Department Of Energy Funding Research Articles

US Department of Energy funds R&D for fusion

US Department of Energy funds R&D for fusion

Reflections on Los Alamos infrasound research

Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory began work in infrasound research in 1982 under Department of Energy funding. This beginning was to investigate the generation and propagation of surface ground motion generated atmospheric infrasound signals. Infrasound arrays were operated to measure the infrasound signals at near regional distances. The program was successful and continued until the end of US underground nuclear testing in 1992. During this time, data were collected on earthquakes, bolides and on various man-made high explosive tests. As work on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was continuing, Los Alamos, working with Sandia National Laboratory, fielded a prototype infrasound array following Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty guidelines, which operated from mid 1997 to 2007. More recent work emphasizes seismo-acoustic research in explosion monitoring, improving infrasound propagation models for better source location and analysis and the development of Python based tools. In this talk, I will highlight some aspects of the earlier and current Los Alamos activity.Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory began work in infrasound research in 1982 under Department of Energy funding. This beginning was to investigate the generation and propagation of surface ground motion generated atmospheric infrasound signals. Infrasound arrays were operated to measure the infrasound signals at near regional distances. The program was successful and continued until the end of US underground nuclear testing in 1992. During this time, data were collected on earthquakes, bolides and on various man-made high explosive tests. As work on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was continuing, Los Alamos, working with Sandia National Laboratory, fielded a prototype infrasound array following Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty guidelines, which operated from mid 1997 to 2007. More recent work emphasizes seismo-acoustic research in explosion monitoring, improving infrasound propagation models for better source location and analysis and the development of Python based tools. In thi...

A Fiber Optic Borehole Seismic Vector Sensor System for High Resolution CCUS Site Characterization and Monitoring

Abstract Seismic techniques are the dominant geophysical techniques for the characterization of subsurface structures and stratigraphy. The seismic techniques also dominate the monitoring and mapping of reservoir injection and production processes. Borehole seismology, of all the seismic techniques, despite its current shortcomings, has been shown to provide the highest resolution characterization and most precise monitoring results because it generates higher signal to noise ratio and higher frequency data than surface seismic techniques. The operational environments for borehole seismic instruments are however much more demanding than for surface seismic instruments making both the instruments and the installation much more expensive. To address the critical site characterization and monitoring needs for CCUS programs, US Department of Energy (DOE) funded Paulsson, Inc. in 2010 to develop a fiber optic based ultra-large bandwidth clamped borehole seismic vector array capable of deploying up to one thousand 3C sensor pods suitable for deployment into high temperature and high pressure boreholes. Tests of the fiber optic seismic vector sensors developed on the DOE funding have shown that the new borehole seismic sensor technology is capable of generating outstanding high vector fidelity data with extremely large bandwidth: 0.01 – 6,000 Hz. Field tests have shown that the system can record events at magnitudes much smaller than M-2.6 at frequencies up to 2,000 Hz. The sensors have also proved to be about 100 times more sensitive than the regular coil geophones that are used in borehole seismic systems today. The fiber optic seismic sensors have furthermore been qualified to operate at temperatures over 300 °C (572 °F). Simultaneously with the fiber optic based seismic 3C vector sensors we are using the lead-in fiber to acquire Distributed Acoustic Sensor (DAS) data from the surface to the bottom the vector array. While the DAS data is of much lower quality than the vector sensor data it provides a 1 m spatial sampling of the downgoing wavefield which will be used to build the high resolution velocity model which is an essential component in high resolution imaging and monitoring.

