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DOE OSTI2013

Technology Development Life Cycle Processes

This report and set of appendices are a collection of memoranda originally drafted in 2009 for the purpose of providing motivation and the necessary background material to support the definition and integration of engineering and management processes related to technology development. At the time there was interest and support to move from Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) Level One (ad hoc processes) to Level Three. As presented herein, the material begins with a survey of open literature perspectives on technology development life cycles, including published data on “what went wrong.” The main thrust of the material presents a rational exposé of a structured technology development life cycle that uses the scientific method as a framework, with further rigor added from adapting relevant portions of the systems engineering process. The material concludes with a discussion on the use of multiple measures to assess technology maturity, including consideration of the viewpoint of potential users.

Beck, David Franklin↗
DOE OSTI2013

Algal Supply System Design - Harmonized Version

The objective of this design report is to provide an assessment of current technologies used for production, dewatering, and converting microalgae cultivated in open-pond systems to biofuel. The original draft design was created in 2011 and has subsequently been brought into agreement with the DOE harmonized model. The design report extends beyond this harmonized model to discuss some of the challenges with assessing algal production systems, including the ability to (1) quickly assess alternative algal production system designs, (2) assess spatial and temporal variability, and (3) perform large-scale assessments considering multiple scenarios for thousands of potential sites. The Algae Logistics Model (ALM) was developed to address each of these limitations of current modeling efforts to enable assessment of the economic feasibility of algal production systems across the United States. The (ALM) enables (1) dynamic assessments using spatiotemporal conditions, (2) exploration of algal production system design configurations, (3) investigation of algal production system operating assumptions, and (4) trade-off assessments with technology decisions and operating assumptions. The report discusses results from the ALM, which is used to assess the baseline design determined by harmonization efforts between U.S. DOE national laboratories. Productivity and resource assessment data is provided by coupling the ALM with the Biomass Assessment Tool developed at PNNL. This high-fidelity data is dynamically passed to the ALM and used to help better understand the impacts of spatial and temporal constraints on algal production systems by providing a cost for producing extracted algal lipids annually for each potential site.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2013

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: North Fork Skokomish Powerhouse at Cushman No. 2 Dam

The objective of this project was to add generating capacity on an in-stream flow release at Tacoma Power's Cushman hydroelectric project, Cushman No. 2 Dam, FERC Project P-460. The flow that is being used to generate additional electricity was being discharged from a valve at the base of the dam without recovery of the energy. A second objective to the project was to incorporate upstream fish passage by use of a fish collection structure attached to the draft tubes of the hydroelectric units. This will enable reintroduction of native anadromous fish above the dams which have blocked fish passage since the late 1920's. The project was funded in part by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act through the Department of Energy, Office of Energy, Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind and Water Power Program.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Scaling Theory for Pulsed Jet Mixed Vessels, Sparging, and Cyclic Feed Transport Systems for Slurries

This document is a previously unpublished work based on a draft report prepared by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the Hanford Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plant (WTP) in 2012. Work on the report stopped when WTP’s approach to testing changed. PNNL is issuing a modified version of the document a year later to preserve and disseminate the valuable technical work that was completed. This document establishes technical bases for evaluating the mixing performance of Waste Treatment Plant (WTP) pretreatment process tanks based on data from less-than-full-scale testing, relative to specified mixing requirements. The technical bases include the fluid mechanics affecting mixing for specified vessel configurations, operating parameters, and simulant properties. They address scaling vessel physical performance, simulant physical performance, and “scaling down” the operating conditions at full scale to define test conditions at reduced scale and “scaling up” the test results at reduced scale to predict the performance at full scale. Essentially, this document addresses the following questions: • Why and how can the mixing behaviors in a smaller vessel represent those in a larger vessel? • What information is needed to address the first question? • How should the information be used to predict mixing performance in WTP? The design of Large Scale Integrated Testing (LSIT) is being addressed in other, complementary documents.

non-Newtonian↗
DOE OSTI2013

Summary Report: Development of a New ASTM Standard Test Method for Phase Change Materials

