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At least 415 records · Page 23

Changes in Climate and Its Effect on Timing of Snowmelt and Intensity-Duration-Frequency Curves

Snow is a critical water resource for much of the U.S. and failure to account for changes in climate could deleteriously impact military assets. In this study, we produced historical and future snow trends through modeling at three military sites (in Washington, Colorado, and North Dakota) and the Western U.S. For selected rivers, we performed seasonal trend analysis of discharge extremes. We calculated flood frequency curves and estimated the probability of occurrence of future annual maximum daily rainfall depths. Additionally, we generated intensity-duration-frequency curves (IDF) to find rainfall intensities at several return levels. Generally, our results showed a decreasing trend in historical and future snow duration, rain-on-snow events, and snowmelt runoff. This decreasing trend in snowpack could reduce water resources. A statistically significant increase in maximum streamflow for most rivers at the Washington and North Dakota sites occurred for several months of the year. In Colorado, only a few months indicated such an increase. Future IDF curves for Colorado and North Dakota indicated a slight increase in rainfall intensity whereas the Washington site had about a twofold increase. This increase in rainfall intensity could result in major flood events, demonstrating the importance of accounting for climate changes in infrastructure planning.

58 GEOSCIENCES↗

Determining Unabated Airborne Radionuclide Emissions Monitoring Requirements Using Inventory-Based Methods

Compliance with the airborne radionuclide emission monitoring requirements in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP; 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart H) and State requirements in Washington Administrative Code 246–247 and 173-480 were evaluated for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operations. Additional guidance may be found in the U.S. Department of Energy Handbook, Environmental Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance. To meet regulatory requirements, reviews of planned or proposed projects and activities provide the basis for implementing necessary monitoring adjustments or for implementing changes to projects and activities in a timely manner. Potential unabated off-site doses were evaluated for emission locations managed by PNNL and licensed to the Department of Energy. These locations were at facilities in Richland, Washington (i.e., the Hanford Site and PNNL-Richland Campus) and in Sequim, Washington, (PNNL-Sequim Campus, which formerly was known as the Marine Sciences Laboratory). This report describes the inventory-based methods and provides the results for the NESHAP assessment performed in January 2021 for calendar year ending 2020.

40 CFR 61 Subpart H↗

Energy Northwest – Horn Rapids Solar and Storage: A Techno-economic Assessment

In 2017, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington State Clean Energy Fund, the Washington State Department of Commerce granted up to $\$3$ million in matching funds to develop an estimated $6.5 million project that deployed a 4-MW, 20-acre solar generating array of photovoltaic (PV) panels coupled with a 1 MW/4 MWh (nameplate capacity) lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) in Richland, Washington. The combination of PV and BESS will provide a predictable, renewable generating source and will also serve as a training ground for solar and battery technicians throughout the nation. This report documents the techno-economic assessment of the integrated system, including the definition of use cases and applications, collection and preparation of data and input parameters, development of modeling and optimization methods, case studies, and analysis results.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Transactive Campus Energy Systems: An R&D Testbed for Renewables, Integration, Efficiency, and Grid Services (CRADA 356 / Amendment 1)

The Clean Energy and Transactive Campus (CETC) work described in this report was done as part of Amendment 1 to Campus Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) 356, the Transactive Campus CRADA with the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Commerce through the Clean Energy Fund (CEF). The original project team consisted of PNNL, the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU), to connect the PNNL, UW, and WSU campuses to construct and operate the testbed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for research and development (R&D) for buildings/grid integration. Building on the foundational transactive system established by the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD), the purpose of the project was to construct the testbed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for R&D on buildings/grid integration and information-based energy efficiency. The testbed supports the integration of renewables and other regional needs, using the flexibility provided by building loads, energy storage, and smart inverters for batteries and photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, at four physical scales: multiple campuses, campus, microgrid and building.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

OPALCO - Decatur Island Solar and Energy Storage Project: An Assessment of Battery Technical Performance

