons. States, provinces, and nations with PEV success, but with widely varying PEV purchase incentives and charging infrastructure installations are examined. The paper focuses particularly presence or absence of long daily distance charging options for PEVs. Four questions are addressed. (1) European evidence is that PHEV powertrains are a very marketable option for large family vehicles. For small BEVs BMW i3 sales patterns indicate that range extension beyond 120 km but less than 240 km via gasoline significantly increases market share. BEV inter-city functionality provided by aggressive installation of DC fast charging was critical to overall PEV success in Norway. Norway, like Northern Europe and Canada has a utility network that is winter peaking, which allows provision of peak summer BEV long-distance charging needs without difficulty. This is not the case for the U.S., which is summer peaking. The reviewed states, provinces, and nations vary considerably in seasonal peak temperature extremes. These climate differences have a significant bearing on the local viability of PHEVs vs. BEVs. The long distance DC fast charging infrastructure investments needed to support BEV market success are not as large when PHEVs are preferred by consumers.

Battery electric vehicle↗

Impacts of Biogas-to-Electricity Purchase Incentive on Electric Vehicle Market Penetration

The biogas-to-electricity pathway under the Renewable Fuel Standards allows for Renewable Identification Number (RIN) credits to be generated when electricity produced from biogas is used in the transportation sector. This study describes and evaluates a potential credit allocation method under that pathway that distributes electricity RIN (E-RIN) credits between electricity generators and plug-in electric vehicle (PEV) users and assesses the impact on EV deployment. In this study, one part of the credit value is allocated to electricity generators to offset potential higher biogas electricity generation cost, measured by the levelized cost of electricity. The other part of credit value is allocated to consumers in terms of the PEV purchase incentive to stimulate PEV sales. An iterative simulation procedure is developed to fulfill two tasks: (1) one task is to estimate the incentive amount based on various factors, such as vehicle mileage, E-RIN equivalence value, and biogas capacity, and (2) the other task is to evaluate potential impacts of the E-RIN program on electrification of the future light duty vehicle fleet and energy use. Results indicate that the E-RIN program can significantly increase PEV market share by up to 2.3 million in sales and by up to 19.7 million in fleet size in 2030. However, effectiveness of the program is subject to different factors, such as the E-RIN equivalence value, biogas electricity generation cost, biogas electricity generation capacity, and potential competition in E-RIN credits by other entities.

Xie, Fei↗

Will Vehicle Automation Accelerate or Decelerate Electrification: Modeling Demand for Automated Electric Vehicles

Automation may induce more travel demand, posing a threat to energy security and environmental quality unless the induced travel demand is served with more efficient or clean fuel technologies. This study attempts to analyze whether automation may promote or discourage market acceptance of plug-in electric vehicles. A consumer choice model called MA3T-MC is developed to cover automated vehicles by expanding the existing MA3T model that focuses only on fuel type choices. Key findings include: 1) automation may increase sales shares of gasoline conventional vehicles and decrease shares of efficient vehicles including HEVs and PHEVs, due to greater energy cost savings for less efficient vehicles. 2) Automation may increase market shares of BEVs, due to the “free” range extension from the efficiency improvement by automation. 3) consumer heterogeneity is important in quantifying the national impact of automation on sales shares by fuel types and the total energy use.

Lin, Zhenhong↗

Breaking the 20 Year Logjam to Better Insulating Windows

Windows account for about 4 Quads of US energy consumption or 12% of building energy use. After 20 years of public/private investment (from 1980 to 2000) in technology R&D, coupled with new rating and labeling organizations (NFRC) and with subsequent voluntary ENERGY STAR programs and tighter codes and standards, windows using low-E/argon gas fill (~R3) gained a dominant market share and now account for >86% of all annual sales. However, this remarkable transformation of prior markets has stagnated, with triple glazing (~R5-R7) comprising less than 2% of all window sales in 2016. U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates the national technical potential savings using R5-R7 windows at ~ 2Q annually, but manufacturers claim they would have to redesign their entire sash/frame inventory to accommodate the thicker and heavier insulating glass units (IGUs) in conventional triple glazed window designs. This paper outlines the initial findings from the first phase of a new collaborative effort, now underway with industry partners, to transform window markets to the R5-R7 insulating levels by introducing a novel packaging of existing technology elements, implemented as a “drop-in replacement” for current IGUs. The program involves working with supply chain partners to ensure component availability, with leading window manufacturers to integrate the key technology elements and initially deploy the new designs, and with market pull partners to speed adoptions rates. Market pull partners include building code officials, utility rebate/incentive programs and ENERGY STAR, along with early adopters such as builders targeting net zero and passive house designers.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Comprehensive analysis of technical efficiency of business establishments in Santa Barbara County: Evaluation of spatial and aspatial stochastic frontier models

One of the main objectives of land-use and transport models is to accurately describe the organization and composition of the regional economy. However, these models currently lack the integration of competitiveness and performance of the regional economy, which in-turn is dependent on performance and efficiency of business establishments in the region. In this study, we present a framework that integrates the aspects of economic efficiency of business establishments within the context of land-use and transport models. For this purpose, we comprehensively assess the impacts of both internal and external attributes of business establishment on its efficiency. In this process, we specifically focus on aspects of incorporating locational characteristics using two frameworks - (a) measuring locational attributes using link-based multiple centrality indicators (L-MCI) and (b) measuring neighborhood effects of business establishments through spatial proximity that account for co-location and competition. We make use of the stochastic frontier modeling framework to investigate the factors impacting business establishment-level output measured as sales per unit area. Specifically, the aspatial stochastic frontier (ASF) model incorporates L-MCI measures as covariates and the spatial stochastic frontier (SSF) model incorporates neighborhood effects of business establishments through network distance measured using the roadway network for Santa Barbara County.Overall, the empirical results suggest that there exist significant inefficiencies across all business establishment types that are mainly impacted by internal attributes of the business. For example, larger and older business establishments are more efficient than business establishments that are smaller in size and younger in age. Furthermore, the results also suggest that locational impacts are better captured using the ASF specification when compared with SSF specification. For instance, the spatial correlation estimate (from SSF) although statistically significant, is very weak. Thereby, indicating a lack of spatial structure in technical efficiency of businesses manifested in the form of co-location and competition. In contrast, the ASF model captures spatial structure of technical efficiency thoroughly with inclusion of the L-MCI measures. This indicates that L-MCI measures have varying levels of impact on efficiency (positive or negative) depending on its relative location in the region. For instance, retail trade businesses have higher levels of revenue (or sales per unit area) when located along links in a grid-network like structure e.g. downtown areas. Additionally, businesses in professional services have no impact on their efficiency based on the configuration and structure of the regional transportation network. However, results from both specifications indicate that there exist major benefits on efficiency of business establishments from local competition for retail trade and healthcare services.

Ravulaparthy, Srinath↗