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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 325 records · Page 18
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

IEA HPP Annex 41 Cold Climate Heat Pumps: Task 1 Report Literature and Technology Review United States - ORNL/TM-2013/472

During the mid-1970s, following the first oil embargo, heat pumps became of great interest to northern U. S. electric power companies, particularly for those experiencing large peak demands during the heating season, as shortages of natural gas and oil led to increased usage of direct electric heating. Air-source heat pumps (ASHP), given their wider market presence relative to other heat pump types, almost universal applicability, and inherent efficiency and capacity issues at cold outdoor temperatures were of primary interest as an electrical heating system alternative at that time. ASHPs based on the simple vapor compression cycle suffer both heating capacity (output) and efficiency (coefficient of performance or COP) degradation as the outdoor ambient temperature drops.

Baxter, Van D.↗
DOE OSTI2012

GIS-and Web-based Water Resource Geospatial Infrastructure for Oil Shale Development

The Colorado School of Mines (CSM) was awarded a grant by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Department of Energy (DOE) to conduct a research project en- titled GIS- and Web-based Water Resource Geospatial Infrastructure for Oil Shale Development in October of 2008. The ultimate goal of this research project is to develop a water resource geo-spatial infrastructure that serves as “baseline data” for creating solutions on water resource management and for supporting decisions making on oil shale resource development. The project came to the end on September 30, 2012. This final project report will report the key findings from the project activity, major accomplishments, and expected impacts of the research. At meantime, the gamma version (also known as Version 4.0) of the geodatabase as well as other various deliverables stored on digital storage media will be send to the program manager at NETL, DOE via express mail. The key findings from the project activity include the quantitative spatial and temporal distribution of the water resource throughout the Piceance Basin, water consumption with respect to oil shale production, and data gaps identified. Major accomplishments of this project include the creation of a relational geodatabase, automated data processing scripts (Matlab) for database link with surface water and geological model, ArcGIS Model for hydrogeologic data processing for groundwater model input, a 3D geological model, surface water/groundwater models, energy resource development systems model, as well as a web-based geo-spatial infrastructure for data exploration, visualization and dissemination. This research will have broad impacts of the devel- opment of the oil shale resources in the US. The geodatabase provides a “baseline” data for fur- ther study of the oil shale development and identification of further data collection needs. The 3D geological model provides better understanding through data interpolation and visualization techniques of the Piceance Basin structure spatial distribution of the oil shale resources. The sur- face water/groundwater models quantify the water shortage and better understanding the spatial distribution of the available water resources. The energy resource development systems model reveals the phase shift of water usage and the oil shale production, which will facilitate better planning for oil shale development. Detailed descriptions about the key findings from the project activity, major accomplishments, and expected impacts of the research will be given in the sec- tion of “ACCOMPLISHMENTS, RESULTS, AND DISCUSSION” of this report.

04 OIL SHALES AND TAR SANDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Building Energy Efficiency in India: Compliance Evaluation of Energy Conservation Building Code

India is experiencing unprecedented construction boom. The country doubled its floorspace between 2001 and 2005 and is expected to add 35 billion m 2 of new buildings by 2050. Buildings account for 35% of total final energy consumption in India today, and building energy use is growing at 8% annually. Studies have shown that carbon policies will have little effect on reducing building energy demand. Chaturvedi et al. predicted that, if there is no specific sectoral policies to curb building energy use, final energy demand of the Indian building sector will grow over five times by the end of this century, driven by rapid income and population growth. The growing energy demand in buildings is accompanied by a transition from traditional biomass to commercial fuels, particularly an increase in electricity use. This also leads to a rapid increase in carbon emissions and aggravates power shortage in India. Growth in building energy use poses challenges to the Indian government.

