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At least 1,117 records · Page 62

IoT-Enabled Traveling Wave Microgrid Protection

Traveling Wave Protection based on the Internet of Things (TWP-IoT) is developed to enable ultra-resilient microgrids. TWP-IoT adopts a directional traveling wave approach that utilizes the voltage and current modal components obtained from Discrete Hilbert Transform to identify the fault features via ultra-lightweight IoT hardware. Furthermore, the main contributions of this work include (1) a novel TWP-IoT for microgrid and distribution networks that can achieve the time-of-arrival fault detection and localization with composite wave impedance and conductance using Discrete Hilbert Transform, (2) a cost-effective smart IoT prototype with functionalities outperforming commercial relays, and (3) a real-time hardware-in-the-loop prototype based on RTDS that verifies the robustness and efficacy of TWP-IoT subject to a diverse set of working conditions. TWP-IoT is found to have excellent performance under a wide spectrum of internal and external fault conditions across a myriad of microgrid locations, which is unattainable by today’s TWP products.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Varistors: A Useful Tool for Superconducting Magnet Quench Protection

A perfect varistor is a constant voltage resistor as a function of current through the resistor. A perfect varistor can't exist, because its resistance would be infinite at zero current. In electronic devices, varistors are often used as surge protectors. A varistor can be used in place of an ordinary resistor as the discharge resistance across superconducting coil sections. When used this way, the integral of I 2 dt during the discharge can be reduced by almost one third. When a varistor is used for quench protection of coils that are coupled to shorted secondary circuits the integral of I 2 dt can be reduced much more. Furthermore, this can be a key factor when coil current densities and stored energies are high as in many potential HTS magnet systems. This paper discusses the types of varistors that are commercially available and their characteristics.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗

Low–severity fire as a mechanism of organic matter protection in global peatlands: Thermal alteration slows decomposition

Worldwide, regularly-recurring wildfires shape many peatland ecosystems to the extent that fire-adapted species often dominate plant communities, suggesting that wildfire is an integral part of peatland ecology rather than an anomaly. The most destructive blazes are smoldering fires that are usually initiated in periods of drought and can combust entire peatland carbon stores. However, peatland wildfires more typically occur as low-severity surface-burns that arise in the dormant season when vegetation is desiccated, and soil moisture is high. In such low-severity fires, surface layers experience flash heating, but there is little loss of underlying peat to combustion. This study examines the potential importance of such processes in several peatlands that span a gradient from hemiboreal to tropical ecozones and experience a wide range of fire return intervals. We show that low-severity fires can increase the pool of stable soil carbon by thermally altering the chemistry of soil organic matter (SOM), thereby reducing rates of microbial respiration. Using XPS and FTIR, we demonstrate that low-severity fires significantly increase the degree of carbon-condensation and aromatization of SOM functional groups, particularly on the surface of peat aggregates. Laboratory incubations show lower CO 2 emissions from peat subjected to low-severity fire, and predict lower cumulative CO 2 emissions from burned peat after one to three years. Also, low-severity fires reduce the temperature sensitivity (Q 10 ) of peat, indicating that these fires can inhibit microbial access to SOM. The increased stability of thermally-altered SOM may allow a greater proportion of organic matter to survive vertical migration into saturated and anaerobic zones of peatlands where environmental conditions physiochemically protect carbon stores from decomposition for thousands of years. Furthermore, across latitudes, low-severity fire is an overlooked factor influencing carbon cycling in peatlands, which is relevant to global carbon budgets as climate-change alters fire regimes worldwide.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

A new bioenergy model that simulates the impacts of plant‐microbial interactions, soil carbon protection, and mechanistic tillage on soil carbon cycling

Abstract Advancing our predictive understanding of bioenergy systems is critical to design decision tools that can inform which feedstock to plant, where to plant it, and how to manage its production to provide both energy and ecosystem carbon (C) benefits. Here, we lay the foundation for that advancement by integrating recent developments in the science of belowground processes in shaping the C cycle into a new bioenergy model, FUN‐BioCROP (Fixation and Uptake of Nitrogen‐Bioenergy Carbon, Rhizosphere, Organisms, and Protection). We show that FUN‐BioCROP can approximate the historical trajectory of soil C dynamics as natural ecosystems were successively converted into intensive agriculture and bioenergy systems. This ability relies in part on a novel tillage representation that mechanistically models tillage as a process that increases microbial access to C. Importantly, the impacts of tillage and feedstock choice also influence FUN‐BioCROP simulations of warming responses with no‐till perennial feedstocks, miscanthus, and switchgrass, having more C that is unprotected and susceptible to warming than tilled annual feedstocks like corn–corn–soybean. However, this susceptibility to warming is balanced by a greater potential for increases in belowground C allocation to enhance soil C stocks in perennial systems. Collectively, our model results highlight the importance of belowground processes in evaluating the ecosystem C benefits of bioenergy production.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

