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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 775 records · Page 43
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Summary of Large Concrete Samples

Materials issues are a key concern for the existing nuclear reactor fleet as material degradation can lead to increased maintenance, increased downtime, and increased risk. Extending reactor life to 60 years and beyond will likely increase susceptibility and severity of known forms of degradation. Additionally, new mechanisms of materials degradation are also possible. The purpose of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Nuclear Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability (LWRS) Program is to develop technologies and other solutions that can improve the reliability, sustain the safety, and extend the operating lifetimes of nuclear power plants beyond 60 years. The intent of this LWRS Concrete nondestructive evaluation (NDE) roadmap is to define Research & Development (R&D) actions to address gaps between available NDE concrete techniques and the technology needed to make quantitative measurements to determine the durability and performance of concrete structures on our current nuclear power plant (NPP) fleet. A multitude of concrete-based structures are typically part of a light water reactor (LWR) plant to provide foundation, support, shielding, and containment functions. Concrete has been used in the construction of NPPs because of three primary properties: its inexpensiveness, its structural strength, and its ability to shield radiation. Examples of concrete structures important to the safety of LWR plants include containment building, spent fuel pool, and cooling towers. This use has made its long-term performance crucial for the safe operation of commercial NPPs. With respect to the concrete structures, age-related degradation may affect engineering properties, structural resistance/capacity, failure mode, and location of failure initiation that in turn may affect the ability of a structure to withstand challenges in service. In order to ensure the safe operation of NPPs, it is essential that the effects of potential degradation of the plant structures, as well as systems and components, be assessed and managed during both the current operating license period as well as subsequent license renewal periods. In contrast to many mechanical and electrical components, replacement of many concrete structures is impractical. Therefore it is necessary that safety issues related to plant aging and continued service of the concrete structures are resolved through sound scientific and engineering understanding.

concrete↗
DOE OSTI2013

Sandia National Laboratories, California Environmental Management System Program Manual

Sandia National Laboratories, California (SNL/CA) has maintained environmental functions to assist with regulatory compliance for more than 30 years. During 2005, these existing functions were rolled into a formal environmental management system (EMS) that expands beyond the traditional compliance focus to managing and improving environmental performance and stewardship practices for all site activities. An EMS is a set of inter-related elements that represent a continuing cycle of planning, implementing, evaluating, and improving processes and actions undertaken to achieve environmental policy and goals. The SNL/CA EMS Program conforms to the International Standard for Environmental Management Systems, ISO 14001:2004 (ISO 2004). The site first received ISO 14001 certification in September 2006 and recertification in 2009 and 2012. SNL/CA’s EMS Program is applicable to the Sandia, Livermore site only. Although SNL/CA operates as one organizational division of the overall Sandia National Laboratories, the EMS Program is site-specific, with site-specific objectives and targets. SNL/CA (Division 8000) benefits from the organizational structure as it provides corporate level policies, procedures, and standards, and established processes that connect to and support elements of the SNL/CA EMS Program. Additionally, SNL/CA’s EMS Program benefits from two corporate functional programs (Facilities Energy & Water Resource Management and Fleet Services programs) that maintain responsibility for energy management and fleet services for all Sandia locations. Each EMS element is further enhanced with site-specific processes and standards. Division 8000 has several groups operating at Sandia National Laboratories, New Mexico (SNL/NM). Although these groups, from an organizational perspective, are part of Division 8000, they are managed locally and fall under the environmental requirements specific to their New Mexico location. The New Mexico groups in Division 8000 follow the corporate EMS Program for New Mexico operations.

Larsen, Barbara L.↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fundamental Drivers of the Cost and Price of Operating Reserves

Operating reserves impose a cost on the electric power system by forcing system operators to keep partially loaded spinning generators available for responding to system contingencies variable demand. In many regions of the United States, thermal power plants provide a large fraction of the operating reserve requirement. Alternative sources of operating reserves, such as demand response and energy storage, may provide more efficient sources of these reserves. However, to estimate the potential value of these services, the cost of reserve services under various grid conditions must first be established. This analysis used a commercial grid simulation tool to evaluate the cost and price of several operating reserve services, including spinning contingency reserves and upward regulation reserves. These reserve products were evaluated in a utility system in the western United States, considering different system flexibilities, renewable energy penetration, and other sensitivities. The analysis demonstrates that the price of operating reserves depend highly on many assumptions regarding the operational flexibility of the generation fleet, including ramp rates and the fraction of fleet available to provide reserves.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2013

