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At least 559 records · Page 31

Construction Support for New Slab Creek Powerhouse Project (Final Technical Report)

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has constructed a new powerhouse and Boating Flow Release Facility (BFRF) ¼ mile downstream of the existing Slab Creek Dam with the assistance of grant funding from the Department of Energy in the amount of $1.5 million. Slab Creek Dam impounds 16,600 acre-feet of storage and has a normal full pool elevation of 1850ft. Water is conveyed from Slab Creek Reservoir through a 4.9 mile power tunnel to the 224 MW White Rock Powerhouse which discharges into Chili Bar Reservoir. A small 450 kW powerhouse located at Slab Creek Dam utilizes the original license in-stream flow requirement. The new license (FERC Project No. 2101-084) requires significantly more instream flows immediately below the dam for aquatic preservation and recreational flows over the original license. The terms of the new license allow the Slab Creek Powerhouse to utilize the original required dam releases, while the new South Fork Powerhouse will use the new instream flow requirements above the original license requirement. The South Fork Powerhouse routes flows back to the South Fork of the American River via a new penstock that is tied into the White Rock Tunnel at Adit #3. This new penstock bifurcates at the Adit #3 portal with one leg going to the BFRF and the other to the new powerhouse. The South Fork Powerhouse is a single generating unit with a capacity of 2.98 kVA. The BFRF is valve house with an energy dissipation chamber for a 60” fixed cone valve capable of passing 1,300 cfs for meeting the recreational flow requirements of the license.

power tunnel↗

Completing the Circuit: Workforce Development for Advanced Building Construction and Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings

This paper will present key findings from a future-oriented qualitative study investigating likely futures for the next 5-10 years in the architecture, engineering, construction, and operations industry. This research offers an original contribution to the buildings industry by articulating an actionable framework to more effectively build connections between built environment fields. Whereas the ideal of interdisciplinary, research driven practice underlies the approach to pedagogy at many schools of architecture, innovation in the profession, such as the integrated design process, has been limited. This project applies Legitimation Code Theory (LCT) to the analysis of data gathered from interviews and a review of industry reports.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Modeling Protocol for Evaluation of Air Emissions for the Idaho National Laboratory Site-wide Permit to Construct and Facility Emission Cap (PTC/FEC)

This document outlines the methods to be used for calculating non-radiological air quality impacts from proposed emissions at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) Site in support of applying for a renewal to a Permit to Construct with a Facility Emissions Cap (PTC/FEC). The INL Site is seeking to maintain a state enforceable limit on emissions to maintain synthetic minor status in accordance with Idaho Administrative Procedures Act (IDAPA) 58.01.01.175-181 and IDAPA 58.01.01.200-228.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Recent developments in the construction and operation of all-metal airplanes

Experiments on the effect of atmosphere and of sea water on the building materials employed by us have been carried on for years in the North Sea with the aid of the Hamburg Naval Observatory. Parallel experiments are being made at the Pisa Naval Observatory in the Mediterranean Sea. Metal sheets, sections, assemblies and experimental floats are being exposed to the action of the elements. Different construction techniques are discussed and a variety of specific airplanes are presented which incorporate some of the new thinking.

METAL AIRPLANE CONSTRUCTION - DORNIER (GER)↗

Glider construction and design

The endeavor to draw a strict line between gliders and soarers as been recently abandoned and the following classification adopted: 1) gliders controlled by shifting the weight of the body; 2) gliders controlled by rudders; 3) gliders controlled by wings. The different classes are discussed as well as materials and parts used in construction.

GLIDERS↗

Handley Page metal construction

In this report Handley Page construction techniques are shown such as: solid-drawn tubular duralumin spars are used in the stabilizer; plain channel sections are used extensively for minor components; and the manner of assembling them into a stabilizer compression strut is shown.

BRIT - HANDLEY PAGE↗

Swarming Robot Design, Construction and Software Implementation

In this paper is presented an overview of the hardware design, construction overview, software design and software implementation for a small, low-cost robot to be used for swarming robot development. In addition to the work done on the robot, a full simulation of the robotic system was developed using Robot Operating System (ROS) and its associated simulation. The eventual use of the robots will be exploration of evolving behaviors via genetic algorithms and builds on the work done at the University of New Mexico Biological Computation Lab.