Atomic layer deposited aluminum nitride for interface protection of lithium germanium thiophosphate solid electrolytes

Lithium germanium thiophosphate (LGPS) is an attractive solid-state electrolyte material due to its exceptionally high ionic conductivity (~1.2 × 10 –2 S cm –1 ), comparable to many organic liquid electrolytes commonly used in batteries. Despite the high conductivity of LGPS, the susceptibility of LGPS to deleterious degradation reactions has impeded its commercial adoption into solid-state batteries. In particular, the poor voltage stability of LGPS with high-voltage cathode or lithium metal potentials often results in dramatically increasing cell impedance during galvanic cycling. Here, we use aluminum nitride (AlN) as a protection layer for Li metal anode, applied directly to the LGPS at 250 °C using plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition, to enhance cell performance by preventing LGPS-Li metal reactions. We compare the surface chemistry and electrochemical cycling performance of atomic layer-deposited AlN grown using both plasma N 2 and NH 3 precursors. Galvanostatic cycling and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy show that AlN-coated LGPS cells perform better than bare LGPS cells in contact with Li metal anodes, with the AlN able to improve cycling longevity by over a factor of 3 in certain cases. Finally, we utilize x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) line scans to highlight the slow room-temperature reactivity between AlN and evaporated lithium metal, and a computational model is built to aid further XPS analysis.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗

Assessment of the Phase-to-Ground Fault Apparent Admittance Method with Phase/Ground Boundaries to Detect Types of Electrical Faults for Protective Relays Using Signature Library and Simulated Events

Protective relays in electric power grids recognize the types of electrical faults in a few seconds. The most common detection method to detect the types of electrical faults is based on measuring the angle between the zero and negative sequence currents. However, it is not completely accurate because the phase-to-phase-ground and phase-to-ground electrical faults could have the same detection conditions. Therefore, engineers need to plot the events after an electrical fault to observe the nature of the incidents in detail. In this study, the phase-to-ground fault apparent (PGFA) admittance method with phase/ground boundaries identified the types of electrical faults located in distribution power lines and feeders. This method was based on measuring the PGFA admittance magnitudes for the faulted and nonfaulted phases, resulting in greater than zero and near zero, respectively. The PGFA admittance algorithm was built with MATLAB/Simulink software and tested with signature library and grid simulation events. The PGFA method with phase/ground boundaries was evaluated with the confusion matrix. The measured and predicted values matched in more than 90% of the tests, and the PGFA admittance method with phase/ground boundaries presented an accuracy of 94.3% and a precision of 100%.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Electrically conductive carbon fiber layers as lightning strike protection for non-conductive epoxy-based CFRP substrate

A large amount of electrically conductive fillers is needed to enhance a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP) electrical conductivity enough to withstand lightning strikes of peak currents. However, such large alien constituents hamper the inherent good mechanical properties of CFRP structures. In this work, a solution has been proposed to retain both desired properties in a CFRP laminate. Layer-wise hybrid laminate has been demonstrated as a solution for lightning strike protection of Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP). Top few layers of a hybrid laminate are prepared using electrically conductive polymer-based resin (CF/C-POLY) to provide effective dissipation of lightning current while epoxy-based CFRP substrate (CF/Epoxy) provides the main structural strength. An insulating adhesive layer is used to bond CF/C-POLY and CF/Epoxy to prepare the laminate. The hybrid laminates were tested for their effectiveness against lightning strikes. Laminates were struck by modified lightning waveform of component A with peak current of -14 kA and -40 kA. The performance of the laminates against lightning strike were evaluated using high speed camera, high-speed and thermal camera. It is found that CF/C-POLY layer successfully defended the main structural component i.e. CF/Epoxy from lightning direct damage.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