Advanced Vehicle Testing and Evaluation

The objective of the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy's (DOEs) Advanced Vehicle Testing and Evaluation (AVTE) project was to provide test and evaluation services for advanced technology vehicles, to establish a performance baseline, to determine vehicle reliability, and to evaluate vehicle operating costs in fleet operations.Vehicles tested include light and medium-duty vehicles in conventional, hybrid, and all-electric configurations using conventional and alternative fuels, including hydrogen in internal combustion engines. Vehicles were tested on closed tracks and chassis dynamometers, as well as operated on public roads, in fleet operations, and over prescribed routes. All testing was controlled by procedures developed specifically to support such testing.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fuel Cell Forklift Project Final Report

This project addresses the DOE’s priorities related to acquiring data from real-world fuel cell operation, eliminating non-technical barriers, and increasing opportunities for market expansion of hydrogen fuel cell technologies. The project involves replacing the batteries in a complete fleet of class-1 electric lift trucks at FedEx Freight’s Springfield, MO parcel distribution center with 35 Plug Power GenDrive fuel cell power units. Fuel for the power units involves on-site hydrogen handling and dispensing equipment and liquid hydrogen delivery by Air Products. The project builds on FedEx Freight’s previous field trial experience with a handful of Plug Power’s GenDrive power units. Those trials demonstrated productivity gains and improved performance compared to battery-powered lift trucks. Full lift truck conversion at our Springfield location allows us to improve the competitiveness of our operations and helps the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and toxic battery material use. Success at this distribution center may lead to further fleet conversions at some of our distribution centers.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fukushima Daiichi Information Repository FY13 Status

The accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station in Japan is one of the most serious in commercial nuclear power plant operating history. Much will be learned that may be applicable to the U.S. reactor fleet, nuclear fuel cycle facilities, and supporting systems, and the international reactor fleet. For example, lessons from Fukushima Daiichi may be applied to emergency response planning, reactor operator training, accident scenario modeling, human factors engineering, radiation protection, and accident mitigation; as well as influence U.S. policies towards the nuclear fuel cycle including power generation, and spent fuel storage, reprocessing, and disposal. This document describes the database used to establish a centralized information repository to store and manage the Fukushima data that has been gathered. The data is stored in a secured (password protected and encrypted) repository that is searchable and available to researchers at diverse locations.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2013

Electric Vehicle Service Personnel Training Program

As the share of hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV), electric (EV) and fuel-cell (FCV) vehicles grows in the national automotive fleet, an entirely new set of diagnostic and technical skills needs to be obtained by the maintenance workforce. Electrically-powered vehicles require new diagnostic tools, technique and vocabulary when compared to existing internal combustion engine-powered models. While the manufacturers of these new vehicles train their own maintenance personnel, training for students, independent working technicians and fleet operators is less focused and organized. This DOE-funded effort provided training to these three target groups to help expand availability of skills and to provide more competition (and lower consumer cost) in the maintenance of these hybrid- and electric-powered vehicles.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Intelligent Vehicle Charging Benefits Assessment Using EV Project Data

PEVs can represent a significant power resource for the grid. An IVCI with bi-direction V2G capabilities would allow PEVs to provide grid support services and thus generate a source of revenue for PEV owners. The fleet of EV Project vehicles represents a power resource between 30 MW and 90 MW, depending on the power rating of the grid connection (5-15 kW). Aggregation of vehicle capacity would allow PEVs to participate in wholesale reserve capacity markets. One of the key insights from EV Project data is the fact that vehicles are connected to an EVSE much longer than is necessary to deliver a full charge. During these hours when the vehicles are not charging, they can be participating in wholesale power markets providing the high-value services of regulation and spinning reserves. The annual gross revenue potential for providing these services using the fleet of EV Project vehicles is several hundred thousands of dollars to several million dollars annually depending on the power rating of the grid interface, the number of hours providing grid services, and the market being served. On a per vehicle basis, providing grid services can generate several thousands of dollars over the life of the vehicle.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Ford Plug-In Project: Bringing PHEVs to Market Demonstration and Validation Project