Code Compliance Evaluation↗
DOE OSTI2014

Detecting Humanity's Imprint on Rainfall Patterns: An S&TR Preprint

It's the perfect storm. At a time when global demand for water is rising rapidly due to population growth, urbanization, industrial activities, and expanded use of crop irrigation systems, climate change may be altering the timing, location, and amount of rain and snow that fall on large swaths of the planet. Computational models indicate that increases in global surface temperatures will redistribute rainfall in two ways. First, warmer air, which holds more water vapor, will intensify existing precipitation and drought conditions. That is, more rain will fall in wet areas, and evaporation will increase in drier areas. Second, shifts in atmospheric circulation patterns will push storm paths and subtropical dry zones toward the poles. Worldwide changes to rainfall patterns could magnify existing problems with water scarcity, food shortage, and possibly even political instabilities, thereby transforming an environmental concern into a global security issue. Confirming that the predicted changes are occurring and determining whether human-induced (anthropogenic) forces, such as greenhouse-gas emissions and ozone depletion, or naturally occurring fluctuations are causing the pattern shifts may help policy makers develop strategies for mitigating or adapting to the changes. However, extracting this information from global precipitation data can be challenging.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗
DOE OSTI2011

Measurements of the Double-Spin Asymmetry A 1 on Helium-3: Toward a Precise Measurement of the Neutron A 1

The spin structure of protons and neutrons has been an open question for nearly twenty-five years, after surprising experimental results disproved the simple model in which valence quarks were responsible for nearly 100% of the nucleon spin. Diverse theoretical approaches have been brought to bear on the problem, but a shortage of precise data - especially on neutron spin structure - has prevented a thorough understanding. Experiment E06-014, conducted in Hall A of Jefferson Laboratory in 2009, presented an opportunity to add to the world data set for the neutron in the poorly covered valence-quark region. Jefferson Laboratory's highly polarized electron beam, combined with Hall A's facilities for a high-density, highly polarized 3 He target, allowed a high-luminosity double-polarized experiment, while the large acceptance of the BigBite spectrometer gave coverage over a wide kinematic range: 0.15 < x < 0.95. In this work, we present the analysis of a portion of the E06-014 data, measured with an incident beam energy of 4.74 GeV and spanning 1.5 < Q 2 < 5.5 (GeV/c) 2 . From these data, we extract the longitudinal asymmetry in virtual photon-nucleon scattering, A 1 , on the 3 He nucleus. Combined with the remaining E06-014 data, this will form the basis of a measurement of the neutron asymmetry A η 1 that will extend the kinematic range of the data available to test models of spin-dependent parton distributions in the nucleon.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Detailed Studies of Hydrocarbon Radicals: C 2 H Dissociation

The goal of this research at its outset was a chemical physics investigation of C 2 H properties: spectroscopy, dynamics (including non-adiabatic), thermodynamics, etc. using mainly the Rydberg-tagging technique that had been a mainstay of my laboratory for two decades. We encountered a number of technical obstacles that bogged us down for about a year and a half before switching to a very different approach. It was believed that the new approach would yield the UV absorption spectrum of cold, gas-phase C 2 H. It involved using a cold CO 2 matrix (which does not react with C 2 H) to simultaneously prepare the radical and propel it into vacuum. Many things happened. There was no shortage of data, and interesting phenomena were uncovered. About the only thing that did not happen was a clean UV spectrum of C 2 H. I would say, to put it bluntly, that from the perspective of our original goal the whole effort was a colossal failure. I rarely come up empty handed, but I did this time. Excuses are a dime a dozen, so let's just say that things like this happen every so often.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
DOE OSTI2015

Energy-Efficiency & Water Institute Research Facility, Purdue University, (IN)

The renovation of the Schneider Avenue Building to construct two research laboratories within the building is complete. The research laboratories are for the Purdue Calumet Water Institute and the Energy Efficiency and Reliability Center. The Water Institute occupies approximately 1000+ SF of research space plus supporting offices. The Energy-Efficiency Center occupies approximately 1000+ SF that houses the research space. The labs will enhance the Water & Energy Institute’s research capabilities necessary to tackle these issues through the development of practical approaches critical to local government and industry. The addition of these research laboratories to the Purdue University Calumet campus is in both direct support of the University’s Strategic Plan as well as the 2008 Campus Master Plan that identifies a 20% shortage of research space.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2015