An ASTM International task group was formed with representatives from research organizations, PCM and insulation manufacturers, testing laboratories, etc., to develop an ASTM standard test method, using a heat flow meter apparatus (HFMA), to make heat-flow measurements under prescribed dynamic, or non steady-state, conditions. The HFMA is typically used for measuring steady-state thermal transmission properties of materials, following ASTM C518. The new ‘dynamic’ test method is based on a modification of the C518 test method, for measuring volumetric specific heat of regular (i.e. with no PCM) thermal insulation materials. The proposed test method describes the methodology for using a HFMA for measuring thermal storage properties of phase change materials and products. It requires the measurement of non-steady-state heat flow into or out of a flat slab specimen to determine the stored energy (i.e. enthalpy) change as a function of temperature. In particular, this test method is intended to measure the sensible and latent heat storage capacity of products incorporating phase-change materials (PCM). The thermal storage capacity of a PCM is well defined via four parameters: specific heats of both solid and liquid phases, phase change temperature(s) and phase change enthalpy. This report provides brief summaries of the proposed standard test method and the standard development related activities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) during fiscal year 2013 (FY13). The draft standard document is also provided as an appendix.

dynamic testing↗
DOE OSTI2013

Designing a water leasing market for the Mimbres River, New Mexico.

The objective of this study is to develop a conceptual framework for establishing water leasing markets in New Mexico using the Mimbres River as a test case. Given the past and growing stress over water in New Mexico and the Mimbres River in particular, this work will develop a mechanism for the short term, efficient, temporary transfer of water from one user to another while avoiding adverse effects on any user not directly involved in the transaction (i.e., third party effects). Toward establishing a water leasing market, five basic tasks were performed, (1) a series of stakeholder meetings were conducted to identify and address concerns and interests of basin residents, (2) several gauges were installed on irrigation ditches to aid in the monitoring and management of water resources in the basin, (3) the hydrologic/market model and decision support interface was extended to include the Middle and Lower reaches of the Mimbres River, (4) experiments were conducted to aid in design of the water leasing market, and (5) a set of rules governing a water leasing market was drafted for future adoption by basin residents and the New Mexico Office of the State Engineer.

Reno-Trujillo, Marissa Devan↗
DOE OSTI2013

Tensile Properties of Alloy 617 Bar Stock

Alloy 617 is approved for non-nuclear construction in the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section I and Section VIII, Division 1 but is not currently qualified for nuclear use in ASME Code Section III. A draft Code Case was developed in the 1980’s to qualify the alloy for nuclear service but efforts were stopped before the approval process was completed. Renewed interest in high temperature nuclear reactors has resulted in a new effort to qualify Alloy 617 for use in nuclear pressure vessels. Tensile properties of the alloy are needed for several aspects of Code qualification. Minimum yield strength and average tensile strength at temperature are used to set time independent allowable stress, Sm, for structural materials in B&PV Code, Section III, Subsection NH. It must also be demonstrated that there is no minimum ductility between room temperatures and 427°C (the upper temperature limit for Subsection NB) to minimize the number of fatigue tests required for developing the fatigue design curve. The bar properties reported here represent data for an additional heat and product form. A forged and rolled plate, designated as a reference material for the program, has been studied extensively and tensile properties are presented for comparison. Both of the product forms that have been characterized in the current program, plate and bar, were produced using current mill practice that includes additional refining using electro-slag re-melting. This additional processing step was not used for some of the materials in the historical database and it is of interest to demonstrate that the properties of contemporary material are comparable to the historical values.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Irradiation Performance of U-Mo Alloy Based ‘Monolithic’ Plate-Type—Design Selection Update