This project is in support of our national goal to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. By supporting efforts that contribute toward the successful mass production of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, our nation’s transportation-related fuel consumption can be offset with energy from the grid. Over four and a half years ago, when this project was originally initiated, plug-in electric vehicles were not readily available in the mass marketplace. Through the creation of a 21 unit plug-in hybrid vehicle fleet, this program was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology and to help build cross-industry familiarity with the technology and interface of this technology with the grid. Ford Escape PHEV Demonstration Fleet 3 March 26, 2014 Since then, however, plug-in vehicles have become increasingly more commonplace in the market. Ford, itself, now offers an all-electric vehicle and two plug-in hybrid vehicles in North America and has announced a third plug-in vehicle offering for Europe. Lessons learned from this project have helped in these production vehicle launches and are mentioned throughout this report. While the technology of plugging in a vehicle to charge a high voltage battery with energy from the grid is now in production, the ability for vehicle-to-grid or bi-directional energy flow was farther away than originally expected. Several technical, regulatory and potential safety issues prevented progressing the vehicle-to-grid energy flow (V2G) demonstration and, after a review with the DOE, V2G was removed from this demonstration project. Also proving challenging were communications between a plug-in vehicle and the grid or smart meter. While this project successfully demonstrated the vehicle to smart meter interface, cross-industry and regulatory work is still needed to define the vehicle-to-grid communication interface.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2014

DOE-NE Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program and EPRI Long-Term Operations Program. Joint Research and Development Plan

Nuclear power has contributed almost 20% of the total amount of electricity generated in the United States over the past two decades. High capacity factors and low operating costs make nuclear power plants (NPPs) some of the most economical power generators available. Further, nuclear power remains the single largest contributor (nearly 70%) of non-greenhouse gas-emitting electric power generation in the United States. Even when major refurbishments are performed to extend operating life, these plants continue to represent cost-effective, low-carbon assets to the nation’s electrical generation capability. By the end of 2014, about one-third of the existing domestic fleet will have passed their 40th anniversary of power operations, and about one-half of the fleet will reach the same 40-year mark within this decade. Recognizing the challenges associated with pursuing extended service life of commercial nuclear power plants, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy (NE) and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) have established separate but complementary research and development programs (DOE-NE’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability [LWRS] Program and EPRI’s Long-Term Operations [LTO] Program) to address these challenges. To ensure that a proper linkage is maintained between the programs, DOE-NE and EPRI executed a memorandum of understanding in late 2010 to “establish guiding principles under which research activities (between LWRS and LTO) could be coordinated to the benefit of both parties.” This document represents the third annual revision to the initial version (March 2011) of the plan as called for in the memorandum of understanding.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Job Creation and Petroleum Independence with E85 in Texas

Protec Fuel Management project objectives are to help design, build, provide, promote and supply biofuels for the greater energy independence, national security and domestic economic growth through job creations, infrastructure projects and supply chain business stimulants. Protec Fuel has teamed up with station owners to convert 5 existing retail fueling stations to include E85 fuel to service existing large number of fleet FFVs and general public FFVs. The stations are located in high flex fuel vehicle locations in the state of TX. Under the project name, “Job Creation and Petroleum Independence with E85 in Texas,” Protec Fuel identified and successfully opened stations strategically located to maximize e85 fueling success for fleets and public. Protec Fuel and industry affiliates and FFV manufacturers are excited about these stations and the opportunities as they will help reduce emissions, increase jobs, economic stimulus benefits, energy independence and petroleum displacement.

02 PETROLEUM↗
DOE OSTI2014

RISMC Advanced Safety Analysis Project Plan – FY 2015 - FY 2019

In this report, a project plan is developed, focused on industry applications, using Risk-Informed Safety Margin Characterization (RISMC) tools and methods applied to realistic, relevant, and current interest issues to the operating nuclear fleet. RISMC focuses on modernization of nuclear power safety analysis (tools, methods and data); implementing state-of-the-art modeling techniques (which include, for example, enabling incorporation of more detailed physics as they become available); taking advantage of modern computing hardware; and combining probabilistic and mechanistic analyses to enable a risk informed safety analysis process. The modernized tools will maintain the current high level of safety in our nuclear power plant fleet, while providing an improved understanding of safety margins and the critical parameters that affect them. Thus, the set of tools will provide information to inform decisions on plant modifications, refurbishments, and surveillance programs, while improving economics. This set of tools will also benefit the design of new reactors, enhancing safety per unit cost of a nuclear plant. The proposed plan will focus on application of the RISMC toolkit, in particular, solving realistic problems of important current issues to the nuclear industry, in collaboration with plant owners and operators to demonstrate the usefulness of these tools in decision making.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

A Research Framework for Demonstrating Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies

Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research presented here is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report serves as an outline for planned research on the benefits of greater modernization in the main control rooms of nuclear power plants.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Look-ahead driver feedback and powertrain management