Orcas Power & Light Cooperative (OPALCO) is a member-owned, nonprofit cooperative utility that provides energy services to approximately 11,200 customers across 20 islands in San Juan County, Washington. OPALCO’s mostly hydroelectric power is generated by Bonneville Power Administration and delivered to the islands by submarine cables. In 2016, as part of the second round of funding from the Washington state Clean Energy Fund, OPALCO received a $1 million matching grant to support a project that deployed a 504-kW LG community photovoltaic (PV) system in combination with a 1 MW/2 MWh lithium-iron-phosphate battery energy storage system (BESS) on Decatur Island, Washington. The Decatur Island Substation is essential to ensuring reliable energy for the residents of the San Juan Islands as it is the point of interconnection with the mainland transmission system. The BESS, in combination with the community solar array, will deliver an innovative method to both defer the costly upgrade of the transmission system and allow for other high-value applications intended to benefit the utility and its customers. In 2018, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) completed a preliminary economic assessment for several identified use cases in collaboration with OPALCO. Between August 2021 and May 2022, extensive testing was conducted, and the results were used to assess the technical performance of the BESS subjected to actual field operations. Both reference performance and use case tests were performed: (a) Reference performance tests assess the general technical capabilities of the BESS, such as energy capacity, round-trip efficiency (RTE), ramp rate, and signal tracking capability. These are the first tests performed (baseline) and are repeated after use case tests (post cycle). A standardized U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) energy storage performance protocol was used to characterize the BESS, including representative duty cycle profiles, test procedure guidance, and calculation guidance for determining key characteristics. (b) Use case tests examine the performance of the BESS for specific use cases using duty cycles developed by PNNL in collaboration with OPALCO. Four use cases were selected for testing: 1) demand charge reduction, 2) load shaping, 3) outage mitigation, and 4) transmission deferral. The use case duty cycles were developed based on utility and site-specific characteristics in addition to the technical characteristics and physical capabilities of the BESS. Use case tests were performed between the baseline and post cycle tests. This report describes the BESS and its components, presents testing and performance analysis results, and shares key insights and lessons learned from this project. Outcomes of the tests and analyses will help OPALCO understand the performance of the Decatur Island BESS in its current state and design appropriate operational strategies for this and other BESSs over the long term.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗

Transactive Campus Energy Systems (Final Report)

Transactive energy refers to the combination of economic and control techniques to improve grid reliability and efficiency. The fundamental purpose of transactive energy management is to seamlessly coordinate the operation of large numbers of new intelligent assets—such as distributed solar, energy storage and responsive building loads—to provide the flexibility needed to operate the power grid reliably and at minimum cost, particularly one filled with intermittent renewable generation such as the Pacific Northwest. It addresses the key challenge of providing smooth, stable, and predictable “control” of these assets, despite the fact that most are neither owned nor directly controlled by the power grid. The Clean Energy and Transactive Campus (CETC) work described in this report was done as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) through the Clean Energy Fund (CEF). The project team consisted of PNNL, the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU), to connect the PNNL, UW, and WSU campuses to form a multi-campus testbed for transaction-based energy management—transactive—solutions. Building on the foundational transactive system established by the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD), the purpose of the project was to construct the testbed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for research and development (R&D) on buildings/grid integration and information-based energy efficiency. This report provides a summary of the various tasks performed under the CRADA.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Transactive Campus Energy Systems: An R&D Testbed for Renewalables Integration, Efficiency, and Grid Services - CRADA 356 (Abstract)

Under this Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA), the project team consisting of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), acting on behalf of the U.S. Department of Energy, and the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU), acting under the purview of the State of Washington’s Department of Commerce (the “industrial” partner), will connect the PNNL, UW, and WSU campuses to form a multi-campus test bed for transaction-based energy management – transactive – solutions (see sidebar). Building on the foundational transactive system established by the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD), it is proposing to construct the test bed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for R&D on buildings/grid integration and information-based energy efficiency.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Determining Unabated Airborne Radionuclide Emissions Monitoring Requirements Using Inventory-Based Methods

Compliance with the airborne radionuclide emission monitoring requirements in the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP; Title 40 of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 61, Subpart H) and State requirements in Washington Administrative Code 246–247: Radiation Protection – Air Emissions and 173-480: Ambient Air Quality Standards and Emission Limits for Radionuclides were evaluated for Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) operations. Additional guidance may be found in the U.S. Department of Energy Handbook, Environmental Radiological Effluent Monitoring and Environmental Surveillance. To meet regulatory requirements, reviews of planned or proposed projects and activities provide the basis for implementing necessary monitoring adjustments or for implementing changes to projects and activities in a timely manner. Potential unabated off-site doses were evaluated for emission locations managed by PNNL and licensed to the Department of Energy. These locations were at facilities in Richland, Washington (i.e., the Hanford Site and PNNL–Richland campus) and in Sequim, Washington, (PNNL–Sequim campus). This report describes the inventory-based methods and provides the results for the NESHAP assessment performed in January 2024 for calendar year ending 2023.