construction overview↗

Lunar Landing and Launch Pad Construction – Concepts and Criteria

When a lander vehicle launches or lands on the Moon, the rocket engine exhaust plume impinges on the surface and interacts with the regolith to create blast ejecta and associated cratering of the surface. Lunar regolith blast ejecta travels at high velocities (>2,000 m/s) for long distances (kilometers) in a vacuum environment [1] creating hazards for surrounding assets and it can also impact the bottom of the lander vehicle, risking damage to the engines, thermal insulation and sensors. Ballistic particles can possibly enter cislunar space and achieve orbit as debris, if the ejecta is sufficiently energetic. The cratering and regolith erosion can endanger the vehicle itself by affecting the soil stability under the landing gear. Landing on unpredictable terrain with varying topography, natural craters and rock hazards is also hazardous risks tipping a lander at dangerous angles in extreme conditions that may also violate maximum slope angles for subsequent launch operations. During launch (Figure 1), an overpressure pulse created by the ignition of the rocket engines can pose significant ejecta risks to the vehicle. Dust clouds raised during landing limit the efficacy of sensors and reduce visibility for the astronaut pilots, creating significant real-time risk during landing site selection by the pilot or computer navigation system. Future lunar spaceports will require mitigations to these launch and landing risks [2]. There are four main objectives of this effort:1) To establish the state of the art in LLP construction methodologies. 2) To propose criteria for trade studies of LLP concepts. 3) To publicly share the authors’ ideas for potential LLP solutions. 4) To serve as the starting point for future development of LLP technologies. Establishing the state of the art in the area of off-Earth Launch & Landing Pad concepts will base-line the work that has been completed thus far and highlight the wide span between current Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)and operational readiness. The authors aim to communicate the need for funding in this area in the near term by illustrating that there is much work to be completed before a truly viable option exists. Setting forth criteria for trade studies of LLP concepts is important for several reasons. The first and most straightforward is to establish a framework for performing trade studies on LLP concepts. This will enable NASA to select the most promising concepts for continued development, and it will also help technology developers understand how their concepts compare with others and the priorities of development effort.

landing pad↗

3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials

System for the 3D Construction of Biologically Derived Materials, Structures, and Parts NASA has developed a novel approach for macroscale biomaterial production by combining synthetic biology with 3D printing. Cells are biologically engineered to deposit desired materials, such as proteins or metals, derived from locally available resources. The bioengineered cells build different materials in a specified 3D pattern to produce novel microstructures with precise molecular composition, thickness, print pattern, and shape. Scaffolds and reagents can be used for further control over material product. This innovation provides modern design and fabrication techniques for custom-designed organic or organic-inorganic composite biomaterials produced from limited resources. Benefits Conserves resources. Few raw or bulk starting materials needed Enables custom design of diverse materials Fast, portable, macroscale, on-demand manufacturing High-fidelity microstructures Uses commercially available parts Applications Biomaterials, biotechnology Organic-inorganic composite materials On-demand manufacturing In situ resource utilization Space stations Military Infrastructure materials The Technology Once genes for a desired material type, delivery mode, control method and affinity have been chosen, assembling the genetic components and creating the cell lines can be done with well-established synthetic biology techniques. A 3D microdeposition system is used to make a 3D array of these cells in a precise, microstructure pattern and shape. The engineered cells are suspended in a printable 'ink'. The 3D microdeposition system deposits minute droplets of the cells onto a substrates surface in a designed print pattern. Additional printer passes thicken the material. The cell array is fed nutrients and reagents to activate the engineered genes within the cells to create and deposit the desired molecules. These molecules form the designed new material. If desired, the cells may be removed by flushing. The end product is thus a 3D composite microstructure comprising the novel material. This innovation provides a fast, controlled production of natural, synthetic, and novel biomaterials with minimum resource overhead and reduced pre- and post-processing requirements.

3D↗

In-situ Lunar Launch and Landing Pad Construction with Regolith-Thermoset Polymer Composite Materials

Lunar launch and landing pads are necessary to mitigate risks to lander/ascent vehicles and surrounding surface assets from rocket plume ejected regolith. The current state of the art of landing and launching from the lunar surface is to land/launch on unprepared regolith surfaces. Though this has been a relatively successful approach, significant risks exist for the Artemis Program due to higher thrust levels leading to increased ejecta and cratering, presence of co-located assets in the ejecta path, and potential strict surface levelness requirements. Regolith-thermoset polymer composite materials were developed and evaluated for off Earth launch and landing pad applications. Performance under hot fire conditions was assessed for two simulated Starship lunar launch/landing environments, one targeting thermal conditions and the second targeting pressure conditions. Paver test articles were prepared at 20% and 11% polymer mass fractions. Sintered paver test articles were prepared with 20% polymer grouting filling the seams between pavers. Though significant erosion was experienced during the more extreme thermal testing conditions, all test articles successfully mitigated regolith ejecta from plume effects. A concept for preparing and emplacing the materials was developed and tested in laboratory conditions. The testing evaluated the feasibility of using twin and single screw extruder technology to mix, convey and deposit materials. Both the twin and single screw extruders were capable of processing and extruding the composite with a maximum of 90% mass fraction of regolith achieved by the twin screw extruder.A primary risk for application of regolith-thermoset polymer composites as lunar launch/landingpad is the mass of polymer required to be landed on the moon. Calculations were performed that show that a 100 m diameter, 0.025 m thick pad with polymer mass fraction of 15% will require a payload mass of 72 mt to the Lunar surface. This is below the planned Starship payload capacity to the lunar surface of 100 mt. The regolith-thermoset polymer composite based construction approach proved feasibility in three critical areas: performance under launch/landing conditions, demonstration of a mixing and depositing strategy, and fitting within the planned lunar payload capacity. It is recommended that materials and systems be developed to TRL 6 for a small-scale lunar demonstration of emplacement of a launch/landing pad via a CLPS mission to support Artemis Program roadmap gap closure activities.

ISRU↗