Based on data available in 2009, a decision was made to focus U–Mo monolithic fuel development and qualification efforts on a single fuel design. This fuel design consists of a U–10Mo (wt.%) monolithic fuel foil, a zirconium barrier layer applied to the faces of the foil, and 6061 aluminum cladding. This document updates the basis for the selection of that fuel system, drawing on additional fuel-performance data available as of May 2013. This update also applies recently developed GTRI (Global Threat Reduction Initiative) requirements for fuel qualification to the selection process. Because of its inherent gamma-phase stability and qualitatively better rolling behavior, U–10Mo was selected as the fuel alloy of choice, exhibiting reasonable uranium density and good irradiation performance. A zirconium barrier layer between the fuel and cladding was chosen to provide a predictable, well-bonded, fuel-cladding interface, greatly reducing fuel-cladding chemical interaction. The fuel plate testing conducted to inform this selection was based on the use of U–10Mo foils fabricated by hot- and cold co-rolling with a Zr foil. The foils were subsequently bonded to the Al–6061 cladding by hot isostatic pressing or friction stir welding. Since the original down-select decision was made, additional information has become available on fuel performance and on the cost of the fuel system. Preliminary cost estimates indicate that U–Mo-Zr waste generated during fabrication is difficult to recycle and adds substantially to the production cost. It is the purpose of this report to review fuel-performance data available as of May 2013, outline data and observations that are significant to informing the down-selection process, review the data against down-select requirements, and update the recommendation on a fuel system suitable for fuel qualification. In addition, this report assesses the potential of a fuel system without a zirconium barrier layer for use in USNRC-licensed research reactors. This revised report is issued as a working draft for discussion by the United States High Performance Research Reactor (USHPRR) program. The document will continue to be revised as additional information becomes available. This may include updates to information about normal and anticipated transient fuel operating conditions as conversion fuel-element designs evolve or additional information on fuel performance gained from U.S. or international testing programs. In particular, information from the RERTR–12 experiment will be included when available.

11 NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE AND FUEL MATERIALS↗
DOE OSTI2013

Integrated Approach to Reconstruction of Microbial Regulatory Networks

This project had the goal(s) of development of integrated bioinformatics platform for genome-scale inference and visualization of transcriptional regulatory networks (TRNs) in bacterial genomes. The work was done in Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (SBMRI, P.I. D.A. Rodionov) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL, co-P.I. P.S. Novichkov). The developed computational resources include: (1) RegPredict web-platform for TRN inference and regulon reconstruction in microbial genomes, and (2) RegPrecise database for collection, visualization and comparative analysis of transcriptional regulons reconstructed by comparative genomics. These analytical resources were selected as key components in the DOE Systems Biology KnowledgeBase (SBKB). The high-quality data accumulated in RegPrecise will provide essential datasets of reference regulons in diverse microbes to enable automatic reconstruction of draft TRNs in newly sequenced genomes. We outline our progress toward the three aims of this grant proposal, which were: Develop integrated platform for genome-scale regulon reconstruction; Infer regulatory annotations in several groups of bacteria and building of reference collections of microbial regulons; and Develop KnowledgeBase on microbial transcriptional regulation.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

Post-Closure Inspection, Sampling, and Maintenance Report for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site Calendar Year 2012

This report summarizes the 2012 annual inspection, sampling, measurement, and maintenance activities performed at the Salmon, Mississippi, Site (Salmon site). The draft Long-Term Surveillance and Maintenance Plan for the Salmon Site, Lamar County, Mississippi (DOE 2007) specifies the submittal of an annual report of site activities with the results of sample analyses. A revised plan is in preparation. The Long-Term Surveillance Plan for the Salmon, Mississippi, Site is intended for release in 2013. The Salmon site consists of 1,470 acres. The site is located in Lamar County, Mississippi, approximately 10 miles west of Purvis, Mississippi, and about 21 miles southwest of Hattiesburg, Mississippi The State of Mississippi owns the surface real estate subject to certain restrictions related to subsurface penetration. The State is the surface operator; the Mississippi Forestry Commission is its agent. The federal government owns the subsurface real estate (including minerals and some surface features), shares right-of-entry easements with the State, and retains rights related to subsurface monitoring. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Legacy Management (LM), a successor agency to the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, is responsible for the long-term surveillance of the subsurface real estate

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2013

56th and Walnut: A Philly Gut Rehab Development; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Fact Sheet)

Load-bearing brick-masonry multifamily buildings are prevalent in urban areas across much of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. In most instances, these buildings are un-insulated unless they have been renovated within the past two decades. Affordable housing capital budgets typically limit what can be spent and energy improvements often take a back seat to basic capital improvements such as interior finish upgrades and basic repairs. The Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) is researching cost effective solution packages for significant energy efficiency and indoor air-quality improvements in these urban buildings. To explore how these low-cost retrofits can effectively integrate energy efficiency upgrades, CARB partnered with Columbus Property Management and Development, Inc. on a community-scale gut rehabilitation project located at 56th Street and Walnut Street in Philadelphia, consisting of 32 units in eleven 3-story buildings. These buildings were built in the early 1900s using stone foundations and solid brick-masonry walls. They were renovated in the 1990s to have interior light gauge metal framing with R-13 batt in the above-grade walls, induced-draft furnaces, and central air conditioning.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Addressing Kitchen Contaminants for Healthy, Low-Energy Homes