In-Device Delay: Introduction to Obscurant Physcial Protection System

The Office of Radiological Security (ORS) In-Device Delay (IDD) program has undertaken a project to research and develop a novel protection system for industrial irradiators that contain high-activity Co-60 sources. Based on adversary testing conducted by ORS, it is was determined that to successfully accomplish the theft of the target material, the adversary will require visual contact of the sources and source rack located at the bottom of the pool. Therefore, if a means of obscuring or visually hiding the sources in the pool can be achieved (while adhering to facility operations, safety, and regulatory requirements), then illicit source theft will be significantly hindered. This project aims to develop a low-cost, non-propriety obscurant that, when an adversary action is detected, the obscurant will be deployed into the pool quickly, rendering visual observation of the source problematic; however, this obscurant will not otherwise disturb the sources, source rack, and filtration system. The obscurant will remain in the pool until removed by another process.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Novel Magnesium Pretreatment Coatings Offering Excellent Corrosion Protection

There is a growing interest in using magnesium alloys for automotive, industrial, and aerospace applications due to their low density, high strength-to-weight ratio, good machinability, and low cost. These alloys have the potential to lighten cars and aircraft, reducing fuel consumption and emissions. A major drawback to the use of magnesium alloys is their highly reactive nature, which can result in corrosion; as a result, most existing pretreatment systems for these alloys require the use of chromium, which is increasingly coming under regulatory pressures, as a corrosion inhibitor. Through a project funded by the Department of Energy and administered by the U.S. Automotive Materials Partnership (USAMP), PPG developed chromium-free metal pretreatment solutions for ZEK-100 and AZ21 magnesium alloys. In a major technical advance, several chromium-free cleaning and pretreatment processes were developed that offer excellent corrosion protection when compared to a typical automotive pretreatment systems. To expand the use cases for these systems beyond single-alloy substrates to broader multi-metal assemblies, these pretreatment solutions were also optimized for use in multi-metal applications: compatibility with magnesium and other metals was demonstrated without the need for additional process steps.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

Umida AG Fish Protection Prize, Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) PNNL CRADA 487 (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

13 HYDRO ENERGY↗

Basic Radiation Theory and Protection [Slides]

Topics for this presentation include isotopes, alpha and beta radiation, x-rays and gamma-rays, neutrons, ionizing radiation, occupational exposure to radiation (CFR limit), radiation exposure amounts, the half-life, radiation protection, inverse square law (1/r 2 ), fission, fusion, and criticality.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

Team Bingaman-Fish Friendly Gravitational Vortex Energy System - Fish Protection Prize (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Team Rackovan - Alden - Fish Entrainment Reduction Structure (FERS) - Fish Protection Prize (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Fisheries Technology Associates, Inc. - Sweeping CHIRPs, Looming Darkness: In-Sync Stimuli - Fish Protection Prize (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Neurotrophic Labs - Fish Exclusion Using a Floating Separator - Fish Protection Prize (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Team Hogan - Air Bubble Curtain for Physical Exclusion - Fish Protection Prize (Final Report)

In FY2020, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) initiated a Prize competition with support from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), and sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy Water Power Technologies Office (DOE WPTO), to support the development of innovative methods for excluding fish from water diversions and intakes: the Fish Protection Prize. Proposed solutions can include new ideas for addressing fish exclusion or improvements to existing technologies. Solutions can be applied to river and canal diversions, unscreened diversion pipes, or intakes at dams. In FY20 PNNL provided voucher support in the form of technical reviews and support, as well as graphics and presentation support, in helping the 9 finalists prepare for the Pitch Contest at the American Fisheries Society (AFS) virtual meeting. There were no subject inventions, patent applications, copyrights, and trademarks under this CRADA. The report herein provides an abstract of the presentation that the finalist presented at the American Fisheries Society virtual meeting in September 2020.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Results for Gamma-Ray Spectroscopy Characterization of Residual Radioactivity on Personal Protective Clothing

In early 2019, Health Physics Services (HPS) personnel put together a test plan to use the shielded gamma-ray spectroscopy instruments in the Health Physics Services Technical Laboratory (HPSTL) to perform a series of measurements on laundered personal protective clothing used in radiological areas at the Savannah River Site (SRS). That test plan describes the methodology used to determine the quantities of laundry to be obtained from operational facilities, the methods for quality control checking the instruments throughout the measurement period, and the physical arrangement of samples in the counting shields. The test plan is documented in SRNS-J6700-2019-00037 (Reference 1).

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