Tearing the Top Off ‘Top-Down’ Proteomics

Tearing the Top Off ‘Top-Down’ Proteomics

Comparison of NFPA and ISO approaches for evaluating separation distances

The development of a set of safety codes and standards for hydrogen facilities is necessary to ensure they are designed and operated safely. To help ensure that a hydrogen facility meets an acceptable level of risk, code and standard development organizations (SDOs) are utilizing risk-informed concepts in developing hydrogen codes and standards. Two SDOs, the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) and the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) through its Technical Committee (TC) 197 on hydrogen technologies have been developing standards for gaseous hydrogen facilities that specify the facilities have certain safety features, use equipment made of material suitable for a hydrogen environment, and have specified separation distances. Under Department of Energy funding, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) has been supporting efforts by both of these SDOs to develop the separation distances included in their respective standards. Important goals in these efforts are to use a defensible, science-based approach to establish these requirements and to the extent possible, harmonize the requirements. International harmonization of regulations, codes and standards is critical for enabling global market penetration of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies. ► Approach used to risk-inform separation distances in two H 2 standards are compared. ► Differences in data, methodology, and separation distance format are presented. ► Differences in key parameters used in the NFPA and ISO analyses were evaluated.

Status of the U. S. Department Of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy's Fuel Cell Research and Development Efforts

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Fuel Cell Technologies Program, in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), seeks to enable the widespread commercialization of fuel cells, through applied research and development (R&D) to overcome technical barriers, as well as through efforts to reduce institutional and market barriers. In support of this goal, DOE funds a broad range of fuel cell R&D activities with emphasis on materials, fuel cell stack components, balance of plant (BOP) subsystems, and integrated fuel cell systems targeting lower cost and enhanced durability. Fuel cell system cost estimates for transportation applications have illustrated that catalysts and system BOP are major cost drivers at high-volume production. Membranes are a cost driver at lower production volumes. The DOE has supported research to develop improved fuel cell catalysts and membranes and characterize and optimize transport phenomena to improve membrane electrode assembly (MEA) and stack performance.

Next-Generation Lighting Initiative at the U.S. Department of Energy: Catalyzing Science Into the Marketplace

<para xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> Solid-state lighting (SSL) is a pivotal emerging technology that promises to fundamentally alter and improve lighting systems—and buildings—of the future, significantly lowering energy use and costs and enhancing the quality of our building environments. No other lighting technology offers our nation so much potential to conserve electricity, at a time when our nation needs bold solutions to achieve greater energy independence. Major research and market introduction challenges must be addressed before the full promise of SSL is realized. This paper discusses the role of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) as a catalyst in accelerating SSL technology advances, as it works in partnership with industry, research and academic organizations, and market transformation partners. Through a series of ongoing, interactive workshops, DOE and its partners have developed an extensive plan designed to ensure that DOE funds the appropriate research and development (R&amp;D) topics and commercialization support strategies to help our nation's best and brightest lighting experts move SSL from the laboratory into the marketplace. </para>

Evaluating the Short-Run Benefits of Six Department of Energy R&amp;D Projects

This paper evaluates the short-run benefits of research and development (R&D) projects funded by the Automotive Lightweighting Materials (ALM) Program of the Office of FreedomCAR and Vehicle Technologies of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). The six ALM projects evaluated—using qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods—yielded numerous benefits in the short-run. From the qualitative assessment, all met their technical goals, increased intellectual knowledge among the research teams, and led to increased collaboration among DOE, the auto industry, its suppliers, and national laboratories. Moreover, U.S. competitiveness appeared to have increased as a result of each R&D effort. One interesting finding, however, is that most of the participants indicated their firms would not have engaged in the research efforts without DOE funding. If they had engaged in the effort, it would have been with considerably less person time and financial commitment. With respect to quantitative measures, several graduate students were supported by the projects and numerous publications and presentations resulted, although these metrics varied across the ALM R&D projects.

SPR Federal Budget Review Panel formed

The Solar‐Planetary Relationships Section of AGU has formed a new panel to review the Presidential Fiscal Year 1992 (and FY 1993) federal budget for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Department of Energy funding. An SPR position paper will be issued and sent to key congressmen/aides, the Presidential Science Advisor and the science agencies. This will be done in parallel with the AGU panel (involving all sections) and their resultant white paper. Last year, the AGU effort was highly successful.