Cooking and cooking burners emit pollutants that can adversely affect indoor air quality in residences and significantly impact occupant health. Effective kitchen exhaust ventilation can reduce exposure to cooking-related air pollutants as an enabling step to healthier, low-energy homes. This report identifies barriers to the widespread adoption of kitchen exhaust ventilation technologies and practice and proposes a suite of strategies to overcome these barriers. The recommendations have been vetted by a group of industry, regulatory, health, and research experts and stakeholders who convened for two web-based meetings and provided input and feedback to early drafts of this document. The most fundamental barriers are (1) the common misconception, based on a sensory perception of risk, that kitchen exhaust when cooking is unnecessary and (2) the lack of a code requirement for kitchen ventilation in most US locations. Highest priority objectives include the following: (1) Raise awareness among the public and the building industry of the need to install and routinely use kitchen ventilation; (2) Incorporate kitchen exhaust ventilation as a requirement of building codes and improve the mechanisms for code enforcement; (3) Provide best practice product and use-behavior guidance to ventilation equipment purchasers and installers, and; (4) Develop test methods and performance targets to advance development of high performance products. A specific, urgent need is the development of an over-the-range microwave that meets the airflow and sound requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62.2.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2013

The Oncor Geodatabase for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (Annual Report, 2012)

The study reported herein was conducted by researchers at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District (Corps). The purpose of the project is to develop a geospatial, web-accessible database (called Oncor) for action effectiveness and related data from monitoring and research efforts for the Columbia Estuary Ecosystem Restoration Program (CEERP). The intent is for the Oncor database to enable synthesis and evaluation, the results of which can then be applied in subsequent CEERP decision-making. This is the first annual report in what is expected to be a 3- to 4-year project, which commenced on February 14, 2012. This report covers project activities conducted from February 2012 through February 2013. The specific objectives and tasks for the 2012 study year were as enumerated here. 1) Coordination - Coordinate with CEERP funding agencies and regional stakeholders to finalize key analysis questions and database needs for research, monitoring, and evaluation (RME) and ecosystem restoration in the lower Columbia River and estuary (LCRE) within CEERP’s adaptive management framework. 2) Database Development - Develop and demonstrate a web-based proof-of-concept geospatial database management system and analysis system for CEERP. 3) Analysis and Synthesis - Draft the CEERP 2012 Strategy Report, 2012 Action Plan, and 2013 Synthesis and Evaluation Memorandum, and provide other analytical and programmatic support. Work products for Objective 3 were reported separately.

Coleman, Andre M.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Retrofit Integrated Space & Water Heating: Field Assessment: Minneapolis, Minnesota (Fact Sheet)

This project analyzed combined condensing water heaters or boilers and hydronic air coils to provide high efficiency domestic hot water and forced air space heating. Called 'Combi' systems, they provided similar space and water heating performance less expensively than installing two condensing appliances. The system's installed costs were cheaper than installing a condensing furnace and either a condensing tankless or condensing storage water heater. However, combi costs must mature and be reduced before they are competitive with a condensing furnace and power vented water heater (EF of 0.60). Better insulation and tighter envelopes are reducing space heating loads for new and existing homes. For many homes, decreased space heating loads make it possible for both space and domestic water heating loads to be provided with a single heating plant. These systems can also eliminate safety issues associated with natural draft appliances through the use of one common sealed combustion vent.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Development of alternate methods of determining integrated SMR source terms