40 CFR 61 Subpart H↗

Conservation Habitat Assessment and Mitigation Prioritization for the Hanford Site: Proposed Methodology

The central Hanford Site extends over 312 mi 2 in south-central Washington State, with State Route 240 providing the main boundary to the south and west and the Columbia River bounding it on the north and east. The Hanford Site is within the largest remaining area of contiguous native shrub-steppe and grasslands in Washington State. It also contains some of the most extensive dune systems in the region and is home to hundreds of plant and wildlife species. The natural resources on the Hanford Site are of notable value, both locally and regionally. This area has been home to several Native American Tribes. Remnants, artifacts, and burial sites associated with historical Tribal activity are found throughout the Hanford Site, highlighting that this area is also culturally significant and important to the Tribes today. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) currently manages the Hanford Site. In 1989 DOE entered into the Tri-Party Agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington State Department of Ecology. Since then DOE has invested in cleanup of the Hanford Site to address the nuclear waste and pollution remaining from the nuclear reactors constructed to produce plutonium during World War II as part of the Manhattan Project and the Cold War Era. As described on DOE’s website (https://www.energy.gov/em/hanford-site), “after more than two decades of cleanup, considerable progress has been made at Hanford, reducing the risk the site poses to the health and safety of workers, the public, and the environment.”

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Burrowing Owl Conservation Report: 2020

The Western Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a small migratory species of owl found throughout the Western United States. Burrowing Owls are found throughout a variety of habitats including shrubsteppe; and during the breeding season the Hanford Site is situated at the center of the predicted distribution of Burrowing Owls in Washington State (Smith et al. 1997). The Western Burrowing Owl is declining over much of its range, including on the Hanford Site and throughout the Columbia Basin (HNF-59375, Conway 2006). These declines have been attributed to habitat loss and a subsequent loss in burrowing mammals that the owls depend on for nesting habitat (Conway et al. 2006, Johnson et al. 2010). The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife lists Western Burrowing Owls as a Candidate Species, meaning the species is a candidate for listing as Sensitive, Threatened, or Endangered in Washington (WDFW 2020). Without intervention, continued declines may result in the extirpation of Burrowing Owls from the Hanford Site and the Columbia Basin.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Evaluating Movement Patterns of the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd on Hanford for Calendar Years 2019-2024

Biologists first documented elk on the Hanford Site in 1972; since then, the elk herd known as the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd (RHEH) has grown substantially (PNNL-13331, Population Characteristics and Seasonal Movement Patterns of the Rattlesnake Hills Elk Herd: Status Report 2000). Through the 1990s, the core range of the RHEH was focused on the portion of the Hanford Reach National Monument known as the Fitzner-Eberhardt Arid Lands Ecology (ALE) Reserve. More recently, larger numbers of elk have been occupying the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Hanford Field Office (HFO), formerly the DOE, Richland Operations Office managed portion- of the Hanford Site, known as central Hanford (Figure 1-1). This began with bachelor groups of bulls occupying the site intermittently, and the herd has grown to resident herds, including bulls, cows, and calves. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) established a target herd size for the RHEH of less than 350 animals to minimize damages on adjacent private agricultural lands (Washington State Elk Herd Plan–Yakima Elk Herd [WDFW 2002]). Attempts to control the RHEH population through hunting on private lands and a relocation effort during 2000 have failed to limit growth of the population toward the WDFW target, and the herd exceeds 1,600 according to recent counts (PNNL-13331; DOE/RL- 2023-20, Hanford Annual Site Environmental Report for Calendar Year 2022). Although elk are present on central Hanford year-round, they continue to move between areas offsite, the ALE Reserve, and central Hanford throughout the year, and it is these movements that result in many of the elk-vehicle collisions (EVC) that occur along Hanford Site roads and on the Washington State highways bordering the site. In addition, changes in management strategies on the ALE Reserve, including recent and potential future tribal elk hunts, may alter herd behavior and result in additional animals transiting onto and off central Hanford.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NorthWest Cleantech Innovation Network