Opportunities for Automated Demand Response in California’s Dairy Processing Industry

During periods of peak electrical demand on the energy grid or when there is a shortage of supply, the stability of the grid may be compromised or the cost of supplying electricity may rise dramatically, respectively. Demand response programs are designed to mitigate the severity of these problems and improve reliability by reducing the demand on the grid during such critical times. In 2010, the Demand Response Research Center convened a group of industry experts to suggest potential industries that would be good demand response program candidates for further review. The dairy industry was suggested due to the perception that the industry had suitable flexibility and automatic controls in place. The purpose of this report is to provide an initial description of the industry with regard to demand response potential, specifically automated demand response. This report qualitatively describes the potential for participation in demand response and automated demand response by dairy processing facilities in California, as well as barriers to widespread participation. The report first describes the magnitude, timing, location, purpose, and manner of energy use. Typical process equipment and controls are discussed, as well as common impediments to participation in demand response and automated demand response programs. Two case studies of demand response at dairy facilities in California and across the country are reviewed. Finally, recommendations are made for future research that can enhance the understanding of demand response potential in this industry.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2016

Comprehensive Solutions for Integration of Solar Resources into Grid Operations

The need for proactive closed-loop integration of uncertainty information into system operations and probability-based controls is widely recognized, but rarely implemented in system operations. Proactive integration for this project means that the information concerning expected uncertainty ranges for net load and balancing requirements, including required balancing capacity, ramping and ramp duration characteristics, will be fed back into the generation commitment and dispatch algorithms to modify their performance so that potential shortages of these characteristics can be prevented. This basic, yet important, premise is the motivating factor for this project. The achieved project goal is to demonstrate the benefit of such a system. The project quantifies future uncertainties, predicts additional system balancing needs including the prediction intervals for capacity and ramping requirements of future dispatch intervals, evaluates the impacts of uncertainties on transmission including the risk of overloads and voltage problems, and explores opportunities for intra-hour generation adjustments helping to provide more flexibility for system operators. The resulting benefits culminate in more reliable grid operation in the face of increased system uncertainty and variability caused by solar power. The project identifies that solar power does not require special separate penetration level restrictions or penalization for its intermittency. Ultimately, the collective consideration of all sources of intermittency distributed over a wide area unified with the comprehensive evaluation of various elements of balancing process, i.e. capacity, ramping, and energy requirements, help system operators more robustly and effectively balance generation against load and interchange. This project showed that doing so can facilitate more solar and other renewable resources on the grid without compromising reliability and control performance. Efforts during the project included developing and integrating advanced probabilistic solar forecasts, including distributed PV forecasts, into closed –loop decision making processes. Additionally, new uncertainty quantifications methods and tools for the direct integration of uncertainty and variability information into grid operations at the transmission and distribution levels were developed and tested. During Phase 1, project work focused heavily on the design, development and demonstration of a set of processes and tools that could reliably and efficiently incorporate solar power into California’s grid operations. In Phase 2, connectivity between the ramping analysis tools and market applications software were completed, multiple dispatch scenarios demonstrated a successful reduction of overall uncertainty and an analysis to quantify increases in system operator reliability, and the transmission and distribution system uncertainty prediction tool was introduced to system operation engineers in a live webinar. The project met its goals, the experiments prove the advancements to methods and tools, when working together, are beneficial to not only the California Independent System Operator, but the benefits are transferable to other system operators in the United States.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2016

Los Alamos National Laboratory Support for Commercial U.S. Production of 99 Mo without the Use of Highly Enriched Uranium

There is currently a serious shortage of 99 Mo, from which to generate the medically significant isotope 99m Tc. Most of the world's supply comes from the fission of highly enriched uranium targets--this is a proliferation concern. This document focuses on the technology involved in two alternative methods: electron accelerator production of 99 Mo from the 100 Mo(γ,n) 99 Mo reaction and production of 99 Mo as a fission product in a subcritical, DT accelerator-driven low enriched uranium salt solution.

