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At least 1,477 records · Page 82

Decision on the number of turns in the eRHIC Nov15 design

When moving from the “Jun’15” to the “Nov’15” eRHIC FFAG design, the number of accelerating passes through the linac was reduced from 16 to 12. There are an equal number of decelerating passes, so the total reduced from 32 to 24. At the same time, the linac energy was increased from 1.322GeV to 1.665GeV and the RF frequency changed from 422MHz to 647MHz. The maximum beam energy remained approximately constant, changing from 21.164GeV to exactly 20GeV.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

Dose Assessment of Los Alamos National Laboratory-Derived Residual Radionuclides in Soils within C Tracts (C-2, C-3, and C-4) for Land Transfer Decisions

Three separate Sampling and Analysis Plans (SAPs) were prepared for tracts C-2, C-3, and C-4. The objective of sampling was to confirm, within the stated statistical confidence limits, that the mean levels of potential radioactive residual contamination in soils in the C Tracts are documented, in appropriate units, and are below the 15 mrem/y (150 μSv/y) Screening Action Levels (SALs). Results show that radionuclide concentration upper-bound 95% confidence levels were close to background levels, with the exception of Pu-239 and Cs-137 being slightly elevated above background, and all measurements were below the ALs and meet the real property release criteria for future construction or recreational use. A follow-up ALARA analysis showed that the costs of cleanup of the soil in areas of elevated concentration and confirmatory sampling would far exceed any benefit from dose reduction.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

City-Level Energy Decision Making: Data Use in Energy Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation in U.S. Cities

The report analyzes and presents information learned from a sample of 20 cities across the United States, from New York City to Park City, Utah, including a diverse sample of population size, utility type, region, annual greenhouse gas reduction targets, vehicle use, and median household income. The report compares climate, sustainability, and energy plans to better understand where cities are taking energy-related actions and how they are measuring impacts. Some common energy-related goals focus on reducing city-wide carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency across sectors, increasing renewable energy, and increasing biking and walking.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

Characterizing the Benefits of Seismic Isolation for Nuclear Structures: A Framework for Risk-Based Decision Making

This report provides a framework for assessing the benefits of seismic isolation and exercises the framework on a Generic Department of Energy Nuclear Facility (GDNF). These benefits are (1) reduction in the risk of unacceptable seismic performance and a dramatic reduction in the probability of unacceptable performance at beyond-design basis shaking, and (2) a reduction in capital cost at sites with moderate to high seismic hazard. The framework includes probabilistic risk assessment and estimates of overnight capital cost for the GDNF.

42 ENGINEERING↗

Decision-support for Digester-Algae IntegRation for Improved Environmental and Economic Sustainability (DAIRIEES)

Manure management is a major concern for dairy farms, as manure emits significant quantities of greenhouse gases and contains concentrated nutrients, especially nitrogen and phosphorus. Current manure management practices consist of spreading minimally processed manure on agricultural fields, which releases greenhouse gases directly to the atmosphere and often leads to nutrient overloading on fields and runoff to surface and groundwater. A novel manure treatment system has been proposed that mitigates many of the current environmental concerns and creates value added products from the manure including bioplastics, electricity, fertilizer, and animal bedding. DAIRIEES, an Excel based model, allows users to enter characteristics about a dairy farm’s manure, manure management plan, and regional market. Based on these inputs, the five main processes of the integrated system—fermenter, anaerobic digester, bioplastics reactor, algae cultivation, and hydrothermal liquefaction or fast pyrolysis system—are analyzed in detail using data from laboratory scale experiments supplemented by information on full-scale processes from the literature. The model can be used to estimate performance of the integrated manure treatment system, including: 1) carbon and nutrient sequestration, 2) quantities and market value of end products, and 3) the system’s overall economic viability. The DAIRIEES model outlines the major economic considerations for construction and operation of a full scale integrated treatment system. This information can be used to inform a more detailed pro forma analysis of the deployed system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Building a Predictive Capability for Decision-Making that Supports MultiPEM

Multi-phenomenological explosion monitoring (multiPEM) is a developing science that uses multiple geophysical signatures of explosions to better identify and characterize their sources. MultiPEM researchers seek to integrate explosion signatures together to provide stronger detection, parameter estimation, or screening capabilities between different sources or processes. This talk will address forming a predictive capability for screening waveform explosion signatures to support multiPEM.