To help overcome these barriers for clean tech/climate tech entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Cleantech Innovation Network (NWCIN) was established in October 2021 with support from the Department of Energy. Launched as a consortium of three organizations: VertueLab, the CleanTech Alliance (CTA) and University of Washington Clean Energy Testbeds (WCET), the NWCIN successfully leveraged the strengths and expertise of each organization to deliver four assistance programs: Cascadia Cleantech Accelerator (CCA), an 18-week yearly cohort-based virtual program providing business and technical mentorship Lab2Launch (L2L), a program to educate and connect entrepreneurs to regional research institution resources and technologies available to license Federal Funding Assistance (FFA), to provide support to companies from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska that are applying for SBIR/STTR and other federal grants Cleantech Hardware Innovation Prototyping (CHIP) to provide access to facilities and lab/office space at the Washington

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Performance and Costs of Ductless Heat Pumps in Marine-Climate High-Performance Homes Habitat for Humanity The Woods

The Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program's Building America (BA) team conducted a case study of a high-performance affordable housing community: The Woods (Figure 1). This BA effort is part of a larger-scale study of 30 homes funded from 2013-2016 by Tacoma Public Utilities (TPU) and the Bonneville Power Administration. The Woods is a Habitat for Humanity (HFH) community of homes certified by ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest (ESHNW); the community is in the marine climate of Tacoma/Pierce County, Washington. This research report builds on an earlier preliminary draft 2014 BA report and includes significant billing analysis and cost-effectiveness research from a collaborative and ongoing DHP research effort for TPU and the Bonneville Power Administration. This final BA report focuses on the results of field testing, modeling, and monitoring of ductless mini-split heat pump hybrid heating systems in seven homes built and first occupied at various times between September 2013 and October 2014. The report also provides WSU documentation of high-performance home observations, lessons learned, and stakeholder recommendations for builders of affordable high-performance housing. The research goal of the U.S. Department of Energy's BA research team Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction was to compare a ductless heat pump (DHP) hybrid system (DHP in common area/electric resistance [ER] in bedrooms) to an all-electric zonal ER system in high-performance single-family affordable housing. This effort included assessing the costs and benefits of a DHP/ER hybrid system located in the main living area to offset the primary heating demand of zonal ER heaters in the bedroom zones and comparing these findings to data from of new affordable single-family housing in Washington State. This report includes: (1) Measured indoor and outdoor temperatures and relative humidity (RH) in the homes. (2) Field testing results of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning equipment; ventilation system airflows; building envelope tightness; lighting, appliance, and other input data required for preliminary Building Energy Optimization (BEopt) modeling; and ENERGY STAR field verification (3) BEopt modeling results compared to measured energy use. (4) A comparison of the space heat energy consumption of a DHP/ER hybrid heating system and a traditional zonal ER heating system installed in the same home. This comparison is made by implementing a series of weekly "flip-flop tests" (referred to here as "switchback" tests per TPU) to compare space heating, temperature, and RH in zonal ER heating mode with a DHP/ER mode as discussed in the Building America Test Plan (Lubliner 2010a). (5) Cost data from HFH and other sources related to building efficiency measures focusing on the DHP/ER hybrid heating system. (6) An evaluation of the thermal performance and cost benefit of DHP/ER hybrid heating systems in these high-performance homes employing life cycle cost analysis for energy code policy and monthly cash flow analysis of HFH homeowners. (7) Post-monitoring occupant survey results. The report also provides the following stakeholder findings and recommendations: (1) DHP single-head systems at The Woods are cost-effective to new homebuyers of these high-performance all-electric homes. (2) Stakeholder education is needed on design, inspection, and commissioning; documentation is needed for heat recovery ventilation (HRV) and from ENERGY STAR builders, verifiers, and inspectors to help ensure that the houses meet the goal of "build tight, ventilate right." (3) A code gap in inspection and enforcement was identified that should be addressed by: (3a) Improving the fire marshal's approach to sprinkler attic piping freeze protection; (3b) Improving the maintenance of ceiling insulation continuity; and (3c) Educating the local building inspector on attic insulation inspection concerns that allow for maximizing design improveme...