38 RADIATION CHEMISTRY, RADIOCHEMISTRY, AND NUCLEA↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of an Agent-based Model to Analyze Contemporary Helium Markets

Although U.S. helium demand has remained relatively flat since 2009, exports of helium have increased significantly since then, driven primarily by demand for electronic and semiconductor manufacturing in Asia. In the midst of this global demand shift, the Helium Act dictates a new procedure for pricing and distributing the gas through a reserve that historically functioned as a loose “oligarchy.” The new procedure requires prices to be determined by the open market through auctions and a survey of market prices, as opposed to increasing prices according to the consumer price index. Response to these changes has caused temporary shortages, price increases, and a significant increase in the development of the helium extraction technologies used to produce helium from formerly marginal sources. Technologies are being developed and refined to extract helium from formerly low-yielding natural gas fields containing much lower amounts of helium than the previously considered economic threshold of 0.3%. Combining these transformative policies with the potential for new and significant global supplies from Qatar, Algeria, and Russia could lead to new and unforeseen market behaviors and reactions from global helium markets. The objective of the project is to analyze the global helium markets.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2016

PSB27: A thylakoid protein enabling Arabidopsis to adapt to changing light intensity

Project Title: Immunophilins in the assembly and maintenance of photosynthetic electron transport chain in Arabidopsis Applicant: The Regents of the University of California PI: Sheng Luan, University of California at Berkeley Photosynthetic light energy conversion entails coordinated function of complex molecular machines that capture and convert light energy into chemical forms through photosynthetic electron transport chain. Each molecular machine, such as photosystem II (PSII), may consist of dozens of protein subunits and small molecule cofactors. Despite advanced understanding of the structure and function of these complexes, little is known about “How individual proteins and cofactors assemble into a functional machine and how do these molecular machines maintain their structure and function under a highly hazardous lumenal environment.” Our studies on immunophilins have unexpectedly contributed to the understanding of this question. Originally defined as cellular receptors for immunosuppressants, immunophilins have been discovered in a wide range of organisms from bacteria, fungi, plants, to animals. Immunophilins function in protein folding processes as chaperones and foldases. Arabidopsis genome encodes ca. 50 immunophilins. The most striking finding is that 16 immunophilin members are targeted to chloroplast thylakoid lumen, by far the largest group in the lumenal proteome. What is the function of immunophilins in the thylakoid lumen? Our studies have demonstrated critical roles for several immunophilins in the biogenesis and maintenance of photosynthetic complexes such as PSII. These studies have made a critical link between immunophilins and the assembly of photosynthetic machines and thus opened up a new area of research in photosynthesis. Our goal is to dissect the roles of immunophilins and their partners in the assembly and maintenance of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. The specific objectives for this funding period will be: 1. To dissect the mechanism of action for CYP38. Our studies suggest an “autoinhibitory” model for CYP38 action. We plan to test this model and determine the mechanistic details for CYP38 function by biochemical and genetic procedures. 2. To determine the mechanism of action of FKBP20-2/FKBP16-3. Studies on FBKP16-3 and FKBP20-2 suggest that they may work together as a redox-dependent duo in PSII assembly. We will test this hypothesis using biochemical and genetic tools. 3. To determine the function of lumenal FKBPs by multi-gene mutagenesis approach. Using new genetic knockout (KO) procedures especially CRISPR/CAS9 system, we plan to generate multi-gene KO models that will likely provide vital information on those FKBPs with functional redundancy. 4. Functional analysis of thylakoid lumen network. We will focus our effort on objectives 1-3. Objective 4 represents a long-term goal to establish a more comprehensive network of proteins in the thylakoid lumen and their function in the assembly and maintenance of photosynthetic complexes. I hypothesize that the 16 immunophilin-type chaperones and foldases in the thylakoid lumen constitute an “assembly line” for the various components in the photosynthetic electron transport chain. Understanding this assembly line will enable further engineering of more efficient photosynthetic machines to capture more light energy and enhance plant productivity. Furthermore, it is envisioned that such molecular “assembly line” may be rebuilt to produce artificial photosynthesis in vitro or in non-photosynthetic organisms. These are highly relevant to the mission of “Photosynthetic Systems” and “Physical Biosciences” programs to “enhance our understanding of energy capture, conversion, and/or storage.” During the funding period, we have performed a number of experiments under the proposed objectives and obtained several new results. We have found in Objective 1 that CYP38 is associated to the thylokoid membrane with a larger complex that might be PSII supercomplex. Under objective 2, we have found that FKBP16-2 interacted with PSB27 that was further pursuited and published a research article in PNAS (attached). Under Objective 3, we have identified several mutants of other FKBPs in the thyalkoid lumen that should be further studied if future funding is available. Under Objective 4, we have started to build a network of lumenal proteins that play a number of roles in photosynthesis. For example, the CYP37 and CYP28 are linked to chloroplast signaling to nucleus, critical for controlling plant response to high light and adaptation to climate change. Unfortunately these studies have been terminated due to funding shortage.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