47 OTHER INSTRUMENTATION↗

Improving Grid Resilience through Informed Decision-making (IGRID)

The transformation of the distribution grid from a centralized to decentralized architecture, with bi-directional power and data flows, is made possible by a surge in network intelligence and grid automation. While changes are largely beneficial, the interface between grid operator and automated technologies is not well understood, nor are the benefits and risks of automation. Quantifying and understanding the latter is an important facet of grid resilience that needs to be fully investigated. The work described in this document represents the first empirical study aimed at identifying and mitigating the vulnerabilities posed by automation for a grid that for the foreseeable future will remain a human-in-the-loop critical infrastructure. Our scenario-based methodology enabled us to conduct a series of experimental studies to identify causal relationships between grid-operator performance and automated technologies and to collect measurements of human performance as a function of automation. Our findings, though preliminary, suggest there are predictive patterns in the interplay between human operators and automation, patterns that can inform the rollout of distribution automation and the hiring and training of operators, and contribute in multiple and significant ways to the field of grid resilience.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

A History of Sandia’s Water Decision Modeling and Analysis Program

This document provides a brief narrative, and selected project descriptions, that represent Sandia’s history involving data, modeling, and analysis related to water, energy-water nexus, and energy-water-agriculture nexus within the context of climate change. Sandia National Laboratories has been engaged since the early-1990s with program development involving data, modeling, and analysis projects that address the interdependent issues, risks, and technology-based mitigations associated with increasing demands and stresses being placed on energy, water, and agricultural/food resources, and the related impacts on their security and sustainability in the face of both domestic and global population growth, expanding economic development, and climate change.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

Gross Alpha and Beta Decision Levels for the Environmental Air Monitoring Program for the Idaho National Laboratory

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of alpha and beta radiation data collected from air monitoring sites at or near Idaho National Laboratory from April 2006 through February 2017. These data were used to compute monitoring limits that will be used to assess future alpha and beta radiation measurements. Data were analyzed for seasonality, stationarity, and other data issues that may impact the calculation and use of the monitoring limits.

61 RADIATION PROTECTION AND DOSIMETRY↗

DiaMonD: An Integrated Multifaceted Approach to Mathematics at the Interfaces of Data, Models, and Decisions

The major goal of the project was to invent, analyze, implement, and apply new algorithms to speed up the computational simulation of complex systems in settings in which multiple simulations are needed. The main efforts we undertook are as follows: 1. Develop novel reduced order methods to reduce the costs of simulations, especially in settings (e.g., UQ, inference, optimization and control) for which numerous simulation are needed and also for nonlocal problems (e.g., fractional derivative, anomalous diffusion, nonlocal mechanics) for which lack of sparsity results in more expensive full-order simulation than encountered in partial differential equations settings; rigorous analyses as well as computational tests were carried out, 2. Develop multifidelity methods based on the usage of a variety of models having different fidelities and different costs to accelerate simulations again in settings where numerous simulations are needed or are especially expensive; rigorous analyses as well as computational tests were carried out, 3. Develop ensemble methods to reduced the costs of simulations again in settings where numerous simulations are needed or are especially expensive; rigorous analyses as well as computational tests were carried out, and 4. Analyze a model for Richardson pair dispersion in turbulent flows and develop discretization methods for the efficient and accurate approximations of the solution of the model; rigorous analyses as well as computational tests were carried out.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Double or Triple? Factors Influencing the Window Purchasing Decisions of High-Performance Home Builders

To better understand why triple-pane windows are so slow to catch on and to inform the development and adoption of a new approach to insulated windows, thin triple-pane windows (or thin triples), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) conducted a market assessment of the window purchasing practices of new home builders in 2018-19. While there are several players who can impact the adoption of new residential window technologies, this report focuses strictly on home builders and the key part they play in new window technology adoption. A better understanding of the motivations, experiences, and concerns expressed by new home builders regarding window purchases could inform efforts to develop and deliver thin triple-pane windows and lead to their widespread acceptance in the marketplace. For the past several years, the DOE has supported the development of a thin triple-pane window that uses a center pane of thin glass and krypton gas fill to produce an insulated glass unit (IGU) with nearly the same weight and the same thickness as a double-pane IGU but with the performance of the heavier, thicker, standard triple-pane windows available today. To conduct this study, PNNL interviewed 29 home builders who have participated in the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program. These builders include many of the most active builders in the DOE ZERH program. Together, they have constructed 2,534 of the 3,417 homes certified through the DOE program as of April 1, 2019. In 2018, they constructed an estimated 1,040 homes and purchased an estimated 17,800 windows. This report summarizes the key findings from these interviews.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