affordable housing↗

Census Cities experiment in urban change detection

The author has identified the following significant results. Mapping of 1970 and 1972 land use from high-flight photography has been completed for all test sites: San Francisco, Washington, Phoenix, Tucson, Boston, New Haven, Cedar Rapids, and Pontiac. Area analysis of 1970 and 1972 land use has been completed for each of the mandatory urban areas. All 44 sections of the 1970 land use maps of the San Francisco test site have been officially released through USGS Open File at 1:62,500. Five thousand copies of the Washington one-sheet color 1970 land use map, census tract map, and point line identification map are being printed by USGS Publication Division. ERTS-1 imagery for each of the eight test sites is being received and analyzed. Color infrared photo enlargements at 1:100,000 of ERTS-1 MSS images of Phoenix taken on October 16, 1972 and May 2, 1973 are being analyzed to determine to what level land use and land use changes can be identified and to what extent the ERTS-1 imagery can be used in updating the 1970 aircraft photo-derived land use data base. Work is proceeding on the analysis of ERTS-1 imagery by computer manipulation of ERTS-1 MSS data in digital format. ERTS-1 CCT maps at 1:24,000 are being analyzed for two dates over Washington and Phoenix. Anniversary tape sets have been received at Purdue LARS for some additional urban test sites.

Wray, J. R.↗

Arctic Sea ice by passive microwave observations from the Nimbus-5 Satellite

The results of a dynamic/thermodynamic numerical model of Arctic sea ice are compared with satellite images from the Nimbus 5 electrically scanning microwave radiometer. The model combines aspects of two previous sea ice models those of Parkinson and Washington and Ling, Rasmussen, and Campbell. A solid/fluid model basically follows the formulation of the Parkinson and Washington model with the addition of the constitutive equation and equation of state from the Ling model. The Parkinson and Washington model simulates the seasonal cycle of sea ice thicknesses and concentrations with a horizontal resolution of roughly 200 km and a timestep of 8 hours. The thermodynamics are calculated through energy balances at the interfaces between ice and air, water and ice, and water and air. The ice dynamics are calculated through a momentum equation balancing air stress, water stress, dynamic topography, and Coriolis force, with an adjustment for internal ice resistance.

Campbell, W. J.↗

Bloom Modeling and Prediction of the Harmful Algae Alexandrium in Bellingham Bay, WA

Bellingham, Washington is located near the American-Canadian border in the northwestern part of Washington state, and is bordered on its west side by the Lummi reservation. Between Lummi and Bellingham lies Bellingham bay, which has a history of harmful algae related closures dating back to 1978. The subject of this work is a genus of dinoflagellates: Alexandrium, within which many species have the capacity to produce a suite of toxins known as saxitoxin. These toxins bioaccumulate in bivalves, which in turn cause paralytic shellfish poisoning in marine consumers (mammals, birds, and fish), including humans. Symptoms in humans can range from tingling and numbness to difficulty or inability to breathe, resulting in death. Because of the longstanding history of shellfish gathering among Salish tribes and the fact that Washington is the leading U.S. producer of farmed bivalves, harmful algae blooms impact both native and non-native peoples living in the Salish Sea area negatively. The objective of this work is to identify factors which influence Alexandrium blooms in Bellingham Bay, as well as predict Alexandrium blooms in the future. The method of doing so involves two processes: an initial statistical modeling phase to find in situ and remote sensing observations correlated to bloom density (including, but not limited to: water temperature, chlorophyll-a, salinity, color dissolved organic matter, and discharge rate of local rivers), followed by use of that data as a training set for a recursive neural network. This predictive capacity may inform future closures, help ensure the safety of shellfish consumers, and act as a baseline for future modeling efforts in the region.

Harmful↗

History and Logic Model NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Instrument and Payload Systems Engineering Technical Performance Study