Development of a Field Demonstration for Cost-Effective Low-Grade Heat Recovery and Use Technology Designed to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Water Usage Rates for a Coal-Fired Power Plant

Coal-based power generation systems provide reliable, low-cost power to the domestic energy sector. These systems consume large amounts of fuel and water to produce electricity and are the target of pending regulations that may require reductions in water use and improvements in thermal efficiency. While efficiency of coal-based generation has improved over time, coal power plants often do not utilize the low-grade heat contained in the flue gas and require large volumes of water for the steam cycle make-up, environmental controls, and for process cooling and heating. Low-grade heat recovery is particularly challenging for coal-fired applications, due in large part to the condensation of acid as the flue gas cools and the resulting potential corrosion of the heat recovery materials. Such systems have also not been of significant interest as recent investments on coal power plants have primarily been for environmental controls due to more stringent regulations. Also, in many regions, fuel cost is still a pass-through to the consumer, reducing the motivation for efficiency improvements. Therefore, a commercial system combining low-grade heat-recovery technologies and associated end uses to cost effectively improve efficiency and/or reduce water consumption has not yet been widely applied. However, pressures from potential new regulations and from water shortages may drive new interest, particularly in the U.S. In an effort to address this issue, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sought to identify and promote technologies to achieve this goal.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2016

Consequences of Modification of Photosystem Stoichiometry and Amount in Cyanobacteria

The proposed research seeks to address two interconnected, important questions that impact photosynthetic processes and that reflect key differences between the photosynthetic systems of cyanobacteria and plants or algae. The first question is what are the reasons and consequences of the high photosystem I / photosystem II (PS I/PS II) ratio in many cyanobacteria, vs. a ratio that is close to unity in many plants and algae. The corresponding hypothesis is that most of PS I functions in cyclic electron transport, and that reduction in PS I will result primarily in a shortage of ATP rather than reducing power. This hypothesis will be tested by reducing the amount of PS I by changing the promoter region of the psaAB operon in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and generating a range of mutants with different PS I content and thereby different PS I/PS II ratios, with some of the mutants having a PS II/PS I ratio closer to that in plants. The resulting mutants will be probed in terms of their growth rates, electron transfer rates, and P700 redox kinetics. A second question relates to a Mehler-type reaction catalyzed by two flavoproteins, Flv1 and Flv3, that accept electrons from PS I and that potentially function as an electron safety valve leading to no useful purpose of the photosynthesis-generated electrons. The hypothesis to be tested is that Flv1 and Flv3 use the electrons for useful purposes such as cyclic electron flow around PS I. This hypothesis will be tested by analysis of a mutant strain lacking flv3, the gene for one of the flavoproteins. This research is important for a more detailed understanding of the consequences of photosystem stoichiometry and amounts in a living system. Such an understanding is critical for not only insights in the regulatory systems of the organism but also to guide the development of biological or bio-hybrid systems for solar energy conversion into fuels.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2016