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Licensing Task Force (TF) has been evaluating licensing issues unique and important to iPWRs, ranking these issues, and developing NEI position papers for submittal to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) during the past three years. Papers have been developed and submitted to the NRC in a range of areas including: Price-Anderson Act, NRC annual fees, security, modularity, and staffing. In December, 2012, NEI completed a draft position paper on SMR source terms and participated in an NRC public meeting presenting a summary of this paper, which was subsequently submitted to the NRC. One important conclusion of the source term paper was the evaluation and selection of high importance areas where additional research would have a significant impact on source terms. The highest ranked research area was iPWR containment aerosol natural deposition. The NRC accepts the use of existing aerosol deposition correlations in Regulatory Guide 1.183, but these were developed for large light water reactor (LWR) containments. Application of these correlations to an iPWR design has resulted in greater than a ten-fold reduction of containment airborne aerosol inventory as compared to large LWRs. Development and experimental justification of containment aerosol natural deposition correlations specifically for the unique iPWR containments is expected to result in a large reduction of design basis and beyond-design-basis accident source terms with concomitantly smaller dose to workers and the public. Therefore, NRC acceptance of iPWR containment aerosol natural deposition correlations will directly support the industry’s goal of reducing the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ) for SMRs. Based on the results in this work, it is clear that thermophoresis is relatively unimportant for iPWRs. Gravitational settling is well understood, and may be the dominant process for a dry environment. Diffusiophoresis and enhanced settling by particle growth are the dominant processes for determining DFs for expected conditions in an iPWR containment. These processes are dependent on the areato-volume (A/V) ratio, which should benefit iPWR designs because these reactors have higher A/Vs compared to existing LWRs.

21 SPECIFIC NUCLEAR REACTORS AND ASSOCIATED PLANTS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Geothermal Exploration Policy Mechanisms: Lessons for the United States from International Applications

This report focuses on five of the policy types that are most relevant to the U.S. market and political context for the exploration and confirmation of conventional hydrothermal (geothermal) resources in the United States: (1) drilling failure insurance, (2) loan guarantees, (3) subsidized loans, (4) capital subsidies, and (5) government-led exploration. It describes each policy type and its application in other countries and regions. It offers policymakers a guide for drafting future geothermal support mechanisms for the exploration-drilling phase of geothermal development.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2013

Development of a Training Program for Commercial Building Technicians

This project focused on developing and deploying a comprehensive program of 22 training modules, including certification requirements, and accreditation standards for commercial building technicians, to help achieve the full savings potential of energy efficient buildings, equipment, and systems. This curriculum extended the currently available commercial building technician programs -- training a labor force in a growing market area focused on energy efficiency. The program helps to remove a major market impediment to low energy/zero energy commercial building system acceptance, namely a lack of operating personnel capable of handling more complex high efficiency systems. The project developed a training curriculum for commercial building technicians, with particular focus on high-efficiency building technology, and systems. In Phase 1, the project team worked collaboratively in developing a draft training syllabus to address project objectives. The team identified energy efficiency knowledge gaps in existing programs and plans and plans to address the gaps with either modified or new curricula. In Phase 2, appropriate training materials were developed to meet project objectives. This material was developed for alternative modes of delivery, including classroom lecture materials, e-learning elements, video segments, exercises, and hands-on training elements. A Certification and Accreditation Plan and a Commercialization and Sustainability Plan were also investigated and developed. The Project Management Plan was updated quarterly and provided direction on the management approaches used to accomplish the expected project objectives. GTI project management practices tightly coordinate project activities using management controls to deliver optimal customer value. The project management practices include clear scope definition, schedule/budget tracking, risk/issue resolution and team coordination.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Characterization of U.S. Wave Energy Converter (WEC) Test Sites: A Catalogue of Met-Ocean Data.

This report presents met - ocean data and wave energy characteristics at three U.S. wave energy converter (WEC) test and potential deployment sites . Its purpose is to enable the compari son of wave resource characteristics among sites as well as the select io n of test sites that are most suitable for a developer's device and that best meet their testing needs and objectives . It also provides essential inputs for the design of WEC test devices and planning WEC tests, including the planning of deployment and op eration s and maintenance. For each site, this report catalogues wave statistics recommended in the (draft) International Electrotechnical Commission Technical Specification (IEC 62600 - 101 TS) on Wave Energy Characterization, as well as the frequency of oc currence of weather windows and extreme sea states, and statistics on wind and ocean currents. It also provides useful information on test site infrastructure and services .

Dallman, Ann Renee↗