Historically, some NASA missions have exceeded schedule and cost commitments. Studies suggest technical performance is a contributor. The 1980 NASA Project Management Study concluded, "one of the most significant contributors to cost and schedule growth is inadequate definition of technical and management aspects of a program..." (as cited in GAO/NSIAD-93-97, p. 11). The 1991 NASA Roles and Missions Report identified a "need for increased emphasis on technological readiness and requirements on the front end of a program" (as cited in GAO/NSIAD-93-97, p. 11). The 1992 NASA Program Costs Report stated that NASA officials identified, among other things, "insufficient definition studies... [and] program redesigns and technical complexities" as reasons for cost and schedule overruns (GAO/NSAID-93-97, p. 11). The 2002 Task Force on Acquisition of National Security Space Programs found "requirements definition and control issues, unhealthy cost bias in proposal evaluation, widespread lack of budget reserves required to implement high risk programs on schedule, and an overall underappreciation of the importance of appropriately staffed and trained system engineering staff to manage the technologically demanding and unique aspects of space programs" (DoD, 2003, p.i.) In 2007, The NASA Office of the Chief Engineer chartered the NASA Instrument Capability Study (NICS) “to determine whether NASA instrument developers are facing challenges that impact the capability to design and build quality instruments or whether there are flaws in the acquisition strategy evidenced by schedule delays, cost overruns, and increased technical risk via design deficiencies. The... team was also chartered to determine if occurrences [are]... isolated cases or if there are generic issues... If the issues [are] found to be generic, the team [is] to offer solutions to recover such capability" (NICS Report, 2008, p. vi). The 2008 NICS Report, led by Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), identified challenges to instrument technical performance consistent with findings from previous reports. In 2017, the Instrument Project Division (IPD) Implementation Study was initiated to determine if there was a change in meeting schedule and cost commitments after implementing certain NICS recommendations. In 2018, the Instrument Technical Performance Study was initiated to determine the current state of Instrument Technical Performance in the GSFC Payload & Instrument Systems Engineering Branch. The purpose of the combined studies is to answer the question, "Is there a relationship between meeting NASA scientific instrument technical success and meeting schedule and cost commitments? If yes, what is the relationship?" References Department of Defense Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. (2003). The report of the defense science board/ air force scientific advisory board joint task force on acquisition of national security space programs. Washington DC. Government Accounting Office. (1992). NASA program costs: Space missions require substantially more funding than initially estimated. GAO/NSIAD-93-97. Washington DC. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, Department of Defense. (2008). The NASA instrument capability study final report. NP-2008-11-058-GSFC. Washington DC.

Robbins, Geraldine↗

Development of New Lunar Highland Regolith Simulant, NUW-LHT-5M

Introduction: NASA has a need for large quantities of lunar simulants that closely match future manned lunar missions at landing sites near the Lunar South Pole. The current simulant was designed to approximate NU-LHT-2M, and -4M, except using natural minerals and a fully synthetic, non-basaltic, high calcium glass. Washington Mills in Niagara Falls, NY was contracted to produce this new simulant due to their electric arc furnace (EAF) fusion technology and capabilities for crushing and sizing ceramics. The primary objectives of this work were: (1) to create a commercially produced simulant that contains a high fidelity, high calcium (An90+), low Mg/Fe glass without basaltic constituents; (2) to create a simulant that uses existing, terrestrially mined, and readily available minerals blended with a synthetic glass, and (3) accomplish objectives (1) and (2) using conventional processing methods capable of production levels that can meet substantial current and future demands of NASA projects. Another consideration was that highland simulants closest to meeting these requirements, NU-LHT-2M and -4M types, are out of production and largely out of stock. Design: The design chosen for development and production for this work is NU-LHT-2M, de-signed by Doug Stoeser and Douglas Rickman, which uses Stillwater anorthosite and norite rocks and synthetic glass. The composition targeted the average composition, glass content and particle size distribution of Apollo 16 samples [1]. The design utilizes two Stillwater minerals, anorthosite (37.7 wt.%), norite (17.6 wt.%), a commercially sourced olivine (4.7 wt.%), and a synthetic glass (40 wt.%). Processing: Stillwater rocks were hand collected and initially crushed by the USGS. Further crushing and milling was performed at Washing-ton Mills. For the glass, oxides were blended in the ap-propriate ratios, blended in a v-blender, and placed in a graphite lined, water cooled pot. The mixture was fused in Washington Mills’ pilot scale, 500 kW EAF. The molten glass was then poured into water and quenched to inhibit crystallization. Several pour/quench cycles were required to produce the total quantity of glass needed. Anorthosite, norite and olivine were milled together to the target particle size in a ball mill. The glass was ball milled separately. The complete simulant was produced by blending the milled materials. Particle size distribution, phase and chemical analyses of the materials was were per-formed at Washington Mills. Results: The glass composition was found to match the Apollo 16 oxide content average [1] quite well, with the exception of SiO2 and Fe2O3. The deviation of SiO2 and Fe2O3 from batched content was believed to be due to limitations inherent in the use of the arc furnace technique for these types of materials. A particle size distribution of the full simulant formulation closely matching the average for the Apollo 16 samples was also achieved. Fig. 1 shows the morphology of the final simulant particles. The size distribution is compared to the target in Fig. 2. Conclusions: A new lunar highlands type simulant containing a high-quality synthetic glass, closely matching an average composition of the Apollo 16 regolith was produced. Processing utilized easily scalable mineral and glass making methods.

simulant↗