A Sailor in the Los Alamos Navy

As part of the War Department’s Manhattan Engineer District (MED), Los Alamos was an Army installation during World War II, complete with a base commander and a brace of MPs. But it was a unique Army installation, having more civilian then military personnel. Even more unique was the work performed by the civilian population, work that required highly educated scientists and engineers. As the breadth, scope, and complexity of the Laboratory’s work increased, more and more technically educated and trained personnel were needed. But, the manpower needs of the nation’s war economy had created a shortage of such people. To meet its manpower needs, the MED scoured the ranks of the Army for anyone who had technical training and reassigned these men to its laboratories, including Los Alamos, as part of its Special Engineer Detachment (SED). Among the SEDs assigned to Los Alamos was Val Fitch, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1980. Another was Al Van Vessem, who helped stack the TNT for the 100 ton test, bolted together the Trinity device, and rode shotgun with the bomb has it was driven from Los Alamos to ground zero.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2017

Montana BioDiesel Initiative

This initiative funding helped put Montana State University (MSU) in a position to help lead in the development of biodiesel production strategies. Recent shortages in electrical power and rising gasoline prices have focused much attention on the development of alternative energy sources that will end our dependence on fossil fuels. In addition, as the concern for environmental impact of utilizing fossil fuels increases, effective strategies must be implemented to reduce emissions or the increased regulations imposed on fossil fuel production will cause economic barriers for their use to continue to increase. Biodiesel has been repeatedly promoted as a more environmentally sound and renewable source of fuel and may prove to be a highly viable solution to provide, at the least, a proportion of our energy needs. Currently there are both practical and economic barriers to the implementation of alternative energy however the advent of these technologies is inevitable. Since many of the same strategies for the storage, transport, and utilization of biodiesel are common with that of fossil fuels, the practical barriers for biodiesel are comparatively minimal. Strategies were developed to harness the CO 2 as feedstock to support the growth of biodiesel producing algae. The initiative funding led to the successful funding of highly rated projects in competitive national grant programs in the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy. This funding put MSU in a key position to develop technologies to utilize the CO 2 rich emissions produced in fossil fuel utilization and assembled world experts concerning the growth characteristics of photosynthetic microorganisms capable of producing biodiesel.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2017

The Inglorious Death of Jumbo

In the summer of 1944, J. Robert Oppenheimer and Los Alamos faced a crisis. An isotopic impurity in Plutonium rendered the metal unusable in a gun-assembled atomic bomb (i.e., Little Boy). Making this situation worse was a shortage of Uranium. The combination of these two problems threatened the entire wartime project. The answer to this dilemma, in part, was to develop a novel assembly method for Plutonium using the supersonic shock waves created by several tons of high explosives to compress a ball of Plutonium into a supercritical state. Since this method, implosion, was not much more than a theoretical construct, the Trinity test was devised to proof test the process. Given the speculative nature of implosion, Trinity was a gamble of sorts. If the test failed (i.e., little or no nuclear yield), the blast of the high explosives would scatter the scarce and expensive Plutonium over the surrounding desert. Since the probability of failure remained high into the early summer of 1945, some method of containing a failed nuclear explosion was needed. Jumbo was the answer.

45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEF↗
DOE OSTI2017

Aligning PEV Charging Times with Electricity Supply and Demand

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are a growing source of electricity consumption that could either exacerbate supply shortages or smooth electricity demand curves. Extensive research has explored how vehicle-grid integration (VGI) can be optimized by controlling PEV charging timing or providing vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services, such as storing energy in vehicle batteries and returning it to the grid at peak times. While much of this research has modeled charging, implementation in the real world requires a cost-effective solution that accounts for consumer behavior. To function across different contexts, several types of charging administrators and methods of control are necessary to minimize costs in the VGI context.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