Commercial medium and heavy vehicles, though only a small portion of total vehicle population, play a significant role in energy consumption. In 2012, these vehicles accounted for about 5775.5 trillion btu of energy consumption and 408.8 million tons of CO2 emissions annually, which is a quarter of the total energy burden of highway transportation in the United States [1]. This number is expected to surpass passenger car fuel use within the next few decades. In the meantime, most commercial vehicle fleets are running at a very low profit margin. It is a well known fact that fuel economy can vary significantly between drivers, even when they operate the same vehicle on the same route. According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Natural Resource Canada (NRCan), there is up to 35% fuel economy difference between drivers within the same commercial fleet [2] [3], [4]. Similar results were obtained from a Field Operation Test conducted by Eaton Corporation [5]. During this test as much as 30% fuel economy difference was observed among pick-up-and-delivery drivers and 11% difference was observed among line-haul drivers. The driver variability can be attributed to the fact that different drivers react differently to driving conditions such as road grade, traffic, speed limits, etc. For instance, analysis of over 600k miles of naturalistic heavy duty truck driving data [5] indicates that an experienced driver anticipates a downhill and eases up on the throttle to save fuel while an inexperienced driver lacks this judgment.

Verma, Rajeev↗
DOE OSTI2015

Electric Vehicle Preparedness: Task 2, Identification of Vehicles for Installation of Data Loggers for Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune

In Task 1, a survey was completed of the inventory of non-tactical fleet vehicles at the Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune (MCBCL) to characterize the fleet. This information and characterization was used to select vehicles for further monitoring, which involves data logging of vehicle movements in order to identify the vehicle’s mission and travel requirements. Individual observations of these selected vehicles provide the basis for recommendations related to PEV adoption. It also identifies whether a battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (collectively referred to as PEVs) can fulfill the mission requirements and provides observations related to placement of PEV charging infrastructure. This report provides the list of vehicles selected by MCBCL and Intertek for further monitoring and fulfills the Task 2 requirements.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2015

Benefits of Advanced Control Room Technologies: Phase One Upgrades to the HSSL, Research Plan, and Performance Measures

Control Room modernization is an important part of life extension for the existing light water reactor fleet. None of the 99 currently operating commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. has completed a full-scale control room modernization to date. A full-scale modernization might, for example, entail replacement of all analog panels with digital workstations. Such modernizations have been undertaken successfully in upgrades in Europe and Asia, but the U.S. has yet to undertake a control room upgrade of this magnitude. Instead, nuclear power plant main control rooms for the existing commercial reactor fleet remain significantly analog, with only limited digital modernizations. Previous research under the U.S. Department of Energy’s Light Water Reactor Sustainability Program has helped establish a systematic process for control room upgrades that support the transition to a hybrid control room. While the guidance developed to date helps streamline the process of modernization and reduce costs and uncertainty associated with introducing digital control technologies into an existing control room, these upgrades do not achieve the full potential of newer technologies that might otherwise enhance plant and operator performance. The aim of the control room benefits research is to identify previously overlooked benefits of modernization, identify candidate technologies that may facilitate such benefits, and demonstrate these technologies through human factors research. This report describes the initial upgrades to the HSSL and outlines the methodology for a pilot test of the HSSL configuration.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Implementation Approach for Plug-in Electric Vehicles at Joint Base Lewis McChord: Task 4

This study focused on Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM), which is located in Washington State. Task 1 consisted of a survey of the non-tactical fleet of vehicles at JBLM to begin the review of vehicle mission assignments and the types of vehicles in service. In Task 2, daily operational characteristics of select vehicles were identified and vehicle movements were recorded in data loggers in order to characterize the vehicles’ missions. In Task 3, the results of the data analysis and observations were provided. Individual observations of the selected vehicles provided the basis for recommendations related to PEV adoption (i.e., whether a battery electric vehicle or plug-in hybrid electric vehicle [collectively referred to as PEVs] can fulfill the mission requirements0, as well as the basis for recommendations related to placement of PEV charging infrastructure. This report focuses on an implementation plan for the near-term adoption of PEVs into the JBLM fleet.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Fundamental Drivers of the Cost and Price of Operating Reserves

Operating reserves impose a cost on the electric power system by forcing system operators to keep partially loaded spinning generators available for responding to system contingencies variable demand. In many regions of the United States, thermal power plants provide a large fraction of the operating reserve requirement. Alternative sources of operating reserves, such as demand response and energy storage, may provide more efficient sources of these reserves. However, to estimate the potential value of these services, the cost of reserve services under various grid conditions must first be established. This analysis used a commercial grid simulation tool to evaluate the cost and price of several operating reserve services, including spinning contingency reserves and upward regulation reserves. These reserve products were evaluated in a utility system in the western United States, considering different system flexibilities, renewable energy penetration, and other sensitivities. The analysis demonstrates that the price of operating reserves depend highly on many assumptions regarding the operational flexibility of the generation fleet, including ramp rates and the fraction of fleet available to provide reserves.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